Doubt is formidable foe for 'Thrones' warrior Brienne

Brienne of Tarth is neither a knight nor a lady, in the titled sense, but the Game of Thrones character would bring honor to both groups.

The tall, blond, amored protector cannot be a knight because she is a woman, even though she is a dominant fighter motivated by a sense of duty.

"That's the glorious irony of the character," says Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne on HBO's fifth-season drama (Sunday, 9 p.m. ET/PT). "It shows up so much about our modern world in the gender inequality that we still experience."

The character rejects traditional notions of sex roles.

"Brienne of Tarth has always said, 'I'm no lady,' and she is the one female character that doesn't subscribe to conventions of femininity at all," Christie says. "I think people are unexpectedly on the side of Brienne. Maybe they get to look at the world through her eyes, a different set of eyes."

The 6-foot-plus native of England says she receives thanks from women for the portrayal of an unorthodox but noble character.

"I've been very touched. A lot of women come up to me and say thank you, as to the character, for representing a woman that feels outside of what is deemed attractive in society for women," she says. "It is a great honor to see a woman on television, very tall and not conventionally attractive, who works hard and struggles with herself but does her best to be honest."

It doesn't hurt that Brienne can hold her own in a fight, as she did in vanquishing the formidable Sandor "The Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann) at the end of Season 4. Although viewers didn't see The Hound actually die, Christie doesn't question her character's potency in battle.

"Surely, Brienne killed him," she says, laughing.

Although Brienne won the battle, she lost regarding her larger goal, finding and protecting the Stark daughters, when The Hound's reluctant companion, Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), left on her own after the fight.

"It's devastating. She feels she has failed" in her promise to the girls' mother, Catelyn Stark, Christie says. The fighter, traveling with self-styled squire Podrick (Daniel Portman), also feels she has failed "something greater, which is the bond of two women and restoring power to women who have been set adrift and are at risk and vulnerable."

In the aftermath, viewers this season may see a different side to the resolute Brienne, who had formed an unlikely bond with Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), although the two are now geographically far apart.

"We really see the exploration of her character and, what is most shocking, perhaps we see her question herself," Christie says.

Christie, who has upcoming roles in two huge film franchises, The Hunger Games and the even bigger Star Wars, says Brienne has helped her career, as has a more open attitude toward casting.

Thrones "is beloved and, as a consequence, I am very grateful that I seem to be being more accepted within the industry and that people are making more creative, interesting and modern choices with regard to casting," she says.