Whose got brainpower? Brienne's got brainpower!
Smarts
“Catelyn watched the riders spread out in a long line. Lord Jason’s men waited to receive them behind rocks and grass and hillocks. A trumpet blast sent the horsemen forward at a ponderous walk, splashing down into the current. For a moment they made a brace show, all bright honor and streaming banners, the sun flashing off the points of their lances.
“Now,” she heard Brienne mutter.
-Catelyn V, A Clash of Kings
(by Rory Phillips at GoGo Picnic)
Intelligence is not something most people in fandom seem to associate with Brienne (or the majority of the female characters for that matter, but alas that is another debate for another day). While there is no denying that Brienne is naïve when it comes to some of the ways of life in Westeros, I think her actual intelligence is largely overlooked. What I blame for this is no fault of Brienne’s, but the structure for A Feast for Crows/A Dance with Dragons. The whole of AFFC Brienne is searching for Sansa, but because we also had Sansa POV chapters in that book we knew there was no way Brienne was going to find her. I think the obviousness of this to the reader is sometimes shoved onto Brienne, and subconsciously we feel like she should realize she is on the wrong track. Since she does not it automatically seems that she is not smart enough to figure it out, despite there being no actual clues for her to find in the text.
There are several instances which prove that Brienne is actually quite smart. When she is with Catelyn she is able to predict the battle between Edmure and the Lannister army which is going on outside Riverrun. Another example which shows she is clever as well as just plain smart is when she drops the rocks on the Tully ship chasing her, Jaime, and Cleos. Both men are totally useless in this situation, Jaime is already thinking about dying with a sword in his hands and Cleos is…well Cleos, and so it is Brienne who comes up with the plan which saves them all. There are plenty of men in the series who are celebrated for their planning or tactical strategizing ability, but I have never seen Brienne considered in the debate at all. It is unfair and biased, and I hope that Brienne is given a chance to show her brains more as the series goes on, but until we get that next installment I hope the intelligence she has already shown becomes more recognized.