5 Best Game Of Thrones Characters Who Are Only In One Episode

Ian McShane’s soft and subtle performance as Brother Ray was a little overshadowed when his episode first aired. After all, we met him through his work with The Hound, Sandor Clegane. The much loved Hound was left to die by Arya in the season 4 finale, and many thought he was gone for good. Guess there was a Maester behind that rock after all.

While there’s enough of that old violent spark left in The Hound, it’s clear he’s a changed man. Brother Ray is the catalyst for that, and McShane’s performance makes it a completely believable transition.

With a star like McShane attached, a lot of fans expected Ray to be a long term addition. However, that’s not how things work in Westeros. Ray is murdered and his body discovered by the Hound himself at the episode's climax.

This moment lets us see how much Clegane has truly changed. Once a man so soaked in violence and death, Ray’s murder moves the once soulless Hound. This was someone he’d let himself care about.

When the Hound finally tracks the killer, he says he needs revenge because they ‘killed his friend’, revealing the true depth of Brother Ray’s influence on his journey to redemption.