Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Favorite Characters: Brienne of Tarth (Game of Thrones)

 
Last year, I spent a few months crafting a Brienne costume for Halloween, complete with papier-mâché armor and crocheted chainmail.  The maid of Tarth is just that awesome, and today, I’m going to count the ways.  (Note:  I haven’t read the books, so this post will be based strictly on the show.)
 
We first meet Brienne in season 2, laying an epic beatdown on Loras Tyrell.  Thanks to her father’s support, she’s been well trained and has fine weapons and armor, but her fighting prowess is more than that.  Even in a world of male knights, she cuts an impressive figure (actress Gwendoline Christie is 6’3”) and uses her size to her advantage, barreling fearlessly into her opponents and coming at them with brute force.  Additionally, she has a strong survivor streak and, while she holds the knights’ code of honor and chivalry very dear to her, she doesn’t shy away from scrapping if it’s the best way to protect herself in a fight.
 
(On a side note, I love seeing a tough, can-fight-with-the-boys woman who’s big.  As much as I love Buffy, Black Widow, and their ilk, extremely petite butt-kicking women can wear thin.)
 
I mentioned honor.  Though Brienne repeatedly explains that she’s not actually a knight, she embodies the spirit of knighthood more than any other character in the show.  Those to whom she’s sworn her fealty receive it whole-heartedly, and while she can clean up at a tournament, her real goal is to serve.  After swearing her sword to Catelyn Stark, she treks across the country with Jaime Lannister, the North’s most wanted and grade-A smart-mouth, in order to return him to his family and retrieve Catelyn’s daughters.  It’s a long, harsh, aggravating task, but Brienne doesn’t allow anything to sway her from it, and even when circumstances change dramatically, she still tries to figure out how to fulfill her duty within these new parameters.
 
In addition to her obvious physical strength, Brienne displays strength of character at pretty much every turn.  Just to do what she does within her world requires tremendous fortitude – other knights ridicule her endlessly, and despite her incredible talents on the field, she’s widely known as a freak and a joke.  For her to hold her head up in the face of their taunts, to set out on quests when no one will take her seriously and aid her, and to defy the traditional role of women in her society is amazing.  Even something as small as cutting her hair short and wearing pants is radical in Westeros.
 
This is a woman who’s forged a hard road, one who’s suffered a lot of indignity and cruelty, but who still dedicates herself to doing the right thing.  Her firm convictions are unshakeable; however, that’s not to say she’s inflexibly rigid.  Over the course of the series, she’s learned to reevaluate some of her initial judgments of people.  I’ve already talked about her changing relationship with Jaime, how she’s grown to understand him as more than the Kingslayer.  Now, by the end of season 4, she knows and trusts him well enough to speak to him in confidence, and to confront him if she takes issue with his actions.  Podrick is another character about whom she’s changed her mind, and she’s started to see the value in her squire.  Brienne’s kneejerk tendency to write people off is probably her most problematic quality, so it’s good to see her becoming more and more open seeing the potential in others.

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