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27th Aug 2017

How one small character in Game of Thrones could impact Tormund and Brienne’s romance

Paul Moore

Their great big monsters might just conquer the world.

If you’re not up to date with the latest Game of Thrones episode then do the opposite of Tormund when he sees Brienne, look away.

It all started with one small instruction in a Season 6 script.

“He stares at Brienne because he’s never seen a woman like that before,” was the direction for that particular scene. That’s how the modern day version of Romeo and Juliet started out.

Game of Thrones showrunner David Benioff adds, “we let the actors do what they do,” and by doing so, the iconic romance between a “mad fucker” and “The Big Lady” began.

Beautiful.

Speaking with Newsweek , Gwendoline Christie (Brienne) confirmed this by saying : “It was a throwaway moment in the script but Hivju (Tormund) made the most of it.”

As we all know, this is what true love looks like.

While every Game of Thrones fan knows that happy endings are a rarity in the show, plenty of people are really rooting for these two characters to get together because the ginger wildling that’s ‘kissed by fire’ has quickly become one of the most beloved characters in the show.

Who didn’t love this piece of dialogue with the Hound?

Tormund: I have a beauty waiting for me back in Winterfell… if I ever get back there. Yellow hair, blue eyes, tallest woman you’ve ever seen. Almost as tall as you.
The Hound: Brienne of Tarth.
Tormund: You know her?
The Hound: You’re with Brienne of fucking Tarth.
Tormund: Well, not with her yet. But I see the way she looks at me.
The Hound: How does she look at you? Like, she wants to carve you up and eat your liver?
Tormund: You do know her.
The Hound: We’ve met.
Tormund: I want to make babies with her. Think of them, great big monsters. They’d conquer the world.
The Hound: How did a mad fucker like you live this long?

Certain Game of Throne fans believe that Tormund and Brienne will actually together and it all has to do with the story of arc of one relatively minor character in the series, Alys Karstark.

Those that read the Song of Ice and Fire series will know that the Game of Thrones creators, Benioff and Weiss, have a tendency to move certain plots, storylines and character arcs around while giving nods and dropping small Easter eggs elsewhere.

For example, the inclusion of the Hound as a gravedigger in the first episode of Season 7 was a nice nod to the books.

Elsewhere in the novels, The Golden Company – the mercenary army that Cersei wants to hire to fight Daenerys – feature in a plot line that involves a possibly long-lost Targaryen child, Aegon Targaryen.

Basically, it’s claimed that he’s the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell and that he escaped King’s Landing before The Mountain killed Elia Martell’s children.

The TV show has jettisoned this story arc but elements of it have made their way into the characters of Jon Snow and Jorah Mormont.

In a nutshell, the showrunners are fond of taking elements from one character/story and using them elsewhere.

Like all adaptations, the TV show does take some creative liberties, but as mentioned earlier, there’s hope for Tormund and Brienne’s budding romance and it’s found in Alys Karstark’s story arc.

In case you need a reminder, Alys is now the head of House Karstark after her father turned on House Stark, supported Ramsay Bolton at the Battle of the Bastards and died on the battlefield.

Despite this treachery, Jon let her and Ned Umber keep their ancestral homes.

Alys’ father was also executed for treason by Robb Stark after he decided to murder the captive Willem Lannister and Tion Frey.

In the novels, Alys’ betrothed, Daryn Hornwood, as well as two of her brothers, Eddard and Torrhen, were killed by Jaime Lannister at the Battle of the Whispering Wood.

In A Dance with Dragons, Alys seeks refuge from a forced marriage at the Wall and Jon convinces her to marry a wildling named Sigorn. Basically, Jon wants to legitimise the wildlings and sees this marriage as a positive step forwards.

Essentially, what we have is a noble house in Westeros marrying into the wildlings to create a new house, House Thenn.

It’s similar to Brienne and Tormund’s situation.

Again, it’s worth noting that the Game of Thrones creators might not ‘marry off’ Brienne and Tormund, but some fans are desperately hoping that these two couples have a similar ending.

This being said, we all have this fear.