This clause contains major spoiler for " The Broken Man , " the seventh instalment of the sixth time of year ofGame of Thrones . Readour full recap of the instalment , and also check out our otherThronesrecaps , hypothesis , and spoilers .
commend a few episodes back whenGame of Thronesco - Divine David Benioff declared that Season 6 wasthe time of year of " rebirth " ? He did so with reason : Jon Snow came back to life ! Daenerys come forth a 2d meter from the fervour ! Margaery Tyrell became a born again Seven - er ( kind of ) ! And in this week ’s " The Broken Man , " another " deceased"Thronesfavorite returns with a brisk face . Sandor Clegane , a.k.a.the Hound , is back– though his future looks trigger-happy .
The 7th episode of the season opened with a rare , pre - opening credits cold open , Benioff and D.B. Weiss ' manner of saying , " weheard you theorizing , internet hivemind , and we ’re just function to pull up stakes this here . " Months after his assumed death in the Season 4 close , Sandor is back on his human foot , a member of a hippy commune just trying to keep the peace , man . Guided by Septon Ray ( work byDeadwood ’s Ian McShane , obviously hired to spout lines like " I ’m a fucking Septon ! " ) , the tribe is in the early daytime of check to lead a detached biography , and while the Hound remains an outsider , everyone appreciates the fact that he can lift a log that would unremarkably call for the strength of four men . The dude ’s a creature , and according to Ray , depend a raft better with sunburst highlights than the way he was discovered after his duel with Brienne , dirty , blooming , and underwrite with bugs .
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There is a religious aspect to the Hound ’s new residential area – Ray wears the Seven - Faced God ’s star symbol around his neck – but it goes mostly unacknowledged in the brief coming into court . We get just enough grinning , cheerfulness , and All Natural Westerosi Gruel ™ to know that these Guy are last the dream . Even the Hound starts feel the positive vibes . When Ray asks Sandor what kept him going as he died on the hills outside the Vale , Sandor replies , " Hate . " Get this man a hemp T - shirt , stat !
We , like most of theThronesobsessed , call the Hound ’s return . establish on setup in both the show and the Quran , fans postulated that the Hound go his infected wounds and would bounce back for a trial - by - combatfight sequence knight " Cleganebowl"that would match Joffrey ’s former bodyguard against Cersei ’s admirer , Gregor Clegane , a.k.a . the Mountain , a.k.a . his buddy . The first part is devote off : the Hound is alive . And by the end of " The Broken Man , " he ’s sure raging and looking for revenge .
After a run - in with the Brotherhood Without Banners , an outlaw group sleep together with anyone camped out in the Riverlands , Sandor ’s perfect life is fractured beyond repair . " There ’s a reason you ’re still here , " Ray tells Sandor during a huddle . " The gods are n’t done with you yet . " sure as shooting not . find his raw wise man ’s neck in a running noose , Sandor picks up an axe and , as Weiss put it the post - show annotations , goes " full throttle back into what he is : a killer . "
But will the Hound actually contend in Cleganebowl ?
Game of Thronesmay have too much on its psyche for something so brutish and so pat . There ’ll be violence , no doubt ; expect a few bannerless - bro heads to fly in the next sequence . But wee-wee it all the mode back to King ’s Landing for trial by armed combat seems less plausible . After the Hound exact his retaliation on the Brotherhood , he ’ll be tight to Jaime ’s neck of the woods , a locating where , as we learned in the tormentor for next week ’s installment , Brienne also winds up . Reunion ! But unlike theFriendsreunion , Sandor ’s would undoubtedly involve more swordplay . Clearly , the defeat ( " he was awoman , " Sandor reminds Ray ) still stings .
But this is the fresh Hound ! He has seen the light , and there ’s a chance everyone embrace it out and joins forces against the Freys , a rare moment of unification and apprehension . Or maybe our scarfaced old friend perish whole rogue , reconnecting with an on - the - run Arya to give us the route - movie duo we yearn . We can dream .
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One thing is sure : both Cleganes will be busting skull fare next Sunday . When it comes to the High Sparrow , Cersei " select wildness , " which , based on the preview , mean unleashing the zombified Mountain on pitiful Lancel Lannister and other Faith of the Seven acolytes . If Cleganebowl were to come about this time of year , the Hound would have to find his way back to King ’s landing place in the next three instalment and sign on as the High Sparrow ’s proxy in Cersei ’s trial by fight . But Cersei does n’t seem to be playing along any longer , so it ’s doubtful there ’ll even be a tryout . And with Margaery clear plotting to destroy the spiritual camarilla from the interior – I mean , justlook at that scheming face– Cleganebowl could only depart the more thrilling threads in play .
That does n’t mean Cleganebowl wo n’t ever happen . When the debris settles from the Tyrell - Lannister team - up , there could be a playing period for the Iron Throne that involves Queen Margaery and Cersei going to war with the Clegane brothers as their representative paladin . Because , really , do we think Tommen ’s going to make it out of this season alive ? No one ’s forgetting that endorsement he gave the High Sparrow . Not even Ser Pounce .
In one of the installment ’s final view , a extremity of the Brotherhood quote a mutual appeal to R’hllor , the Lord of Light : " The night is dark and full of terrors . " No kidding . Sandor Clegane is live . He is the terror , fool .
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To Cleganebowl or not to Cleganebowl ? Get hypothesize .
Check out all the latestGame of Thrones Season 6 photosthat fluff the next instalment .
