10 Years On, ‘Game of Thrones’ Overtaking the Books Marks the Show’s Turning Point

(SeaPRwire) –   Midway through Game of Thrones Season 6, the gentle, loyal Hodor (Kristian Nairn) is torn apart by feral ice zombies. He dies in the freezing cold, hundreds of miles from his home, sacrificing his life to save two high-born characters who would never make the same sacrifice for him.

Hodor’s death in the episode “The Door” lines up with the big reveal of just how much of his life was stolen from him. The sequence shows Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) damaging young Hodor’s mind during a botched time-travel warging accident. Bran triggers a seizure in the once-healthy, outgoing pre-teen Hodor (Sam Coleman), a seizure that leaves him only capable of saying the word “Hodor” for the rest of his life. The show gives viewers a quick peek at the happy life Hodor — whose real name is Wylis — was meant to live, then yanks that future away.

Hodor’s canonical origin story ended up being far darker than what Kristian Nairn had imagined for the character. Nairn wrote in his 2024 memoir, Beyond the Throne, that he had long guessed Hodor was “kicked in the head by a horse” as a youth, and he built his entire performance around that backstory. Looking back at his work after the episode’s reveal, Nairn believes his original interpretation fits surprisingly well with the show’s official origin.

“It wasn’t what I expected,” Nairn tells Inverse, adding, “I was still happy enough with it because Hodor is a very reaction-driven character. He doesn’t overplan what he’ll do with his day. He just reacts to whatever is going on around him. That’s how I decided to play him from very early on, and I think that approach worked perfectly even after we learned how his story would end.”

The reveal that the mysterious word “Hodor” was an echo of Hodor’s final moments — a shortened version of Meera’s urgent command for him to hold the door until his death — left viewers who only watched the show devastated. It also broke book-reading fans, but for a more meta reason: this was the show’s first real spoiler for The Winds of Winter, the still-unpublished sixth book in the series the show was adapted from.

This wasn’t the first time the show had outpaced its published source material, but the unpredictability of this plot point made it totally unique. Readers had already guessed Tyrion and Daenerys would form an alliance just like they did in Season 5, and readers could still tell themselves Stannis’ fate in the books (a character the show never seemed to value much) would turn out differently. But the “hold the door” wordplay tied to Hodor’s name was so specific that it must have been planned by the original author from day one. Not only would Hodor’s iconic death scene almost certainly play out the same way in The Winds of Winter, but the show’s version was so well-executed that the book’s take might never live up to it.

“The Door” marked a devastating shift in the power dynamic between book fans and show-only fans. Where book fans once could smugly call show-only viewers “sweet summer children” when they unknowingly said something ironic, now it was book fans who had their unread story spoiled by another medium. To make matters worse, by spring 2016, The Winds of Winter was still nowhere in sight. Even if George R. R. Martin had announced the book’s publication that year, he still had an entire seventh book in the series left to finish. Realistic fans had already accepted the show would overtake the books; for readers still clinging to hope that wouldn’t happen, the spoiled fate of Hodor finally shattered that illusion.

Nairn himself has never read the books, though he can sympathize with fans’ frustration. “I also understand it from George’s point of view,” he says. “I understand this really hasn’t happened before, not very often. … I write myself. Knowing your own characters are out there and someone else has finished the story ahead of you, it must be very strange.”

While some fans were frustrated by the franchise’s unprecedented situation, there was one silver lining: if “The Door” was any indicator, the showrunners would be able to do the original books justice.

After all, Hodor’s final moments were nearly perfect from writing, acting, and directing perspectives. The show took a complicated, messy concept and somehow made every emotional beat land perfectly. Most viewers still can’t fully explain how Bran connecting to young Hodor caused all that damage, but they don’t need to; when young Hodor’s eyes turn white and he collapses to the ground, it feels like years of scattered puzzle pieces finally clicking into place.

“The Door” stands as a high point in Game of Thrones’ post-book seasons, a moment where viewers could feel confident they’d get at least a competently told version of the story Martin himself couldn’t yet release. Arya had not yet walked off multiple stomach stab wounds after being soaked in sewage. Jon Snow had not yet led his crew on a nonsensical trip beyond the Wall to capture a wight. Daenerys had not yet simply forgotten about the Iron Fleet. The masterful work of Hodor’s final scene painted a promising picture of the high quality the show would keep delivering; there was no way to know it would turn out to be a mirage.

Nairn enjoyed Game of Thrones’ series ending more than most fans, even though writers never followed through on the popular fan theory that Hodor would return as a wight. Nairn noted that showrunners had vague plans to bring Hodor back in zombie form, “maybe just a passing camera shot, just to hit you right in the heart,” but those plans never came to be. “I would’ve loved to have gotten all that White Walker make-up,” Nairn said, but added, “On story terms, I think it was good to leave him, just to leave him underneath that door.”

Game of Thrones may not have ended on the most fan-pleasing note, but no disappointing finale could undo the raw, painful brilliance of Hodor’s final moments. A full 10 years after his character’s death, Nairn gets just as much love from fans as he ever did.

When asked if fans still shout “Hodor!” at him in public, the Belfast-based actor answered, “It’s just as common now as it ever was. My friends and my mother often say they thought it would have calmed down by now. I think it’s because I’m pretty recognizable in real life too, it’s hard to miss me. I still get really excited reactions from people every day, which is absolutely wild.”

Game of Thrones is available to stream on HBO Max.