...I was being tongue-in-cheek with the "They almost made up for it" comment. Like I said there, the parts that stunk still and continue to stink. So the "And... They ruined it again" is a similarly tongue-in-cheek follow-up.

So, to address your first point: yes, Stannis of the TV series doing this completely makes sense. They've been building to it since Season 2 even, before they ever showed or even mentioned Shireen. But that it still ruins the Stannis character (the TV version) for me. Lots of their awful changes make narrative sense in the context of the show, but that doesn't mean they aren't awful choices.

And yes, in the books, it does make a difference if Stannis is the one who burns his daughter or it's Melisandre or Selyse or some other Queen's men who does it. Especially in regard to Stannis' character (in the books).

I've been pretty clear how much I really don't like this season at all. It's crappy from the book perspective, and largely crappy from a TV story-telling perspective. If they turn it around, I'll say so.

As a side note, I don't even know if they can do Jamie burning Cersei's letter. They missed the opportunity to set it up by not having Cersei ask Qyburn to send it when he visited last episode. I don't know narratively if they can fit in her sending the letter, Jamie receiving it and buring it, and her doing the walk of shame.