Another ‘Game of Thrones’ character returns from the ‘dead’

The last time we saw Sandor Clegane (a.k.a. The Hound, played by Rory McCann) in season 4, we thought Arya Stark had mercilessly left him for dead and run off with his money. A criminal bit him, and with a broken leg, he suffered defeat at the hands of Brienne of Tarth over the custody of Arya. He asked the young Stark to kill him, but she didn’t grant him that mercy.

Now, he’s returned – as if from the dead, with other war-weary figures who have shunned violence.

Rory McCann, the actor playing him, said of his return in a behind-the-scenes video: “It might be a bit of a shock, ’cause you thought he was dead. I’m sure there’d be a few who’d go, ‘I knew it! I knew it!’ You know, the Hound’s quite hard to kill.”

A man named Ray (Ian McShane) discovered the Hound when he seemed to be dying, and now, he’s nursed back to health. “There’s a reason you’re still here,” the character says in a scene. “The gods aren’t done with you yet.”

Has something in the Hound changed?

“My character – it’s in there to highlight, maybe some kind of change for the Hound,” Ian said.

The actor also notes this in an Entertainment Weekly (EW) interview and describes his character: “He’s an ex-warrior who’s grown tired of the murdering life and trying to lead another kind of life. But I think my main use was to re-introduce a character people thought was long gone and who needed some humanity.” 

“The Hound has not been shown much humanity in his life, and he gets a little from Brother Ray and carries that forward into his character, which makes it more interesting for those who watch him.”

Screenwriter and co-executive producer Bryan Cogman also weighed in on the return, separately telling EW, “Ian McShane [Ray] is a New Age ex-warrior with a painful history of violence, and he’s found his own flock trying to rebuild their lives. He sees Sandor as a candidate. He recognizes in Sandor a bit of himself.”

He added, “The Hound, apart from being grateful, starts to open up to him. He’s the first and only friend he’s ever friend in his life. And that was an interesting relationship to explore. The scenes have a light touch and gentleness and humanity and humor that you don’t find on the show.”

In a scene from “The Broken Man,” the Hound is asked by Ray what keeps him going when he would have just keeled over. He responds, “Hate.”

“I don’t think the Hound is full of hate as he was. I think Sandor Clegane is starting off with a little bit of peace, actually. I’m sure that could change like that, though,” Rory muses in the video, with a snap of his fingers.