TV Underdogs: Will ‘Game of Thrones’ season 6 give Brienne more story?
It’s the new year, and here at CarterMatt that primarily means one thing: It’s time for a new feature! What we’re going to be doing throughout the month is looking at TV Underdogs, or people who are incredible deserving of far more love and screen time than they have received. These are people with great stories, great performances, and are worthy of a little bit of love.
We felt like with this in mind, there is really no one out there more worthy than Brienne of Tarth of “Game of Thrones” fame. She’s a strong, confident, and loyal woman, and those are three things that almost no other character on the HBO series possesses. Yet, Gwendoline Christie’s air time has felt somewhat under-served the past two seasons, and we certainly don’t think it had anything to do with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” While we know that the show has George R.R. Martin’s source material to follow, there is another of a precedent for detours with this show that they can find a way to add some more meat to her story.
Why she’s an underdog – We still have fond memories of her story with Jaime Lannister, but even without him around she’s still someone who is fascinating to watch. She’s incredibly likable, and while at times her sense of duty and honor may be puzzling, it’s compelling to see someone on TV who still values her word to the great extent that she does. Also, she just killed Stannis! Anyone who takes that guy out is worthy of some sort of raise.
Why she’s being under-served – Mostly, Brienne is a victim (like every other “Game of Thrones” character) of there being around a billion different people on the show. Also, she’s been traveling around with Pod, who (bedroom exploits aside) is probably not on anyone’s list of favorite people from this universe.
Ways to give her more airtime – For one, how about giving her a more magnetic screen partner? Also, involve her more with some power players like a Dany or a Sansa. We know that she had a particular obligation to help the latter, and she could need help now that she and Theon have escaped. Given that she is now on the road and having just killed Stannis, the possibilities for her are relatively endless. Let’s just hope nobody captures her; we’ve had enough torment-the-prisoner stories to last a lifetime.
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