I wanna re-frame the hound’s death for a hot minute
because rather than seeing it as like, his need for vengeance was stronger than his fear of fire...
taking out the mountain was necessary, yes? we all agree on that? so how about this- the hound’s need to kill his brother for the protection of the realm was stronger than his fear of fire. he overcame a lifelong trauma to eliminate an unnatural and dangerous person who, ostensibly, would not have been killed by falling rocks. he sacrificed himself in the process, yes. and there’s tragedy in that. but by the end of his life, the hound was, for the most part, a decent person who’d come back from a life of being a shit. and his last act was, arguably, one of courage.
It’s more interesting if it’s complex like this. driven partly by hatred and partly by some lingering sense of honor, deep inside him. some desire to protect something. D&D can say it was only vengeance all they want in a ten minute snippet, but I think what comes across on screen, especially after his touching scene with Arya, is far more complicated than that.