So, What Actually Happened To Stannis?

He had it coming. As much as I hate to admit it, after Game Of Thrones' Season 5 penultimate episode where he sacrificed his own daughter to win a freaking battle, Stannis Baratheon's time on Game of Thrones had to end. Now it's not confirmed whether Stannis has officially died or not, but let's be honest — it would be insane if he survived.

At the very beginning of the episode, the tide was seemingly going to turn Stannis' way. The ice and snow were melting, and Melisandre took that as a sign of the Lord of Light blessing Stannis with a prosperous battle. But, then the crap hit the fan. Stannis was told that his army was deserting him, and then was led into the woods to see that his wife had hung herself. And, to make matters worse, Melisandre had deserted the troops as well. Stannis still attempted to make his way to Winterfell which led to his probable death. But, here's the thing, why didn't see the death unfold completely onscreen?

Stannis' army had no chance whatsoever to win against the Boltons. They didn't even get an element of surprise or anything as the Bolton army was alerted to their presence and attacked immediately. The battle ended within minutes, and despite Stannis fighting off a few soldiers, even he knew his time was up. But who actually swung the sword that possible killed him? Brienne of Freaking Tarth.

That's right. Brienne of Tarth, kingsguard for Renly Baratheon, the very person who watched Renly get murdered by a shadow baby with the face of Stannis, finally got her chance to get revenge. After Brienne explained who she was and officially charged Stannis with the murder of Renly, she asked him for his final words and it was obvious even to Stannis that he made a terrible mistake in sacrificing his daughter. He knew he was going to die. So all he could say was "Go on, do your duty."

But, here's the thing, we never actually saw the sword go into Stannis. Could it be at all possible that he survived, and that Brienne could not go through with actually killing Stannis? Brienne wanted justice but perhaps she did not want to match blood for blood. Game of Thrones pretty much always shows when a death happens onscreen. I'm sure none of us can forget Ned Stark's death in Season 1. So if they didn't show Stannis actually dying, there has to be a reason. Perhaps he's still alive. And, if that's the case, there better be good reason, and Stannis better pay for his sins in some other way.

As for the night's biggest cliffhanger —whether or not Jon Snow is really dead — Check out the video below to see why he might not really be a goner:

Images: Helen Sloan/HBO