Four episodes into season four of the much-loved HBO original drama series "Game of Thrones" -- Joffrey has gotten his just desserts, Sansa was in the clutches of someone who basically presented himself as her protector -- and that's just two of the jaw-dropping events that will make this season delicious and horrifying.
"There's explosion after explosion after explosion," according to Gwendoline Christie, who plays the warrior Brienne of Tarth, in the phenomenon that is the HBO fantasy-drama series based on the books by George R.R. Martin. The series is full of action, adventure and ambition.
Prior to the start of the season, Christie said she set aside two days to read the scripts because she was excited to see what the writers were going to do, especially after season three.
"I found it jaw dropping," she said of this season's scripts. "I would be reading it, and I would get to a point and put the script down and say 'Oh my good Lord, they haven't done that'." As they head into this weekend's fifth episode of the 12-week season, she said fans will have many jaw-dropping moments to anticipate.
Encouraged by the Red Wedding slaughter in Riverlands, which eliminated many of their Stark enemies, the Lannisters maintained the Iron Throne intact, but the question that arose was whether they would survive their egos, with the increasing threats from the North, South and East. While a determined Stannis Baratheon continued rebuilding his army in Dragonstone, a more immediate threat arrived from the South: the Lannister-loathing "Red Vier of Dorne", Oberyn Martell, played by newcomer Pedro Pascal. He arrived at King's Landing to attend Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell's wedding, and with a hidden agenda.
In the North, the depleted Night's Watch seemed overmatched against the unstoppable advances of Mance Rayder's army of wildlings, which in turn was being trailed by an even more formidable "enemy" the White Walkers. Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen, accompanied by her menacing trip of dragons and army of Unsullied, and was on the verge of releasing Meereen, the largest city of Slaver's Bay, which ultimately could provide enough boats to sail to Westeros and reclaim the Iron Throne.
"What we've had in the previous seasons of 'Game of Thrones 'is we've had a slow build, and then a climax. That's what we've established as the format for the 'Game of Thrones' series. And we have different characters that you wouldn't expect put in situations that you wouldn't expect, and then all sorts of weird and wonderful consequences. What [fans have] seen so far is nothing compared to what's going to happen," said Christie.
Impression
The actress who stands an imposing six feet, four inches makes an impression when you first meet her. Out of makeup from her loyal character, you may not even know who she is. She's drop-dead gorgeous. The Brienne of Tarth you see on television looks nothing like Gwendoline Christie. And that thrills her.
"What I love in acting is transformation. And I love that kind of opportunity to transform into someone else. I also love that people are watching the entertainment that you're in and are lost in the story," she said.
"I was quite girly in a traditional sense, and so it was very new to play that kind of character and to look that way, and now I love it, because it's just different. She's just a different kind of woman and I celebrate that she's a woman who is doing the best she can with what she has," said Christie.
Brienne of Tarth is a character who is loyal, but is still an enigma. Fans are left to wonder whether she wants to get with Jamie. According to Christie, Brienne of Tarth is quite happy where she is. From the actress' perspective, the character she plays is an unconventional woman who is carving out her own path -- she's a female knight where there are no other female knights, and doing what she has to do to get her work done -- work Christie said her character loves.
"The reason I love that relationship between Jamie and Brienne is because it feels new to me," said Christie. "It feels new to have a relationship between a man and a woman that is so dynamic and so powerful, but is based on a begrudging, mutual respect."
As for Christie, she said the uniqueness of the Brienne of Tarth character makes it almost impossible for her to look at the character and see anything of herself in it. But she said she admires that Brienne of Tarth has the best of intentions.
"I admire that she is very single-minded about achieving her goal [protecting her king]. She's not self-serving."
With season five and six of "Game of Thrones" already renewed, Christie said
her imagination is simply not as good as George R.R. Martin's, so she does not know what to visualize, but that she can't wait for the next lot of scripts to see what happens -- from a series that says every man must die.
Nothing is truly good, nothing is truly bad
"What I love about [the 'Game of Thrones'] is that I feel it's so reflective of our world of human experience. I think that as people we'd all like to be at the stage of global consciousness where we can all say 'I'm 100 percent proud of who I am, and I feel really secure in that and I just move forward in my life,' but as human beings I think we're a lot more complex than that. And what I see reflected in 'Game of Thrones' is that complexity. The reason why I love the show so much and why I think it's such brilliant writing is that we see that struggle where nothing is truly good, nothing is truly bad -- it's people doing the best they can. George R.R. Martin has created a female character like so many of the female characters in 'Game of Thrones' that is changing female archetypes in mainstream media. I think we've been given a plethora of characters in 'Game of Thrones' that are unlike the female characters we have seen in our mainstream media to now."
Christie who said she was a fan before landing her role said she does whatever she needs to do to prepare herself for shooting. The fight scenes she said are tough, and that she prepared for them by training many days a week for about three months. Prior to that she said she had never been to the gym.
"I love the show. It's great writing and I'm proud to be a part of that. As an actor I think you're lucky if you're on something that people watch. If you're on something that people like, that's even rarer."
Christie has also come to terms with the fact that any character can be killed off at any time with a show with that has the tagline every man must die.
"Everyone dies. I don't grieve. When I watched the 'Red Wedding' I was deeply affected by that. I have huge affection for [the cast], so as an adult you can detach with some degree of ease, but you're not going to work with them again."
What she finds absolutely exciting about the show is the fan base it has amassed and the fact that people don't spoil the show for each other.
"We're doing an amazing piece of work and what I love is everyone's so dedicated to making it as good as it possibly can be."
When she's not filming "Game of Thrones," Christie describes herself as a boring person who likes going to the cinema and who likes to read.
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