Talisa is a good example of "on screen" vs on screen

I'd say I was like 75% sure the Hound wasn't dead. I'd put Stannis being alive at only like maybe 10%.

Very different situations and circumstances surrounding both.

In addition to Brienne confirming she killed him, the Boltons also seemed very confident he was dead, stating it as a fact on multiple occasions, which would be a silly thing to do if you didn't know it for sure. The Bolton forces would be the natural people who would have found his body.

I was perhaps fity-fifty on Clegane, but I am 99+ per cent sure that Stannis is dead.

I also think many people are massively overthinking the Arya arc: I think the scene with the waif was as it purported to be: the waif, disguised as an old women, stabbed Arya in the gut several times. Arya is hurt badly; but the waif is the waif and Arya is Arya. Sloppy writing is the best explanation, given that the prior episode shows Arya going to bed with Needle inside the house of black and white.

Then again, I'm not very smart today.

I know a lot of them as the actors/actress are talked about in the media quite a bit and they make appearances like at comic con for example. But in general, I always fast forward or avert my eyes to the opening credits for all shows when possible. I really don't want to know who will be appearing on the show when there's a big ensemble. You can be easily spoiled on a returning character that ruins the moment. Like imagine if you're watching an episode of Better Call Saul and you see in the opening credits that Bryan Cranston will be appearing in the episode LOL. I'd go crazy for being spoiled before he makes an appearance.

I was 85% sure that the Hound wasn't dead. He's too big of a character and so well liked that his death scene off camera was suspicious enough. Plus it could be easily explained how he survived like in this case someone coming by and nursing him back to health. Stannis' case is a little different as I see no logical reason why Brienne wouldn't kill him given the chance as it would've closed that story arc.

Another big difference between Hound and Stannis is storyline.

They had laid the groundwork for a Hound vs. Mountain showdown, for him to just die wouldn't make any sense.

Stannis' story arc was at a 100% logical conclusion, no loose ends.

All the Ayra theories are interesting and all of them very well could be the case, but I tend to agree that it's straight up. She was stabbed a few times, managed to slip away, and will start the next episode exactly where she left off, being extremely wounded.

nah.

he was bleeding from both hands, had a nasty gash in his leg (severing his femoral artery? some very serious damage anyway), couldn't really move, should have broken his back etc falling off the side of the mountain, other various cuts, scrapes, broken bones, etc, and he was left there for days to die 10 miles from anywhere. even if there was a maester on hand like he said, i doubt it would have mattered. and Brother Ray was no maester, he was just some thug turned preacher.

it's pretty dumb that The Hound survived.

I once bled from both hands

I dieded

oh and wasn't he also already dying from that infected bite?

I guess I can buy that the writers weren't sure what to do with Stannis at the end of last season and are now telling the audience "ok guys, we decided he's actually gonna stay dead"

And everyone's arguments are valid, I'm just saying part of me will always believe he's alive until someone digs up his corpse

Stop being so nitty ffs.

There are plenty of real life examples of times a person has what doctors consider certain fatal injuries who defy all medical reason and somehow pull through.

ya just look at leo in the revenant!

Man, idk...I just don't see this happening. I mean, the Mountain is barely even the Mountain anymore...he's zombie mountain now.

If this is the case it's very poor writing. She's just strolling about completely in the open undisguised and is completely caught off guard when she has to realize every person on the street could possibly be her assassin. It makes no sense and if there isn't "something up" with this scene (some other explanation) then wow the writers ****ed up immensely.

Doyle Brunson!

Isn't it weird how everyone has retrospectively given great odds to the Hound surviving?

I still stand by my opinion that he's 100% dead.

Yeh, it's clearly Jaqen deciding that the best way to save Arya is by looking like the Hound

Also, I just remembered: I really like how the Hound is honest to Lovejoy about how he lost to one person, and she was a woman. He's weirdly unmacho given he calls everyone ****s and kills them to eat their chicken.

Haha yes! This episode: F&*% YES, omg it's Lovejoy! Hound! omg Lovejoy noooo Hound, kill them all.

Not sure about "everyone" but to me from the moment Arya left him he was always 100% alive. There was never any doubt in my mind

I was quite annoyed by the ambiguous way the characters of Hound, Stannis, Sansa, Reek and Arya were all left at the end of the last season. I remember posting that if either Hound or Stannis were not dead it would be ******ed writing, and I stand by that opinion.

lots of experts on writing on 2p2, pretty cool

As I'd already written several sarcastic comments lately I was avoiding posting that, but I agree. It's all "oh, the writing is pathetic" or "that was just lazy". I don't mind some criticism, but let's keep in mind that the show is 97% amazing. Spending our time on the 3% is a bad way to go.

I'm probably somewhat guilty of this. I do think the show is lazier than Martin and thus gives overthinkers fodder to speculate in sort of a ridiculous way (let's go back and look at every Arya scene to see if she's right or left-handed!), but I love the show.

Not me, I can dig up my old posts if I have to, but I was def one of those people talking about how I strongly suspected he wouldn't be dead.