Gwendoline Christie discusses Brienne’s journey next season and how the fans have responded to her character. We also have more video interviews with other members of the cast building hype for season 6.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Christie promised more Brienne action next season.
“After season 5, people would come up on the street moaning about why wasn’t Brienne wasn’t doing more. I’d say, ‘I’m terribly sorry, I’m not really in charge of that.’ I got the scripts for season 6 and I thought the story was so fantastic. It’s really exciting to see Brienne burst forth again.”
She discussed the positive feedback she’s received from fans about her character.
“Women talk to me about how Brienne is important to them and they’re really happy it illustrates an unconventional side of femininity and womanhood compared to what we’re used to seeing,” she said. “There’s a shift in the kind of things people want to see in entertainment, and I hope this breeds in people’s minds and we see more different incarnations of women.”
She also hinted at some converging storylines that she’s excited to see next season.
“So many characters for so long had their isolated storylines and as a fan of this show as well, I’ve been wanting and dreaming — ‘I wonder what it would be like to see this person interact with this other person?’ And that’s what starts to unfold.”
In a wonderfully lengthy video, Carice Van Houten, Liam Cunningham, Maisie Williams, Tom Wlaschiha, John Bradley, Hannah Murray, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Ellie Kendrick, Daniel Portman, Alfie Allen, Jonathan Pryce, Dean-Charles Chapman, Iwan Rheon and Michael McElhatton chat about where their characters find themselves in season 6 and the cultural impact of Game of Thrones.
Alfie Allen discusses the psychology of “the new Theon” and Daniel Portman talks about Podrick’s popularity and his development next season.
Hodor!
So any bets on which fan favourite she beats/kills this season?
Glad to see interviews with the cast members with questions other than “IS JON SNOW ALIVE?!?!?!” questions, lmao.
…Brienne is the fan favorite.
phantomstrife,
She only killed Stannis.
phantomstrife,
In my dreams it’s
Sadly, I’m not that lucky.
mau,
And The Hound.
mau,
Killed Stannis, defeated The Hound and beat Loras and Jaime (granted the last two were in the books if I remember correctly). But obviously the fan favourite has to be disarmed or injured first before fighting her.
What! He’s going to kick ass this season!
phantomstrife,
If I recall, wasnt the Hound already hurt and feverish from killing his brothers men at the inn. Also Jaime was in chains for a long time and malnourished.
But Brienne is a boss, maybe only Bronn could beat her? And Jon, but hes got plot armor.
About Bran, a lot of people thought his storyline is boring and uninteresting. Well, it was kind of boring, but definitely not uninteresting. I think Bran’s is the most interesting, I’ve been waiting for a long time to see him to finally meet with the 3-Eyed Raven.
I think people will finally see that his storyline will get much better this season and definitely more interesting for sure.
Kelsey,
She not killed him.
Remember this comment!
I can see it, Cleganebowl is in full swing, she swoops in and kills the two brothers. Power to the mighty Lady of Tarth. She’s the executor Westeros needs but doesn’t deserve.
Kelsey,
He is not dead.
Off topic: Hey guys, if you want, take a moment to check out my new Season 6 fan trailer 🙂
Do you not know about CLEGANEBOWL?!
phantomstrife,
The Hound had much better “death” scene in the show than in the books.
Mawk,
Jon is a mediocre fighter in the books. He’s better in the show, but I don’t think he can handle the God-tier warriors ( Brienne, Sandor, two-handed Jaime and Gregor)
Does anyone think that we’d get to see Benjen Stark this season? Or Cold hands?
Xed,
I think we will get one of them.
I think this mysterious person on the horse could be Benjen, some think it’s the show’s version of Coldhands.
But my guess is that it’s Benjen, at least I’m hoping it is.
EDIT: forgot to add the photo lol.
http://assets2.ignimgs.com/2016/03/08/gotseasonsix0036png-19d47a_765w.png
I think that’s either “show version” Coldhands or maybe Benjen…
And…is that Meera, crouching behind a rock on the right? (Remember the behind-the-scenes camera operators video with the bit of Meera crouching behind a rock?)
I love Carice Van Houten so much. Her interviews are always so good and enjoyable. I’m really curious about Melisandre’s storyline.
I wonder if she’s hyping her role not unlike her captain role in TFA….she lost a lot of credibility after that u have to admit. Outside of that she’s been awesome. Her fight with the hound was epic and it wasn’t even source material
KrakenDaughter,
Sounds about right. He was getting his ass handed to him by Str.
Off:
What you guys think about this scene from season 5?
http://imgur.com/Cw6kUsq
Yes! I remember that part in the video, it is her! Gotta be, maybe after killing that wight, he might reveal himself to her and to our excitement it turns out to be Benjen alive after all this time lol.
Connor,
U have to imagine that we’ll see benjen again. The only factor to say otherwise would be gendry
phantomstrife,
If Brienne interrupts Cleganebowl she’ll instantly become my number 1 favorite character.
Why would she interrupt it, though? At this point in the game I’d be pissed!
In my dreams, Brienne says “Fuckit, I’m done with oaths, I did my bit” and heads off with Podrick to become a trainer to young people.
Off-topic
http://qz.com/650796/mathematicians-mapped-out-every-game-of-thrones-relationship-to-find-the-main-character/
Given the number of chapters, the type of the storylines, the screentime in GOT, the amount of merch and promo for the character, it’s easy to point out the biggest players in the story. without needing to map out the relationships. The first two names are totally unsurprising.
Daniel Portman has a wonderful Scottish brogue, would’ve never guessed!
Great interviews, 24 more days! 😀
Mawk,
Oh I wish they make her fight with Bronn and kill him… It would be hilarious and appropriate for him…
And while all the women get all the feminist attention on the show, many men keep being stereotypical valiant Knights and rapers.
Nice to see Ellie Kendrick, finally! Seems like such a long time that it wasn’t even confirmed that Meera would be coming back.
That was just too funny!! I love it.
Flayed Potatoes:
phantomstrife,
Cleganebowl is going to end when someone throws a rotten peach at Sandor who slips and falls and then as Gregor runs at him, he slips too impaling them on each other’s swords. And by sword, I mean penis.
Cleganebowl is going to be the hottest gay porn on television.
Brienne has been ruined for me. She’s now become this ridiculously overpowered character who just happens to always be in the right place at the right moment. I wouldn’t be shocked if they have a scene in S6 where she single handily takes down multiple Wights and personally resurrects Jon Snow with her tears.
I’ll never forgive D & D for what they’ve done to her 🙁
Making her a strong powerful woman?
Yeah, but the fight with “Fake Hound”(Rorge and Biter) in the books is horrifying. Just brutal and intense terror.
Er, why? Her character had a moderately prominent role in the plot.
Where did you get that idea? Jon is shown to be a very competent swordsman in the books.
Isn’t there a “swordfight” like that in one of Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser series?
Made her smarter than a cow and actually given her an arc that, well, arcs? Of course, I suppose that her Crows chapters were lifted from the Talking Heads’ song “Heaven”: 8 chapters in which nothing, nothing every happens……
TFT,
‘Cause Samwell Tarly or Podrick Payne are all those thing right? 🙂
Al Swearengen,
I think they did her justice… She’s strong and obviously emotionally vulnerable, pretty much like the book character. Also give Gwendoline a little credit eh?
HotPinkLipstick,
So which one of these two swords is Lightbringer?
The prior probability on it being Benjen is much higher, as he’s been on the show. However, you basically can take a whole bunch of show characters and give all N of them an X/N chance of being that person. Then take all M non-show characters and give them a Y/M chance of being that person, with (X+Y)/(N+M) = 1.0. (Bayesian 101!) Because N<<M, there is a better chance that it's Benjen: but it's still a complete crapshoot.
Silly even for you Al!
Is there? Cleganebowl just screams hot, kinky, rough man-on-man. Both of them would be furious if Brienne interrupted because the sexual tension has been building between the them for decades and it must be released.
Brienne’s going to be hookin’ up with Jaime though. She’ll have no use for the Cleganes when the hottest man in Westeros is following her around.
I do miss Brienne’s fantastic and heart rending Feast chapters. Her emotional and physical breakdown is some of Geroge’s best storytelling. But I have no problem with the show’s adaption.
Unfortunately, neither Clegane has a remarkable sword. Gregor has micropenis and Sandor has whiskey dick. But just because they have inadequate cocks doesn’t mean they don’t deserve love too.
I wouldn’t want to falsely accuse anyone of latent misogyny, but I certainly noticed a trend where fans routinely hate strong female characters, especially those who encroach on what is perceived as male turf or who take popular male characters down a peg or two. I don’t think that a man doing the same — especially a cool man — would elicit nearly the same level of disapproval.
Wimsey,
Never change, Wimsey!
I wonder if they Are doing that one gag they kept on putting off.
I think they said they are.
Hanadix,
And her tits
Mr Fixit,
I am static to the point where I make people’s hair stand on end.
PS: Love the new icon!
I always thought it would have been much more interesting to have Ramsey try to hide the crazy with Sansa, and so I like Iwan saying there will be a come to Jesus meeting with daddy about what he was up to to cause Sansa to do a runner.
Also liked the bit where Liam doesn’t want his 15 year old to see Carice’s ass. 🙂 Or his! (i’d be up for seeing Davos ASS!)
Wimsey,
Bayesian statistics still doesn’t make sense for me. And it won’t since I left this.
As I just said over on the Bear and Maiden Fair thread, I’m all for asses. The more the merrier. Of course, they do need to have a certain cushy plumpy quality to them and preferably have those little dimples above them for maximum effect. Yes, those would do quite nicely.
Jack Bauer 24,
Good, I wonder what its going to be ^^
Ice Spiders ?
Cold Hands ?
Just thinking about it is fun.
Al Swearengen,
Totally agree. I actually found book Brienne to be a very intersting g character. I’m also one of the few people that loved how her FFC chapters showed the horrors of war. TV show Brienne is seems like an overpowered nutjob whose job is to appeal to woman power folk
Another interview with Kit Harington, he is sticking to his guns with the ” I’m just playing a corpse” isn’t he? I admire his commitment. I wonder if he would be laying it on so thick if a certain photo hadn’t leaked. He is really trying to convince everyone he is just a corpse. I can’t wait for his first interview after he is resurrected.
http://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/657275/Game-of-Thrones-Kit-Harington-Jon-Snow-dead-Jonathan-Ross-show
Quote from the interview below
“I won’t tell you how many episodes I’m lying dead but it’s enough that I was out there for quite a while.
“It’s going to be so satisfying when you see it and you realise that I was telling the truth the whole time.”
Selina,
If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and walks like a duck, then it’s a duck. Although it is an adage for common sense, it is also (amusingly) a classic logical fallacy: just because our bird is flat-billed, quacking and waddling, we do not know that ducks are the only thing that does this.
However, if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and walks like a duck, then it probably is a duck because most of the flat-billed, quacking and waddling birds are ducks.
And that is Bayesian probability in a nutshell. Well, in a quack and a waddle: just ask Daffy!
phantomstrife,
Could also be a witch. As we know, both float.
It’s things like this that don’t make him truly scary to me. He’s vicious and sadistic but also frequently stupid with little of Roose’s nous or discipline. He’s a bit of a caricature villain in the books too but the bug-eyed loony version of Ramsay we see in the show verges on comedy sometimes. I think he was miscast.
funny how we have gone from “dead is dead, I am not coming back” to “ok ok.. I DID film scenes as a corpse..but still dead..not coming back” to ” I filmed scenes.. it was spread out one to two months..but promise, just as a corpse!!
lol poor guy..he will run screaming for the hills the next time D&D throw cliffhanger ending at him lol
I said most. :p
She turned me into a newt!
Wimsey,
Competent, but not a Jaime or Barristan or even Brienne.
Im impressed, an interview without any cryptic messages regarding Jon.
Anyway, im excited to see the new Theon getting his revenge on Ramsay.
Wimsey,
I can understand the concept, but the choice of a priori distributions still disturbs me.
http://m.ign.com/articles/2016/04/01/the-new-mutants-maisie-williams-alexandra-shipp-and-anya-taylor-joy-reportedly-cast-in-x-men-spin-off
Maisie joins the X-Men universe! Wolfsbane…how fitting!
“It’s going to be so satisfying when you see it and you realise that I was telling the truth the whole time.”
I can’t believe Kit said that. Hmmmm…
I’m really hoping for ice spiders!
Jack Bauer 24,
That’s awesome! I wasn’t familiar with the Wolfsbane character, but after looking up her powers … she transforms into a wolf? Damn. For Thrones fans, Maisie couldn’t have picked a more appropriate role! For those who love Internet mash-ups, the natural crossover potential is almost too perfect.
On a serious note, it would be amazing if Maisie and Sophie could be reunited on the big screen as part of the same shared universe franchise, and I’m sure no one would love it more than they would! From what the story says, one of Sophie’s X-Men: Apocalypse co-stars (Alexandra Shipp, the new Storm) is rumored to be in Maisie’s New Mutants film already. We can only hope some Thrones-loving producer gets the idea to send Jean Grey that way as well – even if it’s just for a cameo. 🙂
Could you imagine, in that huge White Walker scene they teased for Season 6, Ice Spiders would actually be in it? That would be cool, but I kind of doubt it.
Oooooh, that part. Yeah, that’s witchcraft.
😉
Jack Bauer 24,
Ahem, that name is already taken. By me. Since 1998. OK, so the comic was around in the 80s but… hmmm… Maisie Williams playing basically a werewolf that was strictly raised by a priest…
https://twitter.com/GameOfOwns/status/715694294775046145
Street banners in NYC 🙂
The EW article says (below) that Brienne will interact with characters she hasn’t met before.Does this mean she will spend time with Thoros and Co. in Season 6?
Winter rose,
Sounds like he come back as like a special kind of Wight,
The Real Question is how he comes back, and what will change within him.
Jon Snow, Davos, Mel, the Black fish, Bronn, the Brotherhood with banners, and Theon. that’s my Guess XD I will be one of, or some of, or all of these characters.
I assume Theon is one. Maybe Yara? Dare I hope for
I think that last one was confirmed. I haven’t heard anything about the return of the BWB.
“It’s going to be so satisfying when you see it and you realise that I was telling the truth the whole time.”
I’m kind of surprised he said that. There’s no going back on that statement.
Jack Bauer 24,
Fox just denied the rumor of Maisie joining X-Men. It’s not true.
Jack Bauer 24,
Some of his best acting thus far.
I think there was an ambiguous hint from Paul Kaye. So Thoros might be in. There was also early casting news of characters who fit a darker BwB. I would like Brienne to interact with them. Also, yes, of course she will meet Theon, but I suspect Theon will spend more time with Pod.
Kay,
I would bet on it meaning Jon, Thormund, etc.
(If I were a betting man.)
((Which I’m not.))
(((Because I don’t trust prior probabilities most of the time! 😀 )))
Jack Bauer 24,
But will anybody really hold him to these statements when it is proven wrong? Will people really ask him why did he make such a statement in that particular interview? After his resurrection, he will probably just say that he lied about coming back just to protect the suspense and that’s it. People will be more interested in what will happen in the future than all the statements he made in the past, I guess.
Besides, he is saying that he is telling the truth and we know very well that he was lying in the previous sentence itself. He was not in Belfast for just a month or two, he was there every month from july to dec.
I guess he will keep giving these interviews right until his new play starts. So there will be more of this stuff coming.
Kay,
Also probably
catelyn stark is on this new show too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INtDFn26Tgo
TFT,
Sam, little finger, Varys, Pod, Tyrion are not valiant knights or rapists.
Jack Bauer 24,
And those of us who thought and said he probably wasnt lying were scoffed at. 🙂
Ooooh, I must have missed that Paul Kaye tidbit. I do remember some mention months ago about a band of outlaws & someone named Lachlan being in S6. I just assumed they were different from the BWB. It would be nice to catch up with the BWB.
ghost of winterfell,
BunBunStark,
Yes, the band of outlaws and Lachlan seemed a darker transformation of what used to be the BwB. No idea if Thoros went MIA for a few seasons and may come back to the BwB again this season. Paul Kaye was evasive in a recent interview, suggesting he may be back this season. But he could have also meant that he would be back in a future season – 7 or 8.
He’ll probably just say:
Rygritte,
LOL
Kay,
In the books, it was Brienne who met these characters
, it might be the same on the show as well.
Zeus,
While I don’t agree on the ‘overpowered nutjob’ part, Brienne definitely appeals to me, so good job showrunners, I say! The fact that you’re salty that my preference counts as much as yours makes the whole deal even better. Whine a bit more!
Winter rose,
You people put too much stock in what the cast and crew say during promo campaigns. Again, what else do you expect them to say in the attempt to protect a huge plot twist? There is no other way. They will say whatever they need to garner public attention and keep important things unspoiled. This is what was totally expected. And it’s a normal thing in showbusiness. I never put any stock in the interviews. I don’t even read them. I pay attention to the evidence and what’s logical. People lie and mislead to suit their interests (or in this case the interests of a hit TV show), words mean nothing, evidence cannot be denied. If I have to trust anyone I trust those who have proved reliable and have no ulterior motive behind their statements, see WoTW.
Love Brienne, considerably more then in the books. They didn’t made her a complete fool that she was in the books and more importantly they gave her a story!
Also Gwendoline is amazing. She did an amazing job!
Mr Fixit,
They might not admit, but you are right.
msd,
I will disagree with this until the end of days!!
Ramsey in the books is a joke! A fat, ugly guy with plump worm like lips that likes to see a 12 year old girl be raped by dogs(there was no ”outrage” here tough) . He is a joke that I could never take serious.
Iwan improved the character considerably, to me at least. He can be a complete sadist, as the torture scene with Theon and Sansa’s wedding show. He can be a decent guy, as numerous scene with LF, Walda and Roose show.
But most importantly are his scenes with Roose, where the crazy sadist turns into a little 6 year old boy, who wants his fathers love and approval. This are such great scene also because of the great charisma that’s between Iwan and Roose.(forgot the actors name)
Of course this relationship is also improved by Roose, whose character is also improved by the amazing work his actor does.(In the books he also borderlines on being a joke. From speaking in whispers and the leeches)
Mr Fixit,
Yes you’re right that is absurd, but you know what’s even more absurd, the fairly common trend in which people use male like female characters like Brienne or Arya as primary examples of a strong female character and use them to bash other female characters who do not possess such male features like the warrior aspect for example. Being a Sansa fan myself this is what bothers me the most about this whole strong female characters topic.
I looove Gwendoline´s portrayal of Brienne…there is a certain motherly sweetness to her that is very appealing to me
If we’re going to have to go through the same crap every day until the big reveal I’m going to die from boredom. No new clips, no titles, just scripted interviews to hype up the season and fans going over the same issues which have been done to death already. What fun times.
Can we expect the premiere episode to be spoiled entirely 12 days from now?
phantomstrife,
I don’t think it’ll be spoiled. Though there may be a lot of people online pretending to have spoilers. From what I remember from last year, there weren’t exactly any “spoilers” after the premiers. Just some vague descriptions.
Off-Topic:
Probably not worth a post, but interesting nonetheless. Not that most of us here haven’t gussed that already, but Game of Thrones now costs over $10 million an episode. Some of the stuff in the post are slightly spoilery for season 6.
Jack Bauer 24,
He says that he is dead and is a corpse for a while, both things are true. 😉
Daughter of Winter,
I haven’t read most of the comments yet but would like to say I think you’re right on the mark! Something about the popular mantra “strong female character” has at times rubbed me the wrong way, depending on the context of course. There’s different kinds of strengths within the human spirit. Though female characters who are more passive, or nurturer instead of protector, and don’t go around taking names and kicking asses aren’t exciting enough to sing praises of, that doesn’t mean they should be ridiculed, or shouldn’t exist, as that would be unrealistic. When so many people were berating the way Sansa’s character was written did they really not know that this is how a lot of young ladies are (or would be if under the circumstances?)
Has anyone considered the possibility that the person saving Meera (and Bran presumably), might be Un-Jon?
Ygritte,
Sorry, my friend, he is lying!
Daario’s face looks more like: Oh no no, don’t follow him he’s an idiot. *Hizdahr gets stabbed* Daario: Told you.
If you’re implying that Daario is with the Sons of the Harpy, that would be the dumbest “plot twist” GoT could pull off. Why didn’t he just let her die at Daznak’s Pit? He’s had so many opportunities to kill her, there is not a chance that he’s with the harpies.
“But I don’t ever want to stop playing this part.”
Aww that makes me like Brienne all the more, knowing that the actress is into the character and loves the part. Not like some other people, who’ve gotten lazy lol.
Mihnea,
I fully agree with you regardind Brienne/ Gwendoline and Ramsay/ Iwan!
Connor,
Since you said you’d like more JON SNOW here ya go:
“Jon Snow was a difficult role to cast. We knew from the outset that whichever actor played him would end up carrying a tremendous amount of the story on his shoulders – and we knew it would be heavier as the seasons went on. We needed a young actor who could effectively convey the rich inner life of an emotionally reserved character, which is one of the most difficult things an actor can do. Jon needed intelligence, gravitas, intensity, charisma, and the ability to lighten up effectively without breaking character. Kit had all these things.”
I don’t remember reading this before and I don’t know how old it is but I think the one line kind of does hint at things they are denying. Btw I’m tired of the whole thing myself but sometimes I get a chuckle out of being annoying 🙂
Daughter of Winter,
Brienne and Arya are two of my favourite characters. They are not only “badass”, they still are capable of tender feelings. Brienne is compasionate, even towards strangers (the hanged girls she insists to bury), recognizes “a woman kind of courage” in Catelyn, which she respects a lot and gradually opens towards Jaime, finally falling in love with him. Arya develops a strong friendship with the Hound, befriends Gendry (I daresay there are some budding romantic feelings involved) and Hot Pie, sees Jaqen as her friend and menthor.
I must admit I didn’t like Sansa at all at first, I blamed her for (unwillingly) setting in motion the mechanism which killed Ned. I know, Ned brought it to himself by being sincere with Cersei. But the way Sansa behaved then (she didn’t say “I’m in love with the blonde boy”, she said she wanted to be queen) made me consider her spoiled and imature. Starting with Ned’s beheading I have warmed up with her due to the torments she suffered and imagining how awfull it would be not to trust a soul and being forced to lie all the time just to keep yourself alive and trying to diminish your sufferings. I really liked her when she “played” the monologue which convinced the Vale lords, when she retorts to Ramsay and when she struggled to bring Theon back from the depth of Reek.
I didn’t write these to upset you, I know Sansa’s your favourite, but to ask you to explain to me how you see her and why you like her so much. Please, make me really like Sansa!
Alex G,
I will certainly like Brienne to have blonde children with a talent for swordfighting… but it’s too good to come true.
why are you acting like fans of feminine female characters dont do the same with regards to the more physically “strong” female character’s? always acting as though using “brains” and sex is some how better and more female than using a sword?
phantomstrife,
I hope Brienne is the one who bites the dust this time. She’s killed two of my absolute favourite characters, who I have to admit, were better characters too. And while she may not have actually killed the Hound, I still want her to stop “killing” my bloody favourites!
Dragonmcmx,
Maybe the Harpies doesn’t know about their leader’s identity. They get the leader’s commands in some secret way. I can imagine that. But i’ve never trust Daario and i’m 100% sure he hiding something important about himself. His relationship with Dany must end before Dany goes to Westeros.
Daario told Dany to kill all the Great Masters on that ”big day”, but Dany refused this idea. But still…this is what happened there.
J0nes,
“…. always acting as though using “brains” and sex is some how better and more female than using a sword?”
Hmm, can you give an example where you have seen fans of female characters state that they love the character precisely because of their femininity? (And using brains is not a strictly feminine thing so we’ll focus on your other descriptor.) I see praise all the time for the physically strong ones but I can’t ever remember someone saying for instance “I love Margaery because she’s cool when using her feminine wiles on Tommen” or “Osha is so cool because she used her body to distract Theon, and the promise of sex to dispose of the guard and spirit the boys away.”
Ygritte,
I did say that. Marg and Olenna did a brilliant move by getting Tommen closer to them and putting a big dent in his relation with Cersei.
J0nes,
Wow there, you might want to jump down from your high horse here my friend, i never said something like that in fact the last goddamn thing that i want for sansa is for she to become a seductive figure and seduce people left and right, Also i never said that wielding a sword and being able to handle themselves physically or in other words having manly traits is bad or makes them less feminine. I just pointed out towards a fairly common trend that is annoying as hell and just wrong in my opinion.
Ygritte,
I have all the respect in the world for you Ygritte, you might be the closest person to me in here when it comes to this specific topic.
Edit : And Lulus Mum, i think she’s also with us on this matter haha.
The Mountain came out with his own brand of water. “If you can’t carry, you cant drink. You die.” 😀
Abyss,
Thank you for making me laugh! To see the guy who plays the Mountain as a nice guy is also funny.
Mihnea,
That’s fine, but I just don’t see the female characters being praised as much for their feminine wiles as I have for their strength and badass-ness, like the poster suggested. Besides, I thought the conversation was more about actual personas, as opposed to specific character motivations within the plot.
Shy Lady Dragon,
Good day to you too my lady, first of all you didn’t upset me my dear and remember you’re still among my top 3 favourite persons here in WotW nothing changed haha. Second of all Arya is my third favourite after sansa and jon and she’s a Stark and nothing can change that ( and i consider myself one of the biggest Stark supporters in the world and i’m not joking). Third of all i have a considerable amount of respect for Brienne as a character and i have nothing against her and never said that her male traits represent her not being enough feminine so there is that too. Fourth of all about Sansa and my incredible love and respect for her, Well there is a lot for me to say about it but unfortunately language barrier since I’m not a native speaker won’t let me to go into details about it so let me just say that i find her the most realistic character of the story and also thematically speaking she had the best journey among rest of the characters IMO (there is a lot for why I’m saying this but as noted i won’t go into details). Fifth of all my friend i can’t change your opinion about her after 5 season, there is simply more than enough in the show in regards to her that can help you decide whether you love her or not.
Daughter of Winter,
Thank you Daughter of Winter, I appreciate that. The feeling is mutual 🙂
Ygritte,
It’s my fault then if I have never clearly stated how much I like Lady Olenna, her wisdom, wit and carelessness of what other people think. Of course, she’s a matriarch and a very rich one, she knows she can never be in danger for what she says – remember how she called Cersei a tart! She’s proud, but she has all the reasons to be.
And about Margaery, she had a good teacher in her grandma. The way Margaery managed to exploit Joffrey’s madness to make him like and need her shows great skill, even if one has to notice the difference between her situation and Sansa’s. Sansa is fighting for her life and for avoiding being abused, while Margaery doesn’t have anything else to want but to be “the queen”. Margaery doesn’t even think important to find a loving husband and a good partner. Maybe she would have chosen Tyrion 🙂 But she is smart and cunning enough to recognize another smart and cunning person, I don’t think she would have managed to manipulate him.
You know what disturbs me? Mathematics in general. 🙂 I am ashamed to admit I had C or D all through high school. Same for physics. Maybe I could enroll in some class Wimsey holds for mathematical anti-savants to help me reach scientific enlightenment. (I had A in chemistry! That counts for something, right?)
Daughter of Winter,
Those 3 are my favorites too, in a slightly different order 🙂 .
Shy Lady Dragon,
For me , Sansa is one of the strongest characters in this story. The very fact that she has kept her humanity, her compassion and empathy intact, inspite of all the horrors she has faced, is one of the examples of her inner strength.
Besides, she has had to survive the worst of the situations all by herself, without being able to depend on or trust a single other person. I don’t know if we can say this about any other character. And she has not been given any special abilities to do this, she is just a normal person like all of us.
Sure, she started out naive, with her head full of stories. But that has made her character evolution since then more interesting, I think. That’s why I love her character. I am not a native speaker either and cannot explain better 🙂
Brienne…meh…liked her more in Season 2…the character is boring in the books and show…I hope they make her story more interesting this season.
Abyss,
One of the funniest ads I have seen lately!
Wimsey,
Not really.
Hodor theory by Alt Shift X …:D
Geralt of Rivia,
He was trained all his life to fight with a sword (and we can probably assume with other weapons too). He is a very competent swordsman in the books, no doubt about that. Calling someone a very competent swordsman doesn’t mean that there arn’t hundreds, maybe even thousands that can beat him. Someone who is competent, even very competent, isn’t a master of the craft, he/she just knows what he/she is doing.
ghost of winterfell,
That was a perfect summary of why she’s the best, I’m clapping my hands in glee right now.
Daughter of Winter,
You know, it’s pretty offensive when you talk about Brienne’s ‘male’ traits. Last time we saw her in a bath, she didn’t have a dick… and even if she had, that wouldn’t be conclusive evidence, either.
Please don’t spread around your horrible opinions about how you think a woman should behave, thank you!
Shy Lady Dragon,
I did reply to you in somewhat a lengthy comment in case you didn’t notice my friend.
As I said in a previous post my “unsullied” husband told me after seeing the rider swinging the torch that he bet that were Jon’s uncle. I’m starting to think it could be and if it is that is really going to hype me. I would love to see him back or even see Cold Hands, but I’m not sure that we will.
Twenty three days and twelve hours, but who’s counting?:)
Yaga,
Every single one of the commenters and contributers here can judge my comments in this thread and if any of them find something insulting about anyone or any character of the show among my words then Sue can ban me from the site, dude i mentioned not being a native speaker but even with that in mind i absolutely didn’t insult say Brienne and also when did i gave instructions in regards to how women should behave exactly?
Next time think about your words before hitting that post comment button. (and insulting people like that)
Abyss,
That’s a very good answer. Completely agree.
Daughter of Winter,
Very clever, my winter friend! Indeed, the show makes a good job in making me liking Sansa more and more, I have mentioned above some of the scenes where and when I find myself liking her. And I enjoy her story in the show more than I did while reading the books.
But you said something very important and true: she’s the most realistic character! Seven Hells, I blush when I recall how “mature” I was at 13! And my biggest problems were that I didn’t want to be treated like a child by my parents, the classmate I liked didn’t like me back, I hated Math and I started to study for my entrance exam at a good highschool 🙂
You and me are brothers in arms for the Stark cause
I wear a “Winter is coming!” & direwolf bag almost all the time, and inside I have a small mirror with two wolves, keeping warm to each other in winter. So, even if I have Dragon in my user name, direwolves are precious to me.
ghost of winterfell,
I’m not a native speaker myself, but I wouldn’t have guessed you aren’t one while reading your well articulated explanation. Thank you! You and Daughter of Winter are loyal supporters for your beloved character, Sansa should be proud to have you by her side. Let’s hope season 6 has good things in store for her!
Elizabeth,
We are all counting!
I really hope your husband is right and Benjen returns. I liked him and I was glad Jon had a loving uncle. It bothers me if Benjen’s mystery stays unsolved.
Daughter of Winter,
You called Brienne a ‘male’ character. She’s not male. If you prefer your female characters to be passive, that’s fine – just don’t call passivity ‘feminine’.
Hi guys *waves* yes I’m a Sansa fan too, although not to start off with when she was being a pain in the arse teenager. I was going to try and explain why but ghost of winterfell said it for me really. Perhaps the only thing I would add is that she is still a child in my eyes (although might not be regarded as such in GoT-world) and so I feel more protective of her than I would do if she was an adult. I’m not a fantasy fan at all; I love this story for the normal human interaction and these are the bits where I get really emotionally involved. The more fantastical/supernatural elements just don’t have the same effect on me so I’m not going to care about the people in those bits to the same extent.
O/T: Sky Atlantic showed an updated version (inc S5) of their 20 Greatest GoT moments yesterday but it doesn’t seem to be available online anywhere. Unfortunately I can’t upload it so if it doesn’t appear soon I’ll do a transcript like with the first one. This time the interviewees were Myranda, the Night’s King (spoiler: he doesn’t have horns in real life), Ramsay, Janos Slynt, Tommen, Meryn F Trant, Septa Unella, a couple of journalists, some celebrity fans and probably some other people I’ve forgotten.
Lulus Mum,
Hi, my donkey penguin! *waves* Not even Qyburn managed to achieve a wonderful creature like you!
Thank you in advance for your work for us, it’s highly appreciated.
Funniest mountain ever!
Episode 5 is up on the HBO schedule. It’s 57 minutes long.
Yaga,
So i called Brienne a male after all huh?
I didn’t even read further after this! Good day ser/lady.
Abyss,
I wonder if this number includes the salaries of the actors/actresses or is it just the production costs without their fees. If Blackwater’s cost is up to 8mD how much more money has Hardhome cost, which in my simpleton in these matters eyes had way more VFX than BW?
Yaga,
I’m sorry, I’m confused by part of your statement. You’re saying that even if Brienne was shown to have a dick when she was naked in the bath it wouldn’t be conclusive evidence that she’s a man? But I know you know that only men have penises so….? Even if they performed sex changes in Martin’s world and she had one done, that would at least make her a man physically, and if she wanted a dick badly enough to get surgically altered then it’s a good guess she’s mostly male in her mind as well, hence it would be conclusive evidence no?
Yaga,
Huh?! That is quite harsh. First of all, the commenter clearly stated that English is not his native tongue. So maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt before jumping down his troat like that.
And secondly, I raed „male traits“ as Brienne assuming the role of a swordfighter/knight which is traditionally reserved for males in-universe. Which obviously doesn’t make her less female, but caused identity issues for her in this patriarchal society where traditionally women are supposed to behave differently.
No one told anyone how to behave then or today as far as I understood.
Lulus Mum,
Wow just wow, you and i are like each other a lot Mum, I’m so compelled by GOT because it’s incredibly real despite all the fantasy elements and happening in a fictional world. I mean i’m excited as the next person when it comes to White walkers, dragons and all the other fantasy stuff in the show but by any means those aren’t the highlights not at all, Drama matters to me the most and that shapes with humans and their interactions and stories.
Wimsey,
Wimsey thank you for the laugh…you added it up precisely!
Wylie,
Thank you so much, how he or she can interpret male traits that way (me saying Brienne is not feminine enough or even a male character) is beyond me, specially when you consider the context of discussion.
Turning her into a kingslayer, a hypocrite, and an oathbreaker in one fell swoop. Of course, some around here would argue that because she made any choice at both the end of AFFC and the end of S5, it’s the same story. Nevermind Book Brienne chose honor over love, while TV Brienne chose petty-but-ironically-merciful*-revenge over the very same honor.
……………………..
* She saved Stannis from being flayed, most likely. He’s probably who is burning on that cross in the trailer. If Brienne had not intervened, there is a high chance Ramsay would have attempted to take him alive, and then torture him.
Chad Brick,
Stannis is not on the cross. Silly. Stannis has not a head anymore.
Shy Lady Dragon,
Let us hope together…btw, I lost both parents in my teens one a horrific death, the other halfway around the world from me. I was an only child. I have lost all my family except my children and I lost my husband when they were young and had to carry it all myself…as I have done all my life. Been told I’m very compassionate, people seem to find me funny and caring, but believe me I’m tough. Knock me down I’ll get back up. I’m glad for Sansa’s character changing in Season6, but honestly in those times she didn’t have a lot of choice and it would have been hard to fight back. We can all have our opinions on what a “strong” or “weak” person can be but until you walk in another’s shoes…well, you don’t know how you would be in a similar situation you just THINK you know…believe me I’ve seen it all.
The Red Carpet premiere is on the 10th, so that’s in 10 days.
Shurlock,
Shhh. Chad is still going trough the 7 stages of grief.
Leave him alone to try and reaching acceptance. Most likely when TWOW will come out and his dreams and hopes will be crushed just like countless others where when AFFC and ADWD was released.
Nice! Back to back 59/57 minute episodes 🙂
Have you been watching a different show? What about Ser Loras, the gay knight; or the High Sparrow who is sinister but neither knight nor rapist; or Maester Aemon who was one of the most insightful mentors to Lord Snow; or Prince Doran, who is a subtle leader confined by his gout and grief.
These are not stereotypes, they are characters of depth who add to the spectrum of masculinity portrayed by the show. As there is a spectrum of femininity portrayed as well.
Jack Bauer 24,
Awesome, 57 minutes, Music to my ears.
Off – New interview with Hannah Murray and John Bradley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It_fUnqu3eo
Happy April everyone! Game of Thrones returns THIS month!!!!!!
Thanks! Sounds like baby Sam will have a bigger role.
Agreed, but that wasn’t a premiere coming off multiple cliffhangers.
Some more interviews.
Hannah Murray and John Bradley:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It_fUnqu3eo
Iwan Rheon and Michael McElhatton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEdTHo7qsOA
Heh.
*doing the happy dance* ?
HotPinkLipstick,
Dude, we get it, you’re horny, now stop.
Chad Brick,
She swore an oath to kill Stannis back in season 2, so she’s not an oathbreaker. And I thought we already learned that killing a psychotic king isn’t a bad thing.
So I can get out of my oaths to other people by swearing a contradictory oath to myself? You have an odd concept of honor.
“Why yes, I swore an oath to protect your daughters. But I also swore an oath that I’d have an ice cream sundae today, and I am really hungry!”.
If you have not caught on by now that M,B&W are telling a story about people caught between contradictory vows, beliefs, emotions, etc., then you really are completely missing the story.
Ser Emerson of House Alves,
Nice delay in that response. I delayed mine almost as long.
And if you’d read the posts prior and the posts after, you can clearly discern the objective of my post and see how well it worked. And if you missed it, dude, I can’t help you much with that.
Daughter of Winter,
Wylie,
First of all, English is not my first language, either. Do you see me using this as an excuse? If someone participates in a discussion, the onus is on them to be understood.
Second, Daughter of Winter continues to talk about Brienne’s ‘male traits’. To wit, this is from the post that started the discussion:
‘Yes you’re right that is absurd, but you know what’s even more absurd, the fairly common trend in which people use male like female characters like Brienne or Arya as primary examples of a strong female character and use them to bash other female characters who do not possess such male features like the warrior aspect for example.’
Male-like… male features… It all sounds like Daughter of Winter considers certain traits that Brienne possesses as *objectively* male-like, not as considered as such by the backwards society of Westeros. This *is* pretty offensive – am I, too, male-like, for possessing them? Because that’s a pretty stupid thing to say.
Eurgh, trivial feminist triggering ruins yet another discussion.
It’s. A. Television. Programme.
Elizabeth,
I’m truly sorry for the great losses you had in your life, I hope you are well now and your husband and children bring you happiness.
I can’t say what I would have done in Sansa’s place… I was fortunate enough to encounter no tragedies during my childhood and teen years, I have always had a loving family and friends. I don’t condemn Sansa, maybe only for choosing to trust Cersei instead of Ned back in season 1. I also disliked her behavious then. We all know that she suffered a lot when Ned died and found herself alone among enemies. I don’t see that she could have done something else after that. I pitied her a lot and felt raged towards Joffrey and Cersei: they really enjoyed tormenting her. I think being married to Tyrion would have been a good solution for her in other circumstances; she would have got a loyal husband and enjoy at least a good partnership based on friendship and understanting – Ned and Catelyn didn’t start in a different way. She really seemed to enjoy his company during their stroll a short time after the wedding.
Yaga,
Yaga,
Even if Daughter of Winter considers certain traits that Brienne possesses as *objectively* male-like how is that a bad, or inaccurate thing? I think it is still pretty universally agreed upon. Traditionally, being physically strong and an accomplished fighter IS associated with masculinity. I love Brienne’s character but I can still acknowledge that she has some manly traits. It doesn’t make her any “less” of a woman in my eyes. Her essence is still female. Some gravitate towards the plucky tomboy type and others prefer the delicate, feminine ones. You have to allow people room. Btw I don’t know if you missed my previous post but I wanted to engage in dialogue because I’d like to understand what you meant about the dick in the bathtub— Lol.
YgritTe,
Obviously. The only true ‘male’ trait is ‘considering yourself to be a man’. Traditionally, this was considered to be mediated via having a male body. Obviously, now we know that it has more to do with having a brain that considers itself to be male.
You are actually doing the same thing as Daughter of Winter – saying ‘Some gravitate towards the plucky tomboy type and others prefer the delicate, feminine ones.’. This implies that tomboys are not feminine – you’re denying them their femininity. Say ‘Some gravitate towards the plucky tomboy type and others prefer the delicate, passive/circumspective/indirect/introverted/sensitive/chill-unambitious-and-relaxed-type-B ones.’ and you’re set. Bonus, saying ‘extraverted/introverted’, ‘decisive/indecisive’, ‘self-motivated/communally motivated’ a. really helps set in mind what you actually mean and b. helps elucidate that there are male introverted (or indecisive, or communally motivated, whichever it is you actually mean) characters – and people – as well.
A lot of people didn’t like Sansa. But a lot of people also didn’t like Sam.
I’m probably going to regret wading into this hairsplitting contest, but having grown up a classic tomboy, I totally reject that definition. Being a tomboy does not in any way imply that one is socially outgoing.
When I was a girl I pretty much only played with boys because I found girls’ prescribed play boring. I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do with a doll, and couldn’t bear to sit through a tea party or play dress-up. Though I lacked the strength or coordination to be good at sports, I wanted to run around in the yard with the boys, climbing trees, knocking each other down, acting out war and superhero scenarios. On Sundays my mother insisted that I wear a dress, but I would put jeans on under it so I could go down the block and get dirty with my friends. Everyone I knew defined me as a tomboy.
I am also a classic Type B introvert. I strongly dislike competition and confrontation, have trouble standing up for myself and have been greatly held back in life by my passivity, indecision and tendency to turn anger inward. I am usually content with my own company, absolutely dread parties where I don’t know a lot of people, and too much social stimulation or noise makes me want to crawl into bed and read a book.
As a child I sometimes wondered if I was a boy stuck in a girl’s body, but puberty certainly changed all that. Only men ever interested me sexually. And although I started out young womanhood thinking that I would never marry or have children, because the domestic life of my mother’s generation bored me, motherhood actually turned out to suit me very well; and though it hasn’t always been easy, I found ways to juggle it with a career. Being uninterested in dolls was in no way predictive of a lack of ability to nurture.
The point, I guess, is that there are many, many ways of being, both for women and for men. The problems are with societies that insist on trying to pigeonhole us – a fact that hasn’t changed as much since medieval times as we would like to believe. Maybe we just need to take a hiatus from using the words ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ for a generation or so!
Anyway, I had no use for the airheaded young Sansa, but my respect for the character has steadily grown. Endurance is as valid a form of strength as aggressiveness. But I still identify more with Brienne and Arya (even though I could never, ever kill someone). And I’m very much hoping to spend more time with Sarella/Alleras, who wants a Maester’s learning and won’t take no for an answer just because she’s female!
Dragonmcmx,
Wow, better than what HBO put out. Love how Daenerys is featured. I hope she’s on a lot this season, the reason I watch this show.
Yaga,
I don’t know from which country you are from, but dare I say it, feminism (and reactions to it) takes different forms in different countries.
In my country, we don’t worry so much about depiction of fictional characters but things like equal pay and removing barriers to women’s careers (e.g. provision of affordable, high-quality child care).
My country’s mythology and literature is rife with strong female characters. OK, some pretty, desirable maids, but most female characters are leaders, nurturers, controllers of wealth. They don’t wield swords, the dumb men do (and it always ends badly). In my country’s mythology, as in real life, the women wield the keys. The keys to the granaries and storerooms. They’re in control of the family’s/clan’s resources. Women were in charge of all the livestock except horses, which were a man thing. (Bit like cars nowadays. 😀 )
My grandmother was a tomboy and was glad that the only girls among her many older grandkids (me & my cousin) were also tomboys. But she also imparted some female wisdom to us. The younger female cousins missed out on that because granny died before they got old enough to have that kind of talk with granny.
I grew up in a home where my dad always encouraged and helped my mum in her career, while she still did most of the cooking and cleaning and he did the man-stuff like building and maintaing houses.
I’ve helped dad with the houses, reroofing, and I’d say cooking lunch/dinner/supper is physically easier than reroofing a building. Screwing 783 screws on a sloping, slippery roof. My dad’s or brother’s hips couldn’t take it, so bendy me straddled the roof and nailed the final screws on the top piece. Not bad for someone who suffers from vertigo. Fear of heights that manifests as nausea.
I wield the chainsaw and the log machine, also an axe when we get to the older, drier bits or wood. Mostly, I leave it to my dad and brothers, but even my 73-year old mother splits logs with an axe, so I also have to.
I think people from my country see the TV show GoT quite differently from (US) Americans. I think we’re a bit more relaxed about things. Our TV is a lot less PC and PG than US TV. GoT is HUGE in Spain, and I don’t think they’re worrying about US American problems, they love the passion and unpredictability and naughty things.
If GoT was made for the US American audience, it’d be more self-cencored. I’m glad the showrunners are brave enough to do their thing. It might be controversial in the US and the UK, but lots of other countries just see it as interesting thing, and a maybe comment on UK and US foreign policy.
Firannion,
Heh, and here I thought I made sure that these different adjectives I mentioned – from ‘passive’ to ‘introverted’, from ‘physically inactive’ to ‘indecisive’ to ‘type B’ – denote different things (and none of them denote ‘femininity’). Apparently, I failed.
Brienne is aggressive, decisive, strong-willed, physically strong and skilled; open-minded, confident and loyal. There. Is it really so difficult to describe her without using the words ‘male traits’? (For that matter, I also think that she’s a sensitive introvert, but, hey, that’s me.)
talvikorppi,
Don’t take this against you, but I honestly have no idea what you wanted to say here. I’m not American myself, so…
talvikorppi,
Don’t take this against you, but I honestly have no idea what you wanted to say here. I’m not American myself, so…
No worries. I was just trying to lift the discussion above nationalities or something. And then bring the discussion down to yer own… ehm… nationality.
Ha ha, I’m such a joke.
I think the best thing in life is to laugh at yourself, and teach others to laugh at you.
If you do that, nobody can hurt you.
She’s also, much like a certain illustrious possible male ancestor, “as thick as a castle wall” – or as we say in my country, “not the sharpest tool in the shed/knife in the drawer.” But it would be uncharitable of me to classify that as a male trait.
As to Brienne…
The TV show makes her more badass than she is in the books. In the books, her first kill is at the Whispers, remnants of Bloody Mummers (Vargo Hoat’s sellswords, one of whom chopped off Jaime’s hand) and she’s very shook up about actually killing pepole. In the TV show, she’s more “badass” killer. I’m not sure I like it.
The story is about oaths… conflicting oaths. Brienne is being got through the wringer and her confilcting oaths, and she’ll really understand what Jaime told her, what he went through. What the fuck is honour?
Yaga,
“This implies that tomboys are not feminine – you’re denying them their femininity.”
*Sighs* I’m a “tomboy” myself. I readily admit that I’m not as “feminine” as say, my cousin who wears skirts, heels, and low cut blouses. Not as feminine as my Aunt, who loves to wear perfume and go shopping and buy designer purses and wear different shades of lipstick. Not as feminine as a petite model with delicate features, who bats her eyelashes at the camera. And that’s fine with me because I accept who I am. And if I wanted to feel or be perceived as other than what I normally am I can act/ dress up for the occasion. Feminine imo essentially means “girly.” And why is it offensive to state the obvious? Sansa is more “feminine” than Brienne. But both are beautiful in their own way. Some will prefer one “type” over the other when it comes to relating to or having attraction towards but thankfully not everyone has the same tastes. Discuss sure, but no sense to be upset over subjective things like that. There’s no “right” or “wrong.”
Firannion,
I can totally relate to you there. Paragraph three is how I could describe myself. But on top of that, I think I’m probably afflicted with asperger’s. Never been officially “diagnosed” but it explains so much. At the mild end of the spectrum it’s often times just one or two subtle things that are “off” and it’s frequently the inability to pick up on non-verbal cues ( I still don’t quite get what that MEANS lol), interpreting things too literally (unable to quickly detect sarcasm) and a lack of social confidence. The afflicted can go through life (at least until young adulthood) not being able to put their finger on why they don’t quite “fit in.” For me, there’s a lack of being able to call upon wit and being incapable to banter with ease. This can be very frustrating. To hear it all around you. At work, school, whatever. Being amused and laughing along with it, but not having the ability to reciprocate in kind.