The duel between Brienne of Tarth and Sandor Clegane over Arya Stark in Game of Thrones isn’t heroic. It was raw, ugly, and personal.
No elegant footwork, just two warriors dragging each other through mud, rock, and pain for the custody of the stark girl.
Brienne fights for an oath, and the Hound is fighting for something he doesn’t fully understand but refuses to lose.
And when it ends, Clegane is broken, mortally wounded, and left to die, which makes his survival a miracle