The Door
Game of Thrones definitely covered some important ground in this week’s “The Door.” Strong Sansa emerged, Arya’s story is progressing past her getting continually beaten up, and Bran left the cave, albeit in a gruesome way. Given all these individual character advancements, I have elected to break their stories down by the individuals:
Sansa
I’ve been looking forward to an epic Littlefinger encounter, and in terms of violence, this meeting fell short. That being said, it may have been the wiser move. By letting Littlefinger go, Sansa gets to see his next move, and whether he truly is trying to help or not. Should forces arrive from the Eyrie, he is not as bad as she suspects.
I also do not believe that she lied to Jon out of distrust. My belief is that although she despises Littlefinger, he has made her have a reflexive distrust of everybody, and she also did not want to admit to turning down additional forces in front of everyone. In fact, and what I take as a greater hit of trust than anything else, her sewing him a cloak in the style her father used to wear proves her loyalty to Jon.
It also is entirely possible that Littlefinger was unaware of Ramsay’s more distasteful sexual proclivities. Ramsay is not King Robert; he is not one to broadcast his extracurricular activities. I am sure that within the walls of Winterfell his nature was known, but the Bolton’s had essentially cut off a lot of contact with the outside world. Besides, if Littlefinger has any softness, it is reserved for spunky, Stark women.
Arya
If anything, we are seeing more and more that Arya Stark will never be no one. The play she saw her target in affected her too much, particularly the parts demonstrating her father’s execution. I am assuming this is a large reason why this job was selected for her—so she could prove herself in more ways than one. What is most ironic is that the actor that was designated to her plays Queen Regent Cersei—a name which is still on her list. I personally do not believe she will kill Lady Crane, but we will have to see.
Varys
It’s always amusing to see some witty Varys sass directed at someone. A red priestess is no exception. It is a special episode indeed when the two cockiest characters (Varys and Littlefinger, of course) are both at a loss for words. In the case of Varys, it will be fascinating to see where this storyline will go if he is having to spend much time with a priestess of a religion he despises so much. Perhaps we as an audience will learn more about what happened to Varys when he was younger as well.
Euron
The entire occurrence of Kingsmoot is pretty fascinating in the novels. Like the Dothraki, the Ironborn respond to displays of strength and prowess, and as such, choose their leaders based off this criteria. However, the show handled the process rather differently. In the novels, Euron wins over the Ironborn largely due to the fact that he has discovered something called the dragon horn, which is a device that is rumored to bind dragons to the will of whoever blows it. He is elected over his brothers and Yara for this reason, not for highly sexist reasons as the show suggests. In fact, Pyke, like Dorne, is more egalitarian than the rest of Westeros in this regard; strength is respected above all, and strength is not believed to discriminate.
Hodor
(“Hold The Door”)
It’s time to address what I can delay no longer: perhaps the most heart-breaking scene to date. The entire chain of events for what occurred in the cave was triggered entirely by a disobeying and over-eager Bran trying to explore the visions by himself and defying Bloodraven. When he enters the visions and sees the White Walker’s, the Night King sees him as well and touches Bran, seemingly branding him with ice. This touch enables the White Walkers to surpass the enchantments that protect the cave. I will further consider the possible implications of that later as well.
As a result of all this, there is a mass invasion of the undead in the cave, which results on the deaths of Bloodraven, Summer, and Hodor, whose namesake is revealed. For many people, myself included, the dying yelps of Summer and Hodor’s plight was among the saddest moments of the show so far, if not the best written overall. Moreover, Bran must now face the fact that due to one instance of impertinence, he is responsible for the passing of his mentor, the direwolf with which he has had a stronger bond than any of the other Stark children, and he has directly been the reason for which Hodor has been mentally incapacitated his entire life, and the reason Hodor ultimately dies. Another striking thing to note is that Hodor is not necessarily choosing to sacrifice himself and Bran and Meera escape. He is still under Bran’s control as this is happening.
In the next episode, Bran and Meera will be entirely at the mercy of the cold and the wights that are still in pursuit. It’s a precarious situation…unless a certain character the show writers left off will come in at the right moment. That character is Coldhands, and he is described in the novels as a man who wears the garb of the night’s watch, rides atop a giant elk, has congealed blood on his hands, making them appear black, and wears a hood over his face. He is the one who guided Bran, Jojen, and Meera to Bloodraven in the novels, but he cannot enter himself. We also know that Summer does not like the way he smells.
My personal guess regarding Coldhands is that he is Benjen Stark. I believe that his party encountered extreme conditions and that he nearly died from the cold. Now this is where another conjecture of mine comes in, and it has to do with that oft-repeated moniker that, “There must always be a Stark in Winterfell.” My belief is that Starks cannot be turned into wights like other people. Perhaps there was some exception made in an agreement between the First Men and the Children of the Forest., who we now know made the White Walkers. Therefore, if Benjen Stark was on the brink of death, and a White Walker attempted to turn him, perhaps he could not become a wight, but he would still retain his life. This would explain his inability to enter Bloodraven’s cave, and why he has not returned south of the wall (as the wall has similar enchantments).
This brings us back to Bran, who, if he survived the cold and wights, has nowhere to go but south. So if the Night King’s touch could follow him into the cave, could he follow him past the wall? Perhaps Bran will single-handedly be the reason the White Walkers make it into Westeros.
All I know is, people need to stop sending me Hodor “door jamb” memes.