A certain fight during the Game of Thrones finale
Possible spoilers for the season 4 finale!
Full disclosure, I’ve only seen the show and anything I accidently know about the books is due to having certain events spoiled by friends. However, I must say having the Gravedigger theory explained to me Sunday night was the most welcome spoiler I’ve ever received.
Sandor Clegane (or Colonel Sandor as I’ve been lovingly calling him) has been my favorite character in Game of Thrones pretty much from the beginning. I also really love Brienne though, like for reals. Even before the Jamie vs. Brienne sass-off road trip, I knew she was gonna be something super special. With the application of alcohol and time for reflection, I now feel that the fight between my babies during the finale was technically a wonderful idea. (Somewhere, my friends who watched the finale with me are spewing beverages in disbelief, remembering me screaming “No!” with my hands over my face as my favorite (not) knights beat the shit out of each other).
Ok but no, hear me out. That brawl was about more than abusing the love I (viewers) have for those two by having them engage in a truly badass fight for the sake of coolness (which it was).
For me they were the avatars of two conflicting ideologies within the Game of Thrones world. The Hound’s kill or be killed, survival of the strongest, honor is a lie, philosophy. His entire way of life is threatened by Brienne’s existence, the Stark-like, oath keeping, honorable way she rolls. She is essentially the Knight that Sansa once dreamed of. Sandor arguably could exist in a world with Bri, but the Hound cannot. Her every breath is a contradiction to everything he believes in. She is everything The Hound tried to prove to the Stark girls (and to himself?) couldn’t exist in their F-ed up, awful world. She’s a knight of legend, she’s what Sandor could have been (could be?). Worse yet, she represents what Arya could be. She represents another path, a Hound-free alternative. The only reaction the Hound could ever have had to meeting Brienne is violence. Sandor is fighting to protect Arya, The Hound is fighting to protect his carefully crafted reality. Of course this is all figurative and thematic, but after watching it again, I can’t help but feel that this was a good move for the show. I have little love for “The Hound.” Brienne “killing” The Hound no longer pains me (that may be the alcohol talking). It leaves an opportunity for Sandor to live free of his influence, and frankly, I’m into that.
Also, to me, if you’re going to go about developing Arya’s character some more, this fight does a good job of setting Arrya back on the path to becoming a Braavosi sword Jedi. Arya’s basically been itching to live the Braavos life from the moment she studied under Syrio. Arrya to my mind, was presented a choice between the two ideologies. Essentially, the choice between two parents in a sick child custody disagreement. She had lived the honorable way of the Starks. But what did honor ever get her except heartache anyway? So choosing Brienne wasn’t going to work. She could have chosen the Nihilistic approach of the Hound, but she made it clear time and time again that she wasn’t into his contradictory code. So, she’s absorbed lessons from both schools of thought, but rejected them both as life choices other people were trying to force on her. Instead, she’s struck out on her own and made her own choice (which is kinda cool). At least that is what I took away from her departing scene.
Also, that was a foul, dirty, but brilliantly choreographed, fight and it looked fabulous (and heart wrenching, and soul smashing).
If only it didn’t make me want to weep violently and throw stuff.