Game of Thrones Clegane-bowl (an author’s perspective)
SPOILER WARNING FOR GAME OF THRONES S08E05 Like a lot of people I’ve been into a Game of Thrones for the last five years or so (yes I was late to the party). And, like lots of people online, I’ve found parts of the final series to be somewhat lacking. One of the scenes that I’d like to look at in more detail is the long-awaited Clegane-v-Clegane smack-down. That final epic fight between the huge brothers. Or Cleganebowl as the internet has dubbed it. Straight up, the fight itself was a visual masterpiece and really well choreographed. It was great spectacle, and I’d even go so far as to say it has a really interesting mini-ark, with rise, fall and “darkest moment”. But as part of the broader narrative, I found it lacking in stakes. People (or readers) want character motivations, and given Thrones has been a largely character driven it’s expected that character motivations should be the driving force behind something this “big”. When it comes to character motivation