Love the final season of Game of Thrones or hate the final season of Game of Thrones – and we’re not going to relitigate that right now – we can all agree: Gwendoline Christie turned in one of the series’ best performances.

As Brienne of Tarth, who became Ser Brienne of Tarth and, later, head of the Kingsguard, Christie brought her character to life in a series of moving scenes. There were her tender love scenes with Jaime Lannister and, later, his brutal exit. There was her fearless expertise on the battlefield. There was her moment, in the season finale, to rewrite history and put pen to paper on the subject of the true heart of the man she loves.

But Christie’s best scene came early in the season in episode two. In ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’, Brienne kneels before Jaime in a truly moving moment before the Battle of Winterfell. There, in front of an assembled group of men – Game of Thrones gonna Game of Thrones, after all – Brienne is given the one thing that she has always wanted, and yet never voiced out loud for fear of rejection.

Flitting across Christie’s face is a whole epic of emotions, from disbelief all the way through to nervousness, hope, pride and, finally, ecstasy. The joyous smile that Christie grins after she arises as Ser Brienne of Tarth is one of the most pure moments of the whole series. 

What are Christie’s chances? Well, according to the awards show odds website Gold Derby they’re looking good. Though acting nominations for Game of Thrones have usually fallen to the main cast, when it comes to the final series of a beloved television show, the Emmys loves to spread the wealth around.

Christie represents the best chance of all these potential nominees to nab a position in the category, according to Gold Derby. They argue that Christie’s work on ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ comprises the series’s best acting, and that it will be hard to ignore come voting time.

Hopeful though we are that she will get nominated, even if she doesn’t we know that she will walk the red carpet in support of the show. And when she does, we’ll get to bask in yet another one of her iconic red carpet looks. 

Images: HBO, Getty