Ser Gregor Clegane is a knight nicknamed 'The Mountain That Rides' due to his immense stature, and one of the most lethal enforcers for House Lannister in Game of Thrones. He is one of the most significant physical threats in all of Westeros, being a knight of unparalleled strength and toughness, and looms large over eight seasons of the show.
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Although never a main character, Clegane gets plenty of scenes to show off his power and danger, and many of them go on to be well-remembered for their brutality and impressive action. As such, despite his awful behaviors and relatively minor presence, there are times the Mountain takes the spotlight for himself.
6 His Rampage At The Tourney Of The Hand
Ser Gregor's very first scene is a memorable one, as he jousts in the later rounds of the Tourney of the Hand in Season 1. In his bout against Ser Loras Tyrell, the other man rides a mare in heat, which forces Gregor's own fierce, temperamental stallion to behave erratically, costing him the match.
In anger, Gregor calls for his sword, and attempts to begin a series of killings. He first decapitates his horse in a single blow, before charging the unarmed Ser Loras. When the Mountain's own brother, Sandor Clegane, steps in, Gregor begins fighting him without hesitation. The scene serves as an excellent introduction to the Mountain and his feud with his brother, and is one of the best-remembered scenes from the show's earliest episodes.
5 Protecting Cersei From The Sparrows
The King's Landing storyline of Seasons 5 and 6 has no heroic faction, as the evil and corrupt Lannisters tangle with the religious extremists in the Faith Militant over control of Westeros' capital city. Ultimately, however, Cersei and her allies are the storyline's protagonists, and the Sparrows, the antagonists.
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Late in Season 6, a group of Sparrows comes to take Cersei to the High Septon—by force, if needs be. When Cersei refuses, the Mountain—now an undead figure doing her bidding—steps in. Violence breaks out, and Gregor kills one of the Sparrows with contemptuous ease. It's a rare showing where the audience might actually root for the villainous knight.
4 Threatening Jaime When He Confronts Cersei
Due to the unstable violence of the Mountain, and later the seemingly-total control Cersei and Qyburn have over him, there is never an easy atmosphere when Ser Gregor is present in a scene. He makes both other characters and the audience uneasy, even when he merely stands silently in the background.
The end of Season 7 sees Jaime confront Cersei over her plan to betray the North and Targaryens and let the White Walkers wipe them out. He pledges to leave Cersei and ride north, and in response, she has Gregor threaten him with his sword. Even though Jaime walks away from the encounter alive, it is an undeniable moment of tension facilitated by the Mountain's mere presence.
3 Starting The War Of The Five Kings
Such is Clegane's presence that he manages to be the most significant figure in a scene he isn't even present for. The tangled web of conspiracies in Season 1 sees Catelyn Stark kidnap Tyrion Lannister and take him to the Vale, and in vengeance, Tywin Lannister dispatches the Mountain That Rides to raid the Riverlands.
In one of the most deceptively-important scenes in the series, Ned Stark dispatches a group of knights and soldiers to apprehend or kill Ser Gregor. With the Riverlands, Westerlands, and a group of soldiers from the North and King's Landing all in the mix, the Mountain is ultimately the spark that begins the fighting that turns into the War of the Five Kings.
2 Confronting His Brother In The Long-Awaited Cleganebowl
Out of all the rivalries in Game of Thrones, few are as intense as the one between the Clegane brothers. Following a childhood of violence and abuse—most notably burning half of his face—Sandor Clegane utterly loathes his brother, and Gregor feels similarly. Many of their scenes build to an inevitable clash between Hound and Mountain—dubbed 'Cleganebowl' by fans.
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The fight takes place in the show's penultimate episode, "The Bells." Gregor breaks free of his programming when faced with Sandor, killing Qyburn and abandoning Cersei, and the two do battle as the city erupts in Dragonfire around them. Sandor proves victorious at the cost of his own life, but the Mountain's role is equally important in the scene. In an episode many find disappointing, 'Cleganebowl' is seen as a rare highlight and a satisfying payoff for the two characters.
1 The Mountain & The Viper's Epic Clash
Although most of Gregor's screentime involves violence or the threat of violence, there is one duel involving him that fans see as his most significant moment. After Tyrion is accused of poisoning Joffrey, he invokes a trial by combat, and finds the feared Ser Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne willing to be his champion. Cersei nominates Ser Gregor to be hers.
Oberyn's entire reason for being in the city is to kill the Mountain, and the resulting clash is undeniably impressive. The lightning-fast Viper battles the immovable Mountain in one of the show's most beloved fight scenes. Gregor initially appears to lose, poisoned, and brought down by Oberyn's spear, but he takes advantage of a momentary slip in Oberyn's focus with one last burst of strength, killing him by crushing his head. The fight is epic, gruesome, and one of the most significant in the whole show for its effect on the plot.
