Game of Thronesthrives on vehement conflict . Though the series is packed with melodrama , political maneuvering , sullen humor , graphic sex , and cool winter coating , it ’s also potential to view the show as a WWE - similar serial of pay - per - view quick showdowns . For eld , one conflict has reigned supreme in the minds of manytheory - obsessedfans : Cleganebowl .
pass on that thepromotional materialsfor time of year 8 continue to swing the Cleganebowl as a real possibility , this is something you ’re going to want to compensate attention to . rent ’s take a close look at this hypothetical not - so - Royal Rumble .
So, wait – what’s Cleganebowl?
You ’ll likely remember the two hulking graphic symbol name Clegane who have appeared on the show : Sandor " The Hound " Clegane and Gregor " The Mountain " Clegane . If you ’re the type of person who can never remember character names , the Hound is the gruff warrior with a scar on his facial expression who used to work forthe dearly miss Joffreyand then became Arya ’s Uber - horse cavalry number one wood before she became the unsighted karate nestling . ( He ’s act by actor Rory McCann . ) The Mountain is the giant goon who crush Oberyn Martell ’s cute minuscule head in Tyrion ’s trial - by - combat and then spent a season under a blanched sheet before being converted as a killer Frankenstein in gold armour . ( Gregor has been play by three worker over the show ’s run , but he ’s currently fiddle by real - life strongman Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson . )
They are bros ( like , actual brother ) but they are definitely notbros(as in friends ) . They have a legit beef that dates back to their childhood , when Gregor burned off half of the Hound ’s face for taking his little miniature knight . It must have been a cool action figure , like the Westeros equivalent weight of a Pog or a Charizard wit – or the Mountain is just a scary sociopath .
Either way , they detest each other and have enough villainous back history and musculature to make any eccentric of confrontation a must - see event in theGoTuniverse . But the Cleganebowl is something more specific than a Cain vs. Abel - dash throw - down : it ’s a way of biography , a meme , and a movement .
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agree toKnow Your Meme , the theory was first introduce on a 4chan thread by an anonymous drug user in March of 2013 . The project plotline involve the revived zombie reading of the Mountain fighting on behalf of the accuse Cersei Lannister in a trial - by - combat and the Hound picking up a sword against his pal as a instance for the Faith . Ever since the idea was acquaint , it has activate blockbuster floor of excitement that rival any big UFC bust .
The fire were stoked more in Season 5 when a flashback showed a young Cersei sit down down with a fortune - teller who told her she would be strangled by " the valonqar , " a High Valyrian term meaning " little brother . " There are a image of theories for who the valonqar could be – most notably Tyrion – but it ’s surely possible that the hag was denote to the Hound , the younger pal of Cersei ’s murderous guardian . guess the Hound taking out his buddy in combat and then going straight for Cersei .
Part of what do the engagement so challenging is that it would n’t be the first time the two brothers have crossed sword on the show . Backin Season 1 , when Ned Stark was still around to take Sansa to brutal jousting catch , the Mountain faced off against Ser Loras Tyrell , and the face-off ended with the Hound jumping in to save Loras from the unhorsed and unhinged Mountain . The two conflict for a bit before King Robert intervenes – an amuse - bouche of unexpected violence . Watching it now feels incisively like a classic pro - wrestling interference run - in that gets broken up by a referee onWWE Raw .
Will the Cleganebowl happen in Season 8?
With the show terminate this twelvemonth , it ’s now or never for the Cleganebowl . After The Hound was tossed off the side of a drop and allow for for dead by Brienne of Tarth in Season 4 , it felt like the Cleganebowl might be off the docket . Even in the heightened world ofGame of Thrones , it ’s hard to combat your buddy from the afterlife . Between Season 4 and Season 6 , there was little to report about the Hound ’s whereabouts . fortunately , he resurfaced in " The Broken Man , " the seventh episode of Season 6 , and that apace reignited venture about the hypothesis .
English role player Ian McShane , who guest starred in the sequence as the smart and talkative Septon Ray , spilled the beans a bit about The Hound ’s yield in an consultation before the installment aired . " I bring back a much - eff character everybody thinks is dead , " the creative person formerly do it as Al Swearengentold the BBCat the time . ab initio , there was speculation that theDeadwoodstar had blown the coming Jon Snow reveal . But when Jonmade his prideful return early in the time of year , it was all the more likely that the much - enjoy character in enquiry would be the Hound – and , of course , it was !
While The Hound did n’t get too many opportunities to shine in Season 6 , he come back in full force-out for Season 7 , which found him move with the Brotherhood , getting captured , and , eventually , traveling beyond the Wall with Jon Snow and his rag - rag group of heroes . On a plot degree , he was pinging across the map with informality ; on a motif degree , the fictional character is clearly seeking redemption for his past sine . ( One of the more striking view betimes in time of year 7 showed The Hound put up a proper burial for a granger and daughter he steal from way back in Season 4 . ) Though he ’s still gruff , The Hound is no longer the same cruel , unmerciful homo we met earlier in the series .
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More significantly for the purposes of this article , he also ended Season 7 in King ’s Landing , where he pose a chance to concisely confront his chum in the Dragonpit and tease the hypothesis of the Cleganebowl . " call back me ? " Sandortauntedhis sibling . " Yeah , you do . You ’re even sleep with uglier than I am now . "
In the promotional lead - up to Season 8 , there ’s been quite a bit Cleganebowl hype . " There will be a chance of squaring up to his crony and face those demons , " sound out Rory McCann , the histrion who play The Hound , toEntertainment Weekly . The magazine extend even further with one of their cover , which you may see below .
OK , the masking might say " Game Over , " but it really should just say " CONFIRMED " at this point , right-hand ? This is probable as close as we ’ll get to confirmation at this tip . At least until time of year 8 actually starts on April 14 .
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Why are people online so obsessed with this theory?
Sometimes it feel likeGame of Thronesexists so its lover can theorize about potential twists , secret family tree diagram , and potential resurrection . As much as a show likeLostinspired feverish psychoanalysis of every inconsequent detail – abuse out to Nikki and Paulo ! – the rich detail found in George R.R. Martin ’s novel take it many step further , because rooter are speculating not just about what will happen on the show but in theA Song of Ice and Fireseries as well . Along with R + L = J , the Cleganebowl has fascinate the intellect of a certain form of super - fan like a filthy contagion of greyscale .
Just watch the video posted above . Really . Watch the whole thing . You done yet ?
That clip , along withsimilar ridiculous video , helped popularize the possibility , bringing it out of internet meeting place , chat rooms , and discussion threads into articles like the one you ’re reading correctly now . There ’s awhole sub - Redditdevoted to the Cleganebowl , a place to share theories , images , and jokes about the eventual confrontation . For object lesson , Sunday night ’s episode inspired multiple posts abouta exclusive crease Jaime enunciate . The thread has its own language and in - jokes . They mostly involve two words : get ballyhoo .
YouTube/Podrick the Pimp
As you could recite from the menacing " severely in the Paint " beat that scores the TV above , the excitement rooter have about the Cleganebowl is fiery . It ’s like a higher career – a religious belief founded on hype . The type of crusade that , were it happening in Westeros , might lead to forehead carvings .
But there ’s also something reductive about the whole thing . Whether you sleep with it or simply brook it , you have to take that at this pointGame of Thronesis a thorny and challenging storytelling accomplishment , one that often welter in glowering idea about human nature , the danger of religious fanaticism , and the struggle to keep on order in a disorderly cosmos where everyone is assay power . Reducing the show to a butch wrestling mates under - undercut that ambition .
So , delight the telecasting . take up on the theories . Look for clues . Prep for the struggle . And get hyped ! Just keep your hype level in check – for now .
