Game of Thrones Episode 605 Recap: Hodor, White Walker Origins Revealed

Sansa gets a message to meet Baelish. No fool, she meets with him with Brienne by her side. He is pleased to see Sansa “unharmed,” which angers Sansa, who goes into a not-overly-detailed account of the hell she experienced at the hand of Ramsay Bolton. “What do you think he did to me?” she demands. When Baelish doesn’t answer, Brienne puts her hand on her sword and commands him to answer. “Did he cut you?” Baelish asks, which brings up new anger in Sansa: “So you did know what he would do.” Baelish begs forgiveness, and Sansa considers having Brienne kill him. Instead, she declares she never wants to see him again, and that she and Jon will take back the north. Baelish tips her off that Brynden “The Blackfish” Tully has taken back Riverrun, and suggests she seek him out.

Jon, Sansa, and Davos sit down to plot out how they will win back the north. Many of the larger houses have pledged allegiance to the Boltons, but there are dozens of smaller houses in the north who are loyal to the Starks and would gladly fight for them. Davos warns that Jon is technically not a full-blooded Stark, but Sansa both defends him as her brother (not “half-brother”) and believes that her full Stark heritage should make up for it. At this meeting, Sansa reveals that the Blackfish has retaken Riverrun, meaning the Tullys have a viable army now, but she lies and says she heard about it when she was still living with Ramsay. After the meeting, Sansa sends Brienne to Riverrun to get the Blackfish on their side. Brienne is worried about leaving Sansa alone in a place full of men, but Sansa insists that she trusts Jon to keep her safe. “Then why did you lie to him about how you learned about Riverrun?” she asks.

Arya battles the Waif. She has gotten better now that she has her vision back, but she still can’t get the better of the Waif, who warns her to go home. The Waif drops her staff, but Arya comes after her again. Even against an unarmed opponent, Arya comes up short. “You’ll never be one of us, Lady Stark,” the Waif says pointedly. Jaqen is there, and tells Arya that the Waif has a point. He gives her a brief history of the Faceless Men, nobodies who were taught to shed their face. He hands her a vial, telling her she has been given a second chance, with an actress, Lady Crane. “One way or another, a new face will be added,” he hints ominously.

At the theater, Arya enjoys the play, a reenactment of the War of the Five Kings. Her enjoyment diminishes when Ned Stark is portrayed as simple, stupid man, and eventually beheaded. Backstage, she observes her intended victim, Lady Crane, who played Cersei. Arya returns to Jaqen with her report, saying she plans to poison Lady Crane’s rum. Noticing her hesitation, Jaqen doesn’t think Arya is ready. Arya says she just seems like a decent woman. She thinks that Bianca, the actress who portrayed Sansa, was the one who bought the hit. Jaqen reminds her that a servant doesn’t ask question.

At a kingsmoot, Yara Greyjoy steps forward to claim the Salt Throne. Some of the men are against this, claiming they have never had a queen rule them, especially now that a male heir has returned. Theon steps forward, and Yara becomes nervous, thinking he will make a play for the throne. He doesn’t; he throws 100% support behind his sister. “We will find no better leader.” By the end of Theon’s speech, all the men are cheering for Yara, their new queen. The celebration is cut short when Euron shows up, teasing Theon about being less of a man, and admitting he killed his brother, claiming Balon was leading them nowhere. He apologizes for not killing him years ago. Theon counters, pointing out that Euron has spent years traveling, and hasn’t spent any time in the Iron Islands. Yara was here, leading, “getting ready to bring us to glory.” Yara promises to build the biggest fleet; Euron’s plan is to seduce Daenerys, marry her, then use her army to take the Seven Kingdoms. The crowd changes their mind, and they cheer for their new king: Euron.

Euron is “baptized” as king – he is drowned. He is brought back onto land and everyone waits for him to rise again. It takes a minute, but he is up, spitting up water and choking for breath. “What is dead may never die,” the priest praises, and Euron is crowned. He looks around for Yara and Theon – “Let’s go murder them.” Euron leads his men up the hillside, and they see an enormous fleet of boats leaving. Yara, Theon, and their followers stole all the best ships, leaving Euron enraged. He insists they will build a new fleet of a thousand ships.

Jorah reveals to Daenerys that he has the greyscale. She is saddened, and he admits that all he has ever wanted was to serve her. “I love you, and I always will.” He turns to leave, but Daenerys commands him to find a cure, heal himself, and return to her. “When I take the Seven Kingdoms, I need you by my side.”

Back in Meereen, an unsteady peace has been in place since the accord. In order to cement the peace, Tyrion wants them to know it was Daenerys who put peace in place, and they need to hear it from someone they trust, who cannot be bought. Tyrion and Varys meet with Kinvara, a High Priestess of the Lord of Light. Kinvara promises to summon her priests and spread the word that Daenerys is the chosen one. Varys is doubtful, and points out that one of her priestesses chose Stannis, and that didn’t work out too well. Kinvara proves herself by relaying details of Varys’ own castration, and a voice that called to him from the flames his “parts” were tossed in to. She assures him they serve the same queen.

Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven take another trip into the past, where the Children of the Forest are playing in a field. One moves towards a man, tied to a tree, and sinks a stake into his chest. His eyes glow an otherworldly blue, and Bran wakes, startled: the Children of the Forest made the White Walkers. She defends the decision, saying they needed to defend themselves from man.

Bran can’t sleep, so he crawls across the ground, grabs a root, and is transported into a vision, the same as before, but it is frozen and snowy. Bran looks and sees an army of White Walkers, standing, waiting. He walks amongst their decayed numbers until he comes to the leader. The leader looks right at him, and the army turns to look at him. Bran is scared, and the leader grabs him. Bran screams and comes out of the vision. The Raven realizes the White Walker touched him – there is a blue mark on his arm – and tells Bran and his friends to leave. Bran has been marked. They can get in here now, and they know where he is. “The time has come for you to become me,” the Raven says, even though Bran is not ready for it. Bran slips into a trance, and his eyes go white.

Meera and Hodor are packing up when the air gets very, very cold. She checks outside, and finds it snowy and frozen outside. The White Walkers have assembled. The Night King puts his hand to the ground, sending cracks to the tree hideaway. Meera rushes inside and tries to shake Bran out of his trance. The Children of the Forest try to hold back the White Walkers and surround the entrance to their hideout with fire. This holds back the deadites, but is no match for the Night King and his hands, who are able to part the fire and walk right through. The deadites climb atop the mound and drop in from above.

White Walkers are overwhelming the little hidey hole. Hodor rocks, scared, and Meera screams at Bran to wake. Bran hears her in his vision, and the Raven advises him to listen. Bran contacts the young Hodor – Wylis – in his vision. In real life, Hodor stands and drags Bran off. Meera kills one of the leaders, shattering him. Bran’s wolf, Summer, stays behind to fight the horde, and is killed in the process. Bran, Hodor, and Meera run out. When the Night King stands before the Raven, the Raven tells Bran it is time for him to leave him. On the run, Bran wakes. The Children of the Forest stay behind to keep the horde off Bran’s crew. It only helps for a moment. Hodor manages to get the door open. They rush outside, and Hodor puts his weight against it to keep it closed against the horde.

In Bran’s vision, he looks to Wylis, whose eyes turn white and he drops to the ground, spastic and screaming while his mother looks on. Wylis screams “Hold the door,” over and over, as in real life, Meera screams at Hodor to hold the door closed. It is no use, and the White Walkers break through the door, tearing Hodor apart. In the vision, Wylis grows panicky, screaming “hold the door” so much, so fast, the words melt into one: Hodor.

You can watch a preview for next week’s episode by clicking here.

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