Wildling, You Make My Heart Sing: Showrunners Tease Misery For Brienne And Tormund On 'Game Of Thrones'

It may be death that usually lingers on the wind in HBO's Game of Thrones, but there could be love in the air when the fantasy saga returns next month. While Jon Snow sticking rough 'n' ready Ygritte with his pointy end was once our favorite pairings on the show, fans are now shipping Brienne of Tarth and Tormund Giantsbane as star-crossed lovers to last the ages.

You may remember that the duo became a meme-worthy addition to the show when they met at Castle Black in Season 6. Brienne has already told us tragic tales of ridicule from her childhood, but the blonde beauty's heart seemed to flutter as Tormund made goo-goo eyes across a snowy courtyard.

Romance is dead.

With actress #GwendolineChristie standing at an impressive 6'3", the large and in charge warrior woman caught the attention of the reformed Wildling, which caused fandom to coin the name Brimund — because obviously it won't just be the Greyjoy's shipping in Season 7! Basically, we are hoping that Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) will get to show Brienne his "Littlefinger."

However, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner D.B Weiss revealed that the unlikely couple blossomed thanks to improvisation from Hivju:

"There was the episode where they’re all leaving Castle Black together and there’s a shot — it wasn’t scripted at all — of two of them on horseback and she looks at him and he smiles at her. It’s not something you could ever write. It’s just this moment where this guy is creeping out on her and he smiles in a way that makes her very uncomfortable and she just looks away. I saw it 150 times and every time it made me laugh; it’s purely the two of them."

We all know how the show likes to amp up its own de facto motto of "valar morghulis" (all men must die), and we often question whether any of our Westerosi wonders will have a happy ending. With that in mind, David Benioff says that the fan-favorite status of Brimund has tipped one (or both) of them for an early dirt nap:

"It inspires us because we need to kill one of them now because there can’t be a happy ending or any romantic connection on the show. But we’re not going to tell you which one.”

This could obviously just be a joke about the show being a grim take on fire-breathing dragons and ice zombies, but in all seriousness, they probably aren't messing around. The various trailers of Season 7 show Tormund joining Jon Snow on his suicide mission north, and it doesn't look like everyone will be coming back alive. To be honest, I'm impressed that Tormund has managed to stick around for this long.

As for Brienne — well, after a season of lighting candles in windows and rowing into the distance, she looks to be in an equally snowy backdrop. With an approaching army of abominable snowmen, could it be Brienne's time that is running out? Knowing that both characters are favorites among fans of the show, that is a dangerous position for anyone to be in. While it seems splitsville is destined for the girl from Tarth and the bushy blaggard, I guess we will have to go back to shipping Brienne and Jaime won't we?

(Source: EW)