How Did Hodor Die On ‘Game Of Thrones’? Bran Had A Lot To Do With It

If ever there was a gentle giant on Game of Thrones, it was easily Hodor. OK, so maybe he isn't an actual giant on par with the likes of Wun Wun, but you get it. Naturally, seeing Hodor die in Sunday's episode was hard enough without it being because of the beloved Bran Stark. So how did Hodor die on Game of Thrones? Since it isn't over until it's over and we have a body, let's hope that Hodor survives past episode 5, but if he did die protecting Bran, since that's basically what he'd done for his entire tenure on the show, the hardest thing to swallow about it all is that Hodor's death is entirely Bran's fault. But why?

We all wish there was a simple, clean-cut answer that could totally explain everything going on with Bran and Hodor and the whole dynamic there with warging, the past, the future, and the unknowns, but the truth is, that just isn't how it works on Game of Thrones. But the easiest way to explain why and how Hodor's death was Bran's fault is because of Bran's warging. As we saw in his flashback vision, Bran was once again in the Winterfell courtyard, lovingly watching younger versions of his father and uncle. And of course, we saw Hodor — ehm — Wylis.

As shit hit the fan for Bran and co. in present day, with the White Walkers and the Night King literally climbing mountains to get inside their cave, Bran hears Meera call for him to wake up. It's almost like a dream. And when Bran hears Meera calling to him, he also hears her shouting for Hodor to help them. Bran tries to warg into Hodor and instead ends up warging into Wylis while, in the real world, Meera is desperately trying to cart Bran out of the caves. Once they're out, Meera screams for Hodor to "hold the door" closed so that the White Salkers can't get out of the caves and reach Bran. All the while, Meera is shouting for Hodor to "hold the door", which also comes out in Bran's flachback, seeming to literally drive young Wylis insane until he's whimpering, "Hodor" as a shortened "hold the door."

While it's not clear yet if Hodor is dead on Game of Thrones, since the last shot we got in Sunday's episode was when he was horribly scratched by the White Walkers as he leaned against the closed door to the caves, the reason why this is all happening is definitely Bran's fault. No doubt about that. Bran who warged into Wylis at the exact moment that present-day Hodor stood up to get them out of the caves, which likely means that Bran maybe somehow warged into both versions of Hodor at the same time, or Bran tried to warg into present-day Hodor mid-vision and instead ended up warging into Wylis.

Whatever way you paint it, if Hodor died (and let's be honest, it seems incredibly likely at this point), he died protecting Bran. And like it or not, Bran Stark is very much to blame.