176 replies to this topic

[Envie]

Lord Godric, on 15 April 2012 - 10:31 PM, said:

I don't care how ugly she is, that woman is MASSIVE! and is certainly the perfect Brienne.

  Holy CRAP that is a big woman! I'm pretty sure they did some clever camera trickery ... I'm going to have to look up the actress but I don't think she's over 6ft tall like Brienne is...

I like the portrayal so far, she seems perfect. No, her teeth aren't bucked like described in the book, but her hair (straw like and chopped short) as well as a broad manly face seem fitting.

I don't know about anyone else, but when she took her helm off when Renly asked her to approach, I was cheering in my chair!  

[_Oberyn_]

Well most most of the time she seems to stand,walk and talk "like a cow" so perfect

Envie, on 15 April 2012 - 11:24 PM, said:

  Holy CRAP that is a big woman! I'm pretty sure they did some clever camera trickery ... I'm going to have to look up the actress but I don't think she's over 6ft tall like Brienne is...

I think is the people around her that are not very tall.

Edited by _Oberyn_, 15 April 2012 - 11:31 PM.

[Ser Hippie]

The actress is 6'3" if I remember right. I thought she was exactly what I was hoping for.

[Envie]

_Oberyn_, on 15 April 2012 - 11:24 PM, said:

I think is the people around her that are not very tall.

Catelyn Stark must be mighty short then, because when standing next to her, Brienne towered over her by a foot or more!

[Indigocell]

Looks right to me, tall, awkward, powerful.  I believed in her strength while watching her fight Loras, and she's only going to get better since hers is one of the more action heavy roles.

I always found Brienne the most difficult to picture while reading the books, so I'm thankful for Gwendoline's portrayal.  She became a favorite of mine and like the others I can't wait to see the Jaime and Brienne banter.

[Indigocell]

Envie, on 15 April 2012 - 11:43 PM, said:

Catelyn Stark must be mighty short then, because when standing next to her, Brienne towered over her by a foot or more!

6'3" vs 5'5" puts it into perspective.

Edited by Indigocell, 15 April 2012 - 11:44 PM.

[Harle The Handsome]

scurvy, on 15 April 2012 - 09:32 PM, said:

Very good portrayal.  I loved seeing her stride next to Lady Stark.  She was huge.  Very well cast.

That was an excellent use of forced perspective.  It made Cat almost look like a halfling.

Menos Grande, on 15 April 2012 - 09:41 PM, said:

I thought Asha Greyjoy uglier than Brienne in the series... wierd since I was hoping that she was a hottie for all the man that she seduced in the book

I thought that Asha (Yara) should have more angular features, lithe and pointed, much like the iron islands.  The TV character looks too soft to be married to an axe.

For Brienne, I am glad they didn't try to pick someone almost cartoonishly ugly, but made her gait and mannerism rough and ungainly to seem less attractive.

[Envie]

Indigocell, on 15 April 2012 - 11:44 PM, said:

6'3" vs 5'5" puts it into perspective.

Indeed! That's remarkable they found a good actress who is also the required size too. I'm SO looking forward to Brienne's story playing out in the series now she's introduced. She's always been one of my favorite.

GO BRIENNE THE BEAUTY!

[Howdyphillip]

I now have the same crush on Gwendolyn Christie as I had while reading the book Brienne, so I am going to say they nailed the role.

[Morrigan]

Envie, on 15 April 2012 - 11:24 PM, said:

  Holy CRAP that is a big woman! I'm pretty sure they did some clever camera trickery ... I'm going to have to look up the actress but I don't think she's over 6ft tall like Brienne is...

She's 6'3". But I thought she looked even taller than that on-screen. Anyway, I thought her looks AND mannerisms were spot-on. I had my doubts cause I thought the actress was too pretty, but the early screenshots had convinced me that my worries were unfounded, and now I see that she's acting Brienne really nicely too. Great casting job!

Edited by Morrigan, 16 April 2012 - 12:00 AM.

[Frumpus]

They definitely utilized some camera tricks to make Brienne look taller than her actress is. IIRC the book Brienne is supposed to be close to 7 feet tall, so it makes sense for them to employ additional camera tricks.

[James Arryn]

Great, imo.

Only caveat being that in the books her devotion to Renly is written on her face for all to see, in the show it was only written in the script.

But way better overall that I expected.

[TeamDanyArya]

iheartseverus, on 15 April 2012 - 09:44 PM, said:

Lady Stark did a bang-up job of expressionless WTF at the first sight of Brienne unhelmed.  The same non-expression she employed in her encounter with Walder Frey.

I 'felt' for Brienne, the character and the actor.  She is, to the feminine, the same as Tyrion is to the masculine.  Tyrion was supposed to be born tall, muscular, imposing and fierce.  Brienne was supposed to be born feminine, submissive, smaller.  Each has grown up with, and MF-ing DEALT with, their lot in life.  Brienne, you go, girl!

I've never thought of the Brienne and Tyrion in this way but it makese perfect sense. There are a lot of supposed to be's in the series, both books and show, but this was something I never picked up on.

I thought Brienne was great. I loved her armor and I think they did a great job of stating Brienne's devotion. Brienne is trying to embody the romantic notion of a knight and she's the only one who truly does.

[Odendisa]

Indigocell, on 15 April 2012 - 11:44 PM, said:

6'3" vs 5'5" puts it into perspective.

I'm 5'4" and one of my friends is 6'1", we sure look a bit funny together

[CloudFlare]

Brienne's actress is absolutely great in the role, but she's far prettier than book Brienne in my opinion. All of her close shots can't hide that she's an attractive women, even with short hair and a muddy face.

Loved this episode. Staying on Westeros made the story flow much better. I loved the Shae/Sansa switch. They had a weird power struggle going on, which felt natural. I hope we get to see Shae's backstory, from her mannerisms she seems highborn to me.

Edit: I didn't like the changes to the fight between Yoren and his boys and Lorch's. In the book, they were in a small holdfast, so it made sense for them to fight. In the show they were out in the open, and their leader was killed before the fight began. I think they would have yielded very quickly in that situation.

Edited by Scent of Bacon, 16 April 2012 - 01:07 AM.

[Indigocell]

Odendisa, on 16 April 2012 - 12:52 AM, said:

I'm 5'4" and one of my friends is 6'1", we sure look a bit funny together

I'm about 6'2" but most of the people I stand around are relatively tall as well, so I don't feel tall at all!

I'm assuming they take advantage of every trick in the book to make Brienne look taller with high boots and camera perspectives and such.  I think hers would have been one of the most difficult to cast given her unusual appearance, they clearly hit their mark.

[evilknick]

Brienne was never described as being hideous. She is supposed to be large and masculine with a slightly big mouth. It's supposed to be a subtle ugliness that you're supposed to be able to eventually find pretty in some context if you warm up to her. I swear, so many people that talk about this series don't seem to understand subtle appearances, as if attractiveness and ugliness was a binary issue.

[Ser Chuck]

I knew they were going to be spot on with her when I heard how much she impressed at her audition. This is someone who really understands her character having set out to get that specific part. Generally all of the casting has been impressive from the start.

[Lord Ben]

Menos Grande, on 15 April 2012 - 09:41 PM, said:

I thought Asha Greyjoy uglier than Brienne in the series... wierd since I was hoping that she was a hottie for all the man that she seduced in the book

You don't have to be a hottie to seduce men.   For some of us, me for sure, it's far more about attitude than clothing and beauty.   Whoever that actress is has swagger and confidence in spades.   When I look at her I think She doesn't dress up because she doesn't give a shit what I think and doesn't need to prove it to me!   Great casting.

Brienne seemed a bit overdone to me, the scene where she's walking with Caitlyn you could tell they were using camera tricks with her standing in front of her by quite a bit to make her look taller and bigger.   The cheap camera tricks took away a bit for me.

Edited by Lord Ben, 16 April 2012 - 02:28 AM.

[Completely Headless Ned]

She was pretty great. She towered over Catlyn.