Sandor “the Hound” Clegane has since forever been at odds with Gregor “the Mountain” Clegane. Game of Thrones portrayed their relationship as tumultuous, ripe with rage and loathing. They were the Cain and Abel of the extremely popular HBO series. After a long history of resentment, fans began to speculate that the brothers would ultimately fight each other to death. This came to be known as Cleganebowl.
Cleganebowl in Game of Thrones
Seemingly, the Cleganebowl originated following Cersei Lannister’s call for a trial by combat in Game of Thrones Season 4, resulting from her son Joffrey’s death. Book fans were torn between liking and disliking the idea, with some likely being indifferent whether Cleganebowl happened or didn’t. The fan theory gained further popularity after declaration was made on a YouTube video that fans “get hype” in anticipation of the speculated duel.
Deep thought: do you think George RR Martin is using this time to actually work on finishing #WindsOfWinter?
No sports. No travel. It’s like God manufactured this to get George to stay home and get stuff done for a change. 😆 pic.twitter.com/bMrvZe6bHc
— Matthew Kadish (@MatthewKadish) April 19, 2020
The Cleganebowl finally happened
It remains unclear whether the fans were able to predict it early on or David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the showrunners, finally gave in to the hype, Cleganebowl finally happened – spectacularly – in the divisive second to last episode of Season 8 named “The Bells.” But there’s no certainty as to whether the Cleganebowl will actually happen exactly the same way as in George R.R. Martin’s books.
Based on our knowledge so far, The Winds of Winter – the 6th book in A Song of Ice and Fire series – might end up skipping Cleganebowl altogether. However, we may have to wait for the Winds of Winter release date.
thank god for website metadata! i and others have a strong feeling #WindsofWinter is coming sooooooon! https://t.co/eZAkdiFz1N
— Subz (@greatbrownbear) December 4, 2019
In Game of Thrones, Sander put an end to the Cleganebowl by throwing himself at Gregor, resultantly sending both of them to a fiery doom. Although it may be considered as a fitting end, given that Gregor was enraged by the flames that he used to torture his brother as a kid, it is quite possible that this could unfold in a similar manner in the Winds of Winter.
Winds of Winter Release Date
No official announcements have been made pertaining to Winds of Winter release date.