3. Sandor Clegane
Two tales of redemption persist through the narrative of A Song of Ice and Fire, the first is Jaime Lannisters, but the second belongs to Sandor Clegane. Known as the hound, Sandor was initially the guardian of Prince (later King) Joffrey, killing at his command. He took a liking to Sansa Stark, however, shielding her from Joffreys wrath, rescuing her from being raped at the hands of a rioting mob and even trying to take her with him when he deserted the Lannister cause during the Battle of the Blackwater. Caught by the Brotherhood Without Banners in the Riverlands, he prevailed in a trial by combat and found himself in the company of Sansas younger sister Arya, who wished death on him for his prior actions (including the murder of a boy shed befriended, Mycah). Having failed to ransom her to her brother Robb (because of the Red Wedding) or her aunt Lysa (because of the inaccessibility of the Eyrie), he ended up stuck with the girl until an encounter with some of his brother Gregors men left him injured and abandoned. His signature helmet, with a hound design was found by Rorge, a member of the Bloody Mummers mercenary troupe, who donned it to commit terrible crimes that were erroneously believed to have been committed by Sandor due to the distinctiveness of the helm. Brienne of Tarth, meanwhile, during her search for Sansa Stark, learned from an Elder Brother of the faith that the hound was dead, though she noted a large and silent gravedigger with a healing injury petting a dog, all of which would seem to indicate that he is in fact Sandor, serving some form of penance for his sins. The hound may be dead, but Sandor Clegane, it would seem, is far from it.