The Hound - A Sworn Brother of the Night's Watch?

[Dolorous Edd]

Very quickly going to post this theory up, so please excuse any mistakes/holes etc.

-----------

I've been thinking where poor old Sandor can go now. He's pretty much ostracised himself from everyone. On the one hand he was too long the lannister's man ( quite openly performing any dirty and unpleasant tasks they needed doing) for any of the other factions to trust him, and yet fleeing the siege of king's landing has severed his ties to the Lannisters, probably for good.

He was heading north with Arya to try and ransom her, but's he's lost her, so where can he go?

Why, to the Wall of course.
I doubt he'd head there with that in mind, but i can easily see him being gradually forced North by circumstances, and perhaps being taken by one of the Watch's patrols and being brought before Jon.

Now, why would Sandor join ther watch, and more importantly, why would they accept him?

Sandor's damaged goods; traumatised by his brothers cruelty, melded into a viscous brute by Tywin Lannister, he has done many shameful things in his life.

But so have many others on the Wall. It is often mentioned that the Wall has became the home of murders and rapists, thieves and scoundrels. Most of the Brother's did not join the watch voluntarily, but were given a choice: Death/imprisonment - or or a chance to redeem themslves in service to the realm.

A man's sins are forgiven in the watch, his past errased. A second chance at life.

But i don't think the chance to redeem himself will be enough to sway Sandor. I think one man will sway him - Jon Snow.

We don't know a great deal about Sandor's parents, but we know his brother terrorised him, and we can surmise from the suggestions that his father's death in a hunting accident(?) was the work of gregor, and the fact that gregor's acts of cruelty went unpunished, that his father was not strong enough to stand up to his brother. So it's very likely that Sandor had no love as a child, brutalised by his brother and left to fend for himself by his weakling father.

He then went and took service with the Lannisters, who exploited the imotionaly damaged Sandor to mould him into a frightening tool to terrorise their enemies, with no thought as to what it would do to Sandor.

He is, in essance, a houd, who has been beaten and starved to make it more viscious when unleashed.

Now, what would jon snow be able to say, or do to sway sandor? I point to the one thing they have in common - fire, they have both been burned.

Now, From Jon's perspective we know that he does not harbour the same overwhelming fear of fire that Sandor does (his own nightmares of that night being more about the wights themselves then being burned). but it does give him an inside understanding of what Sandor must feel.

Added to that the fact that they both were part of, but apart from their respective families and i think that they will each sense in the other a kindred spirit and Sandor will take the black, and became Jon's strong right hand and shield, much as he was Joffrey's - But won with kindness, faith and offered fellowship as oppossed to the carrot-and-stick approach of the Lannisters.


Oh, and no matter what he does, Sandor Clegane will undoubtly be burned to death doing something frightfully heroic, saving Sansa from a burning building or whatnot and having her say "Oh You ARE a true knight!" and him saying "I'm no bloody KNIGHT!" before throwing her out a window and having the roof cave in on him

-----

Not too happy with that reading it through, doesn't put all my thoughts across but it's an O.K start for people to add to (Or weak foundations for naysayers to easily uproot ) .

[Trey Greyjoy]

Hi D-E,

Good thinking! He could very well end up at the wall. That Id like to see!

[Ender]

I wish GGRR ends the saga having a strong Wall.Each Lord Commander rised it up a bit more than it's previous.
All the castles restored/rebuilded and full of brothers.

But seems everyone is pretty sure that the Wall will fall...
I wouldn't like that to be honest.

[cercar]

Don't forget about Sandor's oath to kill Gregor, that would take him back to King's Landing first. Afterwards I'd say Sandor has as good of a chance of going to the Wall as he does of becoming a sellsword or perhaps joining Danny's army though Barristan's council might prevent that.

[AryaUnderfoot]

Welcome Edd!

Blast, I just typed a long message and now it's all been deleted.

Anyhoo, the gist of what I wanted to say was this:

I don't think Sandor would join the Night's Watch. His character has shown the utmost disdain when it comes to organized brotherhoods and noble causes. He definitely seems to be seeking redemption in some way, but I have a feeling it will be more to do with being the saviour of a certain person (cough- Sansa!) than it will be something like dying for his country.

[Boaz]

Edd, some good thoughts. I like the shared experience of being burned... Jon and Sandor. Martin throws people with similar experiences together (though at first glance the two would never be paired together)... Jaime and Brienne (called Kingslayers), Jorah and Barristan (exiled knights), Ned and Petyr (Cat's lovers), Tyrion and Jon (view themselves as bastards), Bran and Hodor (both are only half-men), Arya and Sandor (bitter and lost)... I'm sure there's more.

Sandor could go to the Night's Watch, but he won't until his brother is dead. And I don't think he is afraid to die (except by fire), so he won't be coerced in going to the Wall... though he might if he made a deal to save a Stark girl (like Ned tried to do).

AU, Sandor indeed has disdain for knighthood and the priesthood, but he scorns them for their hypocrisy. The Night's Watch does not have this hypocrisy 9except for Mole's Town)... they freely admit that they accept murderers, rapists, and every type of scum... Sandor would not have to be a hypocrite.

If Sandor can stomach the high seas, I'd say reaving for Euron might be up his alley.

[Sword of the Morning]

Sounds good to me. The Night's Watch need good men like the Hound. Will it happen, I'm not betting on it. Sandor is headed, in my opinion, toward saving Sansa. I don't think Litterfinger is going to help Sansa out in playing the game of thrones. To him, Sansa is the next best thing to having Catelyn.

Since where on the subject, what about Jorah Mormont ending up as a sworn brother?

Oh and Welcome Dolorous Ed

[Culhwch]

I like the theory, and I can see how it would work (or I can see how I would want it to work). But I doubt it. For one, I think Sandor's dead (Yes, will have the words ready for devouring come Sept. 28). For seconds, the Wall is awful far away and with an awful lot of awful folks in between - Freys, Ironmen, Boltons and whatnot.

Jorah ending up at the Wall is an altogether different proposition. Could happen. But I always saw Jorah joining one of Dany's foes in a bitter attempt at misguided revenge. He doesn't have enough honour to go to the Wall.

[Dolorous Edd]

Originally Posted by Culhwch

the Wall is awful far away and with an awful lot of awful folks in between - Freys, Ironmen, Boltons and whatnot.

To some extent i agree with you, but it's quite easy for a single person (or small group of persons) to make it safely through hostile country without being detected/harrassed. Catelyn and her party were fine on the way to and from the parly with Renly, so i don't see why Sandor could not get through unmolested. the Frey's could be a problem though; i forget, is he the wrong side of the Twins for traveling North? I can't remember.


But i'm not sure whether it'll come to pass. I hope so, I like the idea of Jon having his own kingsguard, but called the beastguard. how cool would that be. Jon with a white direwolf's helm (i know the watch wear only black, but that'd make him easier for his men to pick out in a scrap so i think that'd be allowed) and Sandor with his houn'ds head, grenn with an aurochs, Gendry perhaps with his bull etc. (I think the brotherhood without banners, sworn as they are to defend the realm, may well end up being the first to take the black when the shattered remnants of the watch flee south before the other's advance.)

[AryaUnderfoot]

Originally Posted by Boaz

AU, Sandor indeed has disdain for knighthood and the priesthood, but he scorns them for their hypocrisy. The Night's Watch does not have this hypocrisy 9except for Mole's Town)... they freely admit that they accept murderers, rapists, and every type of scum... Sandor would not have to be a hypocrite.

Boaz, I was using his feelings for the knighthood and the priesthood as examples for how he seems to feel about nobility and the people of the kingdom. Bottom line, I don't think he has it in him to die selflessly for a cause such as saving Westeros, the kingdom whose rulers casually turn a blind eye to such monsters as SER Gregor Clegane. I'm sure Sandor would say to hell with it all, it's a rotten place anyway.

[Duff_Omathum]

I can't see Sandor on the wall either. I think another Stark would drive him nuts thinking about Sansa, celebacy isn't much fun!

I always thought Sandor would join up with Briane and like Jamie learn what honour is. After all they both have ugliness in common :-)

My guess is that they will both search for Sansa together and pull off something pretty heroic along the way. Sandor with Oathkeeper would make even Gregor think a bit I think.

On the subject of Gregor, I wonder why Sandor never tried for a killing stroke during their duel? Was it fear that made him hold back?

[Boaz]

Not fear.

But it was not his fight, it was Loras' fight. Sandor did not want to spill Gregor's blood for Loras' honor.

When Sandor goes after Gregor, Sandor will want Gregor to know the reason Sandor is killing him... and the reason is revenge.

[I, Brian]

Sandor as Nightwatch is an intriguing idea, but he always seemed such a loner...

[red_temple]

Originally Posted by Duff_Omathum

I always thought Sandor would join up with Briane and like Jamie learn what honour is.

I always thought the Hound already knew what honour was. That was part of what made him so bitter.

[Summer]

I think Sandor will try to find another master to serve. Like a true dog he must protect somebody.I like the Hound very much, but I don't believe that he will join to the Nightswatch, because I don't see him like a part of brotherhood, or a band. He is a loner.
And I think he fell in love with Sansa.