Game of Thrones director confirms: Yup, Stannis is dead

Jon Snow isn’t the only character whose fate had fans speculating at the end of the Game of Thrones season 5 finale.

The death scene of Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) also had some wondering if the daughter-torching would-be king was really the end of his character. When Brienne swung Oathkeeper at Stannis, the camera cut away — not showing his death, and the rule of TV is if you don’t actually see a person’s dead body, they might come back (and sometimes, even if you do).

Talking to EW at Comic-Con on Friday, the episode’s director David Nutter confirmed that Stannis really is gone.

“From the very beginning, and [through] the script process, that was the intent — he’s dead,” Nutter said.

The director explained that actually showing the death would have felt “gratuitous.”

More from the Game of Thrones team at Comic-Con:

— Awesome Game of Thrones audition reel released online

— Even President Obama is upset about Jon Snow’s death: POTUS grilled director

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