Brienne and Tormund

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About

Brienne and Tormund, also known as Briemund and Torienne, refers to a shipping theory uniting Game of Thrones characters Brienne of Tarth and Tormund Giantsbane. The theory was spawned by several scenes in which Tormund Giantsbane shows signs of love interest towards Brienne and has prompted numerous memes in the Game of Thrones community.

Origin

On May 15th, 2016, episode four "Book of the Stranger" of season six of HBO-produced fantasy series Game of Thrones premiered.^[1] In one scene of the episode, character Tormund Giantsbane is briefly shown looking in awe at character Brienne of Tarth (shown below, top left). In another scene, Tormund is shown looking at Brienne intently during a meal. In the episode five of the season,^[2] as well as episodes one^[3] and sixth^[4] of season seven and episode two^[5] of season eight of the series, Tormund's interest in Brienne is given further prominence (shown below).

Spread

Following the premiere of the episode "Book of the Stranger", multiple posts highlighting the dynamic between the two characters were posted online. For example, on May 15th, 2016, Twitter user @VictoriaAveyard posted a GIF based on the scene, quoting "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot (shown below).^[6] The post gained over 3,800 retweets and 6,500 likes in three years.

when a girl rides in with a 6 foot frame and Valyrian steel in your face, YOU GET SPRUNG #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/FFitAKkamk
— Victoria Aveyard (@VictoriaAveyard) May 16, 2016

On May 18th, 2016, YouTube^[7] user imperiallimpala reuploaded their since-deleted Tumblr post^[8] with the "My Heart Will Go On" edit of the scenes. The video gained over 235,000 views in three years.

The trope has since gained significant popularity in the Game of Thrones fandom, with each episode featuring scenes with the two characters together spawning follow-up memes. Some examples reference Brienne's affection for character Jamie Lannister, a shipping theory known as Braimie, getting in the way of her potential relationship with Tormund.^[9]

Several news outlets covered the dynamic between the characters and related memes, including articles by Time,^[10] Insider^[11] and UPROXX.^[12]