Game Of Thrones: 8 Ways Season 6 Spoilt The Winds Of Winter (And 3 It Didn't)

7. Hold The Door (And Bran Becomes The New Raven)

Bran went off on his own to experience some visions, which backfired spectacularly. He ended up in front of the White Walkers' army, and being touched by the Night King himself.

Carrying his mark, it destroyed the magic of the cave and led the Walkers directly there, allowing them to lay waste to it and kill the Three-Eyed Raven. It's a thrilling sequence, and ends in tragedy. With Bran, Meera, and Hodor chased by wights, Hodor is instructed to hold the door, while Bran is stuck in the past and wargs into Wylis (aka Young Hodor). What it all adds up to is the death of Hodor, and the devastating reveal behind the one word he can say,

We know this one's coming, because showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have said it's one of the "three holy sh*t moments" that George R.R. Martin told them about, along with Shireen's burning and another that's from towards the very end of the series.

This is actually a scene that may work better on TV, where it's easier to visualise the intercutting between past and present, although it'll probably work out slightly different anyway. The biggest reason for this is that the Night King doesn't exist in the books; the Night's King is nothing more than a legend, and Martin himself has said he wouldn't have survived to the present day. Given in the show it's the Night King's mark that leads to this, that's can't happen in the books, so the build-up will be changed at least slightly, but the actual reveal (and the emotional nature of it, including Hodor's death) will be the same.

The other part of note here is the death of the Three-Eyed Raven, with Bran becoming him. That's probably going to have more significance in the books, since there it's more overtly clear that the character is Brynden Rivers, aka Bloodraven, a legitimised bastard of House Targaryen and former Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Along with Hodor's death, it's likely that the Three-Eyed Crow will be killed off, with Bran having to take on the mantle.