‘Game Of Thrones’ Hodor: Meera Never Intended To Have Beloved Servant Sacrificed When She Yelled ‘Hold The Door’
It is inarguable that Hodor’s death is one of the most tear-jerking episodes of Game of Thrones. The loyal character did his best to protect Bran even if it meant a gruesome death in the Wights’ claws. Fans finally understood the harrowing reason behind Hodor’s name – that it was actually a garbled version of “hold the door.”
It was Meera who yelled the now-infamous line, but according to Ella Kendrick, her character never thought of sacrificing Hodor in exchange for her escape with Bran. She told the Hollywood Reporter that she only meant to protect Bran.
“For Meera, in that moment, she knows her job is to protect Bran at all costs, so it’s like tunnel vision. She’s an incredibly protective person, and she knows that Bran is a person she has to look after. In this moment of complete terror, I think her one objective is to get out with Bran, and she knows that’s the most important thing. It’s what Jojen told her before he died. She has to honor her dead brother’s word over everything. I don’t think she really has the thought process of throwing Hodor to the dogs so that she can survive. I think it’s just a case of brute survival. She does what she has to do.”
Kendrick said that the reason Meera’s so protective of Bran is because she sees it as a chance to make up for Jojen’s death.
“Once he dies, she’s left kind of purposeless, which is why she clings on so much to the Bran mission. It’s a dedicated purpose she can jump onto. For her, she’s completely destroyed by her brother’s death. However, she’s someone who is incredibly strong and pragmatic. She knows she can’t achieve anything by continuing to mourn. Her best way to work through those things is by action and dedicated purpose. That’s why I think she gives 1010 percent to protecting Bran and making sure this time it works out with him, where it didn’t with Jojen.”
“The Door” is now referred to as an iconic Game of Thrones scene. Kendrick described it as an “epic sequence.” While it was a difficult scene to film because of the running they’ve had to do, the actress said it was fulfilling especially after seeing how the editing turned out.
Despite Benjen’s help in that scene, Meera is still suspicious of him not only because “he does have blue hands and he is half dead” but because of the terrifying ordeal she experienced with Bran.
As someone who is a self-confessed fan of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, does Kendrick think HBO is giving justice to George R.R. Martin’s work?
“Everyone’s doing a very good job,” she gushed.
Kendrick acknowledged the fact that it’s difficult to combine all the books into a cohesive series. For her, the people behind the Game of Thrones show are not merely resting on their laurels, as they are actually pushing their boundaries to come up with imaginative tales, like Hodor’s backstory.
Game of Thrones director Jack Bender originally had a more horrifying scene in mind for Hodor’s death. He imagined the Wights tearing Hodor apart, but showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss told him that viewers wouldn’t feel the impact of Hodor’s death if it was that grisly.
Bender, still wanting to make Hodor’s death “scary enough,” portrayed the character engulfed by the Wights’ skeletal arms, and it’s up to the viewers to imagine what happened next.
[Image via HBO]
