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.

Muse: Absolution (2003)

 

Of all the albums I own, it’s hard to beat Muse in terms of coolness factor.  This British alternative band creates some of the finest hooks I’ve ever heard, and I’ll confess to doing some incredibly nerdy vehicular rocking out at stop lights when I’m listening to Muse in the car.  I have four of their albums, and Absolution remains my favorite. 

 

Muse’s fourth studio release, Absolution offers up bombastic rock numbers that hit the listener like tidal waves.  Later albums experiment more with their style, but here, it’s just good old-fashioned alternative.  The riffs are grungy, the grooves are irresistible, and the bass lines recalibrate your heartbeat. 

 

“Time Is Running Out,” a single from this album, was my introduction to Muse.  I saw the music video on TV years ago, after my family first got cable and I spent many afternoons glued to Fuse (having quickly realized that MTV and VH1 weren’t places to go for music.)  The song’s driving beats and incredible bass line reeled me in, and I was immediately intrigued by Matt Bellamy’s emotive rock vocals.  It’s still a favorite of mine; the ramp up to the chorus is just divine.

 

When I got the CD, I discovered that “Time Is Running Out” is only one of the many excellent rock tunes on the album.  The guitar riffs in “Stockholm Syndrome” are relentless and dirty, and I dig the frantic energy of “The Smallprint.”  I’m also a huge fan of the final chorus in “Hysteria”:  “And I want you now - / I want you now. / I feel my heart implode. / And I’m breaking out, / Escaping now, / Feeling my faith erode.”  “Apocalypse Please” is a bit different in that its dominant instrument is the piano, but its rhythm is no less intense.

 

In general, I feel the slower, quieter songs aren’t as successful as the harder numbers.  These are the songs I’m most likely to skip, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing worthwhile here.  “Blackout” has some fantastic lyrics – I especially like “This love’s too good to last, / And I’m too old to dream” – and I like the dreaminess of “Sing for Absolution.”

 

I have enormous admiration for the melodies and instrumental work on this album, but I have to talk a little about the vocals as well.  I think Matt Bellamy’s voice is fairly unique.  He has a great rock sound, and emotionally, there’s an almost-reckless desperation to his singing that really pulls you in. 

 

*         *         *

 

In other news, I was giving Brienne the side-eye for her treatment of Podrick on last night’s Game of Thrones.  I don’t mind her being a little standoffish and annoyed with him, since she didn’t want a squire in the first place, and Podrick’s employment with Tyrion obviously didn’t prepare him for serving Brienne.  However, he definitely has a point about keeping their mission discreet, and just because things worked out with Hotpie, that doesn’t mean he’s not right.  I didn’t like her smug “I’m sorry, you were saying?” look, and I hope her dismissal of this advice doesn’t come back to bite her; Brienne tends to get in trouble when she assumes other people’s integrity is as unimpeachable as hers.  I’m glad, though, that her begrudging respect for Podrick is growing, and I love that she’s listening to him and accepting his input on other matters.

Relationship Spotlight: Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth (Game of Thrones)

fanpop.com

My favorite parts of any story are generally the characters and the relationships between them.  Over the years, I’ve acquired tons of favorite characters in stories of every medium, along with a lot of favorite fictional relationships.  Here’s a duo I’ve loved almost from the moment they met.

 

Jaime and Brienne first come face-to-face in Game of Thrones’s second season (I haven’t read the books, so this is gonna be strictly TV.)  Jaime has spent most of the year held prisoner by the Stark family’s Northern army, and Mama Stark gives Brienne the task of escorting him on a cross-country trek to exchange him for the captive Stark daughters.  Brienne is to return Jaime to his family, the unscrupulous Lannisters, and bring the girls back to their mother.  Since Mama Stark doesn’t have the go-ahead to actually do this, the North is filled with soldiers thirsty for Lannister blood, and Jaime is contrary by nature, Brienne’s work is cut out from her.

 

Right away, these two brimmed with storytelling potential.  While handsome, charismatic Jaime is the Lannisters’ closest thing to a golden boy, he’s a “man without honor.”  Years ago, he killed “mad” King Aerys, toppling the dynasty and acquiring the name Kingslayer.  By contrast, Brienne is sullen, homely, and, as a female knight, considered an utter freak.  She’s one of the most genuinely good characters on the show; she holds honor and the ideals of knighthood above all.  Watching Brienne brusquely manhandle Jaime as he tries to get under her skin is a riot.

 

But that’s not the end of the story.  Jaime’s infamy comes with his eyes wide open, while Brienne’s principles root in naivety.  On their journey, both characters reveal new complexities.  Brienne’s derision Jaime wanes as he defies her assumptions of him.  Her black-and-white notions jar with the grayness of the world, and that’s strikingly apparent in Jaime.  It’s easy for her to look down on the Kingslayer, but when she hears the story of what really happened that day, she’s forced to reassess her rigid ideas of honor.  Jaime, for his part, has spent years embracing his black reputation, being the treacherous rouge he’s believed to be.  Brienne’s integrity, I think, reminds him of the knight he once was.  His own convictions were eroded long ago, but looking at Brienne, he sees a glint of hope that he could again be more than a villain.

 

It’s an intricate relationship that’s evolved at every step.  Both characters’ view of the other has grown far beyond their initial impression, but the change is slow enough that there’s still lots of drama to be had.  Each challenges the other, and each is most interesting in the other’s company.  I loved Brienne as soon as I clapped eyes on her, but I had almost no interest in Jaime until his storyline intersected with Brienne’s.  Now, he’s one of my favorites, and, not including the Giant! Shocking! Moment! scenes, his scenes with Brienne are my favorites of any episode.

 

I’m not sure if I want the relationship to end up romantic.  For the positives, it’d be nice for Brienne to get some lovin’, I’d appreciate seeing the Hot Guy fall for the Ugly Girl, and of course it’d be way healthier than Jaime’s current romantic entanglement.  Still, their relationship is excellent as is, and I’m not sure they need to change it (like I said, no book knowledge, so I have no spoilers on that front.)  Great friend/ally dynamics have been ruined by romance, and female characters have a tendency to wind up becoming more generic “girlfriend types” instead of the rich characters they were to start with.  I’d hate to see that with Brienne.  I dunno – for now, I’ll just adore them and hope the showrunners keep giving these two nothing but the best.