Shireen's significance
With Jon Snow expected to be resurrected by Melisandre because of her new power since Shireen's death. If her death helps bring Jon back to life, was burning her the right decision? How will people view R'hlor going forward?
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You'll never convince me that human sacrifice is okay. I don't care what good comes from it.
"Only death can pay for life"
Your point?
I am curious. Did you give Cotter a painless death? Or did you cut his heart out?
I cut it out. Seemed to before the greater good, he was gonna die regardless
The show and game seem to think its ok
There are characters that do it. It's not like the show/game is telling us human sacrifice is okay.
I gave him a painless death because I saw him as Gared's best friend and didn't want him to suffer. However, I believe cutting his heart out was the smart thing to do, and that I probably should've done it. Cotter was gonna die anyway. What happened to Shireen was murder.
Game even gives you choice to proceed with sacrifice or not.
What happened/will happen to Shireen will probably be used by Melisandre to resurrect Jon as the Azor Ahai. I think that will be the beginning of the end for Melisandre, probably when Stannis finds out- this guy only sentenced to burning twice and once when someone tried to marry Shireen off as a hostage to the Lannisters!
I think when you sacrifice, you have to think of the cost. I refused to desecrate my friend's body; Elsera will have to find another way to maintain her warriors.
To be fair, we were left on a cliffhanger, we don't know for sure if Jon actually died or not. It could very well be another one of Martin's fakeouts. There have been other characters who have suffered seemingly fatal injuries, but a few chapters later they are shown to make a full recovery anyway. Jon might end up just being severely injured, not dead.
If Jon is dead, it's possible that Melisandre will resurrect him, in fact, I actually thought this to be the most likely outcome at one point. But now that I'm on my third reread, I no longer think that will be the case. (at least in the books) One major issue that we will have to deal with if Mel does bring back Jon, is that he will no longer be Jon, if that makes any sense. He would essentially become one of Mel's pawns (assuming he's not AA, which I don't think he is, tbh) his memory will regress, his mind will regress, his story will still end in a way, as he will not be the same character he was before resurrection. Similar to Lady Stoneheart, she is a completely different character than who she was before being brought back. I think it's more likely that Mel will simply spur his recovery along with some magic, if he does turn out to be alive.
Honestly, I think that if Jon did actually die, it's very likely that he warged into Ghost at the last minute. I originally though this theory to be unlikely, but now it seems to be pretty plausible. The last word Jon utters before blacking out after being stabbed is "Ghost". Martin has emphasized throughout the books that all of the Stark children who received direwolves have telepathic connections with their respective direwolves and also have the potential ability to skin change. Knowing this, Jon is definitely capable of warging into Ghost in a life-or-death situation. Now, out of all the Stark kids, Bran has the strongest warg abilities and telepathic connection with his direwolf. In addition to that, Bran is learning to use blood magic and is essentially a greenseer now. It's also important to note that Bloodraven has been sending visions to Bran, and it's been heavily hinted that he has been speaking to Jon through his dreams. It's likely that Bloodraven will guide Bran to Jon, and it will be Bran who revives Jon's body in the end, not Melisandre. There's a lot more to the theory, but I'm trying not to spoil too much for those who have not yet read the books.
Now if we're talking show only, I honestly don't know what D&D plan on doing with Jon. In a way, the last two seasons can be considered fanfiction, as D&D have moved away from book canon quite a bit. Several storylines in the show do not happen in the books, and many major storylines in the books are not featured in the show. Honestly, after the disaster that was season 5, I don't really have any faith in D&D's ability to adapt Martin's books and characters respectfully/accurately. If you're only talking about the impact Jon's resurrection may/will have on the game, I doubt that it will play any significant part since Gared broke his oath to the NW, we might not even see Jon in season 2.
Anyways, I could be completely wrong, Mel might end up resurrecting Jon and he'll still be Jon afterwards, as there may be no horrible side effects. This might be another reason as to why D&D cut Lady Stoneheart out of the show, so that show only watchers won't know what really happens to a person when they're brought back to life through R'hllor, which is heavily emphasized throughout Lady Stoneheart's storyline.
As for whether burning Shireen was the right decision or not, under no circumstances do I think her murder was justifiable, even if Mel does end up bringing back Jon. Shireen was Stannis' heir, his only heir. It is/was a stupid decision to kill her. Not to mention Mel's prophecy predictions have been wrong in the past. I also am pretty sure that King's blood is just superstitious nonsense and doesn't actually make that big of a difference in the outcome when using blood magic.
(Edit: this post turned out to be a lot longer than I intended..my bad)
I hate myself for keep making cruel and dark choices when it comes to the Forresters interest...All I want it is for my family to be safe...
I commend you for giving Cotter a painless death.
Define human sacrifice?
Really? you don't think sacrificing one to save thousands is okay?
Burning someone at a stake so some god will show you favor.
Depends on the sort of sacrifice. Like leaving someone behind to save many, that I can understand. But actually murdering someone isn't something that sits right with me.