The Door (Game of Thrones)

"The Door (Game of Thrones)"

"The Door" is the fifth episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 55th overall. The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Jack Bender. It aired on May 22, 2016. Prior to airing, this episode was leaked prematurely online by HBO Nordic.

"The Door" received universal acclaim from critics, who found the episode to be emotional with effective action sequences involving the White Walkers, in addition to providing "important answers on the show's mythos." The adaptation of the Kingsmoot as well as Daenerys's farewell to Jorah were also listed as high points of the episode, and many critics agreed that the final scene focused on Hodor was the highlight of the episode.

Plot

At The Wall

Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) confront Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) in Mole's Town, and question him about his decision to marry Sansa to Ramsay Bolton. He explains that he was ignorant of Ramsay's cruelty and begs for Sansa to forgive him while offering her the support of the Vale in her attempt to retake Winterfell. Sansa declines his help and orders him to return to the Vale. As he leaves, he reveals that her great-uncle, Brynden "Blackfish" Tully, has gathered the remainder of the Tully forces and retaken Riverrun.

Jon (Kit Harington), Davos (Liam Cunningham) and Sansa examine their odds of retaking Winterfell from the combined forces of the Boltons, Umbers and Karstarks. Jon points out that the other Northern houses, such as House Manderly of White Harbor and House Mormont of Bear Island, have not declared for the Boltons yet, and Sansa suggests that the Tullys will fight for the Starks as well, though she lies to Jon that she knows this from a raven sent to Winterfell while she was the Boltons' prisoner. As they prepare to leave Castle Black, Sansa orders Brienne to travel to the Riverlands and recruit Brynden. Jon, Davos, Sansa, Brienne, Melisandre (Carice van Houten), Tormund (Kristofer Hivju), and Podrick Payne (Daniel Portman) depart Castle Black.

In Vaes Dothrak

Jorah (Iain Glen) reveals his greyscale affliction to Daenerys (Emilia Clarke). He admits his love for her and begins to leave, but Daenerys emotionally orders him to find a cure and return to her so that he can be by her side when she conquers Westeros. Daenerys, Daario (Michiel Huisman) and the Dothraki depart Vaes Dothrak.

On the Iron Islands

At the Kingsmoot, Yara (Gemma Whelan) makes her claim to the Salt Throne. Doubt is placed on her as the Iron Islands have never had a queen, but Theon (Alfie Allen) silences the doubters by backing her claim. As the crowd begins to sway in Yara's favor, Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) arrives and stakes his claim. When Yara accuses him of killing Balon, Euron freely admits to the murder, while denouncing him as having led the Ironborn to ruin. Euron promises to conquer Westeros by marrying Daenerys Targaryen and offering her the Iron Fleet, and is chosen as king. After his coronation by drowning and resuscitation, Euron decides to kill Theon and Yara, but discovers that they and their remaining loyalists have commandeered the best ships of the Iron Fleet and fled. Undaunted, Euron orders the entire populace of the Iron Islands to begin construction on a new fleet.

In Braavos

Arya (Maisie Williams) continues to spar with the Waif (Faye Marsay). Jaqen H'ghar (Tom Wlaschiha) tells Arya about the history of the Faceless Men, who originated as slaves in Valyria and killed their masters before migrating to Braavos. He then offers her another assignment, warning her that she will not be given a third chance and suggesting that she will be killed if she fails. Arya observes her target, an actress named Lady Crane (Essie Davis) who is playing Cersei Lannister in a play recounting the death of Robert Baratheon and the execution of Eddard Stark. Arya is noticeably discomforted by the play's portrayal of Ned as a dimwitted and power-hungry traitor, and begins to have misgivings after witnessing Lady Crane and her husband making a toast to their children backstage. Back at the House of Black and White, Arya questions Jaqen about the nature of her target, deducing that a rival actress playing Sansa Stark has taken out the contract, but Jaqen scolds her, reminding her that servants do not ask questions.

In Meereen

Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Varys (Conleth Hill) note that a stable but uneasy peace has fallen over Meereen since they forged their pact with the Masters. In order to preserve the peace and public support for Daenerys, Tyrion summons the red priestess Kinvara (Ania Bukstein), who says that she believes that Daenerys is the chosen one of the Lord of Light and declares that her priests will spread her message. Varys, dubious of the supernatural, interjects and points out that Melisandre also believed that Stannis was the chosen one before his defeat at Winterfell, but Kinvara silences him by recounting how he was castrated. She pledges her support, as she is confident that Daenerys is the chosen one.

Beyond The Wall

Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and the Three-Eyed Raven (Max Von Sydow) observe a vision of the Children of The Forest creating the Night's King by impaling a captured soldier with a dragonglass dagger. Back in the cave, Bran confronts Leaf (Kae Alexander) about creating the White Walkers. She explains that she had no choice, as they were at war with the First Men.

Bran decides to observe a vision without the Three-Eyed Raven. Rather than transport himself to the past, Bran remains in the present, and witnesses a massive army of wights led by the Night's King (Vladimir Furdik), who touches him whilst in the vision. Bran awakens to find an icy scar on his wrist where the Night's King touched him, and the Three-Eyed Raven warns that he must leave, as the Night's King has marked him and is now able to enter the cave.

Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven enter a vision to transfer the Three-Eyed Raven's knowledge to Bran. As Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick) prepares to leave, she notices the air becoming cold and investigates outside. She finds the army of wights, accompanied by the White Walkers. Meera runs inside to rescue Bran, killing a White Walker in the process, while the Children of the Forest attempt to hold back the wights as the cave is overrun. Bran, in the vision, witnesses his father Eddard leaving for the Vale of Arryn, as a young Hodor (Kristian Nairn) looks on. Bran hears Meera's cries from within the vision and the Three-Eyed Raven advises him to listen to her. Bran splits his consciousness by both remaining in the vision and simultaneously warging into Hodor in the present, whilst Summer is killed defending him from the wights. The Night's King enters the cave and kills the Three-Eyed Raven, causing him to disappear from the vision. As Bran, Meera and Hodor make their escape, Leaf sacrifices herself to hold back the wights. The group comes to a sealed door that Hodor barely manages to open. On the other side, Meera repeatedly orders Hodor to "hold the door" shut against the wights while they flee. While Meera escapes carrying Bran, Hodor is presumably killed by the wights. In the vision, Bran wargs into the young Hodor (then named Wyllis), which causes Wyllis to suffer a seizure. With Bran's consciousness inside his head, Wyllis hears the echoes of Meera's orders, and begins to slur the words "hold the door" over and over again until "Hodor" is all that he can say.

Production

Writing

A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin presented Hodor's origin story to David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, creators of the television adaptation.

"The Door" was written by the series' creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Some elements in the episode are based on the forthcoming sixth novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter, which author George R. R. Martin had hoped to have completed before the sixth season began airing.

After the episode aired, in the "Inside the Episode" featurette released by HBO for "The Door", David Benioff and D. B. Weiss revealed that the closing scene involving Hodor's name origin and subsequent death was an idea that was presented to them directly from George R. R. Martin. Benioff stated, "We had this meeting with George Martin where we're trying to get as much information as possible out of him, and probably the most shocking revelation he had for us was when he told us the origin of Hodor and how that name came about. I just remember Dan and I looking at each other when he said that and just being like, 'Holy shit.'" Weiss continued, "It was just one of the saddest and most affecting things. Even sitting in a hotel room having someone tell you this was going to happen in the abstract in some way and that 'hold the door' was the origin of the name Hodor, we just thought that was a really, really heart-breaking idea."

In regards to the White Walker's origin, David Benioff stated "No one's innocent really in this world, and there was just something really beautifully right about the idea that the great nemesis of mankind were created to protect the Children of the Forest from mankind." D. B. Weiss noted, "The Night's King, who's sort of the embodiment of absolute evil, what you're watching is the creation of that absolute evil, so the absolute evil isn't absolute after all." Benioff also alluded to the many references and foreshadowing throughout the series that preceded the reveal of the Children creating the White Walkers, saying, "There are certain symbols and patterns that recur throughout the show. The first time we saw that was one of the very first scenes in the pilot, when Will the ranger sees the Wildling body parts in an odd pattern displayed by the White Walkers. We see it again north of the Wall with the dead horses displayed in a spiral pattern, and then you see it again here and see where these patterns come from, that they're ancient symbols of the Children of the Forest used in their rituals, and the Children of the Forest created the White Walkers."

Filming

"The Door" was directed by Jack Bender, a first time director for Game of Thrones. Prior to directing for the series, Bender was one of the primary directors for the ABC television series Lost, directing 38 episodes, including the series finale.

Reception

"The Door" received widespread praise from critics, with many citing the emotional reveal involving Hodor, the action scenes with the White Walkers, as well as the Kingsmoot and Daenerys Targaryen's farewell to Jorah Mormont as high points for the episode. It has received a 100% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 29 reviews with an average score of 9.4/10, the highest average score of the season. The site's consensus reads "An exquisitely crafted episode, "The Door" culminates in a gut-wrenching revelation that makes the loss of a beloved character all the more poignant."

Matt Fowler of IGN wrote in his review of the episode, ""The Door," directed by Lost's main director, Jack Bender, gave us one of the most emotional deaths on the show to date. Mostly because the scene itself was paired with a big origin-style reveal and a newly opened avenue of time travel mysticism. And it came at the end of a very effective action sequence involving zombies, White Walkers, and the Night King." He gave the episode a 9 out of 10. Todd VanderWerff of Vox noted, ""The Door", continues last week's trend of feeling as if it's offering up some major, important answers on the show's mythos. And many of those revelations impact some of the show's most major characters." Jeremy Egner of The New York Times wrote in his review of the episode; "As with many epic sagas, the story and action in “Game of Thrones” are driven largely by characters moving toward and eventually becoming the people they are supposed to be. While we tend to focus on the big-ticket destinies, whether it’s Daenerys Targaryen emerging triumphantly from the flames last week or Jon Snow rising from the dead to fight again, the smaller figures have their own slots to fill."

Leak

The episode was accidentally released 24 hours early by HBO Nordic. The episode was eventually taken down, but the pirated copy was released to torrent websites.

External links

• "The Door" at HBO.com
• "The Door (Game of Thrones)" at IMDb