Game of Thrones: 5 Fighters Who Could Put an End to the Mountain

Although he has lost his dominant fighting hand, Jaime still has one huge reason to risk battle with the Mountain — Cersei Lannister. Now that he's made the decision to return to King's Landing, the two men will surely clash, but it's not for the reason you think. Game of Thrones director David Nutter tells Business Insider that the Kingslayer isn't going home to handle some cryptic unfinished business with his sister: "I've seen some fans guessing that Jaime is bluffing to Brienne or he's trying to push her away because he's on some suicidal mission to kill Cersei, but for me it rings more like he's slipping back into that deep bond he has with Cersei."

But just because Jaime regresses into his old relationship habits, doesn't mean Cersei will accept his affections now that she has Euron Greyjoy in her corner. Remember, Jaime left King's Landing at the end of season seven with the mark of treason on his head. Cersei considered his dragon pit negotiations with their brother, Tyrion, and Jaime's desire to aid the North in the Great War acts of conspiracy against her and the crown. At the same time, Jaime despises that she purchased the Golden Company and plotted with Euron behind his back. Before he could leave the Red Keep, Cersei set the Mountain upon him and Jaime dared her to give the kill order. Cersei hesitated and Jaime took his leave unharmed, but we're betting he won't be given the same courtesy upon his return.

With Cersei already putting a hit out on Jaime's life in the form of Bronn the sellsword, the Mountain probably has orders to slay Jaime on sight. While the odds of Jaime winning such a fight are long, we might find ourselves surprised by the things a man can do for love.

Even though Brienne currently resides at Winterfell as bodyguard to Sansa Stark, we refuse to believe the series would leave her out of the final battle (or end with her pining over a man). Brienne is a warrior, so it only makes sense that she join Daenerys in the fight for King's Landing, especially after Euron and Cersei succeeded in killing a dragon, destroying a fleet, and beheading Missandei.

While it would be cruel of Daenerys to use Brienne as a weapon against the queen, Brienne certainly has a massive personal reason to storm into the Red Keep and cut down all those in her path — Jaime Lannister. In our minds, Brienne and Jaime's courtship ended so abruptly that there must be more to the story. We believe the pair will meet again on the battlefield in a scenario where Brienne fights the Mountain to kill Cersei or save Jaime. Such a battle would not only provide closure to Brienne's side of the relationship but also fulfill Maggy the Frog's prophecy, first revealed in season five, which states that someone "younger, more beautiful" will cast Cersei down and take all she holds dear.

Jaime and the Mountain are the only people of consequence left in Cersei's life (other than her unborn child), and Brienne the Beauty holds the upper hand in both the matters of love and warfare. Remember, Brienne is one of the few people to have defeated Sandor "the Hound" Clegane in combat, which means she's a formidable opponent for the Mountain. She is also the more honorable of the two women when it comes to doing what's best for the people of Westeros and the people she loves.

With such a heavy season eight spotlight on Brienne and Jaime, you may have forgotten about the quieter romance between Grey Worm and Missandei. Their love story began in the fourth season when Missandei agreed to teach the commander of the Unsullied the common tongue, and grew stronger in season five when an attack by the Sons of the Harpy nearly left Grey Worm dead.

By the seventh season, Grey Worm had confessed his love for Missandei and the pair consummated their relationship in the morning hours before the Casterly Rock invasion. Then, on the eve of the Great War, the couple fantasized about running away together to the beaches of Missandei's homeland in Naath, an island in the Summer Sea off the coast of Sothoryos.

Sadly, this last dream never happens because the Mountain beheaded Missandei in a show of Cersei's strength as the sitting queen. Grey Worm was present at the execution and displayed anguish at the loss, a rare bit of public emotion from the usually stoic commander. We can't imagine the series would spend five seasons building a relationship if they weren't going to have Grey Worm seek retribution for his lost love.

Trained in the arts of spear and shield as well as short swords for close quarters combat, Grey Worm has the tactical training and the discipline to thwart the Mountain, and he's probably the last person anyone in King's Landing would expect to break rank and go rogue.

Thanks to the season eight focus placed on the complicated history between Arya and the Hound, we think it's safe to argue that the series may be setting up a tag team fight in which the Hound sacrifices himself to protect Arya from the Mountain before Arya strikes the final deathblow to the elder Clegane. Remember, the Mountain earned the top spot on Arya's kill list in the second season for his torture of the people at Harrenhal where she's a captive, so she's motivated for this fight. Plus, with Cersei also on Arya's list, she'll be doubly driven to dispatch the one man who stands between her and the fulfillment of her destiny. But more importantly for the viewer, the young Stark's defeat of the Night King and her years as a Faceless Man prove she can outwit imposing figures of any magnitude.

As we learned in the first season, the prevailing reason Sandor hates his brother stems from a confrontation the pair had as children. Gregor's mean-spirit and oppressive nature led him to press his young brother's face to a fire after Sandor found and took pleasure in a toy his brother discarded. The punishment continued until the family's servants intervened, but the right side of Sandor's face sustained severe burns that scar him physically and emotionally — that's why the Hound showed an intense fear of fire during the Battle for Winterfell. In addition, the books suggest that Sandor believes his brother murdered his sister and father, whose death remains a mysterious hunting accident.

On the show, the brothers grew up to work together in the Kingsguard, where Sandor grew increasingly disgusted by his older brother's bloodlust. This friction came to a head during a jousting tournament to celebrate Eddard Stark's appointment as Hand to the King. Gregor lost a round to Loras Tyrell and chopped the head off his own horse in frustration. He then proceeded to knock Loras off his mount and strike the man down with his sword until Sandor interveneed. The brothers engaged in a bitter battle that only ended when King Robert Baratheon demanded they put down their weapons.

Sandor left King's Landing in the second season before the brothers could resolve their life-long feud, but they had a brief reunion at the wight demonstration in the dragon pits during the seventh season finale. The scene crackled with tension, but with the visit being one of truce-making nature, the Hound restrained himself. Instead, he took a verbal stab at his older sibling, saying, "Remember me? Yeah, you do. You're even fuckin' uglier than I am now. What did they do to you? Doesn't matter. That's not how it ends for you, brother. You know who's coming for you. You've always known."

Tough words coming from the smaller of the pair. Yet, when we last see Sandor in season eight, he's making good on his word by traveling along the road to King's Landing with Ayra Stark, who's just about the best fighting partner in Westeros.