Why all the love for the Hound?

[Swordsaint]

Almost everyone who holds a sword in Westeros has used it to kill someone else - "Knights are for killing" - so I don't see how Sandor is any different for killing an innocent boy.

Anyway, I find the most redeemable feature for Sandor is brute honesty in a world full of liars. Fucked up manners and behavior with everyone, but he knows who and what he is and more importantly what others are, and he makes no apologies for any of it.

This^

Killing the innocent boy was orders. At a time when the realm was at peace. It would have been a death sentence for him to disobey and the boy would have died anyways.

I don't give him too much credit for his brute honesty when he can kill like a beast, but it still adds a "cool" factor in the world of Westeros.

In short, I am a big fan of The Hound!!!

[Lady Sansa Stark]

Because he's awesome. He's not just a simple brutal killer. He doesn't care what people think of him, he doesn't care about anything at all except for killing his brother. Tyrion and he are somewhat alike. Do not give a shit about what people think of you, being cynical, ignoring or refusing our always noble king Joffrey, 'taking care' of Sansa when that is absolutely not necessary or asked of them, while they shouldn't care about a 13-year-old girl with feelings that everything will be alright etc.

He is the only one beside Tyrion who looks after Sansa - a brutal killer, who looks after a 13-year-old girl whom he mocks all the time. And his time with Arya, well, she'd probably be dead hadn't he taking her with him. If the BwB ransomed her, she would probably be at the Red Wedding too, and this time not on the right side of the castle walls.

As for the rest, I don't know why I like him so much. I don't see Sansa and the Hound in a romantic relationship, so that's definitely not it. Maybe it's our common hate for Joffrey, maybe not.

[Woman of War]

Sorry, as I said, I like the Hound. But the excuse "he had to kill because he was ordered to" is the excuse of Eichmann et al. We are often cautioned to stay away from moral relativism and to apply our modern moral compass on the fictional characters here and not to make up excuses. So let me do this in Sandors's case as well: killing because you are ordered to is imo at least as evil as doing it because it was your own decision.

[ARYa_Nym]

. And his time with Arya, well, she'd probably be dead hadn't he taking her with him. If the BwB ransomed her, she would probably be at the Red Wedding too, and this time not on the right side of the castle walls.

The BWB changed their minds because Thoros predicted that Catelyn and Robb were likely dead and that Lannisters were going to overtake Riverrun.

My issue wasn't that he kidnapped her for ransom. The BWB did the same thing. It's when people try to call it something else and pretend their time together was something that it wasn't. It hasn't been done in this thread but I've read such comments several times.

[Knight]

The Hound is one of my favorite characters mainly because he seems to be on a genuine path of redemption. I think this is intruiging as he grew up in a socially and physically abusive family circle (Hello Gregor and daddy Clegane, who seemed all too eager to cover up the crime of his oldest son to his younger), has acquired a position of power, considering he is from a minor house. Yet, he chooses to flee KL, shows genuine remorse about the acts he regrets having done (killing the butcher's boy, forcing a song from Sansa).

In short, Sandor was motivated on a deeply personal level to desert the city and Lannisters, his fear of fire acting as a catalyst. He throws away his power position, aims to defy the Lannister family by offering Sansa to take her with him, and the question is what these personal motives may have been. His fear of fire does not seem sufficient: I believe Sandor could not reconcile his job any longer with the feelings of regret and anger he had. Regret over having enough agency to act for himself, anger about what he has become due to the hatred he feels for his brother.

In the first three books, we see a man who is struggling with all these conflicting motives and interests, and I think he is trying to find out what is the 'right' thing to do - and he more often than not, appears to fail at doing the right thing. Not only because of his position as a Lannister bodyguard and being in Gregor's shadow, but also because his anger and hatred blocks him.

Sandor is searching for another way in a society that has set very static norms and social structures - I can only admire that, even more because he has lost a great deal of things many people value in their lives, such as money, social status, and power.

Edit: grammar.

[weaselontherun]

The elder on Quiet Isle offers a pretty succinct explanation of the "Hound" and what he feels will be the growth of the "Sandor" personality.

Clegane's interactions with Sansa were for the most part the unusual for him in that there was a cracking to show the "Sandor" side. He did not know how to deal with it along with his fear of fire which made him vunerable. His answer get drunk and run.

Arya was a different story something the "Hound" could handle it wasn't necessary to be vunerable or deal with the "Sandor" side.

I would think the next development for Clegane is the recogntion he can be both the "Hound" & "Sandor" at the same time.

[Woman of War]

Because he's awesome. He's not just a simple brutal killer. He doesn't care what people think of him, he doesn't care about anything at all except for killing his brother. Tyrion and he are somewhat alike. Do not give a shit about what people think of you, being cynical, ignoring or refusing our always noble king Joffrey, 'taking care' of Sansa when that is absolutely not necessary or asked of them, while they shouldn't care about a 13-year-old girl with feelings that everything will be alright etc.

He is the only one beside Tyrion who looks after Sansa - a brutal killer, who looks after a 13-year-old girl whom he mocks all the time. And his time with Arya, well, she'd probably be dead hadn't he taking her with him. If the BwB ransomed her, she would probably be at the Red Wedding too, and this time not on the right side of the castle walls.

As for the rest, I don't know why I like him so much. I don't see Sansa and the Hound in a romantic relationship, so that's definitely not it. Maybe it's our common hate for Joffrey, maybe not.

I agree with everything you write, apart from the first sentence. i would rephrase it:

Although being a brutal killer he is awesome. There is more to him than being that brutal killer.

And I like the comparison between Sandor and Tyrion. I am, no proof here, only a feeling, quite sure that these two characters will meet again and be grudgingly forced to recognize each others' qualities since Martin has taken so much pains to work on their mutual hatred, so they are bound to work together.

[Blisscraft]

One of the reasons the Hound/Sandor is so interesting is that he was abused and became an abuser. He took his rage and rancor out upon those he was commanded to menace, maim, and murder. What seems to change him, (through Sansa's eyes) is watching Sansa being abused and bullied by Joffrey.

I have never seen the love connection between Sansa and Sandor. I only see him seeing her as he once was, a person to be bullied, a victim. Sandor helps Sansa because he can and because by so doing he can take back some of his own power. He also helps Loras Tyrrell when Gregor attempts to kill him during the Hand's Tourney. Is he in love with Loras? (Could be, but I doubt it). He wants to take his power back from Gregor. Joffrey is another bully who bullies someone he can, Sansa. Sandor won't tolerate it; won't hit her and begins in his owm ham handed way to help her.

Arya is such a tough cookie. In many was she is so much like Sandor, more than she knows. She's been bullied in that subtle way that women bully: ostracism and gossip. She reacts with rage and rancor. She's the younger sister as he's the younger brother. When they meet both are lost. Both are trying to find a new home because all either of them has known has been destroyed. Arya is forever looking for opportunities to kill him. He never tries to kill her when he easily could.

The Stark girls both bring out Sandor's kindness and gentleness. He is so rough and wrathful it may not seem very kind or gentle, but he is. That's one of the reasons that I like him so much.

[Ghosts Companion]

Girls like a rebel? Maybe he is a softy inside, under a hard bitter scared shell? People like the mystery that surrounds him?

[Blisscraft]

Girls like a rebel? Maybe he is a softy inside, under a hard bitter scared shell? People like the mystery that surrounds him?

Not so much a rebel to me. But, definitely wounded.

[Lady Lea]

Well I like a dangerous man. ;)

Eh, just kidding, I don't know. I just love him. I know he's done terrible things but it's like the wands in Harry Potter... in ASOIAF you don't choose your favourite character. Your favourite character chooses you.

ETA: besides... no one ever said that you can only like the good characters... or everybody would say Ned is their fave. I like Ned but he's soooo boring...

[cantucantoo]

The Hound is like Darth Vader....bear with me.

He is a bad guy and pretty evil, yet there is that streak of good still in there. He is beaten down, and had most of his ideals stripped but there is the occasional flicker of them alive in some of the coversations with Sansa and Arya. I think that flicker is what draws people to him hoping he will shed what he is and become the "Knight" he envisioned being before the Mountain held his face to the fire and began shattering his illusions,

You said this perfectly!

I think of it this way. He's just like a dog that's been trained to dog fight. He kills because that's what he's been taught. And he might even get satisfaction out of it because of the joy that it brings his masters. And maybe after so much time, it brings him satisfaction in-and-of itself. But I think there is something about him (his honesty and protection of Sansa in CoK, maybe) that reveals that underneath all of that training and grooming to be the great killer that he is, he is capable of loyalty and truth. And that's more than most of the characters are capable of - especially those at court in Kings Landing. It's no coincidence that GRRM names him the "Hound". Fiercely loyal, unquestioning, and capable of horrors at the hands of the wrong masters.

[romantic]

Sandor is a mass of contradictions - remorseful killer, disobedient servant, gentle hardman, deceptive loyal subject, scary mentor, etc. He vows his only reason for living is to kill his brother but, when protecting Loras at the tournament, he makes no strikes at his brother's unprotected head. He lies to, and rejects his 'second' family, the Lannisters, to support Sansa. He (the unknight), and Ser Dontos (the ignoble knight), are her only friends in KL during her imprisonment and torture (yeah, I think torture - physical, verbal and emotional abuse - is accurate). There is a disconnect between the public Hound persona (amoral, Lannister dog) and the private Sandor persona (emotionally tormented, morally conflicted, abuse survivor) that he shows to the Stark sisters. His arc clearly shows him seeking redemption and GRRM leaves us with fascinating indicators of the man that might remain and (hopefully, hopefully, hopefully) participate again in the story. Maybe I'm a romantic (ha, ha) but I think he has a huge 'heroic' potential and I (absolutely) know he's on the side of the Starks - and thank heavens because those kids need all the help they can get!

[summertime]

I also like the hound because there is more to him than just the brutal killer he himself emphasizes to be. I find it quite fascinating to discover evidence to the contrary.

My favorite is this quote from his travels with Arya: "Are you scared of them?" she asked. "Have you lost you belly for fighting?" For a moment she thought he was going to hit her. By then the hare was brown, though, skin crackling and grease popping as it dripped down into the cookfire. Sandor took it off the stick, ripped it apart with his big hands, and tossed half of it into Arya's lap.

He's this huge, big brutal guy, she provokes him and half expects a violent reaction but instead gets half the food. And food is a crucial issue during their travels. IMO giving the little scrawny girl half the available food shows a very generous side of him. This is my favorite concrete moment from the books why I love the Hound :wub: .

[Batman]

1 - He is a badass fighter, people love badass fighters

2 - He is not a hypocrite

[7V3N]

Redemption or not, he is still awesome. There are no games with the Hound. He sees the world for how it is, and is so hurt by the evil that he drinks himself blind.

[Ser Thomas Derpingham]

He's so sexy.

[7V3N]

I forgot to add:

Something that adds to my love for the Hound: Yarp.

[bloodymime]

The left side of his face was a ruin. His ear had been burned away; there was nothing left but a hole. His eye was still good, but all around it was a twisted mass of scar, slick black flesh hard as leather, pocked with craters and fissured by deep cracks that gleamed red and wet when he moved. Down by his jaw, you could see a hint of bone where the flesh had been seared away.

Think about that. Stop and really think about it. He's lived with that since he was six or seven years old in a medieval society where the height of medical technology is ointments and milk of the poppy. A side note, how he isn't a milk of the poppy junkie like Gregor is beyond me.

If that happened to me I'm honest enough that I'd have at the very least the same outlook on life. His own brother burns his fucking face off and his Father, his source of justice in his universe not only does nothing to make this right, likely due to the Gregor already having the makings of a champion knight to further the family name in his eyes with his size and strength even as a boy, he pretty much puts the blame on Sandor himself with this bullshit story of his bedding catching on fire.

When you pay attention to the things Sandor says it all comes back to that little boy with his face half burned off growing up knowing the only way he can be sure of not being hurt like that again is being the meanest motherfucker alive because nobody else sure gave a damn.

[Kittykatknits]

Sandor Clegane is on my top five favorite character list; I find him fascinating. Lots already have given their opinion, some I agree with and some I do not. I think Martin's introduction of Sandor the character through to his complete breakdown is an incredible read. His speech is beautfiul to me, it is a mix of the poetic and the profane, unique from other characters. The descriptions of him are great, not just the burns, but his eyes glow and shine, he growls, he hulks. He doesn't just have the name of a dog, he is physically described as one too.

GRRM introduced us to Sandor in one of the first chapters of the book, through Ned. The first several mentions of him are not positive. He teases Robb, kills Mycah, calls the wolves nursemaids, and offers to kill Summer (is it wrong that this bothers me more than Mycah?). I started the first half of GOT hating the guy. Then, out of nowhere we get a glimpse of the man underneath when he tells Sansa the story of his burns. We are given a hint in to his past, forced to reflect on knighthood, and realize he's not just a dog. It was a hard scene to read and tells us quite a bit. He's playing with not just any toy, but a knight. He was once just as attracted as Sansa to the ideals of knighthood and chivalry. But that got ripped away in one single moment, not just damaging him physically but emotionally as well.

Then, the very next day, at the tourney we see him jump in to defend Loras against his brother. There are three things going on here. First, the most obvious, is to stop his brother from going after someone who is defenseless. Second, we see him fight defensively against his brother which indicates just how skilled he is as well as his refusal to attack when his brother is unhelmed. However, there is something else going on that I think is much less obvious. Sandor stops fighting very quickly when the king commands them to stop, which I believe Sandor may be a bit grateful for. His life, until this point, has been centered around the desire to kill his brother. But, I also believe he is still afraid of him, especially in light of many of his later comments, think of "As long as I have this, there is no one I need fear", alluding to his sword. Gregor is the demon he can't slay. Then, of course, we get Ned's comment on Sandor winning the love of the commons for the first time ever, which is a rather heartbreaking line as it further reinforces just how much of an outsider he is.

There are a couple other great scenes in GOT that help reveal the Hound as well. After Barristan is kicked out of the KG, Sandor is asked to join. He considers this with a very long, pregnant pause, it's obvious something is going through his head but we don't know what. Finally, he agrees stating that he has no land, wife, or family to forsake and no one who would care if he did. So, that makes us wonder, did he ever dream of those things or is this another expression of his bitterness? I personally believe it is a mixture of both, especially when combined with his tale to Sansa earlier. The other revealing scene with him is later after Ned's death and Sansa is hit for the first time. He offers her some very good advice, showing he's got insight in to not just Joff but others at court. He's more observant than his role as the hulking bodyguard would indicate.

At Joff's name day tourney, we see him lie for Sansa, express scorn for knights with his "you'd be one knight the poorer" line, and commend Tommen for his courage. It's a great scene, showing us once again that there is more to the guy than may appear on the surface as we get another reference to his fighting skills, a subtle dig at Joff, and an indicator that for all his talk of lies, he's willing to bend the truth when he needs to.

I think most would agree that Sandor is a broken man but the common assumption is that this happened during the BBW. I disagree, it's been happening almost since the time we met him. We have his burn story and the comments about the KG. At the end of GOT, he lies to the king, stops Sansa from killing Joff, and offers her advice on how to handle Joff as well. Small acts in some ways but these are huge for someone who has defined himself for most of his life as the Lannister Dog, The Hound. We are already getting clues that something is not right with him. Then, during the serpentine steps conversation, he helps her out with Blount. But, paying attention to what he says, wevknow that he feels disgust and contempt for his so-called brothers. He's not a part of them, he doesn't belong. Then, when she is beaten and stripped Sandor flat out refuses an order and says "enough". This tells us his breaking is now further along. His efforts in the past were circumspect in the form of advice. Now, he's refusing orders and trying to stop Joff. He's gone public so to speak. Even worse for him, Tyrion, who he despises, is the one that stops the beating. For Sandor, who defines himself as a fighter and warrior, this must be a very shaming and emasculating act. At the riot, he was the one assigned to protect Joff but, when forced to make a decision, he chose Sansa over the king. Again, going against his vows and tearing himself further away from his "Hound" persona. He's just told the world who he would protect if he had to make a choice. Then, we see him on the rooftop just before the BBW. He's watching the fire, he's trying to face his fears. His words and conversations here are very erratic. Finally, the BBW happens and we all know what he does. Sandor refuses Tyrion's orders after spending the past several hours fighting in fire. He goes to Sansa's room and completely botches his rescue attempt. Instead of saving her, he takes a song at the point of a knife. Yes the fire played a big role in his breaking but it's been coming all along. The BBW just made it a very sudden and violent break.

Then in Storm, we see him fight against Beric and beat him, with HIS ARM ON FIRE. Of course, before he does this, we get one of my favorite speeches in the series, "a knights a sword on a horse...", he owns Thoros and the BBW, and shows off some of his dark humor. But, he's burned again and completely breaks down, reverting back to the small boy who was held down in to the flames by his brother. He loses his gold and then has another great line about making his knight a horse.

Next, he's wandering the Riverlands with Arya, hoping to ransom her off to her brother and then her aunt. After those hopes are dashed, it's pretty clear this guy is suicidal and that taking care of Arya is one of the few things holding him together, but even that is proving less effective over time. He may be his own dog but the man has no idea what to do without a master. He's spent his life spurning knights yet at the same time enjoyed all the benefits of knighthood. He is now no longer a part of the system but having been a part of it, can not be accepted elsewhere. He's stuck, with no purpose. The final moment of his breaking occurs at the Inn of the Crossroads when he finds out what happens to Sansa. If you match his words with the actions, you can see what he is thinking. He knows a fight is coming and is just waiting for it to start. Finally, Arya leaves him to die under a tree after hearing his dying words, which are some of the most misinterpreted lines in the entire series.

For me, watching this journey is tragic and sad. I find him absolutely fascinating. Superficially, he's the ideal male specimen in Westeros. A prized fighter, a warrior, tall, strong, fit, and one the best swordsmen in the realm. But, underneath it is a man with deep trauma who is emotionally stunted and has only been able to connect with a single person in his entire life. It's a great story.

Oh, and also, he's a bad ass.