15 Dead Game Of Thrones Characters (That Are Still Alive In The Books)

The relationship between Stannis Baratheon and his wife and daughter is a cold one, both in the books and on the screen. Despite his stoic demeanour, however, show Stannis is shown to care for the Greyscale-scarred Shireen, regardless of Selyse's contempt for her own offspring.

Stannis does not have point-of-view chapters in the books, so any private interactions between him and his family are not seen. Like on the show, however, Shireen develops a fondness to her father's hand Davos Seaworth, teaching him to read.

Selyse and Shireen accompany Stannis and Davos' to The Wall in both mediums, where divergence occurs. In the novels, the pair remain at Castle Black, doing very little during the course of A Dance With Dragons, whilst on the show, they accompany Stannis' on his perilous journey to Winterfell, where he frequently rebuffs the sorceress Melisandre's requests to sacrifice Shireen in order to ensure better omens.

Eventually, he relents when blizzards lead to large scale losses of men, resulting in the powerful and heartfelt scene where Shireen is burnt alive and her mother, though always previously supportive of Melisandre, breaks down, taking her own life shortly afterwards.

This was one of the most impactful moments of season five and was a well-scripted addition, breaking Stannis emotionally and vilifying him in the eyes of fans, who were beginning to get behind his campaign to reclaim the North from the treacherous Boltons.