Brienne will fight [MAJOR SPOILER] this year, according to New Zealand Herald

Gwendoline Christie has made the most of her role as Brienne of Tarth on HBO’s Game of Thrones. The actress has transformed from a relative unknown into a hot-ticket actress with upcoming roles in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II, and Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, and it’s safe to say that her success can be traced back to her portrayal of Brienne.

In an interview with the New Zealand Herald, Christie talked about her time as a gymnast being cut short due to a spinal injury and her lack of experience before landing her breakout role on Game of Thrones. She also discussed Brienne’s basic unattractiveness, and how it’s a good thing that she’s unconventional.

“You have to own it. I’ve never seen my height as being anything other than positive and a unique selling point. And, what can you do? But come to think of it, a couple of times fans have actually been disappointed that I wasn’t taller…I love that she isn’t conventionally attractive so that makes her very unlike female characters we’ve had on television.”

That’s all well and good, but you didn’t come here to read about that. No, you came here for this…

[BEGIN SPOILERS. ABANDON HOPE ALL YE UNSULLIED WHO ENTER HERE]

“Christie can’t say much about what season five brings, though her next combat challenge seems to involve Sandor’s big brother, Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane.”

Yep, that’s right. According to the New Zealand Herald, Brienne will fight The Mountain this season. Of course, this isn’t a direct quote from Christie, and definitely should be taken with a grain of salt, but the mere thought of Brienne facing off against The Mountain that Rides should send fans screaming into fits of rage and/or elation.

If true, this could mess with the popular CleganeBowl fan theory, which holds that Sandor Clegane (The Hound) survived his fight with Brienne (or his crippling battle with an infected wound, in the books) and will eventually go head to head with his brother in a fight to the death. The notion of Brienne fighting the Mountain doesn’t necessarily eliminate this possibility, but would suggest that Brienne is being maneuvered into the Hound’s place. Unfortunately, that implies that the Hound in fact did not survive his epic duel with the Maid of Tarth at the end of Season 4, and that Rory McCann won’t be returning to Game of Thrones. Cleganebowl…so, get un-hype.

That’s distressing, but the prospect of a mano-a-mano between Brienne and the Mountain might just make up for it.

• Published on 04/13/2015 at 12:27 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 1:05 PM CDT