The Hound has killed before and he's used to fighting. He knows the men who popped up made a threat and aren't to be taken lightly. Yet the Hound heard NOTHING until 2 seconds before the last person died. WHAT. THE. FUCK?
The soldier you're referring to and the person who we saw are two different people. They wanted to really hammer in that "The Hound" aka the "bad" part of Sandor Clegane that killed for gold, that backhanded Sansa because Joffrey told him to, that slaughtered untold amounts of people in battle, that was driven to drinking wine down like water etc. is dead. He gave up at the battle of blackwater when he turned his back on the king/ the lannisters. He gave up in the Inn when he gave that chicken speech and wanted to die then but didn't. He wanted Brienne to kill him but she didn't. He wanted Arya to kill him but she didn't. He was a broken man then and especially now. They're heavy handedly saying that he can't escape his fate, that he'll always just be a pawn to the gods and will remain alive until he fulfills his predestined fate.
The chopping wood / his homies getting murked was pretty sloppily done i have to say, it doesn't make sense he was basically right there but somehow they were all slaughtered and hanged in about ten seconds lol. But from a story telling standpoint it's kind of like that godfather scene...
Just look past the literal because it was sloppy you're right, but the message behind it is decent. He can't escape his sins / karma / fate whichever way you choose to look at it. And i think "The Hound" has returned, with new purpose and is going to wreck shit
