The other pairing:
Sansa Stark and Sandor Clegane:
- To begin the story, Sansa is hopelessly naive and understands the world in terms of stories and songs. The code of chivalry is so heavily embedded into her, that she is easily manipulated by the likes of Cersei Lannister and Petyr Baelish. She has no idea that she is “playing the game”, and her naïveté leads directly to the death of Lady, then her father, then Dontos, then Lysa. It’s only after her retreat to the Eyrie, the impregnable fortress in the sky where nothing there is neither danger nor love, that we see her change into a more worldly woman. When she descends from the Vale, she has transformed into a player capable of destroying even Baelish.
- Clegane is, much like Jaime, the antithesis of a knight. He is cruel and brutal, and has no concern for honor. Like Jaime, he ascends to a high position in the king’s personal guard because of his willingness to obey dishonorably. When King’s Landing is under attack, he breaks even what little honor he has left by abandoning his duty. But we see something softer underneath that brutality, when he interacts with Sansa. He seems to view her innocence with a mix of contempt and protectiveness; he keeps her from harm and seems earnest when he asks her for a song (remember what’s in the songs — ideal chivalry). When he leaves her, it’s with a message of warning about the brutal ways of the world, sending her on the path to maturity. And of course, he in turn runs right into Arya, Sansa’s own foil, who will in turn “kill” him and set him on the path to redemption.
