There is no tier like the Jaime Lannister Tier of Twincest, Child-Crippling and Westeros-Trolling. There is only the Jaime Lannister Tier of Twincest, Child-Crippling and Westeros-Trolling.
Nothing much to say about this tier, aside from the usual stuff: actors on this tier are all exceedingly good, but miss out on the top spot simply by virtue of me liking the top 3 more. Please also note that this tier and the next one are actually fairly close to one another. Only #1 supporting really gets away from the pack, IMO. That said, who better to start the Jaime Lannister tier than...
8. Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth)
If you scroll the main topic back to my reactions on EP3, you might notice that my original reaction to Christie was “Dayum Brienne!!” Or something to that effect. I might have forgotten an exclamation mark or two.
That said, I fully consider this to be a thankless role. I don’t exactly like or hate Brienne either way in the books – I like the idea behind this character, but I still don’t really care for her. She’s complex and believable, sure, but she doesn’t really evolve in a particularly compelling way. Given that she’s not shown to be prone to complex emotions or deeply-ingrained character flaws, it’s hard to really make this character stand out (aside from being 7-feet tall, that is).
Well, Christie decided to spit on my misgivings about the character and turned out one hell of a performance! If I had to qualify her performance and take on the character, I’d say ‘force of nature.’ She brings so much energy to the role it’s absurd. Whether she’s fighting Loras on the tourney ground, acting distant and awkward around Catelyn or just slipping into rage when her king is killed, she’s brimming with strength and brutish force.
A lot of it is on the body language. Rewatch a few scenes if you would – namely the end of the tourney scene, after Renly has walked away to his tent and Catelyn is left with Brienne. See how she walks. That’s either a man, or a woman who’s very, very uncomfortable in her own skin. She raises a chin and never really lowers her head to look at Catelyn directly – normally, that’d just scream “arrogance.” Not with Christie, though; I don’t know what she does exactly (probably the awkward walk), but she projects lack of confidence instead. With just the way she walks and looks. That’s seriously impressive.
I could list many more examples than this throw-off scene, but I think that one set the tone rather well. I seriously cannot see how that woman would be anyone else than Brienne (I sometimes have trouble remembering that she’s actually played by an actress, instead of living and breathing on her own).
I might as well use this write-up to give a kudo to the makeup crew. That is some seriously amazing job.
Best scene: Renly’s death and the aftermath. Brienne absolutely loses her ****, basically turning into a wild animal, and Christie has that pegged down perfectly (never making it look forced - which happens so often when characters BSOD). That couldn’t have been easy for her.
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When you have nothing to say, quote yourself ~ Solfadore