…Hodor’s death in “The Door,” according to the poll we ran last week. Hodor’s self-sacrifice won by a healthy margin.
Commenter A girl explained why Hodor’s death hit so hard.
"It was emotional, revealing and satisfying: Wylis died like a hero on the present while fading away in the past."
It’s hard to argue with anyone who picked this as the best death scene of the season. I wonder if the results would have been different if we had bundled a bunch of the deaths into one option: “Everyone caught up in Cersei’s revenge plot.” That’s the only thing I could see standing up to Hodor’s emotional, multi-layered final moments.
Hodor’s wasn’t the only death scene getting some love, though. Commenter Davos 4 King went with Alliser Thorne’s death by hanging.
"Yes he was a dick and an ass and was wrong but he went out with some dignity. He didn’t beg or or plead and truly believed he did the right thing. I always thought he was a very underrated character and a bit more complex then people think. He was truly a grey character and I tend to find them more interesting then a true good/ bad character."
The temptation to turn Alliser Thorne into a mustache twirling supervillain must have been there, so I appreciate that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss resisted. Thorne went out with class, and helped bring Jon’s brief time as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch to a satisfying end.
Commenter Monz, on the other hand, pointed to the lone Stark death of the year.
"I’m going with Rickon. Even though it was frustrating (zig zag, etc.), the drama and emotion invoked by Jon’ s reaction-riding like hell, putting his arm out ready to grab him,of course being just too late and falling for the trap was amazing."
The production team certainly did make Rickon’s final, frantic run a moment to remember. With his death, half of the Stark family we met when the series began is gone (counting Jon Snow and not counting Benjen).
Finally, Tim Stark went with his gut: “Arya killing the Frey line should be number one,” he said. “No special effects. Just sweet Justice!”
If there was any surprise in this poll, it was that the death of Areo Hotah managed to snag any votes at all. People just didn’t see it coming, I guess?
They’ll be a new poll up this Friday. Stay tuned!