'Game of Thrones' - Review: "The Door" (Spoilers)

This week on Game of Thrones, Bran learned a great deal of information and we met a new Red Priestess! My thoughts on the episode are after the jump.

Well, I hoped to never have to say this but-

"Hodor."

Goodbye sweet Hodor. Oh, I mean Wylis. Well, goodbye sweet Wylis. We only had you briefly this season, but you will always be remembered as a hero.

What a powerful reveal. This is much better than anything I have guessed in previous posts. It was a simple answer as to Hodor's origin was, but it was all the more emotional because of its simplicity. Hodor was a simple man of circumstance and his final deed in life was a simple one, but one that could save the entire world in the end. Once a stable boy that no one had any second thoughts about and now a savior because of his simple gentle nature. We are going to miss you Hodor.

So did Bran basically kill Hodor? And did he do it by changing the past? Or as Rust Cohle put in in another HBO show, is time but a "flat circle" that folds in on itself? Both Hodor's origin and demise seemed to happen simultaneously and Bran was there for all of it, all at once. I eagerly await some answers as to what exactly Bran can do and what exactly he did do. I guess GoT time travel is now a thing guys.

This reveal, along with a couple of others, brought some interesting themes to the table this week. If last week focused on siblings, this year focused on protectors. Sansa confronted Petyr Baelish, who failed to protect her. She also sent Brienne, her current protector, on a mission to barter with Blackfish. Daenerys finally came to terms with Jorah and commanded him to go on a mission of his own to save his own life because, as she said tearfully to her formerly banished friend: "I will need you by my side." This show has always played with and teased us with the idea that these characters are all over the world and are connected to each other without actually being physically together. This season we are finally getting some of these characters reunited with each other.

When Tyrion met this new Red Priestess, she has a piece of dialogue where she tells Varys about predestination, basically. That everything happens for a reason and that people are brought together for a greater purpose. I'm thinking that this scene is here to help highlight the true heroes of this show: the saviors. I doubt that characters like Jorah and Brienne will live to see the show. Their innate goodness also prevents them from ever becoming leaders in the end. Their loyalties are their greatest strengths, but as we learned from poor Ned in season 1 (RIP Ned), honor and loyalty is what kills you in Westeros. These "saviors" will still have a part to play so that future generations will live on and evil is vanquished, but it will cost them everything. They will be the true MVPs. Not the superpowered Brans or the dragon riding unburnt Danys, but the Jorahs and the Briennes. And the Hodors. Hopefully in this new world that is likely to exist after whatever happens in the future comes to pass, royal names and legacy will not be the reasons why someone is remembered. Hopefully it is their heroism and honor that truly makes the memories of them live forever in true honor. All the stories talk about the battles and conquests of Lannisters and Starks. Hopefully someday history will be comprised of the stableboys like Hodor that give their lives for the greater good.

I really do not have too much more to say about this episode. Even though we got a reveal about the White Walkers being created by Westeros' first Children, it is interesting that the biggest reveal of all of us was the destiny of a simple Hodor. We got more Arya than usual this week and is was cool to see that the sneak peek chapter from the unpublished Winds of Winter made it into the show. Not too much to talk about yet, but it is all intriguing nonetheless. I found Jorah's farewell to Dany incredibly poignant and sad because like Hodor, he is likely about to give up his life for a greater cause. I would be very surprised if we saw Jorah at all in the future. If we do, I think it will be so we can see him do one last noble deed before he takes his own life so the greyscale does not. I think the story of Dany and Jorah is over and I am heartbroken because of it.

We also got a scene at the Iron Islands and got to see this long discussed Kingsmoot. As I expected, Euron Greyjoy came in and snatched the throne away from Yara. What puzzles me is what Yara and Theon plan to do with such a large army and fleet of ships. She may steal Euron's idea and go to Meereen, but where will that leave Euron? He will be a bit behind since he will be waiting for his men to build him "a thousand ships", so I really have no idea what his future plans may contain. Though if we do get Theon and Yara in Meereen to join Dany's cause, I hope Bran and Meera reunite with Sansa and Jon. It would be really exciting to start to have these separate plots come together so characters can join forces for what is sure to be the final battles of the show. There are Ramsays and Cerseis and Faith Militants and White Walkers to destroy, so everyone will need to band together to survive.

This is an exciting time for the show. I love how fast paced it is getting now. Every episode is taking huge steps toward the show's end game. We even got an awesome White Walker zombie sequence in the final 10 minutes. And as great as the inevitable giant battles of the end game are going to be, it will be the moments like Hodor's sacrifice that will stick with me long after the show has ended. I hope our favorite Westerosians take the hint.

This episode gets my top grade just for sheer emotional poignancy alone. With Jorah and Hodor having emotional goodbyes as well as having another awesome White Walker horror sequence, this is Game of Thrones at its very very best.

Grade: A+.

Game of Thrones airs every Sunday night on HBO.