Game Of Thrones Season 6: 5 Reasons Cleganebowl Needs To Happen (And 3 It Doesn't)
Be careful what you wish for...
With the Hound now back in action, we have all the required pieces on the board for the event fans have been waiting for since years before the pilot even aired. Cleganebowl is back on the table and fans are both excited and terrified in equal measure.
After five long years of meetings, trials and cruel disappointments, Season Six has been delivering some heavy duty fan service. Episode 7, which saw the return of Sandor Clegane, reignited the hype in fans everywhere.
The most recent episode, however, abolished trials by combat, seemingly extinguishing hopes for the Clegane Bros. fighting it out. It’s not necessarily over though, perhaps just delayed (and it could still happen in the books if nothing else).
The scope for events in Game of Thrones is huge, and if things accelerate too fast there's a constant fear of it running away into some sort of unwieldy Lost-like beast.
While we'd all love to see the two brothers in an inferno match battling for vindication, there may be a case for leaving Cleganebowl in the message boards where we found it.
Get your fan boy and critic hats ready as we look at five reasons Cleganebowl totally absolutely needs to happen, and three maybe not so much.
8. Cleganebowl No: The Mountain's Condition
While the prospect of a life long feud being settled in one last trial by combat, The physical and emotional poignancy is marred a little by Gregor's petrified zombie state.
Being kissed by Viper, we have no idea how much of Sandor's cruel, brutal brother is left. It may be ultimately unsatisfying how little vengeance Sandor can even take from this shambling shell of a monster. The Hound character is beloved and seems set on putting himself at risk to kill a character that may already be basically dead.
Game Of Thrones' love of shocking swerves has perhaps painted this particular story into an anticlimactic corner. From a plot standpoint, the head popping swerve that landed Gregor here was a nonsensical aside that wasted two great characters for the sake of some false peril for a Third. Now this frivolity is coming back to bite us a little.
There is an interesting opportunity for some good characterization and acting performance here though. What could begin as one man coming to visit his own pain on another could turn into a little brother releasing his big brother from suffering. Oberyn's revenge is so good that it may validate that trial. But will it make the Cleganebowl feel too bittersweet?