The 60 Most Important Deaths on Game of Thrones

29. Trystane and Doran Martell (and Areo Hotah)

Game of Thrones made a lot of mistakes when adapting the Dornish storyline from A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, one of which was that almost no one seemed to care when the Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes bumped off the ruling Martells, Doran and Trystane, together with Doran’s bodyguard Areo Hotah. But that doesn’t mean their deaths weren’t important.

First and foremost, with Doran gone, Ellaria became the new power in the realm and set about forming an alliance with Daenerys. Euron chopped the head off that snake pretty quickly, which left Dorne without a ruler but not without power. Very few Dornish lives have been lost thus far in the conflicts that have dominated the show. Come season 8, provided someone can bring the Dornish people together, they could play an important role in the war against the undead. Pretty much every other kingdom has been bloodied and bruised at some point over the last seven seasons, and fresh soldiers will be at a premium.

28. Hodor

To be perfectly honest, I put off writing Hodor’s entry as long as I could. Even the most mean-spirited Joffrey-loving frozen-hearted White Walker of a viewer was wrecked by Hodor’s death, and I simply did not want to revisit it. His final moments easily rank among the most heartbreaking on the series, and it’s important for that reason alone. It’s also quite unique.

By the time we got to his death scene, we knew Hodor wasn’t Hodor’s actual name; it’s Wylis. Something had damaged him in the meantime, leaving him only able to say one word. But we never guessed he was the way he was because of Bran screwing around with time travel. Hodor spent most of his life in service to the person who crippled his mind, and even died protecting him. It was a cruel, powerful twist. (Pause for a tissue break.)

The whole ordeal gave us a glimpse into the true potential of Bran’s powers, which we’re not yet convinced have been fully explored. The old Three-Eyed Raven droned on and on about how Bran couldn’t alter the past, yet somehow he managed it. With humanity now needing to pull out every trick its got to stop the army of the dead, that could prove mighty important. We just wish Hodor was around to see it.