20 takeaways from Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon, behind the scenes of Game of Thrones

12. New details on how George R.R. Martin will handle Hodor’s death

One of the most heartbreaking moments of Game of Thrones season 6 was the showstopping ending to “The Door.” As Meera Reed drags Bran Stark away from a cavern that has been overrun by the Night King and his army, she shouts back at the ever-loyal Hodor to “hold the door,” giving them time to escape. As Hodor is wounded by the wights trying to break through, we discover that his mental affliction was caused by Bran — who was then projecting himself back into the past — in this very moment, as his warging creates a kind of feedback loop that leaves Hodor’s younger self unable to say anything other than “Hodor,” a shortened version of Meera Reed’s final plea to him.

Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have said that this scene was one of three jaw-droppers they learned from George R.R. Martin when he outlined the as-yet unfinished books to them. (The other two were Shireen’s death by pyre and Bran becoming king.)

While The Winds of Winter may not be in our hands to read quite yet, Martin did reveal some new details about his version of Hodor’s death while talking to Hibberd. “I thought they executed it very well, but there are going to be differences in the book,” Martin said. “They did it very physical — ‘hold the door’ with Hodor’s strength. In the book, Hodor has stolen one of the old swords from the crypt. Bran has been warging into Hodor and practicing with his body, because Bran had been trained in swordplay. So telling Hodor to ‘hold the door’ is more like ‘hold this pass’ — defend it when enemies are coming — and Hodor is fighting and killing them. A little different, but same idea.”

It’s amazing to me how even in that brief description, you can get a feel for the sort of image Martin is painting. Will Hodor be fighting in the caverns, still giving Bran and Meera time to escape after the wights overrun the Three-Eyed Raven’s refuge? Martin didn’t go into that much detail…but still, this is the most information he’s divulged about that scene publicly, and it’s pretty exciting.