Bronn, everybody’s favorite pragmatic sellsword, reentered the world of Game of Thrones in “The Broken Man,” accompanying Jaime Lannister to the siege of Riverrun. Actor (and singer) Jerome Flynn, who’s played Bronn since Season 1, sat down with The Hollywood Reporter and talked about where Bronn’s head is these days.
Bronn and Jaime are on the precipice of battle—Jaime’s parlay with the Blackfish didn’t go well, and if he wants to carry out his orders from King Tommen, Jaime may need to storm Riverrun. Should that happen, Bronn’s loyalty isn’t ironclad. “As much as may enjoy hanging with Jaime a bit, it’s not because he loves him and wants to serve him,” Flynn said. “I get the feeling that Bronn could find himself in battle and switch if he needed to. If the stakes were right or wrong, he could switch. He is looking after his own back.”
It wouldn’t be the first time Bronn switched sides when the circumstances were right—recall how he passed on helping Tyrion back in Season 4 in favor of letting Cersei set him up in a cushy marriage. That’s a marriage that Jaime took him away from, so maybe Bronn isn’t feeling terribly loyal to the eldest Lannister brother at the moment. He certainly wasn’t interested in hearing more promises from Jaime about how Lannisters always pay their debts.
Apparently, the Lannister brothers just can’t help themselves when it comes to Bronn. They’ve both made a lot of use of him. Flynn explains why:
"I think they both quite like him, you know? He’s funny and manages to bring some lightness to the situation and doesn’t take things too seriously. And he is not a fool. They have respect for him because he doesn’t take shit from them."
If you’ll recall, Jaime said he’d kill Tyrion if the two ever meet again, which might present an awkward choice for Bronn. If it came down to it, whom does Flynn think the sellsword would choose?
"I think it would be very interesting if Bronn stayed as Jaime’s right-hand man, what would he do if he comes up against Tyrion, which he might well do in battle. Just to think…”Could he actually switch?” I think it’s the sort of thing he’d do. I think he’s more in his heart with Tyrion. It’s going to be a very interesting situation in terms of talking and getting them back together again, I don’t think he’ll get the opportunity. I get the feeling."
There’s also the possibility that Bronn, as someone who knows both brothers, could help broker a truce between them. Flynn honestly doesn’t know how such an encounter would go down, but somehow doubts Bronn will get the opportunity to find out. “I get the feeling,” he said.
Flynn also teased what’s on the horizon for Bronn. For example, we know that Brienne and Podrick are on their way to Riverrun, and we saw Brienne talking with Jaime in the trailer for “No One.” Would Bronn be excited to see Pod again?
"Definitely. I think the days of when it was him and Tyrion and Pod, that they fulfilled, I think, in that friendship and brotherhood way that Bronn probably had not really experienced before. I think for him, he’s got very happy memories of those days because he’s fond of those two. They were a good threesome. So most definitely, he would be wanting to make a connection with Pod again."
Hopefully, a happy reunion is in store for those two.
Finally, Flynn dropped a hint as to how the siege at Riverrun might be resolved. This one could constitute SPOILERS, so best look away if you don’t want to know more.
“I think they’re serious. They’re willing to go far,” Flynn said in reference to what Bronn and Jaime are willing to do to break the siege at Riverrun. However, he also added, “I don’t think they’ll need to.”
While all bets are off when it comes to the show, book-readers know that, at least so far as we know, the siege at Riverrun ends peacefully. Is that the direction the show will take? Time will tell.