I prepared for that scene from the second I received the scripts. I went for a long walk after I read the script because I was so incredibly upset by the scene where Jaime leaves, because of the hurt I knew Brienne would feel. As cliché or as soppy as it sounds, you want the best for your character. You don’t like to see them in pain. And I knew how important it would be to inhabit that emotion, and more important, to inhabit that relationship in that moment.

So I prepared lots of different possible outcomes and worked with David Nutter on that, too. He got Nikolaj to say a lot of different things to me, and he got me to say a lot of different things to Nikolaj, so I’m not sure exactly which unscripted comment triggered that reaction. But I think the way I processed it was, the stakes are that Brienne has chosen this sexual experience, and from that, she feels a very deep love. She’s exposed herself, she’s made herself as vulnerable as she possibly could do, and that’s all dissolved. She feels destroyed.

She has probably never experienced that specific kind of rejection before.

It’s extreme, as it is for any of us, the first time we experience rejection from someone we love. And it’s not just that. It’s the dissolving of a relationship that has gone on for years. They’ve seen parts of each other that no one else ever has. So all of that is like a building crushing her down in that moment. It was never just about the sex or the love. It was about the entirety of the relationship being ripped away in that moment.

That was also my last day filming in Belfast on the Winterfell set, and that was deeply emotional as I looked around at the crew. People that I wouldn’t get to see every day anymore. It was painful for me, too. I’ve been incredibly lucky to play this part, and it’s been deeply emotional to come to the end of this journey with a character who has transformed my life. I have thoroughly enjoyed having seven years to explore who a character is, and it’s just quite overwhelming to realize that these are the final throes of your character, and also to see a different side of your character. It’s delightful. It’s surprising. And you’re aware that you need to play the arc incredibly well.

Have you had a much of a chance to see the reaction to Brienne’s final scene? There’s this meme regarding Brienne writing Jaime’s entry in the Kingsguard’s Book of Brothers, and fans have been coming up with alternative versions for what she writes.

I was extremely surprised! My friend [and stylist] Mel Ottenberg has been sending me a few, and another friend has been sending them as well, so I’ve been getting a steady stream of them. I have to admit, I found it a real hoot! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them, particularly people who feel quite a strong reaction in those memes about Jaime Lannister! Especially because I didn’t expect anyone to pay any attention to that scene whatsoever.