Anatomy of a Scene: The Cave Battle in “The Door” (Video)

Whenever Game of Thrones stages a sequence the production is particularly proud of, it usually does a behind-the-scenes breakdown with the folks who made it happen. From discussing the costumes and props at Joffrey and Margaery’s wedding in Season 4, to diving deep into the VFX that went into the creation of such violent battles as the Massacre at Hardhome and the attack on Daznak’s Pit, these “Anatomy of a Scene” videos are often times as fascinating to watch as the episode itself.

Despite Season 6 containing some of the most talked-about and action-laden sequences of the series so far, it’s taken until the halfway point to get a sequence the production feels is worthy of this sort of breakdown. Although most people will remember “The Door” for Hodor’s emotional final moments, the production worked overtime creating the attack by the Night’s King and his wight army, who were once again presented as an unstoppable force. Bran and Meera barely escaped with their lives, and many of their friends were killed during their escape.

Director Jack Bender says it was his goal to make the scene “realistic” and “terrifying,” and to make Hodor’s sacrifice incredibly moving. I think we can all agree that he met his goals. On a TV budget, the army of wights crawling on the ceiling could have looked cheesy or jarring, but I never once questioned that our heroes were being chased by horrible nightmare creatures.

It’s also slightly amusing that, when they created the cave at the end of Season 4, no one really thought ahead to this point. One thinks of Game of Thrones as a show where everything is methodically planned out ahead of time, but this proves that there are times when they have to rethink things on the fly.

And then there’s Hodor’s death. They show Nairn’s last day on set, as well as Bender saying that, as impressive as the scene was visually, the part he wants to stick with the audience is the emotion of Hodor’s death. Mission accomplished.