We are finally getting past the events that have already occurred in George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire novels. Still, the popular author has a pretty large hand in the making of the TV show, and recently showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss revealed that George R.R. Martin had actually planned the Hodor plotline all along. In fact, it was a huge shock when he revealed the huge plot twist to the two showrunners. Here’s what Benioff had to say in the most recent episode of Inside The Episode.
We had this meeting with George Martin where we’re trying to get as much information as possible out of him, and probably the most shocking revelation he had for us was when he told us the origin of Hodor, or how that name came about. I just remember Dan and I looking at each other when he said that and just being like, ‘Holy shit.’
Yup, “Holy shit” was about the reaction that most fans watching had. There were rumors about the “hold the door” plotline leading into the episode, but the way the whole thing panned out with Bran being the person that caused Hodor the mental problems that plagued him through his life was an insane moment. Not only was it shocking, it was also incredibly sad. A lot of fans blubbered through it. I blubbered through it. It’s also the clearest example we’ve been given of the abilities Bran has and what he is capable of changing. So, it was important for the series on numerous levels.
Showrunner Dan Weiss also touched on how affecting George R.R. Martin’s story was, even though they were just hanging out in a hotel room at the time.
It was just one of the saddest, and most affecting things. Even sitting in a hotel room having someone tell you this was going to happen in the abstract in some and that ‘hold the door’ was the origin of the name Hodor… we just thought that was a really, really heart-breaking idea.
For more behind-the-scenes stories like these, you can check out HBO’s Inside The Episode segment, below.
If you missed the episode--and spoilers obviously--Bran made a major mistake that allowed the White Walkers to see the location of the cave he was training in. Then, he made another mistake when he warged into Hodor while still in a vision with the Three-Eyed Raven. Whatever he did totally caused a reaction in the younger version of Hodor. A couple of seconds later, Meera started hollering at Hodor to “hold the door” as White Walkers began to charge it. In Bran’s training session, a much younger version of Hodor began to repeat “hold the door” as he succumbed to violent fits. On paper, the story is tragic, but because of how it was handled, the scene itself was really difficult to get through.
Hodor sacrificed himself to save Bran and Meera, but the White Walkers are still on their tail. We’ll find out what happens next when Game of Thrones airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET. In addition, you can learn more about what is coming up here.
