Game of Thrones: Why Hodor has the Best Death Scene

We can all agree that the exit from the magic tree that resulted in Hodor’s death was an epic sequence. Meera’s panic, Summer’s last stand, the running dead chasing them, death death death, then that horrible moment when Hodor is forced to hold the door. It wasn’t just that Hodor’s death scene alone was epic — it was also the series of reveals that I personally will be thinking about for a while to come.

Usually killing off characters is about raising the stakes, but Hodor’s death scene was part of a big collage of death. All the Keebler elves were killed off, and Summer too (yet another dead direwolf), leading up to Hodor’s death. They pre-raised the stakes for us. They let us know it was going to be a Red Wedding type of episode, and you should pause and grab tissues and possibly some straight alcohol.

This wasn’t just one death scene for Hodor either. We also witnessed the brain trauma of young Hodor. To escape, Bran destroyed past and future Hodor. This was a death scene that reached back in time to transform young Hodor. It also solved a big mystery for us: Why does Hodor only ever say Hodor? Well, it is because the language portion of his brain has only been able to think “Hold the door” for most of his life. Hodor’s death scene went back and explained his life.

Then there is the additional mind-bending when you start to think through how Bran had to warg into Hodor because Hodor is useless in a fight as an adult. Then you think about how he’s useless in a fight as an adult, because Bran warged into him from the past, destroying him for the future. But Bran had to warg into him… but in doing so caused the reason that he had to warg into him. It is a crazy time-travel circular logic.

During this massacre, we also finally learned more about the magic Bran uses. Warging and visions have their own dangers and far reaching powers. Bran changed the past. What else is Bran going to go back in time and change? Or more importantly, what has he already gone back in time to change in his future that is done now, but we don’t know he did? Other characters can sometimes see and hear him when he travels back in time. Perhaps at some point he alerts people to an assassin! Was Bran the voice in the Mad King’s head, as so many people have theorized?

The toughest part for me is knowing the cost of this death. Hodor has only ever been a helpful giant. Even as a boy, he was sweet. In order to keep Hodor from curling up in fear, Bran had to continue to control him. Otherwise Hodor would’ve gone into scared Hodor mode. Bran had to force Hodor to stay. Force him to die holding the door against the army of the dead. This death was not a hero’s last stand as the children of the forest and Summer’s death was. This was murder. The cost to Bran and Meera will be very high. They both loved Hodor, Hodor trusted them, and they killed him.

This murder not only falls on Bran who was controlling him, and Meera who was shouting to hold the door. It also falls on the Three-Eyed-Raven. Why can’t old men in trees tell their trainees specifics about why going into the past is dangerous? Why do they have to be so damn mysterious? Telling someone, Hey, if you aren’t careful, everyone will die, seems like a good, simple heads up. Or how about letting Bran know that lingering too long and allowing people and/or evil Night’s Kings to touch you is bad, and they can leave marks to track you? Your cryptic warnings are useless. Young apprentices never listen to cryptic warnings. These sages in trees need to start giving relevant worldly advice!

To summate, we not only had an epic death scene. We had past brain trauma, learning that the past trauma was caused by warging, and that Hodor was murdered by his friends as he was forced to hold the door for them. Really, this is why we shouldn’t force anyone to hold the door. Holding the door should always be a choice.

Hodor’s death scene was an epic few minutes of pure action, filled with all the information we thought we wanted, but really didn’t because George R.R. Martin. We’ll be unpacking that scene for the rest of the season.