The death of Hodor — first name “Hold,” last name “The Door” — was an iconic moment from “Game of Thrones.” It was devastating. It was heartbreaking. And apparently, it was one big lie.
In journalist James Hibberd’s “Game of Thrones” oral history, “Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon,” author George R.R. Martin actually spoils his “A Song of Ice and Fire” books to show how the Hodor scene in the show is different from the moment he has planned.
In the show, the scene comes in Season 6, when Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick) tells Hodor (Kristian Nairn) to “hold the door” to allow her and Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) to escape an attack from the undead. It also turns out to be the moment that gave Hodor his name.
In the book, it’s a bit less literal.
Martin explains that the show was much more “physical” than what he has planned. The books may not involve an actual door.
“In the book, Hodor has stolen one of the old swords from the crypt,” Martin says in “Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon.” “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.”
The show, however, felt that Hodor holding an actual door was “visually better,” said co-producer Dave Hill.
Though it’s different, Martin thought the moment was well-executed in the show, and the overwhelmingly positive response from fans seems to back that up.
HuffPost spoke with Nairn in 2018, two years after “The Door” episode aired, and the actor said fans were still coming up to him and crying over the moment, which is pretty hodorable.