Season 6 of Game of Thrones has been pure chaos. Every episode has been delivering big payoffs, reunions, and finally meeting fan speculation and expectations. And because Game of Thrones is currently revolving around territory that has been unexplored in the novelizations, there are also some very unexpected relationships forming. The most hilarious of these new plots is the strange love between Tormund Giantsbane and Brienne of Tarth. Starting two episodes ago, we saw Tormund making serious bedroom eyes at Brienne. Now actor Kristofer Hivju, who plays Tormund, has spoken out regarding what exactly that relationship is:
I don't think Tormund differentiates between love and lust. That's one thing to him. It's one big bowl of nice things to him. It's definitely love-lust at first sight.
There you have it, people. Tormund is mostly trying to get in Brienne’s riding pants, but it could grow into something more significant.
This statement, which comes to us from THR, helps to clarify the Tormund/Brienne relationship for fans. All of the interactions between Brienne and Tormund so far have been wordless, so it’s hard to surmise what is happening in each character’s head. While we still don’t know much about Brienne’s intentions (although she looks thoroughly displeased in her scenes with him), we’ve finally gotten a glimpse into the Wildling’s head.
We first saw the spark between the two warriors three episodes ago, when Sansa and Jon are reading Ramsay’s threatening letter. While chowing down on some funky looking meat, Tormund proceeds to look straight at Brienne- surely signifying his other carnal hunger. And the next episode included a hilarious shot when Sansa, Jon, and company prepared to depart Castle Black and rally Stark loyalists. Right before their departure, the Wildling flashes an incredibly awkward smile at Brienne the beauty, much to her apparent chagrin.
While these two moments serve as a much-needed moment of fun and comedic relief in an otherwise dark and violent series, the potential for Brienne and Tormund to become romantic is quite the big step for both character arcs. For one, Brienne will certainly be able to teach Tormund a thing or two about respecting women. The Wildling ritual for courtship includes the man literally stealing a woman. But with a strong and honorable woman like Brienne, there’s no chance she’s going to allow this to occur. Rather, Tormund may have to assimilate to Westeros culture in order to land the beauty.
A man being truly interested in Brienne is a turning point for her character. The maid of Tarth hasn’t had many positive interactions with suitors, due to her looks. The only man who was ever truly good to her was Renly Baratheon, who we all know wasn’t interested in any woman. While she and Jaime ended up having a bit of chemistry, Jamie is much too involved in his relationship with Cersei to ever truly give the time of day to anyone else. And after all the battling and running around Brienne has done throughout the course of Game of Thrones, she deserves to feel wanted.
Do you ship the Brienne and Tormund relationship? Sound off in the comments below.
Game of Thrones airs Sundays on HBO.
