My apologies to anyone who bursts into tears while running for an elevator this week. We finally learned what "Hodor" means on Game of Thrones, and it's so much worse than you ever thought. All his time, the gentle giant has been repeating the scenario in which he dies.
It's also so convoluted that my head is still spinning. Let me try to think fourth dimensionally and make sense of this. Somehow, Bran was in two places at once, maybe even three. As they were running from the White Walkers and wights, Meera told Hodor to "hold the door" — an understandable request. However, in the confusion, Bran accidentally warged into two versions of Hodor. He was controlling the adult Hodor and aiding Meera, and then entered the mind of young Wylis. That caused the poor boy to go in a fit. As Wylis' mind weakened, he repeated "hold the door" over and over until it morphed into the "Hodor" that we know and love. Back in the present, Hodor died while holding that door, which makes this whole situation paradoxical in the worst way.
How did that even work? I thought the only reason that Bran could warg into Hodor in the first place was that he was simple-minded. Can Bran warg into anybody now? Because I'd like to request that he kindly refrain. Is time really a flat circle? Perhaps there are other tragic events that Bran caused, and we don't even know. But, I'm sure we'll find out in due time. For now, though, R.I.P. Hodor.
Image: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO
