[Book Spoilers] Is Brienne Ugly Enough? How was she?

[Jojen]

Of the new female characters this season, I think she left a bigger and more memorable impression on me, at least, in her single scene than either Asha or Mel have so far.

It seems to me that for many of the characters, the emphasis is far less on appearance than on their ability to act, which is more important for a tv show. Tyrion isn't as ugly as he's described in the books, either. There is a lot of hit and miss, though. Cersei, Mel, and Margaery aren't anywhere near as hot as they're supposed to be, but I think Lena Headey has done pretty well in the role so far, and Natalie Dormer did quite well in her brief scenes so far. Can't say the same for either Carice van Houten (Mel) or Gemma Whelan (Asha). Gemma needs to be a little more animated. She only has one expression.

So, yeah. I have no problem with the choice for Brienne. I actually look forward to her future scenes a lot more than most of those others.

[Balefont]

she's FAR from lean, she's not noticably long legged, and her face is not thin.The TV show's Asha is wrong in every sense of her physical description. On top of that, Asha hasn't come off as a fierce, proud, dangerous warrior. Her demeanor has been quiet and subtle so far, and she doesnt seem any kind of physical threat. Absolutely nothing is correct about her from what we've seen in the TV show.

Oh jeez.

Seriously, TV Asha looks like she could handle herself in a fight. She looks every inch an athlete to me. Much more capable of kicking ass than, say, Kate Beckinsale. < rolls eyes >

Other than that, I'll agree to disagree about how they've decided her character (sans the physical appearance deviation) be portrayed for the show.

ETA: Theon was supposed to be dark-haired (and possibly a hottie) too but I'm not going to complain about Alfie Allen because his portroyal is fucking awesome.

PS I have read the books. The first 3 seven times for that matter.

[Ser McGuire]

Impressed by Brienne. A good start at establshing one of my favourite characters from the books.

She came across as a competent and determined fighter, socially awkward and protective of her beloved King Renly.

Physically the actress dominated with her height and size, particularly next to Catelyn Stark. As for her 'ugliness' rating - I don't know. In comparison to how all the other women we see on the show behave, dress and compose themselves, then she definitely sticks out like a sore thumb. If I was one of the men in Westeros, then yeah, I would probably think of her as a freak, and as a woman well acquainted with the branches of the ugly tree.

Great job in casting, makeup and by the actress too :)

Ser McGuire

[Jamie Lannister]

She looks great. She's a nice looking woman out of costume, but she has the gritty "homeliness" down nicely while suited up in Brienne's gear.

I think they're gonna look fantastic together.

This. So much this. They're going to look great together; the size disparity is perfect, and I can tell they'll have synergy already.

[The Bastard of Bolton]

She also has Brienne's breast down perfectly. Just saying.

It's on the net.

[Icehawk]

When I read the book, I never had the feeling that Brienne is extremely ugly. But the actress actually is exactly what I had imagined. Great job.

[Currawong]

Well, whatever some people think of her not-ugly-enough looks, clearly GRRM and the producers had no doubts at all about casting GC. In one of George's more recent interviews he said that when they were lookingto cast the role, there were actresses who came in and 'read for the part' of Brienne, and then GC arrived and she WAS Brienne. If GRRM reckons GC just "is" Brienne, I'm more than happy :D.

[TheDrawback]

She was less ugly than i had immagined but than again i also got that with rorge and tyrion. Loved the shot where she was walking next to Cat showing the difference in size to somewhat 'bulk her up'. Also liked the comment somewhere in this thread telling GC has also read the books so i think she can make the character come to life much more.

Really looking forward to the further developements of Brienne :D

[Dragon greyscale]

Aside from the discussion on the definition of ugliness, I think Brienne's appearance and the various reactions here point to the difficulty of adapting asoiaf for television audiences. Remember, GRRM deliberately uses POV's as a literary strategy. And as has been mentioned by others: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, the problem is that the books describe clear "beholders" with regard to Brienne's looks. Catelyn's view clearly reflects her own ideas on femininity while Jaime's changing views tells us he's falling in love. These writing strategies are restricted to the medium of the novels. In the TV show, the pov on the looks of characters is solely from the viewer. There's no room for nuance and subtlety with regard to appearance.

I don't want to sound pedantic but following this logic, the way we experience GC's appearance (too ugly, too tall etc.) tells us more about ourselves than about GC.

[stormborns]

I was ridiculously happy with Gwen as Brienne; she was prideful, protective of Renly, intelligent and blunt. Really I was very excited to see her and I think that as such a beautiful woman she has managed to 'ugly down' for the part, but still kept such a good character concept *applause*

[stormborns]

When I read the book, I never had the feeling that Brienne is extremely ugly.

Exactly! I think the PoVs we were getting were just a little bit dramatic about it.

[Serbrienne]

Don't think anyone is ugly enough. A little make up magic like Charlize Theron had in Monster could have done the trick. The brief bit I've seen of her on screen I am very pleased with though. Presence and attitude are there. I think she is gonna do an awesome job!

[CrimsonFlush]

I guess they took most of Brienne's ugliness and smacked it on, Asha, wow, is she hideous or what? Must have a hell of a personality to seduce so many men.

[Call me Odie]

I guess they took most of Brienne's ugliness and smacked it on, Asha, wow, is she hideous or what? Must have a hell of a personality to seduce so many men.

From what I have seen so far Asha/What-ever-her-new-name-is she got no personality to talk about.

[True Mortal]

Unattractive but not too ugly. She's good enough. Her size is very close to the mark.

[Lady Lilac]

I never could picture Brienne as too ugly in the first place, so I'm pretty happy with the casting. They nailed the manly looking, awkward and stubborn girl she's supposed to be. She's unattractive enough and I'm happy with that since I was a little worried at first when seeing pictures of the actress.

[Happy Ent]

Remember, GRRM deliberately uses POV's as a literary strategy.

While this it true, it does not pertain to book-Brienne’s ugliness. It’s an established fact, not a gimmick used by GRRM to describe other characters.

Brienne is called “the Beauty” by everybody. There is general agreement about her ugliness among all who meet her. And please remember that she’s remarkably ugly even by the standards of Westeros. Bad hair, bad skin, bad teeth are everywhere. People we consider ordinary or plain by today’s standards would be viewed as great beauties in a medieval society. Make no mistake: book-Brienne is supposed to be really, really ugly.

Tv-Brienne isn’t, and I think it’s fine. She’s very well cast. Few of the TV roles are as ugly as in the books (just think of Tyrion!), and I think it would be hard to watch otherwise.

[Trinket2]

I think Brienne was a great cast. She's large, unattractive and awkward. They did a great job with this one.

[ChromeWeasel]

Aside from the discussion on the definition of ugliness, I think Brienne's appearance and the various reactions here point to the difficulty of adapting asoiaf for television audiences. Remember, GRRM deliberately uses POV's as a literary strategy. And as has been mentioned by others: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thus, the problem is that the books describe clear "beholders" with regard to Brienne's looks. Catelyn's view clearly reflects her own ideas on femininity while Jaime's changing views tells us he's falling in love. These writing strategies are restricted to the medium of the novels. In the TV show, the pov on the looks of characters is solely from the viewer. There's no room for nuance and subtlety with regard to appearance.

I don't want to sound pedantic but following this logic, the way we experience GC's appearance (too ugly, too tall etc.) tells us more about ourselves than about GC.

Actually Catlyn is very practical when it comes to looks. She makes a very big note of that when evaluating the young attractive Frey bride for her brother. The fact that she specifically calls out Brienne as ugly and pitiful shows exactly what it says. Brienne is an ugly woman. This is reiterated universally by anyone with a perspective on Brienne. Her teeth are crooked, she is ungainly, she is extremely un-feminine, her hair is a tangle, her lips are swollen, and so on. The one thing she has going for her are her nice eyes. Other than that, there's nothing pleasant to look at.

In theory, beauty may be in the eye of the beholder. But in reality, people largely agree on looks. People may disagree on who looks better out of two attractive people, but people dont tend to disagree on whether someone is flat-out ugly or not. If you want to pretend that Brienne in the books is really a decent looking or plain looking woman, that's your perogative. But you're going against everything in the text. Not only does nothing support your stance, but every bit of evidence we have goes against what you're saying.

[Free Northman]

Did they use trick photography or is the woman playing Brienne really as big as she appears on screen?

Damn! That's one huge female. She looks more like I imagined Gregor Clegane than Gregor Clegane himself, when walking next to other people in the same scene!