Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime): Knighting Brienne was “an act of love”
By Ariba Bhuvad
Game of Thrones gave us one of the most emotional scenes in its history in the most recent episode, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” Don’t tell me you didn’t grab a box of tissues as Brienne kneeled in front of Jaime so he could knight her. When s**t hits the fan, we will look back to this moment to calm our racing, anxious hearts.
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In an interview with The Wrap, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau broke down the scene and what it means for Jaime and Brienne’s relationship. Did he knight Brienne because he loves her? Does he just admire her? What’s the deal?
"I mean, it’s clearly a woman that he has enormous admiration for and just a human being that he admires. And we saw a scene earlier [in the episode] where he asks if he can serve under her because he knows she is amazing at what she does and she’s a great warrior and she has all the qualities and is the most deserving of the title of knight of anyone in that world. So I think it’s obviously an act of love."
Yes, an act of love! That is exactly what we wanted to hear! Coster-Waldau wouldn’t say if the pair is properly “in love,” but you’ve gotta save something for the next four episodes, right?
But what prompted Jaime to take this step in the first place? As it ends up, another of Brienne’s admirers is responsible. “And I don’t think he thought of it, but then when you hear Tormund Giantsbane go, ‘Well, why can’t a woman be a knight?’ and then she goes, ‘tradition,’ and he says ‘f–k tradition’ — it kind of, I think that inspires him, that moment.” Tormund is the best, isn’t he?
Brienne isn’t the only person with which Jaime has a complicated relationship these days. What does Jaime make of Bran Stark, who refrained from telling people about one of Jaime’s most horrific acts and who told him that, after the Night King is done, there may not be an “afterwards.” Uh oh.
"Well, Bran can see the past and I think based on all his knowledge, he’s clearly open to the possibility that we won’t prevail, that we won’t win. And I think Jaime obviously thinks this kid is disturbing on many levels, but what he says there is not what you want to hear. It would kinda be nice if he could say, ‘Well, when the battle is over we’ll have a second discussion about this.’ But that’s not what he says, he just says, ‘Listen, you’re probably gonna die. Keep that option open now.’"
Well, should the worst happen, at least Jaime got to spend some quality time with this little brother Tyrion before the end. When characters are dropping like flies during the Battle of Winterfell, think back to the calm moments in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” and try to stay calm. The scene where everyone sits around drinking should do the trick. “Just shooting that sequence we had a great time because it is that silence before the storm and also, in many ways, we’ve all spent a lot of time together so that influenced the scene,” Coster-Waldau said.
"I also think Bryan Cogman, the writer of this episode, he really captured how this could very well be the last time we see all of these characters. And there were so many wonderful surprises. The surprise of Daniel Portman having such an amazing voice. It really was just a special sequence and then [director] David Nutter just capturing it and the balance there, it never becomes too sentimental. It has a sentimental tone about it because you kind of know, ‘We’re probably all going to die tomorrow.’ And that’s not a spoiler, that’s just the truth — we could very well all die. And he captured that beautifully."
Speaking of that battle, Coster-Waldau wouldn’t give any away details, but did say he “I wouldn’t put money on no one being hurt,” which is fun of saying that everyone’s gonna die.
"I can say that shooting, on purely a logistical and technical level, just working with Miguel [Sapochnik], the director [of Episode 803], and what him and the crew came up with and pulled off was breathtaking. And even though it was a tough shoot you were so inspired by going to set and being part of something that was so massive. And I can’t wait to see it, I really cannot wait to see it, because the crew just worked their asses off and I think it will show."
Episode 803, here we come.
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