Gregor Clegane

Character description

Ser Gregor Clegane, known as the Mountain That Rides, or simply the Mountain, is the older brother of Sandor Clegane and is a vassal to Tywin Lannister. His size and strength make him a fearsome warrior, and he has earned a reputation for brutality. When they were children, Gregor shoved Sandor's face into a brazier for using his toy, gruesomely scarring him. Over the course of his service to House Lannister, he has committed numerous war crimes, but he is most infamous for the rape and murder of the Targaryen royal family. Clegane was one of the first Lannister soldiers to enter King's Landing during its sack at the end of Robert Baratheon's rebellion. He raped and murdered Princess Elia, and murdered her children Rhaenys and Aegon, a grudge House Martell still bears at the onset of A Game of Thrones.

Overview

Gregor Clegane is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, such as Cersei Lannister. Gregor is mostly a background character in the novels.

Reception

Gregor Clegane is portrayed by Conan Stevens in season one, by Ian Whyte in season two, and by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson in seasons four, five, and six.

In the books

In A Game of Thrones, Tywin Lannister sends him to raid the Riverlands in retaliation for Catelyn Stark's abduction of Tyrion. Beric Dondarrion is sent to arrest Gregor, but Gregor ambushes and kills him. He and his men continue raiding the Riverlands throughout A Clash of Kings. When Tyrion Lannister demands a trial by combat, the accuser Cersei Lannister chooses Gregor as her champion. Elia's brother Oberyn Martell is named Tyrion's champion for his own agenda to expose Gregor as a murderer. Oberyn wounds him with a poisoned spear, but the Mountain is ultimately victorious as he admits to murdering Elia and Aegon before crushing Oberyn's skull. Gregor's body is given to Qyburn for experimentation and he is reported to be dead with his head sent to Dorne as a peace offering to Doran Martell in the wake of his brother's death. But following Cersei's walk of atonement, she gains a bodyguard named Ser Robert Strong who is of similar enormous stature as Gregor, and whose body is completely covered in armor.

In the show

In Season 1, Tywin Lannister sends him to raid the Riverlands. Beric Dondarrion is sent to arrest Gregor. When war breaks out, Gregor is given command of Tywin's vanguard and left flank and leads his men through intimidation. In Season 2 he is left to command Harrenhal in Tywin's absence and to find and destroy "The Brotherhood Without Banners", invoking the escape of Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie from Harrenhal. He later abandons the castle after slaughtering the prisoners and is defeated by Edmure Tully at the Stone Mill, but manages to escape back to the Westerlands. Robb chides his uncle, having planned to draw the Mountain into a trap of his own making to be captured or killed.

In season 4, Gregor is chosen as Cersei's champion for Tyrion's trial by combat, and fights Oberyn Martell, Tyrion's champion who wants to kill Clegane as revenge for the needless murder of his sister, Elia Martell Targaryen. Oberyn inflicts several serious injuries on Clegane with his poisoned spear, but Clegane eventually kills Oberyn by crushing his skull, while admitting that he did rape Elia, killed her children and enjoyed it, before collapsing from his own injuries. It is later revealed that Clegane has been poisoned with manticore venom, a poison that Oberyn had laced his weapon with, and that he is slowly dying. Cersei enlists ex-maester Qyburn to save him, though Qyburn claims that the procedure will "change" Clegane. The procedure is seemingly a success, as Gregor has become active again and joins the Kingsguard as a personal knight for Cersei, though the procedure has changed his physical appearance and his behavior. In the sixth season, under the name of Ser Robert Strong, Gregor continues to act as Cersei's bodyguard to intimidate all those who may bother or mock her. After Cersei destroys the Great Sept of Baelor and retakes power, she has Gregor torture Septa Unella in revenge for the nun torturing her during her time in prison.