Hodor’s Death Had To Happen For Bran To Realize Consequences Of His ‘Boredom’ Says ‘Game Of Thrones’ Star Kristian Nairn

Many are still recovering from Hodor’s death in Game of Thrones. The beloved servant had a painful demise as Wights clawed onto him, but viewers lauded him as he died while protecting Bran. Kristian Nairn told the Hollywood Reporter that his character’s death was a risky move that truly paid off.

“It’s bold and genius. I believe this is directly from George and the books. I don’t think this is an excess, extra death for the show. It’s just really good storytelling. It’s absolutely genius. It’s the death of innocence. Hodor, in many ways, I wouldn’t say he’s the moral compass, because I think he needs more than one word to be a moral compass, but he was definitely a heart. There was a sense of warmth and humanity in him.”

Even though Hodor may be gone, @KristianNairn isn't getting away from me that easy… #HoldTheDoor #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/9YSLN7z6KN

— Isaac.H.Wright (@Isaac_H_Wright) May 25, 2016

He added that Hodor’s death had to happen for Bran to realize the impact of his powers.

“I think it had to happen, in a way, for Bran to progress. He needs to realize how important he is. I understand that Bran’s a bored teenager. His life has been ruined. But whether it’s been done to him or not, he now needs to know the gravitas of what’s happening and how he can affect the world. I think it’s going to hit home for him.”

The Game of Thrones star pointed out that in a single episode, Bran “wiped out” not only Hodor, the Three-Eyed Raven, and Summer, but an “entire race of tree people.”

The Irish actor revealed that he cried upon finding out about Hodor’s fate. Nonetheless, he found it satisfying and joked that Hodor’s death adhered to the show’s style. “It gives you something you want with one hand, then cuts your hand off with the other one,” he said.

For Kristian, Hodor felt sad after seeing Bran and Meera disappear into the snow, but at the same time, he was happy that he was able to fulfill an important role. Hodor might be gone but surely he won’t be forgotten.

Following the episode, the “hold the door” line is now infamous, and Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss talked about it when they appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The two apologized not for Hodor’s death, but “for all the idiots, who, from now on, will be shouting ‘Hodor’ every time they go through a door.”

It turned out that Hodor’s name was a garbled version of “hold the door” — the order Hodor got which left him in a dire mental state.

Nonetheless, it is a relief to know that Game of Thrones did something wonderful for Nairn’s career as a DJ. Since his final appearance on the show’s episode, his agent said that “his demand has shot up, with offers coming in from all over the world.” The agent mused that Nairn certainly got famous after he died.

There are no hard feelings as well between Nairn and Isaac Hempstead Wright, the actor who plays Bran. When Nairn received a door-shaped cake after his final appearance on the show, he quickly shared it with his co-star.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BF2Derkj72p/

In real life, Nairn and Wright are best friends. Wright described losing Nairn on set as “awful.”

“We were both new to this whole acting industry and we learned all about it together. We were always having a laugh on set and meeting up when we weren’t filming. And to know that there aren’t going to be any more scenes with Kristian is a horrifying prospect. But I’ll make sure he sees a lot of me. He’s not getting away that easy.”

It was also Wright who gave his co-star the final send-off, which would probably explain the cake-sharing.

Game of Thrones airs every Sunday on HBO.

[Image via HBO]