The current sixth season of “Game of Thrones” is beginning to look like a reunion season. During episode 6, Joseph Mawle’s Benjen Stark returned after going missing since the first season.
During the episode 7 episode entitled “The Broken Man,” it saw Sandor Clegane, also known as the infamous Hound, returning after more than a season long of absence and even an apparent death.
Last time that fans saw Rory McCann’s Hound was back in season four when he was Arya Stark’s traveling companion.
Sandor was badly injured in a brutal fight with Gwendoline Christie’s Brienne of Tarth, and Arya apparently left him to die alone in the woods despite pleading her to kill him.
However, Sandor’s shocking reappearance in the latest episode proves that Cleganes aren’t easy to kill. In fact, the character’s return confirms a long-held theory by fans and it also reveals that the violent Hound has found himself some measure of religion.
In George R.R. Martin’s fourth novel “A Feast of Crows,” fans noticed an important clue suggesting that Sandor was still alive. As Brienne of Tart toured the Riverlands searching for Sansa, she encountered a group of priests.
One of them tells Brienne that she had encountered the dying Sandor. Yet among their group, Brienne saw a curious figure far away. The figure had a lame leg and was apparently digging a grave.
Many readers concluded that the Hound was indeed dead but Sandor had been nursed back to health by the priests and decided to join their order.
The latest episode seemingly confirms this book theory to carry some truth and even brought Ian McShane to play the key priest who’s preaching non-violence.
However, the end of the episode shows that bloody fate of the priest and the rest of his former companions. Many believe that the killings were all done by someone as powerful as the Hound which means that the monster in Sandor has found himself again and seeks revenge.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, co-executive producer Bryan Cogman answered some questions regarding the return of this fan-favorite character.
Cogman said that he wrote the episode and that it appeared as a three-act play. He reveals that they weren’t really going off with the Hound being dead. He was going to come back, it was just a matter of how.
The showrunner adds that there were few ideas that the writers explored with regards to his return. They then realized that Rory is such an amazing actor and the audience has such an investment in him. Hence, they just let his character anchor his own comeback storyline.
When asked about the fate of Maisie Williams’ Arya Stark now that the Hound is back, Cogman said that despite Arya defying the Faceless Men twice and being well-trained, her meeting with the Hound will be an ongoing arc for the rest of the season.
When asked about this season jumping between storylines, Cogman said that the timelines between the various storylines don’t necessary line up within a given episode.
Cogman says that they realized that if they tied themselves in knots trying to make all the story days line up between the characters then the momentum will suffer.
Meanwhile, HBO has released the official trailer for the upcoming episode 8 of “Game of Thrones.” The episode, entitled “No One,” details that there’s a lot more to come following the dramatic events of episode 7.
In the video clip, Lena Headley’s Cersei Lannister opts for violence with the Mountain representing her along with killing a bunch of Faith Militant followers.
The trailer confirms that fans will be finally seeing the moment which was teased long before the season began.
The scenes imply that she’s opting for a trial by combat but it also suggests that she’s had enough of the Sparrows once and for all.