Where Did Ser Brienne of Tarth End Up in 'Game of Thrones'?

brienne of tarth season 8
Helen Sloan/HBO
Helen Sloan/HBO

As truncated as things felt in this final Game of Thrones season, some interesting events still transpired: Daenerys Targaryen got merked at the hand of her beau/nephew Jon Snow; Bran Stark, now going by the less-than-flattering title Bran the Broken, became King, with Tyrion Lannister once again taking up the mantel as Hand; and Sansa and Arya both went on to live their Stark lives -- one on a throne, one on a boat -- as the show rode off into the sunset.

But what about Ser Brienne of Tarth? One of the show's most nuanced characters, whom just episodes' prior was knighted by Jaime Lannister before losing her virginity to him in one of the shows more cringe-worthy love scenes, found her story come to an unexpectedly quiet end.

After Tyrion turned the tables on Greyworm, prompting the choosing of a new king instead of being taken by the Unsullied to be killed for treason -- he released Jaime from captivity in secret with the hopes that he'd talk sense in Cersei to end the war, but we all know how that ended up: those still loyal to the Dragon Queen exited stage left. And Jon Snow? He didn't die for his crime. Instead, he was sent to live out all of his days at Castle Black as The Night's Watch with his bro-bro Tormund and direwolf pup, Ghost.

brienne of tarth book of brothers
Helen Sloan/HBO

And as quickly as things seemed like they'd devolve into chaos, order was once again restored with a new lineup instilled to rule in Westeros. Ser Brienne of Tarth, the newly knighted battle-hardy warrior, found her place in the story's final act… writing in a book.

OK, it was not just any book. The Book of Brothers has had a long history on the show, first appearing on the program in the hands of King Joffrey Baratheon as he used it to mock his uncle, Jaime, saying, "Someone forgot to write down all your great deeds.”

"There's still time," was Jaime's reply. And all these episodes later, after her short-term lover decided to die in his sister/lover's arms, Brienne, the newly named Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, upheld the storytelling responsibility that came with the position, and updated The White Book with those "great deeds."

It was Jaime's wishes to be remembered for being more than just the Kingslayer. Unfortunately, though, the lackluster ending for Brienne's character arc was overshadowed by the meme-worthiness of the scene. After all this time, Ser Brienne of Tarth was revealed as Westeros' best blogger -- celebrating all the wonderful things Jaime Lannister did with his life with a trusty pen and paper.

brienne jaime
Helen Sloan/HBO

Of course, with such an ending, it's hard not to wonder how Brienne's story ended in the books. And that's where the real crux of this whole situation lies. Since the HBO series caught up with, and then surpassed, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the simple truth is that the story of Brienne of Tarth, as she exists in the Game of Thrones books, is still ongoing.

While Martin apparently did give some notes to the showrunners regarding certain thoughts of where he'd like the final season to go, it was ultimately D.B. Weiss and David Benioff's decision to place each character exactly where they ended up. But, it's a whole other world in the books.

So, just how will things end for Brienne of Tarth? No clue. Will she appear in his next books in the series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring? Probably. Not only was she just meeting up with Jaime Lannister in 2011's A Dance With Dragons, beginning her mission to rescue Sansa Stark from The Hound, the only female knight in Westeros become such a fan favorite, with the help of Gwendoline Christie's epic performance, we can only assume the answer to that question is a resounding yes.

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Aaron Pruner is a contributor to Thrillist.