The controversy swirling around last year's Season 5 finale of Game of Thrones was largely focused on the death of Kit Harington's Jon Snow, but there were several other burning questions fans wanted answers to. One of these questions centered on Gwendoline Christie's Brienne of Tarth, and how she would respond to the news of Sansa Stark's (Sophie Turner) escaping Winterfell, after Brienne missed her distress signal. Entertainment Weekly recently caught up with Gwendoline Christie, who spoke about fans' reactions to Brienne's failure, while teasing that she will "burst forth" in Season 6.
"After Season 5, people would come up on the street moaning about why wasn't Brienne doing more. I'd say, 'I'm terribly sorry, I'm not really in charge of that.' I got the scripts for Season 6 and I thought the story was so fantastic. It's really exciting to see Brienne burst forth again."
Ever since her debut on the show, Gwendoline Christie has branched out on the big screen, playing Commander Lyme in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and Captain Phasma in the box office blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The actress will reprise her Captain Phasma role in Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is currently in production. While she's grateful for opportunities on the big screen, she doesn't want to stop playing Brienne. She then adds that women have always told her how important her roles are to them.
"Women talk to me about how Brienne is important to them and they're really happy it illustrates an unconventional side of femininity and womanhood compared to what we're used to seeing. There's a shift in the kind of things people want to see in entertainment, and I hope this breeds in people's minds and we see more different incarnations of women. I really am in a position now where I'm very lucky to do other things. But I don't ever want to stop playing this part."
Last season, Sansa was told that she still has friends in the North, and if she was ever in trouble, to leave a candle burning in Winterfell's Broken Tower, and help would arrive. Brienne spent a good portion of Season 5 waiting for that candle, but, after Podrick (Daniel Portman) told her that Stannis Baratheon's (Stephen Dillane) army was nearby, they both left, just before Sansa lights the candle. Brienne would ultimately kill Stannis, avenging the death of her former master, Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony). When asked more about how Brienne's story takes shape in Season 6, Gwendoline Christie teased that she won't only be using her strength to survive, adding that Brienne will get to meet established character's she's never interacted with before.
"Brienne is so unique and unconventional and so strong, and I love the writing hasn't allowed her to just rest there. [Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss] are so terrific about how they develop characters. We see her develop like the way a human being might through life. So many characters for so long had their isolated storylines and as a fan of this show as well, I've been wanting and dreaming - 'I wonder what it would be like to see this person interact with this other person?' And that's what starts to unfold."
Since very little is known about Season 6, we'll have to wait until the show premieres on Sunday, April 24 at 9 PM ET to see who Brienne will meet for the first time. The last time we saw her, she was killing Stannis, so it's possible she may return to her post overlooking Winterfell, and possibly learn that Sansa has escaped. Do you have any theories about Brienne's plight in Season 6? Chime in with your thoughts below.