Gregor Clegane

"Elia Martell! I killed her children. Then I raped her. Then I smashed her head in. Like this!"

- Ser Gregor Clegane, as he kills Oberyn Martell Gregor Clegane is a recurring character in the first, second, fourth and fifth seasons. He was originally played by guest star Conan Stevens and debuts in "Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things." Stevens was replaced by Ian Whyte, who had already appeared in the series in other roles, for the second season. In the fourth and fifth seasons he is portrayed by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.

Ser Gregor Clegane is the head of House Clegane, minor vassals of House Lannister. Ser Gregor is a notoriously fearsome warrior with a tendency toward extreme violence. During the War of the Five Kings he raided the Riverlands on orders from his liege lord Tywin Lannister. Ser Gregor served briefly as castellan of Harrenhal before withdrawing his troops.

Later, Gregor Clegane was requested by Cersei Lannister as a Champion for the Crown in Tyrion Lannister's trial by combat. His opponent was Prince Oberyn Martell of Dorne, who had volunteered in order to avenge his sister, Elia Martell, who Gregor had raped and murdered, as well as killing her children, during the Sack of King's Landing. Although he narrowly managed to kill his opponent, he was gravely wounded and poisoned, and is currently being treated by Qyburn.

Background
Ser Gregor Clegane is the head of House Clegane, a knightly house from the Westerlands, and the elder brother of Sandor Clegane. When Sandor and Gregor were children Gregor held his brother's face in a fire for using his toys without permission, horrifically scarring him. Gregor is a landed knight rather than a full lord. Gregor is freakishly huge, said to be the largest man in Westeros, almost eight feet in height and heavily muscled. For this reason he is called "The Mountain That Rides" or, simply, "The Mountain". He is feared throughout Westeros with a reputation for ferocity and anger. He is a loyal retainer and servant of House Lannister, particularly to Lord Tywin.

Numerous servants have gone missing at the Clegane keep over the years, apparently killed by Gregor for minor slights in one of his infamous rages, and their deaths then hushed up. Gregor's own father and sister died under dubious circumstances as well, and Sandor half-suspects that Gregor may have killed them as well. Their sister died when Sandor was too young to remember her well, and their father died years later in what was said to be a "hunting accident". At the behest of Tywin Lannister, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen himself anointed Gregor as a knight, a great honor, even though Gregor was an infamously dishonorable man.



During Robert's Rebellion, one year after Prince Rhaegar knighted him, Gregor participated in the Sack of King's Landing. After entering the Red Keep he proceeded to kill Rhaegar's two children by Elia Martell: their daughter Rhaenys and baby Aegon. He killed baby Aegon by bashing his head against the wall, and then while still covered in the gore from her children proceeded to rape Elia, after which he killed her. It is rumored that he killed her by cutting her in half with a single swing of his massive sword.

Despite pleas by Ned Stark, neither Gregor nor Lord Tywin were punished by King Robert for the murders of the royal family, leading to a rift in Ned and Robert's friendship.

Season 1
Ser Gregor takes part in the tournament to celebrate Eddard Stark's appointment as Hand of the King. He kills Ser Hugh of the Vale in a joust, horrifying the crowd. Littlefinger tells Sansa Stark that Gregor burned his brother Sandor's face over a naked flame when they were boys because Sandor borrowed one of his toys without asking. He tells her that few people know the story and not to let Sandor Clegane know that she does. When Gregor faces Ser Loras Tyrell, he loses the joust because Loras chose to ride a mare that was in heat to distract Gregor's stallion. Flying into a rage, Gregor demands his sword, then decapitates his own stallion with a single swing of his sword, before the entire horrified crowd. Ignoring his surroundings, he proceeds to knock the surprised Loras off his horse, and is on the verge of dishonorably killing him, when his brother Sandor intervenes, fighting him off to protect Loras. Gregor only stops when King Robert himself shouts a demand to end his folly, at which the fuming Ser Gregor relents and leaves.

Catelyn Stark takes Tyrion Lannister into custody on suspicion of the attempted assassination of her son Bran. In retaliation Gregor is dispatched to raid the Riverlands, her homeland. Refugees from the Riverlands attend court in King's Landing and report that a huge knight who could take the head of a horse in one blow led the attack and had sacked their villages. Littlefinger says "Remind you of someone?" Eddard Stark sends Ser Beric Dondarrion with a hundred men to bring Gregor to justice. Eddard declares him a false knight and strips him of all ranks and titles, lands and holdings, and sentences him to death. The ruling is made null by Eddard's arrest for treason and subsequent beheading.

The host led by Lord Beric clashes against Ser Gregor at the Mummer's Ford. Ser Gregor is victorious, and Lord Beric is reported dead.

However, when Robb Stark's victory against his son forces Lord Tywin to withdraw his forces to Harrenhal, he orders Ser Gregor to take five hundred men and "set the Riverlands on fire" from the Red Fork to Gods Eye.

Season 2
Gregor continues to raid the villages of the Riverlands from the Lannister army's base at Harrenhal. His men torture the prisoners they take for information about the Brotherhood and hidden valuables. He selects the prisoners for torture personally. Ser Amory Lorch adds a group of captured Night's Watch recruits to the captives. Lord Tywin Lannister arrives during the torture and asks Gregor what is going on. Gregor says that they were not expecting Tywin for another day. Tywin asks why the prisoners are not in their cells. Gregor says that their cells are overflowing. One of Lorch's men interjects that the prisoners will not be there long. Tywin asks if they are so well manned that they can afford to discard able and skilled prisoners. He asks a prisoner if he has a trade and learns that he is a smith. Tywin orders the prisoners put to work, sparing the young man.

Following the assassination of Ser Amory just outside Lord Tywin's chamber Ser Gregor is tasked with finding the culprit. Tywin fears that he was the intended target and has Ser Gregor hang dozens of their own men. Ser Gregor suggests that an infiltrator from the Brotherhood Without Banners was responsible and Lord Tywin dispatches him to pressure the smallfolk of the Riverlands into giving up the members of the Brotherhood. Tywin marches back to the Westerlands and leaves Gregor to serve as castellan at Harrenhal.

Season 3
Robb Stark and his army get to Harrenhal, finding that Gregor Clegane has left the castle with his men. To their horror, they discover that Ser Gregor has executed the remaining 200 Northmen and Rivermen prisoners at Harrenhal, leaving their bodies to rot.

Ser Gregor is later expelled from Stone Mill by a force led by Lord Edmure Tully, forcing him to flee south to Casterly Rock.

Season 4
Oberyn Martell discusses with Tyrion Lannister how the last time he was in King's Landing, it was for the wedding of his sister Elia to Rhaegar Targaryen. He also states that during the Sack of King's Landing, his sister was raped and murdered by Gregor. Oberyn believes that Tyrion's father, Tywin, was the one to give the order to the Mountain. He tells Tyrion that he intends to avenge her.

​Polliver tells Gregor's brother when meeting in a tavern further north, that while loyal to the Mountain and the Lannisters, Polliver wasn't in agreement with Gregor's torturous methods because they were repetitive and boring.

When Tyrion Lannister demands a trial by combat, Gregor is appointed the Crown's champion by Queen Cersei Lannister. Tyrion first asks his brother Jaime to fight for him, but he refuses, saying that he simply cannot fight like he used to. Tyrion then asks his friend Bronn to be his champion, but he too refuses, arguing that the Mountain is an incredibly dangerous fighter, one that would cost him his life if he makes a single mistake. Finally, Prince Oberyn Martell approaches Tyrion and volunteers to be his champion, as he wants to avenge his sister.

Gregor fights Oberyn at Tyrion's trial by combat, wielding heavy plated armor and a large broad sword with one arm. Despite his immense size and strength, he is no match for Oberyn's swift and agile fighting style. Oberyn manages to knock Gregor's helmet off early into the duel and proceeds ​to slowly cut The Mountain down, all the while taunting him and demanding him to admit to the rape and murder of Elia Martell and her children, chanting "you raped her; you murdered her; you killed her children". Oberyn eventually severs ​Clegane's hamstring, causing him to fall to his knees. Oberyn proceeds by jumping and thrusting his spear into Gregor's chest, severely injuring the gigantic man and seemingly sealing his defeat. Thinking his opponent is fully incapacitated, Oberyn removes his spear from Gregor's chest and circles him, refusing to initiate the killing blow until Gregor has admitted to Elia's death and revealed who orchestrated it, directing his gaze accusingly at Tywin. However, in his hubris Oberyn is unexpectedly caught off guard when Clegane trips and pulls him to the ground, grasping him around the neck and slamming his fist squarely into his face, instantly knocking out many of Oberyn's teeth. Clegane then begins crushing Oberyn's eyeballs with his thumbs while sadistically admitting to Elia's rape and murder, finishing the duel by brutally smashing Oberyn's skull in with his bare hands. As Gregor collapses to the ground from the wounds he sustained, Ellaria and Tyrion look on in horror as Tywin announces that, according the rules of trial by combat, Oberyn's death has officially sealed the fate of Tyrion Lannister and sentences him to death.

Secretly, Oberyn had his spears coated with manticore venom, one of the deadliest poisons in the known world. Gregor is left in agony and ultimately loses consciousness. The venom causes his wounds to start putrefying, emitting an overpowering stench, and with dead flesh sloughing off. Even Grand Maester Pycelle regretfully tells Queen Cersei that Ser Gregor is beyond any hope of healing. Qyburn, however, an expelled former maester with extensive medical knowledge gained from "repugnant" and "unnatural" experimentation on living people, suggests that he may be able to save him. Cersei dismisses Pycelle and gives Qyburn permission to do anything he can to save Ser Gregor(likely out of gratitude for sealing Tyrion's fate and her revenge on him for the death of Joffery), though he says that his unorthodox methods may "change" him. She nervously asks if he means the process will weaken Gregor, but Qyburn knowingly assures her it will not.

​Personality and traits​
Gregor is well-known for his hostile and savage nature. Often referred to as "Tywin Lannister's mad dog", Gregor has an insatiable bloodlust that he releases through acts of extreme violence. He is quick to anger and never shows any fear of acting on it, since no one dares stop him. The only person he has ever shown any loyalty or respect toward is Tywin, otherwise only seeming to act on his own accord, showing even little respect toward King Robert Baratheon after he was told to stop his fit of rage at the tourney. His violent personality had even manifested as a child, quickly becoming known for his strength, size, and brutality. Gregor even burned his own brother's face when they were children just because one of his toys was being played with. Gregor's short fuse and lack of conscience often showed his lack of honor, such as when he tried to murder Loras Tyrell after already losing a joust against him.

As a warrior, Gregor is feared for his imposing size and physical strength. In combat, his strength gives him a huge advantage over almost any opponent, able to overpower his enemies with brute force rather than rely on his skill. His weapon of choice was an enormous broad sword that most men would never be able to even swing with two hands, but which Gregor is strong enough to wield one-handed. He is strong enough to decapitate a horse with a single swing of his sword. Gregor also wears armor larger and thicker than normal knights would be able to wear, providing him almost impenetrable defense against his opponents. However, his brother Sandor Clegane (who is also very large and strong, though not to the same extent as Gregor) was shown to be able to duel him evenly. In addition, Gregor's lack of technical skill allowed Oberyn Martell to overwhelm him in their duel, as Oberyn's unique style of combat relied heavily on maneuverability and he used a spear to stay out of Gregor's reach.

Quotes
"He's freakish big and freakish strong. And quicker than you'd expect for a man of that size."

- Bronn while considering whether or not to face Gregor for Tyrion.

"You say your brother gave you that sword?. My brother gave me this!"

- Sandor Clegane to Arya Stark about the facial burns Gregor gave him as a child.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Ser Gregor Clegane is a savage brute of a man, freakishly tall at nearly 8 feet in height, and well over 30 stone in weight (420 lbs./190 kg), most of it muscle. Gregor is so strong that he can easily wield with one hand greatswords which are meant to be wielded with two hands, allowing him to carry a shield as well. He is so strong that he has been known to cleave men in two with a single blow of his sword.

Known as "the Mountain That Rides", Gregor is one of Tywin Lannister's chief enforcers. Gregor's knighthood is regarded as a hypocritical mockery of justice by many, as he is a thoroughly dishonorable and undisciplined butcher. While Gregor is so strong that he can easily fight the strongest knights in Westeros, his greatest enthusiasm in wartime is for burning out the homes of peasants who cannot possibly fight back, and torturing their women and children to death. Indeed, Gregor's immense size isn't really his main attribute to Tywin, so much as his utter enthusiasm for committing atrocities. With a "might makes right" mentality, Gregor feels that his immense bulk and strength gives him impunity to behave as he does, as few would dare to challenge him. While Gregor is incredibly dangerous in combat, he relies more on sheer strength than on speed or skill. Gregor has gone through multiple wives, who died from the extremely rough treatment they received from Gregor, though there are rumors that he killed them on purpose. His father and younger sister also died suspiciously. Sandor Clegane left when Gregor succeeded their father and never returned.

Gregor has a nearly uncontrollable temper, and is capable of very brutal violence for the slightest provocation. According to Sandor, he once killed one of his men for snoring. When he was in Harrenhal, a servant girl named Pia spoke when he wanted silence, so he smashed her face in with his mailed fist, breaking her nose and many of her teeth.

Gregor's men-at-arms are known as "The Mountain's men". His cruelty and brutality are clearly mirrored in them. The best thing that can be said about them is that they are less vile and violent than the Brave Companions, Vargo Hoat's sellsword company. Those who are mentioned specifically in the books are:
 * Joss Stilwood, his squire.
 * {Rafford} aka Raff the Sweetling, who killed Lommy. Killed by Arya Stark.
 * Dunsen, who took Gendry's bull helm.
 * {The Tickler}, a torturer. Killed by Arya Stark.
 * {Polliver}, who took Arya's sword. Killed by the Hound.
 * {Chiswyck}, who assisted the Tickler with the torturing. Killed by Jaqen H'ghar.
 * Shitmouth, the most foul-mouthed of Gregor's soldiers, but less cruel than the rest. Gives extra food to captives if they ask him nicely.
 * Eggon
 * Tobbot
 * {Unnamed squire} of House Sarsfield. Killed by Arya Stark

When Sandor is told by Joffrey to escort Sansa back to the Red Keep after the tournament feast he tells her the story of how his face was burned (not Littlefinger as happens in the TV series). A wood carver gave toys to both of the Clegane children in order to gain their father's patronage. Sandor wanted the articulated jointed knight that Gregor got so he took it. Gregor was ten and already big enough to be training so he didn't even care about the toy, but when he found six year old Sandor playing with it without warning he pushed Sandor's head into a brazier and held him there. It took three men to get Sandor away from him and their father told people that Sandor's bed linens had caught fire. It was later when Gregor was anointed a knight that Sandor Clegane lost all respect for the institution of knighthood and has steadfastly refused to be knighted himself.

Sandor also tells Sansa that the death of Hugh of the Vale was not a tournament accident. Ser Hugh had obviously put on the armor himself and had not set the neck protector correctly. He says Gregor saw that, and thus could have sent the blow elsewhere, and that the lance didn't just accidentally deflect upward, as Gregor puts his lance exactly where he intends it to go every time. He meant to kill Ser Hugh, though it isn't clear if this was an assassination to silence Hugh, or just Gregor enjoying the carnage.

When treating Gregor Clegane, Qyburn theorizes that Oberyn had adulterated the manticore venom on his spear with sorcery; thickening it in order to slow its progress through the veins towards the heart, dragging out Gregor's agony. It is also not on Cersei's orders but Tywin's that Gregor is treated, though this is only to get him enough back to health so Ilyn Payne could execute him. After Gregor's public confession of his part in the murders of Elia Martell and her children, Tywin (who'd always dismissed such talk as malicious rumours) chose to execute Gregor to appease House Martell, rather than risk their outrage at Elia and Oberyn's death to cause them to support Stannis Baratheon.