HBO’s fantasy epic Game of Thrones was a cultural phenomenon that dominated television between 2011 and 2019. Based on George R. R. Martin’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire (which he somehow still hasn’t finished), Game of Thrones has been praised by both critics and audiences worldwide, despite its rocky ending. Game of Thrones is known for its shocking plot twists, epic scope and battle sequences, over-the-top violence, high-quality production, and large, ensemble cast of characters.
One of the show’s most well-known and beloved characters is Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). In a world of corrupt and selfish humans, Brienne is one of the few honorable and noble people that we meet in Westeros. She’s a tall and mighty warrior, who proves her integrity and loyalty time and time again with the swing of her sword — and with her words.
16 “A complication doesn’t release you from your vows.”
Season 4, Episode 1 – “Two Swords”
Brienne’s closest relationship is with fallen knight Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who will pop up in the majority of these quotes. They go from a hateful relationship to one of mutual respect, with the occasional comedic insult sprinkled here and there. At one point, Jaime pledges to find the Stark girls and return them to their home of Winterfell.
When the pair reunite in the season four premiere at King’s Landing, where Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) is currently living, Brienne confronts Jaime about bringing her back to Winterfell. “Sansa Stark is now Sansa Lannister. Bit of a complication,” he tells her, referring to Sansa’s marriage to his brother Tyrion (Peter Dinklage). “A complication doesn’t release you from your vows,” the ever-faithful Brienne reminds him.
15 “The only one that needs protecting is the one who gets in her way.”
Season 7, Episode 7 – “The Dragon and the Wolf”
In season four, Brienne meets one of her toughest opponents in the equally gigantic Sandor Clegane, commonly known as the Hound (Rory McCann). The two warriors get into a vicious brawl over the well-being of Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), who’s traveling with the Hound. The pair reunite years later in the season seven finale, “The Dragon and the Wolf”.
They have an amicable chat about their favorite, little, sociopathic assassin, where Brienne fills in the Hound on Arya’s whereabouts. “Who’s protecting her if you’re here?” the Hound asks in concern. “The only one that needs protecting is the one who gets in her way,” Brienne responds, referring to Arya’s lethal skills. They then exchange the kind of smile that you’d usually find on the face of a proud parent.
14 “You have courage. Not battle courage, perhaps, but, I don’t know… A woman’s kind of courage.”
Season 2, Episode 5 – “The Ghost of Harrenhal”
After the murder of her beloved King Renly (Gethin Anthony), Brienne becomes mentally lost — until Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) basically adopts her and gives her purpose. Impressed by Lady Stark’s fierceness and bravery, Brienne kneels before Catelyn and swears her fealty in the fifth episode of season two, “The Ghost of Harrenhal”. “You have courage. Not battle courage, perhaps, but, I don’t know… a woman’s kind of courage,” she explains before pledging her sword.
13 “Maybe you were as good as people said… Once. Or maybe people just love to overpraise a famous name.”
Season 3, Episode 3 – “Walk of Punishment”
In the season three episode “Walk of Punishment”, Brienne and Jamie have a sword fight. Despite Jamie’s legendary reputation as a knight, Brienne clearly bests him in the duel. And the conversation they have afterward is one of their most memorable chats.
“All my life,” begins Brienne, “I’ve been hearing, ‘Jaime Lannister, what a brilliant swordsman.’ You were slower than I expected. And more predictable.” Naturally, Jamie scoffs at this assessment.” I’ve been sitting in a muddy pen wrapped in chains for the past year.” Brienne, however, remains unimpressed and hits Jamie with this brutal reality check: “Maybe you were as good as people said… once. Or maybe people just love to overpraise a famous name.”
12 “Don’t die for pride when you can fight for your blood .”
Season 6, Episode 8 – “No One”
Season six builds up to the climactic and epic event, the Battle of the Bastards. But before then, in season six’s polarizing eighth episode, “No One,” Brienne tries desperately to recruit additional forces to fight for Sansa in the battle. She goes to Brynden Tully — commonly known as the Blackfish, Sansa’s uncle, and her own flesh and blood — and begs him to aid their cause. But the stubborn Blackfish refuses, choosing instead to remain in the Riverlands and fight off the Lannisters. “Don’t die for pride when you can fight for your blood,” Brienne pleads with him.
11 “He is a man of honor.”
Season 8. Episode 2 – “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
At this point in the story, Brienne is a respected and valued ally of House Stark. When Jaime unexpectedly shows up at their home of Winterfell, after Cersei’s betrayal and refusal to aid them in the battle against the White Walkers, the Starks are rightfully suspicious and doubtful of his intentions. It’s Brienne of Tarth who steps forward and vouches for Jaime in front of everyone.
“He is a man of honor,” she tells Sansa Stark in season eight’s second episode, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”. “He armed me, armored me, and sent me to find you and bring you home, because he’d sworn an oath to your mother.” This is a pivotal moment in Brienne and Jaime’s relationship. She went from judging his past, criticizing his sense of loyalty, and referring to him only as Kingslayer to calling Jamie a man of honor in front of her greatest allies.
10 “There’s another tub!”
Season 3, Episode 4 – “And Now His Watch Is Ended”
Brienne and Jamie are handed over to the despicable Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), who sets them free and treats them to a warm, much-needed bath in season three’s fourth episode, “And Now His Watch Is Ended.” While Brienne is bathing, Jamie bursts in, fully naked, and joins her in the same tub. “There’s another tub!” Brienne shouts in a panic. “This one suits me just fine,” Jamie replies casually. This quote isn’t epic or inspirational like some of the others on this list, but its humor makes it one of Brienne’s best and most memorable lines.
9 “You need trust to have a truce.”
Season 3, Episode 4 – “And Now His Watch Is Ended”
“I’m apologizing. I’m sick of fighting. Let’s call a truce,” Jamie tells Brienne in that same bath tub scene. “You need trust to have a truce,” Brienne responds wisely through gritted teeth. “I trust you,” Jamie assures her in a serious voice. This quote represents a pivotal moment in Brienne and Jamie’s relationship. It’s the catalyst for Jamie finally opening up about his past and telling Brienne the truth about the Mad King’s infamous murder.
8 “You sound like a bloody woman!”
Season 3, Episode 4 – “And Now His Watch Is Ended”
Jaime is one of the most skilled warriors and famous knights in the Seven Kingdoms. It’s a painful and devastating blow when he loses his hand in season three — not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. “I was that hand,” Jamie confesses gloomily in season three’s fourth episode, “And Now His Watch Is Ended.”.
Brienne, however, has no patience for watching Jamie wallow in self-pity. “You coward! One misfortune, and you’re giving up? You have a taste — one taste of the real world, where people have important things taken from them — and you whine and cry and quit. You sound like a bloody woman!” It’s a funny yet brutally honest and hard-hitting speech that knocks Jamie right out of his depressed state.
7 “‘Brienne the beauty’, they called me.”
Season 5, Episode 3 – “High Sparrow”
Another one of Brienne’s closest relationships is with the awesome Podrick Payne (Daniel Portman), who becomes her squire and protégé. Brienne treats him harshly at first, more like a nuisance than a companion. But in season five’s third episode, “High Sparrow,” Brienne gets vulnerable with Pod and tells him a story that not even Jamie could pry of her.
She explains how her father held a ball to find Brienne a potential suitor. “They were toying with me,” she recalls sadly. “’Brienne the Beauty’, they called me. Great joke. And I realized I was the ugliest girl alive.” It may not be the happiest quote, but it reveals a defining moment in Brienne’s past, shaping her into the character that she is now.
6 “Nothing’s more hateful than failing to protect the one you love.”
Season 5, Episode 3 – “High Sparrow”
Brienne continues with her tale, telling Pod how a young Renly shamelessly danced with her at the ball and made her feel better about all the jeering and sniggering. It was this moment when Brienne fell in love with Renly, this moment that put Brienne on the path to swearing her fealty to Renly and becoming a part of his Kingsguard.
But unfortunately, she failed to protect him in season two; Renly was murdered by black magic. “Nothing’s more hateful than failing to protect the one you love.” It’s a regret and trauma that have burdened Brienne ever since, another defining moment for her character.
5 “I, Brienne Of Tarth, sentence you to die. Do you have any last words?”
Season 5, Episode 10 – “Mother’s Mercy”
Ever since Renly’s murder, Brienne vowed revenge on his brother Stannis (Stephen Dillane), believing him to be the hand that guided Renly’s murder. And in the season five finale, “Mother’s Mercy,” Brienne finally gets her long-awaited revenge. She finds Stannis crawling on a battlefield, bloody and beaten.
With justice in her eyes, Brienne readies her sword and declares epically before finally adding Stannis to Game of Thrones’ long list of dead characters: “In the name of Renly of House Baratheon, First of His Name, rightful King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, I, Brienne of Tarth, sentence you to die. Do you have any last words?”
4 “Oh, f*ck loyalty!”
Season 7, Episode 7 – “The Dragon and the Wolf”
In the season seven finale, “The Dragon and the Wolf,” all the major players in Westeros gather at King’s Landing to discuss the approaching threat of the White Walkers and their undead army. Queen Cersei (Lena Headey), of course, refuses to help and storms off. He loyal twin brother, Jaime, follows behind her, but not before Brienne gives him a piece of her mind. “Oh, f*ck loyalty!” she cries. “This goes beyond honor and houses and oaths!”
Brienne is known for her commitment to her oaths and the houses she pledges her allegiance to. So it shocked everyone, especially her old friend Jaime, when she said this. But Brienne’s right; what does an oath matter in the face of impending doom?
3 “I’m no lady.”
Season 2, Episode 3 – “What Is Dead May Never Die”
Season two’s third episode, “What Is Dead May Never Die”, is notable for introducing audiences to Brienne of Tarth. This episode brings us into King Renly’s camp, where he’s watching a friendly tournament. We see a large and imposing armored warrior take down Ser Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones), one of the greatest knights in the Seven Kingdoms. The victor is revealed to be Brienne of Tarth, which wows much of the camp.
A woman warrior, taking down a knight? It can’t be! King Renly, however, embraces Brienne with open arms and appoints her a member of his Kingsguard. “You fought bravely today, Lady Brienne,” Catelyn Stark tells her. “If it please you, Brienne’s enough,” the warrior responds. “I’m no Lady.” Catelyn smiles to herself as Brienne wanders off, recalling a little girl she knows who feels the same exact way. “I’m no Lady” is a line that Brienne repeats several times, a sort of mantra that defines her character and identity throughout the show.
2 “All I ever wanted was to fight for a Lord I believed in. But the good lords are dead and the rest are monsters.”
Season 5, Episode 1 – “The Wars to Come”
Like most characters in Game of Thrones, Brienne has a rough journey that seems to hand her tragedy after tragedy, loss after loss. “All I ever wanted was to fight for a lord I believed in,” she vents to Podrick, defeated, in the season five premiere, “The Wars to Come”. “But the good lords are dead, and the rest are monsters.” And it’s true. This quote speaks to the cruel and unfair ways of Westeros and the many obstacles that Brienne has had to face. Yet despite these challenges, she marches on, committed to the pursuit of honor, justice, and righteousness.
1 “All my life men like you have sneered at me. And all my life I’ve been knocking men like you into the dust.”
Season 2, Episode 8 – “The Prince of Winterfell”
In the beginning of their relationship, Jamie spends a lot of time heckling, criticizing, and poking fun at Brienne. “All my life, men like you have sneered at me,” she retorts calmly in season four. “And all my life I’ve been knocking men like you into the dust.” This isn’t just Brienne’s greatest quote; it’s one of the best quotes in Game of Thrones.
It speaks to the adversity that Brienne has had to overcome, to the resilience and perseverance that make Brienne who she is. Sure, she’s a powerful warrior physically. But she’s also a powerful warrior mentally, her mind as iron clad as her body armor, capable of warding off condescending remarks from her critics and naysayers. And in the end, Brienne of Tarth always proves them wrong and comes out on top.
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