Last season, the Game of Thrones production took a wild left turn off the path beaten by the books. Jaime Lannister found himself shipped to Dorne, which he doesn’t do in the books. Brienne also went in another direction. Instead of having her aimlessly wander around Westeros in search of the Stark girls, the show brought her into contact with both of them, and both of them refused her help. Brienne then followed Sansa into the North and parked in Wintertown just outside of Winterfell. And there she sat. And sat. And sat.
Well, I certainly didn’t do *this* in the books.
If Brienne fans were frustrated by this lack of development, they weren’t alone. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Gwendoline Christie says everyone was coming up to her and complaining.
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.
But although we’ve seen hints that Brienne will be returning to her sword-wielding badass ways this year, Christie promises us more than just action sequences.
Brienne is so unique and unconventional and so strong, and I love the writing hasn’t allowed her to just rest there. are so terrific about how they develop characters. We see her develop like the way a human being might through life.
As for what to expect in Season 6? Christie isn’t spilling spoilers like some people. Hitting the press trail for Star Wars: The Force Awakens trained her well. It’s all generic stuff about how characters are “coming together.”
"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."
The role of Brienne has been a boon to Christie—she’s provided an atypical look at femininity in a time when more women are stepping up and demanding it in their entertainment. Her reduced role last year was partly why she could portray those sorts of roles in other franchises, such as in The Hunger Games and Star Wars. But don’t worry—she has no intention of abandoning Westeros for full-time work on the silver screen any time soon. “I really am in a position now where I’m very lucky to do other things. But I don’t ever want to stop playing this part.”