What if Sandor had Sansa instead of Arya? (not a ship)

[~Shiera Seastar~]

IMO, Sandor and Arya were one of the best interactions in the series. Even though they snarl at each other most of the time, they just click without them admitting it.

How about this: Sansa escaped with Sandor during the battle of BWB. What will happen? Can Sansa survive the wild, or adapt a life of a vagabond? Arya can handle being dirty, walking without shoes, eating worms, sleeping on a wet, muddy, or rocky ground, or killing someone if needs be. That said, Sandor was lucky to have a “hostage” like her (except Arya wanted to kill him). With Sansa, Sandor swore to protect her, keep her safe, and bring her home; she won’t be his captive. But how can Sandor look after her? Not sure if he will take her on a ship, but what if they travel on land? Can Sansa handle travelling day and night on a horseback, eating burnt squirrel instead of lemoncakes, or sleeping in the open wild with savage creatures prowling the woods? What if she cries muttering this was not suppose to be? (This is not romantic, right, Sweetling?) Will Sandor comfort her, yell at her, get tired of her, tell her this is the consequence of running away with him? Will he decide to ransom her then? Will he drown himself drinking wine, or remain sober to keep his wits so he can continue protecting the littlebird? If there was truly an attraction between the two, will it disappear like a spirit in the air? Can Sansa’s gentle nature still calm Sandor’s bad temper, and until what point? Can they survive together, or one (or both) of them will die?

[They see me R'hollin]

People over-romanticise The Hound.

[The Mountain That Flies]

For starters, Sansa skipping town would have cause Joffrey and/or Cersei to send out massive search parties for her (remember, she was still a valuable hostage at that time). So Sandor would have had a much harder time of it on the road, even without taking into account how much more difficult it would have been to travel with someone who is in no way outdoorsy. All of this danger would probably put the brakes on any "romance" between the two, and if he had Sansa, it's in no way foreseeable if Sandor would have still crossed paths with the Brotherhood Without Banners.

Assuming he did, and Sansa was remanded from his custody, the Stark girls would have been reunited. Arya probably wouldn't have run away and been caught by Sandor, so they would have been ransomed at Rivverun, though it's hard to say if they would have been back in time to go to the Red Wedding.

[franko99]

I think Sansa will adapt to the situation, she will never be as wild as Arya (eat worms or kill the tickler) but she will know it's for her own good (reaching the North or Riverrun), and Sandor has some gold from the torney of the hand, they can spend the night on inns. The reason the BWB capture Sandor drunk is because he has nowhere to go. I'm not saying it will be a pleasure cruise, or some sort of weird romantic journey (it wont) but they wont be traveling like he and Arya did. Also if they were going north, the logical choice will be go to Maiden Pool, and get a ship there to White Harbor. The major problem will be travel without being noticed, both of them are quite easy to recognize.

ETA: actually the best way to go unnoticed will be stay out of inns, but still KL to Maiden Pool is not a long trip, they can handle it

[Le Cygne]

I think Sansa will adapt to the situation, she will never be as wild as Arya (eat worms or kill the tickler) but she will know it's for her own good (reaching the North or Riverrun), and Sandor has some gold from the torney of the hand, they can spend the night on inns. The reason the BWB capture Sandor drunk is because he has nowhere to go. I'm not saying it will be a pleasure cruise, or some sort of weird romantic journey (it wont) but they wont be traveling like he and Arya did.

Agree with everything, it would have played out very differently. Sansa is pretty much going through hell where she is, anyway. She's been beaten and had her clothes torn off by orders of Joffrey, almost gang raped and killed, threatened with death by Cersei, threatened with rape by Joffrey, forced to marry, forced to strip and almost have sex with Tyrion, framed for regicide, almost killed by Lysa, almost raped by Marillion, pawed over by Littlefinger, ... I keep thinking of more.

[Theda Baratheon]

Sansa is definitely a survivor and so is Arya, that is one thing they have in common, however different they act.

[Angmar]

Sansa would find it hard to adapt, but she'd do so as long as the trip takes her to her family. I don't think it would have been romantic (i have a theory in which Sansa begins finding the Hound attractive once he leaves KL; and Sandor by his own gets to organize what he feels about Sansa and regret his earlier violent actions towards her), but much less hostile than it was when the Hound traveled with Arya.

Still, could have been difficult, since they'd be chased by Lannisters all the time, because the same night in that Joffrey lost his guard dog his captive also disappeared.

[Naathi Prince]

If the Hound had taken Sansa, it would have just been a quick trip over to Riverrun

[DaveSnow House Stark]

Thinking that unless Sansa shut her mouth and didn't complain about every little thing that it would be ok. But if she cried all the time, dirty, hungry, tired, cold etc. then Sandor might go away and The Hound may come back. Sandor likes her, The Hound likes no one.

[Theda Baratheon]

Thinking that unless Sansa shut her mouth and didn't complain about every little thing that it would be ok. But if she cried all the time, dirty, hungry, tired, cold etc. then Sandor might go away and The Hound may come back. Sandor likes her, The Hound likes no one.

I don't agree with this. I can't see him beating or hurting Sansa.

[Kittykatknits]

I think Sansa will adapt to the situation, she will never be as wild as Arya (eat worms or kill the tickler) but she will know it's for her own good (reaching the North or Riverrun), and Sandor has some gold from the torney of the hand, they can spend the night on inns. The reason the BWB capture Sandor drunk is because he has nowhere to go. I'm not saying it will be a pleasure cruise, or some sort of weird romantic journey (it wont) but they wont be traveling like he and Arya did. Also if they were going north, the logical choice will be go to Maiden Pool, and get a ship there to White Harbor. The major problem will be travel without being noticed, both of them are quite easy to recognize.

ETA: actually the best way to go unnoticed will be stay out of inns, but still KL to Maiden Pool is not a long trip, they can handle it

Agree with everything, it would have played out very differently. Sansa is pretty much going through hell where she is, anyway. She's been beaten and had her clothes torn off by orders of Joffrey, almost gang raped and killed, threatened with death by Cersei, threatened with rape by Joffrey, forced to marry, forced to strip and almost have sex with Tyrion, framed for regicide, almost killed by Lysa, almost raped by Marillion, pawed over by Littlefinger, ... I keep thinking of more.

I agree with both of you. Sansa's very adaptable and she's a survivor above all. Not saying it'd be easy as pie but she would do it.

As for the Hound, he'd do both because Sansa would provide him a purpose which he'd been lacking, hence being caught by the BWB. I don't think her traveling with him would magically solve all his problems though. He has serious demons but he'd have a direction. In Storm, he's like a dog without a master (mistress), he's wandering and lost. He says he is his won dog now which is true as he left the Lannister cause behind him, yet he doesn't know what that means. He doesn't fit anywhere, not even a small, anonymous village. Sansa would negate that I think. But, I wouldn't go so far as to say his rage would be gentled either.

But, they'd still need to stay away from inns and people. By himself, the crown won't spend a huge amount of effort looking for him (as the books prove) but with Sansa, they'd be the target of every just about everyone. Hide in the woods, disguises where possible, and so on. He'd try to keep his promise, I have no doubt, but he is still only one man.

[Le Cygne]

Sansa is definitely a survivor and so is Arya, that is one thing they have in common, however different they act.

Sansa's very adaptable and she's a survivor above all. Not saying it'd be easy as pie but she would do it.

It's amazing when you think of all she's been through. Survivor is a good word.

[Theda Baratheon]

It's amazing when you think of all she's been through. Survivor is a good word.

Definitely; I have a wealth of respect for Sansa.

[Woman of War]

Sansa would be a real pain in the ass and a very dangerous hostage. She is definitely high maintenance, she needs lots of logistics in order to survive, would be unable to help in the wilderness, is not streeetwise, is probably unable to pass as commoner, has never lighted a fire, cannot cook or look after horses. In short all her abilities are useless out there.

And it would not take much time until the attraction of a little bird is unveiled and Sandor sees Sansa for what she is: completely dependent on others and useless in the real world out there. Unless she learns very fast her attraction to Sandor will fade since a true Lady is as much hypocrisy as a true knight.

Maybe Sandor would try to get rid of Sansa as soon as possible, hopefully he would not rape her out of sheer disappointment. Well, I think he won't since in everyday interaction Sansa will simply be a boring nuisance to him.

Only I think if Sansa is ever confronted with real life out there Martin will send her through hell into the gutter like any mistreated female commoner while turning her into a quick learner for the sake of the story. And so she will finally manage to survive, be a lot wiser and surprise us with some resilience.

[Selyse's Moustache Rides]

Sansa would be a real pain in the ass and a very dangerous hostage. She is definitely high maintenance, she needs lots of logistics in order to survive, would be unable to help in the wilderness, is not streeetwise, is probably unable to pass as commoner, has never lighted a fire, cannot cook or look after horses. In short all her abilities are useless out there.

And it would not take much time until the attraction of a little bird is unveiled and Sandor sees Sansa for what she is: completely dependent on others and useless in the real world out there. Unless she learns very fast her attraction to Sandor will fade since a true Lady is as much hypocrisy as a true knight.

Maybe Sandor would try to get rid of Sansa as soon as possible, hopefully he would not rape her out of sheer disappointment. Well, I think he won't since in everyday interaction Sansa will simply be a boring nuisance to him.

Only I think if Sansa is ever confronted with real life out there Martin will send her through hell into the gutter like any mistreated female commoner while turning her into a quick learner for the sake of the story. And so she will finally manage to survive, be a lot wiser and surprise us with some resilience.

:bowdown: :pimp: :cool4: :agree: :rofl: :smug: :thumbsup: :kiss: :wub: :cheers:

[Le Cygne]

There's the other ball in play, Brienne. Put this alternative scenario into place, and Sandor is not following the same path that he was. So they could run into Brienne, and she has the Jaime connection. That was always their plan, too, spirit her away somewhere safe.

The Quiet Isle suddenly plays no role in the story this way...

[Selyse's Moustache Rides]

There's the other ball in play, Brienne. Put this alternative scenario into place, and Sandor is not following the same path that he was. So they could run into Brienne, and she has the Jaime connection. That was always their plan, too, spirit her away somewhere safe.

The Quiet Isle suddenly plays no role in the story this way...

Brienne doesn't go on her Sansa quest until a very long time after the BBW.

[Le Cygne]

Right, I'm talking later in the story. Everything seems to be about to converge in the next book.

[Selyse's Moustache Rides]

You think they would meet up in TWOW? I don't think so. Like someone else said, SanSan heads straight for Riverrun and Sansa gets ransomed, leaving The Hound solo long before he runs into the Beauty of Tarth.

[DogLover]

It would be an incredibly dangerous journey for both Sandor and Sansa. Not only are they both very conspicuous, but, as already pointed out, the Lannisters would be hot on their trail. They would have to make an incredibly quick journey north, avoid inns and any other luxuries of civilization.

As difficult as the journey would be for Sansa, especially considering the atrocious weather, I do think she would tough it out as best she could. I also think her presence would temper Sandor some. He wouldn't get shitfaced drunk, which means he wouldn't be captured by the Mad Huntsman and the BwB, which caused him to lose all of his gold.

However, if they could make it to Riverrun before the RW, would Robb take Sandor into his service? I always got the impression Sandor was more interested in serving Robb than he was ransoming either of the girls. And, would Sansa have attended the RW, which means she would have ended up dead or a Frey hostage, which can't be much better than a Lannister hostage?