Who or what is the Mountain?

The Mountain is the Hound's older brother. The one that burned his face. He's the tall ******* that is picking prisoners out to be tortured.

giant dude that cut that horse's head off in season 1

Blech... had gif of it here, but it's terrible.

Littlefinger names him "The Mountain that Rides" to Sansa

[This message has been edited by MW03 (edited 4/23/2012 4:35p).]

The Mountain (Gregor Clegane) is the huge dude that was picking out captives to get "questioned". He is the same dude who cut off his own horses head after losing a joust in season 1, then tried to kill Sir Loras, then tried to kill his brother Sandor Clegane "Joffrey's Dog" (who was defending Sir Loras).

beat ya!

quote:

---

I caught myself telling my wife that my view of him in any other role after this will be tainted because he is doing such a good job of playing such a little pr***. I will have to fight through my utter and complete dislike of the character to ever give him a fair shake in any other role (which goes a long way to show his effectiveness in playing this character)

---

this is how I feel about Harry Potter, as well.

ian whyte does not do Gregor Clegane aka the mountain justice. he's tall but not big enough. unfortunate recast.

Agreed, the guy looks like a giant twig.

agree re: whyte. it's a shame that conan stevens decided to leave. good on him i suppose if he got a better gig, supposedly playing some character in the hobbit

So how big does the book make him out to be?

I didn't realize that the actor had changed. Just thought it was different armor or something when I thought he looked a little different

Between 7-9 feet tall prolly 400lbs. Basically "Big Show" the wrestler.

quote:

---

Between 7-9 feet tall prolly 400lbs. Basically "Big Show" the wrestler.

---

How big is the Hound supposed to be then?

The Hound is a pretty big dude by most accounts in the books. The Mountain puts him to shame.

I mean, he ****ing cuts off the horse's head in season 1 with a sword in 1 stroke. He's basically like Hercules in the series and as an added bonus he's a huge dick.

The hound is described to be about a foot or less shorter than his brother but not near a big(thick).

The mountain was/is so big that they had trouble finding horses he could actually ride.

quote:

---

and as an added bonus he's a huge dick.

---

Oh my, did I read that wrong!

yeah The Hound is still one of the biggest men in westeros, and one of the most savage fighters, but The Mountain is a freak of nature and is just a tank of brute strength. the guy they had in the first season was absolutely perfect for him IMO, but this new guy just fell flat to me

Mild Spoilers for Book 1 and Season 1...










After Tyrion was kidnapped by Lady Stark at the Inn Lord Tywin ordered the Mountain to raid villages along the Riverlands. The news of these raids came to the Hand of the King Lord Stark who ordered that Lord Beric Dondarion lead a group of knights and men to arrest the Mountain. This group was led into a trap and most were killed by the Mountains men. The survivors rallied around Lord Beric and fight on as "King's Men", they call themselves the Brotherhood Without Banners. This is who the Tickler is trying to find information about.

This is correct. They have not shown who is Incharge at Harrenhal but I suspect some characters have been glossed over for times sake. All in all they matter little and only allow for minor character development, much easier portrayed on screen with different situations.

I guess I missed over the entire story line of what Harrenhal is and why they are there. Can anybody fill me in or is there a good resource online to read about the details I miss while watching the show?

They didn't really cover what Harrenhal is supposed to be about in the books.

I don't necessarily want to divulge everything that's in the books either but here's a basic rundown:

Bigass castle, guy on the wrong side, dragons. **** melted.

So they haven't discussed it at all in the show yet? They just showed up there last night and that's it, correct?

In that case, I'd assume they will cover why Lannister is hanging out there.

I don't think any of this is a spoiler but it is some background.

Harrenhall is an ancient castle with a bad history. It was originally it was built by King Harren who was King of the Riverlands before Aegon the Conqueror came. It was the largest castle in Westeros. King Harren and his sons stayed in the towers of Harrenhall and dared Aegon to come and get them. He flew on his dragon and melted the towers with the King and his family inside ending the reign of the Harrens and he gave Lordship of the Riverlands to the Tullys (Catelyn's House). Over time all those who have occupied Harrenhall have had bad luck. Most recently it was controlled by House Whent (Catelyn's mother comes from this line and it is one of the bannermen she mentions when she captures Tyrion in Season 1 at the Inn of the Crossroads) but it died out in the early attacks of the War of the 5 Kings. Thus it was granted to Janos Slynt as a reward for his betrayal of Ned Stark. Tywin Lannister was furious about this because "Harrenhall is a castle of Kings". Then it was feigned in promise to Littlefinger for making a deal to arrange a marriage with House Arryn. Currently it is controlled by Lannister men led by Gregor Clegane (The Mountain) and The Brave Companions which is a group of thugs loyal to Lannister. Lord Tywin also announced he was coming there at the end of Season 1 which he arrives at the end of the last episode.

It's in a highly strategic part of Westeros between Kings Landing and Riverrun near the Trident and at the top of The Gods Eye which is a big lake with an island in the center called the Isle of Faces. It's location, fortifications, and history make it a major location even though it has no true house to control it. It is also considered too large to garrison properly for most Houses.

[This message has been edited by aggie93 (edited 4/23/2012 9:53p).]

All I gotta say is this...that b**ch is craaaaazy.

When Arya and Gendry first arrive Hot Pie or Gendry asks what melts stone and she replys dragons.

I would say that it is important for the sake of context to know that Harrenhal is considered cursed, and therefore sort of a "booby prize." (Unfortunately, not the kind that HBO revels in.) Definitely not spoiler material. I thought the episode didn't do a very good job of getting this across.

quote:

---

In that case, I'd assume they will cover why Lannister is hanging out there.

---

Its just another hold they need to control. If there are 30 holds in the 7 Kingdoms you would want as many of them as possible so your enemies have as few as possible.

Harrenhall is the most conquered hold in Westeros because it is in the dead middle of the continent. Also it is fairly close to the Kings Road and the Trident (where three major rivers converge). Thats four major supply lines you can control if you control Harrenhall, ergo advantageous for war.

Why is Daenerys hesitant to show the Qarth 13 1 of her dragons? Is she afraid they'll want one as payment for entrance to the city?

quote:

---

Why is Daenerys hesitant to show the Qarth 13 1 of her dragons? Is she afraid they'll want one as payment for entrance to the city?

---

I would guess that's it or she's afraid they'll kill her and take her dragons. Jorah referred to something like that in the first or second episode this season.

Gumbles, you're gonna have to use your own imagination on this one since this isn't the spolier thread.

But like they said in the episode, when they close their gates they stay closed and have never been breeched (Episofe title was "Garden of Bones" which refers to the area outside of Qarth's walls), no castle in Westros can say that much. They also have a ton of hired guards, as you saw. Danys forces now are less than 100, and no where near fighting condition.

[This message has been edited by OnlyForNow (edited 4/24/2012 7:38a).]

This thread is 90% book readers

HEY! We are doing good and not spoiling stuff!

Shut yer trap!

I wonder what the gestation period for the smoke baby was. Obviously if it has only been like a week since Stannis laid down the pipe, he's going to be skeptical when he all of a sudden has a full grown child (IF that smoke baby can take human form). But then again, he probably knows what he's getting into with the "the night is dark and full of terrors" talk. Rinley is probably going to be in the sh*t unless he yields.

Wait a sec - if the Mountain is the one picking out torture prisoners, wouldn't he recognize Arya as a Stark from when she was at King's Landing? I think I remember that Arya was at "dance lessons" when Sansa, Ned and family were watching the Mountain in the tournament, but weren't the Starks pretty well known and formally received at King's Landing once they got there?

Thus, wouldn't he 1) have her tortured a plenty because daddy sent people to have him arrested, or 2) rat out her identity to Tywin Lannister, thus giving the Lannisters their second Stark girl for bargaining?

This may turn out to be moot (don't spoil), as Tywin may already know who she is. He already knew she was a girl.

Not sure if a knight would pay much attention to a Lords little ratty daughter. Plus, you take away the girl clothes, cut off her hair and put her into raggety boys clothing, and I'm sure even people that knew her would have to look twice to be sure. Much less some dude that may or may not have caught a glace of her at some point in Kings Landing.