My Rambles on the Bronn + Hound scene. (warning: long...?)
Welp
Time to ramble about things people don’t care about. In regards to the Sandor and Bronn scene in the 9th episode, I was surprised(and then not really) at the initial clash between the two. I’m biased considering I roleplayed the scenario beforehand and I know it’s not always fun rping people at odds. So maybe that’s why when i rp Bronn, he got along with the Hound without a hitch. Though ultimately they came to a truce of some sort, I couldn’t help wondering why the clash happened between characters that are, as the writers put it, fundamentally similar.
Fundamentally they’re both battle veterans who are very comfortable with murder and couldn’t give two shits about honour and knights. I haven’t given a huge amount of thoughts about Sandor Clegane’s character, but I think I’m somewhat informed of more than his seemingly exterior being. And sometimes, I’m not even sure I really get Bronn, but Bronn might seem like a dude Sandor would be alright with, hence the idea of them being drinking buds. So, why the clash?
I have a small part I may want to add in a separate post, but I think this is enough for now. I can't compare to the many amazing writers I've read who do this sort of this wonderfully, but I hope this is clear and my weird blog layout didn't make it too hard to read. My tenses are all over the place, I'm sorry.
“You think you’re a hard man.”
In one of the behind the scene/episode short clip sort of thing, DB Weiss discussed the brothel scene. He describes Bronn as a ”good time kinda of a guy”, someone you would want to hang out with and who’s lots of fun(assume you weren’t his target). While Sandor is a more quiet and intimidating type of dude; “definitely not a whole lot of fun”. In short, Bronn could be your friendly bro, while all you can hope for with Sandor is for him not to kill you(Sansa excluded) The Hound states many times how little he cares for other people’s opinion(don’t quote me on this, this is just what I remembered), but I think he’s confused on why these men like Bronn.
“You think you’re a hard man.”
“Ohoho, I know it.”
*Men quietly laugh-> Sandor side-eyes them*
Bronn, for all his low-born crass nature, manages to win the respect of this large group of men(they’re drunk, but y’know), but not just through intimidation. He has charisma**, he’s likeable, and it’s really hard to say considering I don’t know the exact type of people in the City watch[they’re motivated by money, yet who is to say they lack loyalty?], but those men may very well be willing to die for Bronn. The Hound definitely has the respect of many, probably everyone in that room, but he isn’t well-liked or.. any type of liked; he’s feared. There’s an obvious tension when he walks in the brothel and it’s a stark contrast to the more light-hearted scene beforehand(??? as light hearted as GOT gets, with Bronn talking about how he broke his nose while undressing a woman)
Sandor doesn’t care about being liked, but yeah, it probably seems strange to him. That some sellsword who likes to kill, drink and fuck, just as much as he does, seems adored by others. Those should be despicable characteristics. People shouldn’t like people who enjoy killing. Sandor knows this and he doesn’t bother to hide it; he thinks he’s a bad person and he’s fine with it. He thinks Bronn’s a bad person and knows Bronn knows it, but people still like him anyways? So maybe he thinks, look at this fucker, just as much as scum as I am, but trying to hide it through crass humour and laughs. The way Bronn calls him out later in the scene essentially paints Sandor to be the “bad man” and Sandor’s really like, “wut you’re no different than me why do people like you”
So maybe Sandor initially thinks Bronn is hiding his true nature, therefore ends up calling Bronn out: “You’re just like me”. He threatens him because Sandor hates liars, stemming back to why he hates knights; they prance around spouting out honour bullshit, but he knows his brother’s cruel nature and his brother is a knight. Knights are like a mummer’s farce, an illusion to their true nature. Though I may have just over complicate a simple concept of clashing personalities. Fun versus... not so fun.
**I think this is a interesting quality for someone like Bronn to have. I’ve wondered why no one has managed to slit his throat in an attempt to gain his position.
“And all you want, is put one of us in the cold ground.”
Bronn isn’t completely guilt-free though. He’s not some kid in the playground getting picked on by a bigger bully. It may seem like Sandor’s just looking for a fight, but someone brought up that Bronn’s looking for one as well. I don’t agree, but I could see how it seems that way. Bronn is the one who initiates the conversation, possibly to be friendly, but really? He must know the Hound doesn’t care for courtesies. He calls him out and then begins the staring contest. A lesser man, or some would argue a smarter man, would have backed down, but the weird sexual tension aside, Bronn basically looks at him with a grin basically “lol what, i’m not scared of you, dawg”. Oh, but Bronn was drinking; he’s drunk.
Aye, Bronn drinks a lot, but never so heavily it’ll impaired him judgement. I know, I know. How the fuck would you know, person on the internet? Well, it seems practical. It’s the night before the war, who would shit-face themselves so they would wake up gods know when to defend King’s Landing. And Bronn.. he knows he’s not a good guy, he knows he has enemies and he knows he can’t rely on others to save him. So, why would he drink so much he might end up making a stupid decision? It wouldn’t be worth the risk, it wouldn’t be worth his life. Therefore he doesn’t. He’s well aware of his limits. I can’t pull out a passage at the moment, but I remember in ACOK where Tyrion described the “party” between Bronn and his men. I can’t remember how drunk the sellswords were, maybe drunk enough to make my previous argument invalid(but at the same time, not). They were all joking loudly about becoming knights, all of them except Bronn, who just smiled knowingly. Well, maybe he’s a quiet drunk, maybe he was just really happy. But I think it was to illustrate the careful person Bronn is. Bronn’s too careful to get completely plastered. Another passage in ASOS, I believe, where Bronn ignores a bunch of handmaidens in favor of watching some new recruits sword fighting. I know, whoop-dee-doo right? Not like he deserves a medal for not leering at ever woman that walks by. Maybe over analyzing that passage, but it shows whatever desires Bronn has, he doesn’t let it get the best of him. He doesn’t let it get in the way of living.
Okay, a bit of a derailment. So Bronn’s not super drunk was my point. Bronn’s tipsy at most, but still not stupid. Engaging in a pissing contest with the Hound is generally considered a stupid idea, but he does it anyways. He not only continues the conversation, but as I mentioned before, basically calls Sandor out as a bad guy. “And all you want, is put one of us in the cold ground.”
I always wondered how much pride Bronn had, I don’t see it really discuss/mentioned much in the books/show, though we see hints of it. “I’m not your toady, and I’m not your friend.” “Don’t go looking for me to bend the knee and m’lord you every time you take a shit.” He’ll kill, no problem, but can you see him begging for his life? But I won’t go into that.
So, pissing contest, stupid, why Bronn? Is it a pride thing? Did Bronn want to give the message “hey i’m not afraid of you”? I’ve seen discussions on who would win in a fight Bronn vs Sandor. I don’t have a strong opinion, but there are a lot of people who say the Hound. I’m not saying Bronn would win, in fact I think he’ll lose a good fight(did you see Sandor clean cut a man in two!?!?!?). Who would win isn’t really the point.
“And quicker, eh?”
Bronn isn’t stupid(repetitive, i know. I have a strong opinion on that), he knows Sandor isn’t Ser Vardis weight down by armour gilded with honour and noble to the fault. He may have never even seen Sandor fight to know his fighting style. Bronn wouldn’t go into a fight he didn’t think he’ll win and it’s very debatable he could win this one. The shots of him holding his knife the rest of the scene after Sandor becomes a threat shows what little chances he’ll take. So Bronn couldn’t have been initially looking for a physically fight. Maybe just a verbal spat? Or maybe this just a time where he couldn’t learn to keep his mouth shut and the wrong things slipped out? Maybe he felt his leadership presence was threatened by the more imposing Sandor?(He can't very well show cowardice to the men he’s leading) I know i’m throwing a lot of questions around, but I’m trying to give a nice round of possibilities. The more I wondered, the more I thought Bronn knew what he was getting himself into.
It’s silly to go hunting for enemies, especially with powerful people. So it’s possible Bronn attempts to engage Sandor was with no ill intentions. Bronn’s not too accustomed to our idea friendship or really the idea of friendship. A bit of verbal quarrel may just be the only way he knows how to interact, with humour and insults. To Bronn, he probably doesn’t think he said anything insulting. Granted he was being a little smug about it and at the same time sarcastic, which can very much be seen as mocking. Yet again, going by his “friendship” with Tyrion, Bronn may only know how to interact this way; being a bit of a prick. Sandor may have thought Bronn was calling him a terrible person, but to Bronn, it was just for laughs.
Sandor much rather beat his face in, so he challenges Bronn. Which Bronn doesn’t immediately rises up to. It’s a fight he rather avoid if possible. The “and quicker”,line was probably a last attempt to lighten the mood. He’s pretty comfortable, drink in hand, whore on lap; he doesn’t want to get up, but he doesn’t want to go down without a fight, so yeah he gets up.
We know what happens, siege bells, party’s over. The point of that was, Bronn wasn’t looking for a fight, he wanted to lighten the mood and does so in the only way he knew how. Risky, but he may have been confident his men would back him up or the Hound wouldn’t be so quick to kill him, because they still need him. Bronn knew what he was doing.
Though, was the Hound’s intention to kill the man? He didn’t draw a sword and he made pretty vague threats. “Your lord Imp’s gonna miss you.” which could be interpret as Bronn’s not surviving the siege because he’s so cocky.. I don’t really remember, but Sandor seems pretty direct with most of his threats. With no weapon drawn, the Hound might’ve just settled for a good ol’ brothel brawl.
“One more drink before the war, shall we?”
A truce. A remainder of ”we’re on the side side btw” but also a “no hard feelings, I don’t really care you think I’m shit.” And Sandor takes the drink and cracks a smile( maybe I’m seeing things). If he was really offended the Hound could’ve still killed him, he wasn’t aware of Bronn’s role in Tyrion’s plan, or at least punch him in the face. Although he probably realized that would have started an unnecessary fight. Sandor may have eventually noticed(probably not because how much shit could he give) that Bronn never denys liking murder. He eye rolled. Which could be taken as a “ohh you think that of all sellswords, silly” or “lol no fucking duh”.
Of course he doesn’t kill him because Bronn still has a role to play, but I’ll trust GRRM who writing this episode to understand their dynamic. I like to believe Sandor walked out of the scene thinking Bronn isn’t that much of a shithead
