We Need To Talk About Sansa & The Hound's Relationship On 'Game Of Thrones'

There's no denying the brief moment of chemistry viewers saw between Sansa Stark and Sandor "The Hound" Clegane on Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 4. Perhaps it was a moment no one really saw coming, but when you think about Sansa and The Hound's relationship on Game of Thrones, it really isn't that surprising. These two go way, way back.

Thronies who've been watching the show since day one will recall the first time Sansa and The Hound first met. The Hound served as Joffrey Baratheon's body guard back when the two were engaged to be married. That means The Hound got a front-row seat to Joffrey's constant tormenting of Sansa. Not great, but there wasn't much he could do about it back then. He was also there when Joffrey sentenced Ned Stark to death, not to mention when Joffrey took Sansa to see her father's head on a spike.

Back in Season 2, Joffrey had Sansa beaten and stripped of her clothing, making The Hound obviously uncomfortable and prompting him to give her his cloak. But the most memorable moment between Sansa and The Hound had to be when he saved her from a band of rapists. Sansa was just a girl back then — far from the woman she is now. The rapists had Sansa pinned down on the ground when The Hound arrived and saved her.

The Hound's loyalties have been questionable throughout the entire series, but it's clear that he has mainly served himself. When The Hound decided to leave the Kingsguard, he gave Sansa the opportunity to escape King's Landing with him, to which she said no, convinced that she would be safe in the capital. We all know how that ended.

Throughout Seasons 4, 5 and 6, The Hound traveled with Arya Stark, trying to sell her to her family members for ransom. Meanwhile, Sansa went to the Vale with Littlefinger, was forced to marry Ramsey Bolton, was raped and brutally beat by him, and later escaped alongside Theon Greyjoy. She was finally reunited with Jon Snow and helped him win the Battle of the Bastards (after which she got her revenge on Ramsey, killing him with his dogs). Needless to say, they both went through their own storylines separately for much of the series, so we didn't see them together again until Season 8, when they were reunited at Winterfell in preparation for the battle against the Night King.

During Episode 4, Sansa and The Hound's encounter is brief, but it's filled with chemistry. During the celebration of the North winning the Battle of Winterfell, Sansa approaches The Hound after watching him deny a woman's advances. "She could've made you happy for a little while," she said. "There's only one thing that would make me happy," he said, but refused to tell her what that one thing was. When she didn't break eye contact, he pointed out that she used to not even be able to look at him (given the burn marks on half of his face). "That was a long time ago, I've seen much worse than you since then," she said. The Hound told Sansa he heard about what happened to her, to which she responded by telling him that Ramsey "got what he deserved," and that she gave it to him.

"You've changed, little bird," he told her. "None of it would've happened if you'd left King's Landing with me. No Littlefinger, no Ramsey, none of it." Sansa then grabbed his hand, and said, "Without Littlefinger and Ramsey and the rest, I would've stayed a little bird all my life." Then she got up and left, like a total baller, as he watched her walk away with a smirk.

It looks like The Hound might be starting to see Sansa in a new light. But one thing's for sure: He's proud of the woman she's become, and so is she.