WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 8.
One of the biggest running jokes on Game of Thrones for the past three seasons has been the Wildling leader Tormund's unrequited love for the valiant knight Brienne of Tarth.
The latest episode of the series put Tormund's obsessive goal to gain Brienne's love to rest as she entered a romantic relationship with Jaime Lannister. Heartbroken, Tormund turned his affections elsewhere before returning North of Winterfell. And while Jaime would ultimately leave Brienne to face his sister in Westeros, Tormound actor Kristofer Hivju has no regrets on how Tormund's love for Brienne went unreciprocated.
"She has never shown him a single centimeter of affection. And Jaime and Brienne have a long story together. So on some level, I can understand her," Hivju admitted in an interview with Vulture. "But when you saw how the episode turned out, you could avoid a lot of crying if you just went with the guy who loves you the most!"
Despite Tormund's love for Brienne and her obvious disgust being one of the few running jokes in the series, Hivju never downplayed how genuine his character's love for Brienne was.
"I have always taken Tormund’s love for Brienne seriously. Yes, he’s in love. No doubt about that," Hivju explained. "Brienne has been mocked all her life because she’s tall, because she’s a warrior, because she’s different. And I didn’t want there to be any irony in that. Tormund doesn’t ironize. For him, she’s perfect because in the North, women should be the warriors, you know? That’s a value in the North to be strong and tall and skillful with the sword. So even though it’s been a joke, Tormund’s love has always been real."
Airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO, Game of Thrones stars Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister, Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark and Kit Harington as Jon Snow.