Thursday, 28 April 2016

FAKE WESTEROS INTERVIEWS: BRIENNE THE BEAUTY




Continuing our #FakeWesteros special we grab a few more glasses of wine and lemon cakes and interview our very own Brienne of Tarth

How did you get involved with #FakeWesteros? And why did you pick your character?
I joined Twitter right around the same time I started reading ASOIAF in the summer of 2011. After a few months I started seeing different characters pop up - Cersei, the Mountain,  Illyn Payne, Meryn Trant, Victarion Greyjoy. Vic and I got to talking on my personal account and I expressed an interest in getting in on this group. They told me there weren’t a lot of Briennes around and truth be told, I hadn’t gotten to her in the books yet either. After an in-depth 5 minutes of Internet research I decided I liked her and could relate to her to a degree.

What do you love the most about being your character on Twitter?
Mostly seeing the reactions to what happens on the show, and interacting with the fans. 98% of them are wonderful. I’ve talked a few times about how not everyone can relate to being a paranoid Queen in an incestuous relationship, or a 10-year-old serial killer, but everyone can relate to being the butt of a joke and being laughed at. She’s an easy role to slip into because of that.

Favourite character and episode?
My favorite character. I have 2 - Brienne (obviously) and Theon. People say Theon’s awful, he deserves everything he’s gotten, he’s irredeemable. I say he’s got one of the most compelling, tragic character arcs in the entire series and he’s really the only one I’m nervous for. He’s not blameless, not by any stretch of the imagination. He did bad things that do merit punishment But to the people who say he deserves to be mentally and physically tortured, mutilated, and sexually assaulted...what’s wrong with you?

As for favorite episode...before season six I would’ve said the Lion and the Rose, And Now His Watch is Ended, or Watchers on the Wall. Right now, it’s The Red Woman. It’s partially falling action from the season 5 finale, but things are happening that make you cheer. Sansa finally had good things happen. Brienne checked another thing off on her list. We get some questions about Melisandre and her powers. Sure, Jon’s still not alive but that’s ok. I haven’t been this excited for a season..ever, I think.

How has the Twitter community reacted to your character?
I’ve only had one death threat, so I’d say pretty well. LIke any character-based account, reactions depend on what happens in the show. People loved the fights, especially the fight with the Hound and the display with the bear. Some people were very upset when Stannis died, and some were happy because of what he’d done to Shireen. There was also some push back from people when Brienne left her Sansa-watching post which...really, what would you’ve done? Overall the reaction has been good. Brienne is a fan-favourite, and a lot of people are protective of her. I can only hope I’m doing her justice.

Do you have any messages for the people who follow your character?
Thank you for putting up with my non sequiturs, my lapses in and out of character, my sometimes incoherent postings. There would be little point in this account and character if I didn’t have the followers I do. I know I don’t always respond, but I do read every single reply or mention that I get.

How do you feel about the Season Six opening episode? And what do you predict for your favourite character this year?
The Season Six opening episode actually filled me with glee. There are storylines I can’t wait to see play out, we’re going to see characters we’ve either not seen before, or haven’t seen for a long while, and things are ramping up. There are only a few seasons left, if that, and it’s going to be a Hell of a ride right up until the end, when it’s revealed that Westeros really DOES exist in the eye of a blue-eyed giant named Macumber, and he blinks. As for what I predict for Brienne...she’s saved Sansa.
She’s avenged Renly (yes, Stannis is dead). I think she’s going to be given a mission to either take back Riverrun for the Tullys or to find Arya. We know she’ll see Jaime again. I’m hoping she meets the Hound again. I’m good, good friends with a Twitter Hound and we joke about it constantly. I also think, unfortunately, she’s going to have to kill Jaime or he’s going to have to kill her. Maybe not this season, but it’s coming.

You missed the burning candle but finally tracked down Sansa Stark and saved her with extreme amounts of gratuitous violence. How do you feel?
I feel like saying it’s about damn time something worked out for the better. If I had stayed and rescued Sansa, I’d have missed Stannis and would never have forgiven myself. If Sansa had been recaptured by the Bolton’s I would never have forgiven myself for what they’d do to her. It was a situation where someone would have to be the loser. I decided otherwise. I kept my oaths.

Pod has clearly spent the last nine months training with you. Any workout tips?
Warming up is important, but don’t forget to cool down. Your muscles are more limber after you work out and are easier to stretch. When you’re about to kill a man, be sure to let out a guttural scream of some sort, and aim for the neck if you can. Also stay hydrated.

Now that Sansa has finally accepted you into her service… Belated celebratory dance?
Pod and I actually killed many hours in Winter’s Town having two-person dance parties. He’s quite the beatboxer. For now, we’re holding off on dances until we’re a bit further away from Winterfell.

Where do you see your small posse heading next?
The Wall, maybe. Jon’s technically up there and he’d help Sansa. Maybe Bear Island. They’re matriarchal and would be willing to at least hear Sansa out. There’s always the Last Hearth because the Umbers would never, ever betray the Starks and side with the Boltons.
Never.
There’s also the question of Theon. It’s doubtful he’s safe in the North after that whole Winterfell fiasco. He’d be better off somewhere else. Anywhere else.

Do you think you’ll survive or sacrifice yourself somehow?
We’re all marked for death, one way or another.

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