The Gravedigging Hound - Complete analysis

[Lummel]

I don't have any doubt that the gravedigging novice on the Quiet Isle was Sandor but I do think that was the end of his part in the series and that he was written out. I know that many on the forum believe there will be a trial by combat in Kings Landing and that Sandor would be a natural to bring in then and fight out the struggle between him and his brother that was interrupted in AGOT, but I'm not convinced that the trial will ever take place. More importantly by being on the Quiet Isle Sandor is treading in the footsteps of the Elder Brother along the path to redemption and away from violence, particularly from fratricidal violence. Further books will tell anyhow.

[Revan Baratheon]

I don't have any doubt that the gravedigging novice on the Quiet Isle was Sandor but I do think that was the end of his part in the series and that he was written out. I know that many on the forum believe there will be a trial by

combat in Kings Landing and that Sandor would

be a natural to bring in then and fight out the

struggle between him and his brother that was

interrupted in AGOT, but I'm not convinced that

the trial will ever take place. More importantly

by being on the Quiet Isle Sandor is treading in

the footsteps of the Elder Brother along the path

to redemption and away from violence,

particularly from fratricidal violence. Further

books will tell anyhow.

:agree:

[clover]

Oh, dear Lord...I am getting ready for work when I thought of this one...

Sandor and his trusty steed, Stranger, leave a winesink late in the night to return home.

The Hound is reeling drunk and starts talking to the air, the horse listens...

Sandor: "And she is so f#$%*&% lovely, that little bird...she says "please and thank you and..."

Two hours later...

Sandor: "And her eyes are blue....her hair is....and..."

Stranger: (Horse rolls his eyes in desperation.) I hear the Dothraki think horsemeat is quite tasty.

Or when your horse has had enough of San/San.

LOL!

[1234567]

Stranger: (Horse rolls his eyes in desperation.) I hear the Dothraki think horsemeat is quite tasty.

Or when your horse has had enough of San/San.

The jealousy. Oh if only you'd given him a couple of Apples and a sugar lump or two Sansa.

[Girl of Ice & Fire]

We know that Cersei has elected for trial by combat in her forthcoming trial v the Faith.She is represented by Robert Strong,who is likely Gregor Sandane reanimated by Qyburn.

The Faith need a champion.Lancel,whilst newly devout,is hardly someone you would pin your reputation on in battle.No one else obviously springs to mind,apart from..the Elder Brother.I doubt that he could refuse without calling his own "faith" into question.

I've thought about this as well, but whether Sandor will pop back up to be the champion of the Faith in Cersei's trial by combat...I don't know. I have a feeling that "Ser Robert Strong" will fight someone else and win...but then Qyburn made it very clear that Strong had vowed to remain silent until all Cersei's enemies were vanquished or whatever, so one would assume that the next step would be him going on a rampage. I more see Sandor breaking away from his QI residence to stop the latter situation than him being called upon to fight Strong in Cersei's trial by combat.

I don't think Sandor would come back 'round to kill Strong/Gregor under his former vengeance model, but this passage regarding a dream of Bran's from waaay back in AGoT makes me think that he'll have something to do with facing down Strong/Gregor regardless:

"One shadow was dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. Over them both loomed a giant in armor made of stone, but when he opened his visor, there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood."

dark as ash, terrible face of a hound: Sandor

armored like the sun, golden & beautiful: Jaime

giant with visor full of darkness & black blood: Strong/Gregor

[Hound's She-wolf]

I don't think Sandor will face RS either, (I used to) but now I think Cersei will be proven innocent via RS crushing little hair shirt wearing Lancel. (in the most spectacular way) and I do think Cersei will find out where Sansa is hiding and send RS after her, at which point Sandor will try to intervene.

[Baitac]

I truly hope that the big brothers meet in battle. Why would we be informed of the torture inflicted on one by the other if there will never be a chance for justice? There is a lot of resurrection and rebirth through faith (and water) in this story. I find it interesting that a lot of conflict in this series emanated from adverse relationships between siblings: Cate & Lisa, Arya & Sansa (whom I detest), Tyrion and the twins, Asha & Theon, the Baratheons, and the giant boys. Awesome stuff.

[Light a wight tonight]

...but then Qyburn made it very clear that Strong had vowed to remain silent until all Cersei's enemies were vanquished or whatever,

The way she's made enemies Strong Robert will be silent a long time.

Disregarding the prophecy I'd like Cersei to end her days having lost the beauty she cherishes so much, maybe a drool-chinned, toothless hag, scrubbing stairs in Harrenhall or some such garden spot

[Hear Me Roar!]

Excellent evidence.

I must say, for all of this laid out in the open, it is abundantly clear and almost undeniable that Sandor is the Gravedigger. Too many coincidences. Either GRRM is going the ambiguous route and leaving us with this (to debate whether Sandor is alive until the end of time) or he will come back into the story next book.

[Hear Me Roar!]

dp

[The Answer]

Bumping the hell out of this. Awesome OP

[Brony Stark]

I fully believe this. What will he do next though?

[The Lanky Umber]

Sorry Girl of ice & fire, shouldve read this last page before i posted :P

[The Lanky Umber]

And I agree...great thread

[The Answer]

I fully believe this. What will he do next though?

If he just wants to chill out on Quiet Isle for the rest of his days I'd be okay with it. Sounds to me like 'The Hound' is dead, so let Sandor be at peace.

And if not... Royal Rumble against Ser Robert Strong..

[God_made_me_do_it]

I don't think Sandor will face RS either, (I used to) but now I think Cersei will be proven innocent via RS crushing little hair shirt wearing Lancel. (in the most spectacular way) and I do think Cersei will find out where Sansa is hiding and send RS after her, at which point Sandor will try to intervene.

I think there might be something in this - I'm starting to think that theory there about Strong eventually going after Sansa being interesting.. but it'd probably have to tie in with a few other things I was thinking might happen - firstly we know Littlefinger fully intends to bring Sansa out into the open to claim the North. If this happens and Cercei is in power (after an awesome battle where Robert Strong turns up for trial by battle and turns his challenger into a stain on the tiles), she would likely send him to deal with Sansa.

Anyway, first I suspect Brienne will live and offer to off Jaime for unCat, but in the name of good ol' character development in juxtaposition to Jaime finding a bit of honor, she'll find herself a bit of cunning and take Jaime off with her; thinking that if they save Sansa she'll have proven Jaime to be true and get out of killing him, thus keeping all her oaths (at least to the satisfaction of everyone she serves). UnCat can't really dispute Jaime's oath if he saves Sansa directly. So off to The Vale with them.

Thinking about Bran's dream there, it seems obvious the two other combatants are going to have to be The Hound and Jaime Lannister. So Jaime and Brienne go after Sansa at the Eyrie and encounter RS. I think maybe Brienne will be incapacitated and Jaime is left facing off against the monstrous RS, maybe in an attempt to save Brienne.. at which point a mysterious badass appears and saves them - Sandor Clegane, possibly reborn as a good guy.

I'd also say geography is a bit in favour of this theory -

http://awoiaf.wester...ex.php/Saltpans

That is pretty damn close to the Vale. I'm also thinking it'll make a good story anyway - the idea of Gregor reborn as an unholy monstrosity and Sandor being born again as a genuine good-guy - the fact he shows remorse for his life when he last sees Arya shows he has some regrets for his former life. Even if Sandor sacrifices himself to kill unGregor, it'd make a pretty epic end to his story arc. If not and for some insane reason G.r.r. Martin actually does a happy ending to it I guess Sandor could forgive his brother and dispatch him without malice, and leave at peace with himself. Probably not though, I'd totally kill him.

Ooh also just thought.. Brienne's face is disfigured so maybe Lem gives her the hound's helmet to cover it up.. make a good dramatic scene if she gets the hound helmet knocked off in a fight with RS, and while Jaime is distracting him Sandor picks up his old helm one last time..

[Cat of the Canal Girl]

Solid theory and I'm inclined to believe it. Would like to offer a couple counterpoints though:

-Didn't they mention there was a ferry that ran from Saltpans to the QI? While it still may have been somewhat difficult to control the Stranger/Driftwood on the ferry, that would have been a better option that walking the twisty path. Since the twisty path could be avoided, I don't think the difficulty of walking it can be offered up as evidence.

-Rawney and Gillam were both injured by Stranger in separate incidents. Wouldn't you think that they would learn after the first time that he is dangerous and let Sandor handle him? Or even before the first incident, Sandor would have told them to not go near the horse.

[God_made_me_do_it]

Hm, possibly, although Sandor would have likely been injured for a while I guess, it didn't look like he had the kind of wounds you just get up from, so it could be that Rawney and Gillam were tending to Stranger while Sandor was recuperating and in no fit state to do anything. Looking back it does seem odd that Martin's gone out of the way to point out the gravedigger and describe him in detail. It's very suspicious. Plus you got to agree that an undead gregor vs a holy warrior sandor would be absolutely epic.

[Jon Flowers]

This all went over my head first time around - but the evidence is pretty complelling (and I love a conspiracy) so I agree Sandor is almost certainly alive. But maybe he's not the Hound that we knew anymore.

Sandor was one the first non-noble characters encountered and described in depth back when everybody was at Winterfell. Since then his major contributions have been to help (or helpfully kidnap) Arya and to develop Sansa's character a little. Though both significant, there's got to be more coming from a character who has been built up as much as he has.

I expect him to be back in the thick of things some time - but maybe quite different and differently than before.

He is a very interesting character no doubt, but he is also indisputably a memeber of the nobility. He was born the second son of lord Clegane (or quite possibly a landed knight) and with his brother's death, he is now heir to his family's lands should he choose to claim them.

[cantharella]

I don't think Sandor will face RS either, (I used to) but now I think Cersei will be proven innocent via RS crushing little hair shirt wearing Lancel. (in the most spectacular way) and I do think Cersei will find out where Sansa is hiding and send RS after her, at which point Sandor will try to intervene.

:bowdown:

This would be epic!

I just realised that I don't really care that much if everyone else dies, as long as we have happy-ish end for the Hound and Sansa (yes, I'm SanSan fangirl, pathetic, I know...).

GRRM said that the ending will be bittersweet, so there is sweet for you. I know that what makes aSoIaF so brilliant is that it's not a fairytale with knights & fair maidens & unicorns, but there should be one exception that proves the rule.