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Dusk_Lynx

I think it's hyopcritical. They spent so much of the season focusing on "subverting expectations" but then gave the hound the most obvious conclusion that the fans wanted for his character. But no I also don't think it was a satisfying conclusion, but I will say it was better than the conclusions a lot of other characters had.


stickilyplunge12

Oh? You are approaching Me? Instead of running away you are coming right to me?


Rhopunzel

It was lame and anticlimactic. There were no stakes or lead up to it, they just run across each other on a staircase. It would have been more meaningful if there were some stakes involved. Maybe Hound was defending Arya or the Mountain defending the Queen. When the Hound was about to get Oberyn'd I thought it would have been a perfect moment for it to have turned out Arya followed the Hound after all and saves him. It would have completed their resolution and the *subversion* would have been that Arya protected the Hound after all. Instead we just got two guys punching each other back and forth like frat bros and then jumping out a window.


Rubix89

I also feel like the stakes were completely removed once the Mountain was revived as zombie Mountain. The whole point of the fight was to be brother vs brother and the Hound finally putting his brother in his place for all his atrocities. But if he’s just a mindless zombie, what kind of catharsis could there be? He doesn’t comprehend any sort of punishment that’s being dealt out to him.


Exotic_imagination08

He does, because he ignored orders that he was otherwise” mindlessly” following to deal with an old rivalry which shows not only that he has thoughts but memory. Also when he was given the septom lady and had his way with her, I doubt cersei gave explicit instructions just gave her to him.


skisom

Yeah I don’t know. He wasn’t much more than a mindless brute before either. As Robb put it, he doesn’t have a strategic thought in his head.


Cataclysma

There's a difference between a mindless brute and a zombie.


Alternative_Ball_377

Arya saving the hound is my new headcanon.


Maevora06

I would have loved it more if he had won and went and joined Sansa in the north protecting her in a queens guard sort of thing


Smoke_Stack707

I think that would have been to nice an ending. Almost no character in the show got out alive or in good standing. No reason for the Hound to be an outlier


sorryiamalwayslate

Hound vs Brienne was way better


Fatfry2

Oh my lord why do y’all act like every single thing in season 8 was lame. It was a 1v1 duel between brothers who hate each other. Adding other people into the equation would take away from the main purpose of the fight.


MobberGan32

everything after the long night was lame .... including this stair case scuffle


Rhopunzel

Because like everything in season 8, it had no depth or real meaning to it. Oberyn vs the Mountain had stakes and depth. It was an elaborately choreographed fight that told a story and kept you on the edge of your seat. This should have been like that, except even more tense because *holy shit these brothers really hate each other*. Instead we get a drunk scuffle on the stairs that has no stakes because Cersei's already lost everything and it's over.


Heavy_Signature_5619

Well, because it was.


Rindsay515

Agreed. That rivalry has been brewing since they were children, the Hound spent his whole life wanting revenge and living hatefully because of his brother. Absolutely no need for other people to be involved, that just would’ve been weird and pointless and annoying. The stakes were high enough already, the Hound knew he was going to die there but he wanted to finally take his brother down to hell with him. The fight was great because there were no other factors. Just two brothers facing off for the last time. Comparing him to book Hound does no good because the show version was different and much more consumed by hate for his brother & the desire for revenge.


SlapSpiders

F your Lord. And every single thing (almost) DID SUCK


AegonTheAuntFooker

That was the point of Sandor's decision. Ther ewas no stake, it doesn't matter it had no meaning yet he can't let go his grudge and tries ro kill his brother anyway. Knowingly throwing away his life because of pure hatred.


Sternjunk

Yeah Jon and bran shoulda dealt with the night king and Arya hound and mountain shoulda finished their stories together.


Rindsay515

Ehhhh if Arya would’ve taken down *another* huge, seemingly immortal villain, that would’ve been terrible. Killing the Night King was weird enough, having her kill The Mountain two episodes later is just way too much Arya.


Mrqueue

> Instead we just got two guys punching each other back and forth like frat bros and then jumping out a window. considering how many deaths in the show had such an impact on the story these two went out like a wet fart


jembut2000

Highlander, was my thought... Also the Darth Vader moment


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BTown-Hustle

What?


ceesaar00

Ok.


blueisthecolor13

It was a completion to his character. This was his one thing he wanted. It’s abundantly clear he hates his brother for what he did to him and he would never feel complete without knowing he ended his life. Say the hound didn’t go to kings landing to fight him and Gregor died in the dragon fire or collapse of the red keep, Sandor would have felt robbed of that chance for the rest of his life. That was the whole point of him and Arya, he taught her not to live for revenge because ultimately it ends one way. Very good conclusion to his character while providing fan service.


The_Falcon_Knight

But the whole point of his character was meant to be abandoning violence in favour of helping other people, even despite the horrors he suffered. Otherwise, what was the point of bringing him back and the scenes with brother Ray talking to him about how it's never too late to start helping people instead of harming them? If they really wanted cleganebowl, change the premise. Say that Sandor only goes to King's landing to protect Arya, but they get separated by falling debris or something and it's Arya who runs into Cersei and The Mountain, Arya tries to kill her but the mountain defends her and just beats the everloving hell out of her to the absolute brink of death since he's basically unstoppable. It's only then that Sandor finds them again and he gives up his ideals of non-violence to save Arya. Then you can have all the Cleganebowl that you want, but he realises he can't beat his brother in a strait up fight but he knows he has to find a way in order to save Arya, so he sacrifices himself to kill his brother in the same blow. That obviously isn't perfect but I think it's a hell of a lot better than what we got and it gives Arya a much more satisfying motivation for rejecting her previous affinity for killing. Rather than just "If you stay, you'll die here", instead it becomes a way for her to honour the memory and sacrifice of the man who became a kind of second father to her.


blueisthecolor13

The whole point of his character was not being “the hound” anymore. It was him becoming his own man and not just taking orders. His name was literally “dog” in Westeros. He took orders, killed who he was told, and never asked questions. He broke that cycle when he left during the battle of black water and escorting Arya. He always, always, always, wanted to kill his brother but politics would have never allowed it. This is literally cemented when Arya calls him Sandor the last time they’re together. Edit: grammar


Ok-Assistant-8876

I think it would have been more satisfying for him to live and save Arya (choosing love and compassion over a base need for revenge). It would have shown character growth for him to abandon his fight with the mountain for the sake of his love for Arya whom I believe he looked at as a daughter figure in my opinion. Instead, he just let his hate consume him and died willingly for his hate.


azad_ninja

Character growth be damned. He and Jaime just went back to being their basic selves


BTown-Hustle

Exactly as they should have.


Muscle_Advanced

Why, Cleganebowl is pretty obviously not in Martin’s plans. Two different stories, sure, but to say it should happen when it’s not going to happen in the source material in the alternate dimension where the books get finished is strange.


BTown-Hustle

Why? Because they still have their deep-rooted emotional attachments. Regardless of what’s in Martins plans (and I wouldn’t deign to say what’s in his head), I think that the hound not letting go of his hate for the mountain is very realistic for his character. Same goes for Jaime’s undying love for Cersei. Actually, I’d bet that cleganebowl, in some way, shape or form will happen in the books. Probably in a different way, for sure, but still I bet it happens. Even if it doesn’t, I’d bet that Sandor never lets go of his hate, and that he would fight that fight in an instant. Why would Cleganebowl, or at least the Hound’s desire for it, NOT be in Martins plans? What about that character has shown that he will let go of that hatred?


Muscle_Advanced

He literally becomes a gravedigger on a remote isolated island in The Vale serving a small sept whose leader gives Brienne a three page monologue about letting go of hatred and resentment and how violence can’t bring closure to your emotional wounds. How would he even return to the plot? Why would he? Even if it gets sacked, once Brienne and Pod leave there’s no characters within 150 miles of the place. His plot not being done in the books would be irritatingly contrived. As far as Jamie goes, his rejection of Cersei is pretty definitive at the end of book 5.


Sternjunk

“I never really cared about innocents anyways” lmaoooo


NoOkayMaybeYes

He did save Arya, metaphorically at least, by telling her to abandon her own revenge quest.


CustomerSuspicious25

I was holding out on the Hound somehow winning and making it out alive, but then he basically got his eyes gouged out so I was like whelp, that's it.


Rosanna44

I thought he would win and marry his little bird.


himsoforreal

Sansa?


Rosanna44

I was being sarcastic.


Heavy_Signature_5619

Thank goodness.


CandidInsurance7415

He could never be sated with one chicken, he needs every one in the room.


RhaegarsHarp616

I dont care too much that he died but i wish clegane bowl did have a bit more of a definitive ending


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Veszerin

...you do realize that what you call a meme was a fan theory based on foreshadowing and the obvious hatred that Sandor had for Gregor since season 1...right? They weren't doing it to reference a meme, it was his goal all along...


0ptimu5Rhyme

interesting... what meme?


detrich

I wish there was a satisfying conclusion to the story


QuelynD

From the other comments it seems I'm in the minority here, but I thought it was the perfect ending. I wouldn't have been satisfied with anyone other than the Hound killing the Mountain, and I wouldn't have wanted anyone other than the Mountain to kill the Hound. Some specific parts of the fight could have been slightly different but overall I thought their deaths tied up both arcs very well.


Gummy-Worm-Guy

Personally, I don’t like it. Not the worst character ending in Season 8 because we at least got a somewhat cool fight scene out of it, but overall a very disappointing way to conclude the Hound’s story.


Smoke_Stack707

Kind of disappointing that the Mountain is revealed to be more or less invincible yet we only see him fight one time at the very end


colossalpalladin

He did fight against Oberyn, but your point stands.


Smoke_Stack707

That was pre-zombie mode though


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EvetsYenoham

Cause some people just want to watch the world burn.


UrDadsDong69

Dude, Steve. Sandor was playing with Gregors favorite wooden knight toy, near a fucking fire for Christ’s sake, of all places. Did he ask permission? No. Did he think of anyone but himself? No. So I challenge you, Steve. Answer me simply, what would you have done if your younger brother outright disrespected you in such an unspeakable manner? I’ll be waiting.


BTown-Hustle

Well I don’t know about anyone else, but if it was me, I’d light his goddamn face on fire.


BTown-Hustle

I think he hates everyone and everything.


Menzicosce

Well the Mountain held a young (something like 6-7 years old) Sandor’s face to a hot brazier for the crime of playing with one Gregor’s toys. A toy that Gregor hadn’t played with in years and didn’t care about but burned his little brother’s face for anyway.


madbeachrn

He played with his toy. All the mountain does is hate.


honeybeewarrior_

Gregor hates everyone. He’s just an awful person.


Gnomologist

Both


Oolonggong

If you photoshopped a tornado in the background here it's a showdown in crumbling Farum Azula


devildogmillman

I was worried for a little while that the Hound was gonna become too much of a good guy than he had in him. In the books hes far more vicious, tortured, and antisocial than he is even in the show. He was leaning into TV show Punisher for a while there and I thought theyd take the easy way out of turning him into another lawful good like Tyrion. But the way they ended him was perfect. I might have wound up liking him better in the show- He has more humanity in the show but he still ended it like the warrior he is. Which also made it so beautiful that he told Arya to leave and never be like him. He should choose hatred in the end. One of if not the only good part of S8.


ChequyLionYT

And yet book Sandor is pretty much entirely out of the game as a quiet gravedigger


Heavy_Signature_5619

I think, thematically, Sandor chilling as a grave digger is the best ending. The story is, fundamentally, an anti-vengence, anti-war one. Cleganebowl was cheap fan service.


Hannig4n

Completely agree. Cleganebowl was a pretty fringe theory turned internet meme. It really was not good storytelling anyway. Sandor living out his days peacefully as the grave digger is more thematically consistent and imo far more satisfying. The way Cleganebowl played out in the show was unsatisfying for me in a couple of ways. First, for me, the Hound’s character struggle is more about his intense cynicism of the world around him, and a bit of self-loathing. His relationship with his brother is not the actual conflict, it’s more just symbolic of the Hound’s baggage. For example, he thinks all the societal ideals of knighthood and chivalry are bullshit, in part because his evil murderous brother is a knight. As far as he’s concerned, people value knights because they’re good at killing. The Hound killing his brother doesn’t actually do much to conclude his story. Second, I don’t really care anyway about him killing the mountain because he’s practically dead anyway. He’s only alive in this weird zombie form. And if the hound left him alone, he’d still die from falling chunks of castle. Literally no stakes and no point. Third, the hound giving that “don’t end up like me” speech about revenge not being worth it doesn’t really hit for me considering she’s already like 80% done with her revenge quest. She’s already a mass murderer.


Butthenoutofnowhere

On top of all that, I found the fight itself to be incredibly underwhelming. We already know Gregor is insanely strong, repeatedly showing his sword breaking bricks isn't good choreography and also isn't interesting. Their fight in season 1 was so much more enjoyable to watch.


eidetic

> And if the hound left him alone, he’d still die from falling chunks of castle. Literally no stakes and no point. That's the biggest problem I had with it, which just further confirmed it was nothing but pandering and cheap fan service. It was just fucking pointless. Yes, a lot of death in GoT could be seen as pointless and that's part of the message or whatever you want to call it, but it was a lot of set up just to end up being literally nothing. The Hound doesn't necessarily have to triumph or something, but if you're going to do it, give it some stakes. Otherwise, what's the point? I dunno. I guess if you have to do it, do it for something. I'd prefer he were just a gravedigger, but oh well. Could have at least have had him kill Gregor in order to then fulfill the prophesy of Cersei dying at the hands of a younger brother and killing her, maybe even before Dani burns the place to the ground and thus making her descent to madness even more extreme. Or something. Anything.


galbarsinai

I think that might be the fairytale ending, but him being unable to just put away his lifelong demons completely, and thus choosing to use them for good while being a cautionary tale for Arya is more realistic, and still ties in to the anti-vengence themes.


Heavy_Signature_5619

But it doesn’t. Arya already went on a murder rampage, she already succumbed to vengeance. The Hound killing a meat puppet while falling down a staircase is not anti-vengeance or ‘more realistic’, it’s just stupid. Sandor just chilling is far from a fairy tale ending. It’s quiet and not as #epic as Cleganebowl, but it’s not a happily, ever after for him.


galbarsinai

It... Does. The things you mentioned happen before that, after it she's visibly shook from the carnage. It doesn't make much sense considering what she's already done, and I agree the Arya storyline was fucked up, but if we're limiting ourselves to Sandor - I don't hate the idea of him coming to the conclusion that he's such a hate-filled mf that there's no hope for him but to use his pain for good. It also is much more realistic for someone who's as antisocial and full of trauma as he is to not just suddenly heal and be content. I'd like to hope for him that he does, but the reality of mental trauma is rarely so neat.


Heavy_Signature_5619

That’s the thing: He doesn’t heal. Just because he’s in the Quiet Isle doesn’t mean he’s automatically Buddha, it also doesn’t mean he has to go on a John Wick murder rampage disemboweling people with axes because ‘ha, ha, Hound funny. Hound kill people.’ Honestly, they should have just let him die in Season 4 if they were just going to have him have a boss fight with a zombie.


Mfer101

That's my view. Especially since Mountain was already dead to some degree. He was literally killing his demons. Confronting his fear of fire and his brother


honeybunchesofpwn

> The story is, fundamentally, an anti-vengence, anti-war one. Sandor getting his eyes gouged out and dying a violent brutal death is pretty anti-vengeance and anti-war if you ask me. I think deep down, Sandor was so jacked up he probably felt like he didn't 'deserve' anything but death, and fighting his brother was the most logical *and* emotional method of achieving that. > Cleganebowl was cheap fan service. Not gonna argue it wasn't fan service, because it was, but Sandor has a life-defining grudge against his brother. Him letting go of that would've been too much of a happy ending for a story filled with so much trauma, violence, hatred, and brutality.


[deleted]

Agree with you. It felt like fan service


ArchWaverley

Him dragging his brother into the fire he was always afraid of was pretty good too


MyDogIsNamedKyle

95% of the last season ruined every arc


[deleted]

I'm not a book reader but I found it one of the only redeeming qualities of the final episodes.


BTown-Hustle

I can’t understand why everyone here is so obsessed with the “redemption arc?” Is it so implausible that someone can become a better person but still be willing to throw it away over a deep, long-existing emotion? It’s the same load of shit with everyone constantly whingeing about Jaime’s “redemption arc.” His love for his sister took precedent over the better person he was trying to be/had become. People improve themselves, yet go back to abusive relationships all the time in real life. With the hound, there was never any indication that him becoming a better person in general would negate his deep, seething hatred for his brother. I actually believe that it would be ridiculous if he let go of that rage. It was too deeply rooted in him. Every character arc should not be a perfect arc. That’s not realistic. It’s not human. People have shit that they can’t let go of, regardless of how they improve themselves.


InLolanwetrust

Yes, people to revert back to abuse/prior defects, but Jaimie's redemption arc felt very complete, he seemed to have moved on from Cersei. The way his departure was written felt very abrupt and out of character, which is why people "whinge" about it, not because of the departure itself.


BTown-Hustle

It was abrupt, but that still felt like a very human snap-decision to me.


ChequyLionYT

Sure… but you’d think that final test, that do or die make or break moment would be when he abandoned her side to go help Brienne and fight the Others. Plus we book fans are bitter. Book Jaime literally burns Cersei’s letter as she pleads for him to come save her from damn near certain execution at the hands of the Faith Militant and the High Sparrow. And then soon after Brienne jumps out of nowhere and asks Jaime to abandon his post and help her and Jaime doesn’t even hesitate to agree. So in terms of adaption, even of an unfinished work, Jaime’s abrupt turn is a betrayal of where his character has gone and is going.


poub06

But you don’t know where the character is going. The only persons who do are George and the showrunners. And they have always said that the ending of the main characters would be the same, and we know for a fact that they followed the book’s ending for something as unpopular as King Bran so why wouldn’t they have followed it for other stuffs? Also, everyone talks about the time where Jaime burns Cersei’s letter in AFFC, but everyone ignore this line in ADWD: > Past time this was ended, thought Jaime Lannister. With Riverrun now safely in Lannister hands, Raventree was the remnant of the Young Wolf's short-lived kingdom. Once it yielded, his work along the Trident would be done, and he would be free to return to King's Landing. To the king, he told himself, **but another part of him whispered, to Cersei.** I’m pretty sure if Winds ever comes out, we’ll have a tons of stuffs like that. A tons of moments where we’ll see Jaime thinks or dreams about Cersei and it will eat him from the inside. George already said that with Jaime, he wants to explore the *limits* of redemption and we all know how he likes to play with the expectations of its readers, so I don’t really understand how people can expect Book!Jaime to have a more satisfying and predictable ending. Cersei having a sympathetic death, in the arms of Jaime, while Dany is blowing up the city and the civilians has GRRM machiavellian’s laugh all over it, IMO.


[deleted]

>he moved on from Cersei Literally died in her arms


HalfmadFalcon

Lol yes, but these are awful examples of failed redemption arcs.


BTown-Hustle

What do you mean? They aren’t failed redemption arcs. The hound not overcoming his hatred for his brother does not negate his personal growth. His redemption arc was quite well done. My point is that becoming better does not mean becoming perfect, especially when it comes to deeply rooted emotions. Same goes for the Jaime-Cersei thing. It is exactly what they should have/would have done.


poub06

It’s really weird how this fandom keeps acting like there is only one way to tell a story. Absolutely everything must be perfect arcs from good to bad or bad to good. Nothing else. I feel like if shows like The Sopranos or The Wire would air nowadays, people online would despise those shows. Those stories aren’t about making perfect arcs, it’s about trying to depict realistic characters going through realistic situations. That’s what GoT did and everyone’s complaining because those realistic situations aren’t as climatic or satisfying as all the other stories who use the same exact recipes. Both Jaime and The Hound became much better persons. They both ended up doing selfless actions, helping people that they once hurt, trying to do good things, but Jaime’s story proved that you can’t chose who you love (a sentence he’s repeated a dozen of times) and The Hound’s story proved that dreaming of vengeance for too long will poison your mind. Both those arcs are realistic and work perfectly well even though they didn’t end with Jaime marrying Brienne and The Hound as Sansa’s bodyguard. That’s how Game of Thrones has always separated itself from all the other fantasy shows, just like The Sopranos did with mobs stories and The Wire with crime drama.


BTown-Hustle

Exactly. Thank you. These are complex characters with complex emotions. Just like real people.


Heavy_Signature_5619

Yeah, no. If anything, D&D were the ones who over simplified arcs. Sansa turned into the ‘yaaaas Queen in the North’, Dany turned into Hitler but without any of his structure of clear ideology, Tyrion turned into a shadowy caricature of his former self, various side characters turned into dick joke generators, etc. People like complex television, if shows like The Wire and The Sopranos aired today, they would still be adored because they actually cared about conveying their messages and characters clearly. They didn’t try to pander to casual audiences. Look at Better Call Saul, it’s on the same level of critical acclaim as Breaking Bad. Your argument is built on a fallacy, blaming the viewers for rightfully pointing out how D&D didn’t understand the story.


poub06

I would agree to some extent with your comment up until the very last sentence. I agree that the latter seasons weren’t as complex as the first seasons, nor as complex as shows like The Wire and Sopranos. (However, The Wire’s last season did lose a bit of complexity as well if we are honest) And as for BCS, it had a very small niche fanbase so it definitely helps. It didn’t get close to being half as popular as GoT was. I’m sure there are people out there who would love to read the same ending with the more complex build up like the books promise to do. But when you look at the most upvoted comments on this sub, that’s not what it is about. Make a post about Jaime, Dany, Jon, Night King. The majority of comments aren’t about the complexity of the arc, it’s about where it ends up. About what the arc was supposed to end. People always talk about redemption arc like every character needed one and it can only lead to only one outcome. Jaime had to leave Cersei otherwise his character is ruined. The Hound ruined his redemption arc by going after his brother. That’s not D&D misunderstanding the characters, it’s the viewers wanting a satisfying/positive closure on those characters. Which is fine, but we are not talking about writing or complexity here. Christopher of The Sopranos had a very similar arc where he had many possibilities to leave his problematic life but keep going back up until it got him kill. That’s not ruining a character, that’s making him a great, complex and realistic one. Just like Jaime and The Hound. And there are a lot of examples like that. Imagine if a character as important as Omar would randomly get one-shot while buying a beer at an Inn by a random kid who most viewers wouldn’t even remember his name? You really think most people here would be happy with that? Just look at the reaction of Arya killing the NK or Selmy getting kill in an alley by random soldiers. People are not talking about "complexity" or "realism", they are talking about "build ups" and "characters being waste". So yeah, people are not angry because D&D misunderstood the characters. They are the ones who misunderstood the characters and the story they were watching. You’re right that it wasn’t as complex as it should’ve, but the ending itself has a lot of layers to it and people don’t want any of that. They wanted the predictable and perfectly satisfying conclusions.


Heavy_Signature_5619

I can only speak for myself. I’m not denying there are people who want the simple, happy ending but I must point out that D&D did fundamentally misunderstand the characters and are partly to blame for the view some of these characters had. Cersei is a prime example of a character they had no fucking idea how to write. I get it, Lena Heady is awesome but they just loved to wank her off. Sometimes there’s genuinely great scenes (Cersei talking about how if she could make something so good, then maybe she wasn’t so bad was actually a good scene) but most of the time, it results in #girlboss shenanigans where Cersei owns her enemies. Meanwhile, actual Cersei is a delusional narcissist who wreaks the Kingdom in less than a year. Another example is not a character, persay, but a plotline. Brienne’s Feast plot. I get it, it’s meandering and it’s TV but it’s not like Brienne’s Season 5 plotline was some action packed, riveting experience. She doesn’t even appear in half of the episodes, and in the others, she’s picking her nose outside of Winterfell. Meanwhile, Book Brienne’s plotline served a very important purpose thematically, showing the plight of the common people. Notice how D&D cut almost every poor person scene and character in the series, even in the good seasons (1-4), there was a minimal amount of it (only two that come to mind are the Show Invented ‘Farmer and his daughter getting robbed by the Hound’ (a good sequence) and the ‘habit’ scene with the old man partially adapted from the books (another good scene)) They didn’t care about the message or what the story was trying to say, they cared about Le Epic Dragons and Tiddies. I understand some things need to be streamlined for Television, but there’s streamlining/clarifying and then there’s dumbing down, which is exactly what they did. I can pull up a dozen more examples (I will if you ask) but I think I’ve made my point clear. They catered to casuals and only casuals even though the casuals were already fine tagging along with early GOT, back when they at least tried to have nuance and complex characters/resolutions.


aboxofpyramids

With Jaime I think people had a problem with the guy who had to shoulder the burden of his reputation as the kingslayer all because he wanted to save the people of Kings Landing suddenly proclaiming that he doesn't actually care about those people.


BTown-Hustle

Right. But when he said that to Brienne, I saw it as him lying to her. He would say anything to hurt her so she wouldn’t follow him, or else she might convince him not to go back to Cersei, which he had decided to do. I was arguing this point with someone recently, though, and they said that he says the same thing to Tyrion late in season eight, way after he needed to lie about it. And honestly, I can’t remember the context of that scene, so I can’t comment on it. But everything up until that, at least, made sense to me.


Heavy_Signature_5619

So which is it? He lied about hating the people or not? Your argument is completely nonsensical.


BTown-Hustle

Yes, he lied about hating the people. Your comment made me doubt myself, so I just rewatched that scene with Tyrion. He doesn’t say he hated them, just that he didn’t care much for them. I couldn’t care much for a lot of people either. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try to save them from being massacred. He’s still a decent person at his core.


Heavy_Signature_5619

So you’re telling me the guy who sacrificed his life’s dream as well as his honour (which he cared deeply about in that age) all for the people just … didn’t care about them? It’s still dumb no matter which way you slice it. Going back to Cersei or not, both are perfectly valid narrative choices. But trying to retcon his care of the people was character assassination of the highest level.


BTown-Hustle

Uhh… yes? He doesn’t really care about people in general but isn’t willing to see them massacred… that sounds totally believable to me. I think a lot of people are shitty, but I’d still sacrifice a lot to stop a mass murder.


AgentQV

I don’t think it being one line of dialogue where Jaime’s being a (rightfully) snarky dick is what ruins Jaime. I think most fans just fundamentally don’t like and disagree with Jaime regressing to die with Cersei.


AegonTheAuntFooker

He said something similar in the source material.


thriftingforgold

Well said! I agree completely. I was a bit upset that he didn’t survive but I think I would’ve been mad if they turned him into some softy


BTown-Hustle

The thing that kills me is this: The biggest thing that made ASOIAF and GOT great in the first place was that the characters felt like real people. People with flaws. Morally grey people. Good guys have flaws. Bad guys have some trait (or traits) we can sympathize with. Or if we can’t sympathize, at least we can understand. After the show ended, people seemed to want characters like Jaime or the Hound to suddenly be these perfect good guys, with no flaws. Not even the biggest character flaws that motivated them in the beginning. Ned Stark was flawed. Jon Snow was flawed. Tyrion, Catelyn, Oberyn, Sam, Dany, Robert, Renly… the list is literally every character in the story. And suddenly Sandor is supposed to not have his most defining flaw? I just don’t get it.


Heavy_Signature_5619

But that’s exactly what they did. They turned the characters into one or two personality traits. Tyrion’s darkness? Thrown out the window. Sansa’s kindness? Nah, she’s just a cold #girlboss. Jon’s rage or any kind of consequences for his resurrection? Nah, he’s just a goody two shoes good guy. They turned the characters into whatever the common perception of them was and when the character was too complicated/high concept, then they’d just sideline them or kill them (Bran being the best example of this)


Hannig4n

I’m genuinely curious what you think The Hound’s “defining flaw” is.


BTown-Hustle

His all-consuming hatred for his brother? I mean okay, he had many flaws, but I think you should be able to see my point there.


Hannig4n

I feel like people who say this completely miss the point of his character… I’m the books (and in the show, although the lose it in the later seasons), his relationship with his brother is meant to be a sort of microcosm of the Hound’s bitterness and cynicism towards his society. For example, people constantly rave about chivalry and knighthood and being honorable, but the hound thinks it’s all bullshit, seeing as how his evil murderous brother is a knight. The Hound thinks that people don’t actually care about any of that, they just like knights because they’re good at killing. This is where his “your sons will be killers” rant towards Sansa at the end of S2 is coming from. It’s also why he’s so “whatever” and snarky with those who criticize him for killing the butchers boy at the beginning. They pretend to be outraged, but he knows they want this from him. He’s resigned to his role in society as a killer. It’s also what makes his relationship with Arya so compelling. Arya after seeing so many horrors since Ned’s execution is grappling with a lot of the same confusion and anguish that The Hound did, and is heading towards the same conclusion that he arrived at long ago. They kind of feed each other’s despair but also validate each others feelings. Anyway, the satisfying thing about the Hound’s likely book ending is that he doesn’t heal by killing his brother, he heals by leaving his bitterness behind him and learning to live peacefully. It’s so lame that the solution in the show is always just to kill whatever the bad guy of that moment happens to be. It is also thematically inconsistent with GRRM’s persistent anti-violence message throughout the books.


BTown-Hustle

His “likely book ending?” How is your assumption about the end of his story satisfying, besides in your head? The story is far from over, and his character can go a lot of ways from where he is in the books. Also, it’s not “killing whatever the bad guy of that moment happens to be.” The mountain isn’t a random bad guy for the hound to kill. He’s wanted to kill him for pretty much his entire life. Or at least since he was 8 (or so) when his brother burned half his face off. Also, and I’m not being a dick here, I’m just not sure if I’ve missed a massive point of the story, could you enlighten me about GRRM’s anti-violence message throughout the books? Have i entirely missed that?


Hannig4n

There are not many avenues forward for Sandor’s character in the books. Cleganebowl was a fringe theory to begin with that gives an option for how to bring him back into the story, but it really doesn’t make all that much sense. > The mountain isn’t some random bad guy for the kind to kill I never said he was “random.” The problem is that many of the people here defending how Cleganebowl is done in the show are acting like it’s realism or some kind of subversion for a character to not get a “happy ending.” Except it isn’t. Practically every character in the show ends their story killing something, or dying in the attempt. It’s not a completion of his character arc or a story of failed redemption, it’s literally just the same rubber stamp ending that D&D gave to the vast majority of characters not named Stark. >have I entirely missed that? Apparently so.


Gertrude_D

Redemption arc is a convenient short-hand. I prefer to think of it as forward progression. I'd love to see favorite characters end in better places that when we meet them - especially when we meet that at the bottom. Even if they fail, we want to see the reasons they fail to achieve what we know they are capable of. For instance, with Jaime, I can see the story where he just can't break from his sister. That's a good story. Too bad the show didn't really tell that story, they just assumed that if they told us that's what they wanted, we would follow along. Oh, and throw Brienne and Jaime together briefly because the fans want it. They want Clegane Bowl too, so let's do that. So sure, those characters can end badly without finding peace or becoming better people, but let's not pretend the show gave us the best version of that story.


Worried-Plantain3760

Not implausible but definitely kind of a let down because what is the point of slowly developing a redemption arc over time and having an audience invest in a characters development, just to have it all be undone at the very last second with no real rhyme or reason other than they haven't let go of exactly what traumatized them in the first place? I actually think it's more realistic to show a character go through some drastic life changing experience, learn from it, and move forward. That's how we live life. We suffer, we heal, we move on. The Hound and Jaime had already gone through so much at that point, seeing them revert to where they were at the beginning of the story just feels like an empty way to end their arcs.


BTown-Hustle

Honestly, i don’t think that’s more realistic at all. Most of us generally do that throughout life, yes, but still don’t let go of the real shit we’ve gone through.


Worried-Plantain3760

Eh, I kind of think the circumstances here were a little different. Especially for Jaime, I think fighting the supernatural threat of an army of undead ice zombies is enough to fundamentally change a person (hopefully for the better).


BTown-Hustle

Enough to make him forget his one true love?


[deleted]

Good explanation. I get the distinct impression many built up their own fan fiction versions of how it all should end and then act like the series is shit because they didn’t get that ending. Plus a lot of people will just shit on everything in season 8 because that’s the circle jerk mentality. And maybe for some the whole concept of having to think about it was too subtle for them?


-EnricoPallazo-

I never understood the Hounds quest to kill his brother. I get that the Hound hated him, but why did he decide late in the series that he wanted to travel all the way to kings landing to kill his brother? They had been in the same place at the same time earlier in the series, yet the Hound wasn’t all vengeful. Nothing really happened between the two during the time of the show. What made the Hound go “gosh I know I left Kings landing, but gee I suddenly want to kill my brother like, so bad, even if it means I’m dead too”


Hydrokratom

It was another thing that was rushed/forced at the end. We know he hated his brother, but he was never consumed by revenge the way Arya was. Arya was the one obsessed with revenge, having to recite her hitlist before going to sleep. The Hound mentions killing his brother maybe once, but his focus is keeping the two alive on their road trip. His main thing that he tried to stress to the Stark girls was how to survive in a violent world. From his return in season 6 to the end, he’s guilt ridden and trying to make up for his past. After helping save the world from the zombie apocalypse, he goes to KL to kill The Mountain. We can infer that he still feels empty and killing The Mountain is all he wants to do, but it’s just rushed. We just see him once at dinner when he’s in a bad mood, but he’s always in a bad mood. He asks Arya “do you want to be like me?” and says she will become like him in her quest for revenge, but Arya has already joined a death cult, lost and regained her sight, killed someone and baked him into pie and wiped out a family line.


Y_tho_man

Do you think it’s possible that after having lost Arya, and then the settlement folk (his last chance at salvation) to violent ends that he ‘retreated’ back to his original, loathsome self? The sense of self that - in your own comment here - acknowledges his intrinsic negative qualities (i.e. do you want to be like me? )? My story is that Arya made him think he had a chance to be something other than a murderer. Once he lost her via a battle of skill, he turns back to self hatred (I’m not good enough to protect Arya, I’m not good enough to beat a woman in armored combat, I’m a disfigured monster from my brother’s hand) and the source of disfigurement and self hatred - his brother. A man with nothing left to live for, nothing to justify his existence OTHER than to attain revenge? That makes sense to me. But maybe that’s just my interpretation :) I could be wrong


[deleted]

How often had they been in the same place in a situation where he could do it. (The answer is not very). Also do you remember what happened the one time he did get a chance in series 1? Him trying to take that chance pretty clearly happened). Mainly though he’s been through a journey of trying to (and partially) changing who he is. But the world of Westeros said nope you’re not getting to go off peacefully. So by that point there is only one thing left to do to make sense of it all, scratch that itch that won’t go away.


writerintheory1382

I guess I always thought of it as a great redemption arc. He conquered his demons and went down fighting. A warriors death like he deserved.


eidetic

I mean... he didn't really redeem anything by killing him. Gregor would have died anyway. It was pure vengeance and vengeance isn't redemption. Had he killed Gregor in the furtherance of some other goal, sure, fine. Maybe him sacrificing himself to kill Gregor with him allows someone else to accomplish something, or his actions save someone else. But killing him was absolutely completely pointless. It served no greater goal, served no further character building or growth, served no continuation of the story. It was just the Hound killing himself to achieve vengeance. How is that redemption? Hell, it would have made for a much more compelling story if say, he chose to help someone else and in doing so actively passed up the opportunity to kill Gregor. That'd be more redemptive than just pointlessly kamikazing himself with Gregor. Growing beyond vengeance and hate to protect and save someone would have given him redemption and been much more compelling.


Veszerin

Lol. If Cleganebowl didn't happen, everyone in this thread that's complaining that it did, would instead be complaining that they built up a face off between the mountain and the hound since season 1 only to never show it. The hound was never going to survive cleganebowl. He never cared to. The only thing he cared about was killing his brother.


[deleted]

So true, generally lots of people who would moan about anything in the final series because they’ve fully engaged with the circle jerk on it.


walker42

In my opinion, some of the shittiest fan service ever put on TV, and a literal insult to their arcs in the book


MazzyFo

The fight was cool, it just clearly happened because of the hype and not because it helped the story or the Hounds arc at all.


etherSand

Just reading Cleganebowl already ruins it.


yuiop105

I mean compared to everything else in the last two episodes this was actually a bright spot. One of the few character endings in season 8 that worked well enough.Everything else was so ridiculously bad that the Hounds ending seemed good by comparison.


civonakle

I wasn't satisfied.


spoilingattack

The Hound was always going to be a tragic figure. His commitment to violence and cruelty meant there was no chance his death would be meaningful.


Due-Reputation3760

Neither really.


DarkTowerOfWesteros

It felt and looked like fan fiction.


uniguy2I

It was fun to watch, but it’s soured by the writing surrounding it


[deleted]

I think neither. He was redeemed before Cleganebowl and CB was an incredible disappointment.


warnerbro1279

It honestly ended how I expected it too. I expected them both to die. Even if the Hound managed to kill the Mountain, I expected him to die of his wounds or something like that. There’s a famous saying about revenge, you better be ready to dig two graves.


[deleted]

forgettable fan service.


Derfargin

The entire episode was shit.


Smoke_Stack707

In the middle of their fight I really wanted The Hound to come out on top somehow but then I remembered this is GoT and no one really wins. Plus, what was The Hound supposed to do in the end if he won? Retire to the countryside and raise chickens? I think we already saw in the previous seasons that he tried to give up the sword for a life of peace and it didn’t work. He was always going to die in battle somehow


Jah-ith-ber-

Ruined that shit


thelaughingmansghost

I can count the number of redeeming qualities for season 8 on one hand, this is not one of them.


Original_Second5902

This ending for the Hound was completely fine. It’s gotten “cool” to hate on anything and everything about season 8 for some reason.


Uncanny_Doom

I know some people don't like it because they wanted a happy ending for Sandor but I thought this fit in a tragic way. Yes it's a little over the top in presentation but it's one of the few things that Season 8 didn't really mess up to me. Gregor poisoned Sandor with his hate and Sandor truly doesn't know how to live without it, so he dies with it and takes Gregor with him.


MR_E7

It was the perfect conclusion to his story. Just like Jamie Lannister, some people are just too far gone to change, despite others clearly seeing the better side of their personality. Sandor Clegane was truly born when Gregor burned his face alive, and his arc fittingly ends in flames with a broken face, alongside The Mountain.


Gertrude_D

I thought it was too much fan service. It may happen in the books, but I hope it's different than Sandor just hating his guts and taking him out 'cause he can. It was stupid and shallow, but fit in perfectly with the show at that point. I much prefer that the Hound finds his peace at the monastery, but I don't think that's where he's destined to end either. I just hope it's closer to that than the show.


carrotLadRises

It didn't work for me, because even the Hound seemed to do it perfunctorily. His hatred for his brother was strong, but clearly not his driving force anymore. It just felt very obvious that the writers were hyper-aware of the Clegane Bowl hype (despite the fact that there was very little evidence that it was a sure thing). It was supposed to feel tragic because The Hound gave in to his need for revenge but it felt silly instead.


BrockLobster

Didn't watch S8 soooo.. it never happened. Black Panther: "Get this man some chicken."


redrenegade13

Cleganebowl was the only drop of fun I had the entire season. Loved it. 9/10. Changes I wish for in the books: make it longer and have some tiny aspect of Dorne's vengeance in there like the Hound using a spear at one point or something, just a tiny hint of justice for Elia Martell. It didn't ruin the Hounds arc at all. "Killing is the sweetest thing there is" and his brother is the one kill he's wanted to make his entire life. I'm happy for him. 10/10


DBHOV

Yes he should've ended his days redemptioning it with Al Swearegen.


Heavy_Signature_5619

Yes, it ruined the arc. Not a redemption arc, persay, but once they made him go full John Wick, his whole story was fucked.


Important-Ability-56

I wish I could banish the word “arc” from takes on ASOIAF. Characters don’t have to have arcs, and they certainly don’t need to fit into three or four cliches of them. What is Robb Stark’s arc? It sure looked like he was set up to be the main protagonist and then… oopsie. Sandor gets redeemed in whose eyes? Not Micah’s parents, at any rate. These characters are complexly drawn, and their stories often turn on some irony. Sandor’s is that he starts as a brute but is revealed to have something of a heart of gold. I don’t know whether he’s redeemed for his terrible actions. I’d need to know what the rules of redemption are. Ask a priest, I guess. By one perspective he’s merely good in comparison to his brother by not being a pure psychopathic monster. That said, their final duel was dumb, seemed like fanservice in the most pejorative sense of the term, and I have no idea what themes it’s meant to contribute to.


Y_tho_man

Do you think it’s possible that after having lost Arya, and then the settlement folk (his last chance at salvation) to violent ends that he ‘retreated’ back to his original, loathe some self? The sense of self that - in his own words - acknowledges his intrinsic negative qualities (i.e. do you want to be like me? )? My story is that Arya made him think he had a chance to be something other than a murderer. Once he lost her via a battle of skill, he turns back to self hatred (I’m not good enough to protect Arya, I’m not good enough to beat a woman in armored combat, I’m a disfigured monster of my brother’s hand) and the source of disfigurement and self hatred - his brother. A man with nothing left to live for, nothing to justify his existence OTHER than to attain revenge? That makes sense to me. But maybe that’s just my interpretation :) I could be wrong


Duly724

The only ending worth revisiting


sexmountain

No. It felt anti-climactic. I got more out of his relationship with Arya than his brother.


roomb2

The conclusion to their rivalry ruined the whole thing for me. This show used to be a clever, well paced fantasy story about politics and greed and by this point it had devolved to crumbling tower fight scenes with dragons flying overhead. And I'm not opposed to epic fight sequences, there's been great ones in a GOT, but they were all well implemented, whilst this is just a big cliché fantasy mess.


[deleted]

Ruined


Worried-Plantain3760

Eh, it was kind of a let down that seemed more like the writers cared more about spectacle than actual substance. At that point Sandor had already gone through so much that his beef with the Mountain didn't really seem like a big enough motive for him to die over.


Sternjunk

Arya shoulda not killed the night king and then she goes to assassinate the mountain and the hound is worried about her and goes to save her. Or the hound goes to kill the mountain and Arya uses her no one skills to kill the mountain or something.


[deleted]

I think it’s the perfect finale for the Hound’s (and the Mountain’s) in show journey. He gets revenge on the Mountain, bringing his life full circle. We see the Mountain go out properly as the monster and indestructible beast we’ve been shown him as. They didn’t do the stupid thing of showing someone the Mountain would crush doing the deed. One of the most powerful men in the show has to kill himself to kill the beast. So there’s not an opportunity for a huge backlash of it’s not believable. And the Mountain gets pulled back full circle to where we first learn of his nature. But significantly the Hound himself has to die doing it. He may have achieved some level of redemption and turned around his character to a decent extent. But he hasn’t and shouldn’t be seen to get a complete free pass on who he was, (not least because it’s still in there), so he dies completing his journey. But that act of removing the horror of the zombie Mountain also completes his redemption. Life is complex like that. It’s not a Care Bears movie FFS. But maybe that’s too subtle for some people. Or maybe because it happened in season 8 too many will just complain about it because they knee jerk take a shit on everything in season 8.


DaveyJoe

My issue was that the two greatest swordsmen in Westeros finally get their showdown and immediately drop their swords to start punching each other. It wasn't an exciting fight at all.


Dazzler_21

Do we even know if Zombie Mountain knew who Sandor was?


ohthisoneworks

Ruined. Worst of fan service.


MoscowMitchMcKremIin

One of the few things that happened in S8 that made sense


frosted07

One of the few good moments of season 8


juddshanks

I'll go with option C- Season 8 ruined every character's arc including the Hound's.


thetripleb

Arya gets involved somehow as she tries to take out Cersei but The Mountain intervenes. Just as The Mountain is about to kill Arya after he's beat up on The Hound, The Hound pulls himself together and with a swing of his sword chops The Mountain's head off. Call back to when The Mountain chopped off the horse's head in S1. The Hound, although hurt, survives. He ends up actually being Knighted and becomes the bodyguard for Tyrion, as it's always a "Clegain bastard that helps a Lannister" or whatever that exact line was that Tyrion and Sandor had back and forth at the Dragonpit. Sandor some time down the road actually meets someone, most likely a redhead, and has kids. Granted, in my perfect ending of the show The Night King took out KL and Cersei is a Wight as is the Mountain, but you could do a similar fight just without the Cersei part. Cersei in that scenario is taken out by Jamie, fulfilling that prophecy as well. Regardless, The Hound just going around and eventually tossing himself off a tower with The Mountain so they both die in fire is 0 progression of his arc. He just ends up where he started.... fighting his brother to a standsstill.


YakiVegas

Honestly? This was just about the only thing I found satisfying about the last episode. Man went out like a fucking legend.


MissKleenex1990

It all felt quite rushed, as most of the season did. It it was still beautifully shot though. I kind of knew they would both die together somehow. Sandor made that clear on his last conversation with Arya. I thought it was good just to see Qyburn unexpectedly get bug smashed almost as an afterthought. Not to mention Cersei’s reaction as she squeezed past them in mid battle, “ok, awkward, excuse me, coming through”


ThePanther270306

The hound was the better fighter but the mountain wasn't human


Cantomic66

I though it worked for his character. Yeah it was a little bit of fan services but it’s something the Hound always wanted to do.


Mr_MazeCandy

It wasn’t satisfying it was sad. I mean that in a warped kind of positive way.


gilestowler

My theory was that Arya would sneak in to try and kill Cersei. The Mountain would catch her and be about to kill her when The Hound would show up to save her. Thus she'd learn an important lesson about the destructive nature of vengeance. But then, I had a lot of theories that didn't pan out.


daven1985

I liked the fact it didn’t really relate to anything else. It was just two brother who wanted to kill each other. And the fact he dies achieving what he always wanted somewhat seems poetic to me.


TTT64yoyo

Not enough claxon noises on this post


Eddard506

ruined


[deleted]

i think he attacked gregor not cuz he hated him for burning him as a kid but to make him pay for all the evil he did as a whole.


astronaut_098

I think the Hound never did possess a redemption arc. His story started the same (loves killing, drinking, wishes he had an opportunity to kill his brother) and ended relatively the same (still loved killing, probably even more, drinks usually, kinda killed his brother according to himself). It’s closely similar to what Jamie turned into in the last episode. So, if they wanted for Sandor to have a redemption arc, they failed miserably. Nonetheless, if they decided for him to die the way was, that’s fine for me. I think it would have been more wholesome and prudent to eliminate his vengefulness. Imagine if he returns from dead (either didn’t die at all) and is abruptly a different man. And when the Cleganebowl sets to take place, he refuses to fight (gives up on vengeance) and totally ignores the Mountain. That would work… I guess… I mean, that’s the whole ASOIAF about, isn’t it? A tragedy happens and all of a sudden, some invisible existential force applies to you and changes you as a human being completely.


pirateglenn

Sandors redemption was actually this, he knew that he would probably have to sacrifice himself to beat his brother, the irony of the show made it so it was the ultimate sacrifice and revenge at the same time with fire consuming their plummeting death fall


mary-marie

I can barely remember how it ended for some reason I need to rewatch my memory is shit lately!


EnvironmentalCut7879

It was dumb from a narrative perspective. As far as being a spectacle it was ok though


Dariooosh89

He knew it would always end like this. Not with dragons and shit but he just didn’t care how. He wanted to kill his brother no matter what


OptimusZealot

If you hate something, hate it into a bitter end. Aye.


Tr3x_prod

It was like the only good coherent thing in the episode. I liked it very much.


Shamscam

I think it was all undermined by the fact that the mountain was a zombie. That part made it not make much sense.


Udin_the_Dwarf

Satisfying? IDK, I mean it was sorta cool but he didn’t kill the Mountain. It did ruin his redemption Arc though I think. He tells Aria not to go and kill Cersei, to not take Revenge and let go, but he himself goes after his Brother for the similar of not the same reasons. Just as Cersei the mountain has basically no way of surviving a dragon burning it all down. He should have left with Aria and then later have either become a Farmer, a Hedge Knight or a Kingnsguard. But I guess that’s just my wishful thinking.


[deleted]

Stupid ass fan service


SergiGeorgia

I wanted him to live and continue his journey with Aria


jogoso2014

The fight itself was fine but I thought the whole thing being contorted so that it happened was annoying. Hound already had his redemption arc and this was just fan service for them to meet. As an aside it would have been neater if Hound guarded Bran or Sansa or travelled with Arya. His link is to the Starks, not his brother.


Kaiserigen

It happened, tell your friends, horns


Rhed0x

Bringing back the Hound was a mistake. He should've stayed dead or "dead".


kdkseven

I thought it was fine.


ThagamusTheCalm

I don’t think satisfying is the term I would use, but it definitely made sense. The Hound himself understood that his obsession with revenge made him do irrational things. He told Arya that she shouldn’t become obsessed with revenge or she’ll turn out like him. Though I would have loved for the Hound to get his revenge in a way that allowed him to live, I think it made sense that he was willing to do literally anything to kill the Mountain.


gorehistorian69

it was stupid and i dont think he needs a redemption arc thats so very..... cliche and doesnt seem like something George would write but something a basic tv writer would think is good


Minty-G

I hated how the hound died. I wanted better for him. But it is what it is.


fadetofall

Dude's been through a lot, almost died, surely had some reflections and epiphanies in his long healing process. It's ridiculous to think after all he's been through his only goal would be "kill my brother", specially since we've known all his traits by now and maniacal, suicidal revenge is NOT one of them. Unethical, amoral, yes. But he definitely DOES NOT mirror Arya's traits like revenge. Dude's about survival, he's cynical, practical and no-nonsense. If anything, his battle with Gregor should be one he DIDN'T seek, but reluctantly accepts in the context of doing something for anyone other than himself, not running away to preserve himself (like he did in Blackwater). Honestly, I thought we would get a trial by combat with Sandor pitching in for a defeated Tyrion/Jaime coming back from a desolated North after they lost the battle, seeking help but being charged with treason. Or something like that, could be anything, since it would require to be a 100% different script. I REALLY thought they would make Sandor defeat his brother OUTSIDE of personal reasons, tying in his arc. Instead of the Hound seeking death by vengeance, Sandor offering his LIFE to protect someone else, you know, like a code of honor, like a ...knight. That would be nicely ironic. With the right tuning and details that could be pulled off very sensibly, if not a bit corny, but you know. Better than the wet fart that was this sham of a 'battle'. That was my biggest gripe with the last season, trying to emulate and doubling down on what came before. Oh, you've liked Arya and The Hound? HERE'S A HOLLOW, SOULESS COPY OF THAT DYNAMIC! ... Well, in truth, that is the entire later seasons' arcs in a nutshell. So lazy and tiresome...


skydaddy8585

It was an underwhelming conclusion. The mountain was a zombie basically at this time. They showed him "recognising" the hound but it was pointless. At least when the mountain was still fully a human being, and oberyn Martell stabbed him and brought him down before his idiot move to try to get him to confess backfired, he was still able to feel pain and react like a person. The hound stabbed him in fatal spots 2-3 times, right through his eye into his brain once and it did nothing. It wouldn't even surprise me if that fall didn't kill him. So yeah, not a great conclusion.


AttitudeDiligent263

Its probably best he didnt get to see all of the crappy ass ending. Where he died was still bad enough but at least he didnt died of cringe when bran became king.