Game of Thrones’ final season delivered a lot of great moments between characters, but the relationship that stood out the most was between Jamie and Brienne. The two faced countless obstacles throughout the series, eventually becoming lovers, if only for a moment. It was heartbreaking to see Jamie leave Brienne for Cersei. But don’t worry. During Con of Thrones 2019, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau revealed he just as saddened by Jamie’s decision.
Coster-Waldau loved the scenes between him and co-star Gwendoline Christie (Brienne) in Season 8, especially when Brienne was knighted. “It’s a beautiful scene,” he said. “Because it’s obviously so much more than her being included as one of the gang… It’s a declaration of love.” Coster-Waldau joked that it took Tormund, “that red-headed hunk of a man,” standing up and saying, “Why not?” for Jamie to realize what had to happen.
Unfortunately, Jamie realized that he couldn’t be with Brienne. There was backlash following their good-bye, with some fans upset that the strong Brienne would cry because a man left her. Coster-Waldau commented that Brienne’s reaction was more complicated than that. Of course Brienne was upset because she loved Jamie. However, it was also because she knows Jamie is a better man than he thinks.
“And that’s her pain… She loves him. She doesn’t want him to leave because she doesn’t want him to die. And it’s a mix because she doesn’t want him to go down to this other woman. But most of all, ‘You’re wrong. You’re better than this. I know you’re better than this. So please.’”
Coster-Waldau admitted that he, like everyone else, was hoping for a happy ending. But that’s not Game of Thrones. The series has never been black and white. “It’s never just good and evil,” he said. “And that’s what we’ve loved about the show from the beginning.”
