"Hold the door."
For the entire series, one of the most beloved Game of Thrones characters/mysteries was Hodor. Why did the giant man say nothing but, what we thought, was his own name? The lovable, loyal protector (and real life DJ!) has been by Bran's side, basically doing his bidding, without complaint or question—just an adorable "Hodor!"
He is—besides possibly Pod—the only character in this show that has done absolutely nothing shitty.
In episode five of Game of Thrones season six, we finally learn the origin of the name Hodor, and it's because of the most tragic Back to the Future-type of scenario. During one of his many warg-ing trips to the past, the White Walkers attack the tree. Bran is oblivious to the attack while watching a flashback of his father and young Hodor.
Now, we might need some sort of infographic to really explain this right, but here's basically what happened:
Bran's presence in the past somehow connected past Hodor to future Hodor. In the future, Hodor is being told to "hold the door" to give Bran a chance to escape the undead army. Young Hodor, connected to future Hodor through Bran's presence in the past, starts having some sort of fit and hears Meera Reed yelling at him to "hold the door."
This totally fucks up Hodor's mind, and "Hold the door. Hold the door. Hold the door" becomes "Hodor." Poor Hodor. His entire life was completely ruined by Bran's presence in the past so he could sacrifice his life in the future. What a totally devastating existence.
It's at once a brilliant, confusing, and seriously depressing character—one that George R.R. Martin must have been planning from the beginning.
RIP Hodor—the only truly selfless hero on Game of Thrones.
Meanwhile, this season has continued to deliver by putting the entire series into perspective. While it has regularly left clues to where the finale of the series is heading, Bran's flashbacks have shown how it all began. Most important in this episode, Bran learns the origins of the White Walkers, which turns out to be a creation of the Children of the Forest to protect themselves from men. Well, great, thanks for fucking everything up.
