When you think of romance on Game of Thrones, you probably don't think of The Mountain. He's probably best known for crushing Prince Oberyn's skull with his bare hands, and he hasn't gotten more romantic since being resurrected by Qyburn for Cersei. Still, even The Mountain can get in the mood if the occasion calls for it, as a new video features the man himself reading Game of Thrones-themed Valentine's Day poetry. Take a look!
Sometimes, even a bloodthirsty murderer is in the mood to take off his shirt, make himself comfortable by the fireplace, and read some poetry while smelling the sweet scent of roses. Oh, Valentine's Day fun! I'm not surprised to see that he doesn't have anybody by his side, though. The Mountain wasn't the most swoonworthy knight back before he was poisoned by Oberyn Martell; the zombie version of The Mountain (going by Robert Strong) isn't going to sweep any starry-eyed lovers off their feet any time soon.
In all seriousness, Hafþór ‘Thor’ Júlíus Björnsson (who is actually not the first gigantic actor to play The Mountain on Game of Thrones) is a joy to watch in SodaStream's Valentine's Day commercial. He may look like the non-zombie version of The Mountain and he may be dropping Thrones references, but there's nothing frightening about him as he recites poetry. Mountain of Love is definitely less scary than The Mountain! The soft lighting doesn't hurt.
Although the Icelandic actor's pronunciation of English words is different than those of us in the U.S. would expect, it's easy to understand what he's saying. (The captions don't hurt.) My favorite moment of the video actually comes at the end of the first poem, which opens with "Blood is red" and closes with "Or I will crush you." Not only is the poem epic, but Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson cracking up immediately after finishing the recitation is worth a laugh.
That said, his perplexed pause after the second poem's line of "I love you like Kanye loves Kanye" was definitely a candidate for best moment. His response of "Well putted, man, or woman" is pretty much perfect. Well put indeed, thiccboi3000 from Australia. Well put indeed. Game of Thrones fans may want to enjoy this look at The Mountain while we have it.
Something tells me he won't be quite so amorous if and when he appears in the eighth and final season. He's firmly Team Cersei, and if a Cleganebowl between The Hound and what remains of The Mountain goes down, my money might not be on The Mountain. His brother has quite a bone to pick with him, and there have to be some disadvantages to reanimation, right?
Unfortunately, we won't get to see The Mountain/Ser Robert Strong back in action for a while. The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones doesn't premiere until April, and the showrunners' comments on trailers lead me to wonder if we won't get much footage ahead of time. The good news is that there are plenty of viewing options between now and April, as you can see on our midseason TV premiere schedule.
