--- title: Game of Thrones Director Jack Bender: First Hodor Scene Idea description: Jack Bender discussed filming the crucial door scene (needless to say, door spoilers ahead). canonical: https://time.com/4354822/game-of-thrones-the-door-director/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-02T12:19:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:31.117Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'Game of Thrones' Director's Original Take on the Door Scene og:description: Jack Bender's first idea was pretty horrifying. og:url: https://time.com/4354822/game-of-thrones-the-door-director/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65744a02d194538c/6988946af887dc5d2ee95f9a/8c8f129f4cd5c96715d3ec63c4727520a9d5c6bd7582c8686e0a7bf53c2155d8-1.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: hbo-game-of-thrones-hodor og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Game of Thrones' Director's Original Take on the Door Scene twitter:description: Jack Bender's first idea was pretty horrifying. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65744a02d194538c/6988946af887dc5d2ee95f9a/8c8f129f4cd5c96715d3ec63c4727520a9d5c6bd7582c8686e0a7bf53c2155d8-1.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The 'Game of Thrones' Director's Original Ideas For the Door Scene Were Horrifying > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: 'Thrones' Catching Up With Book Plot Means Spoilers For All [Watch (HLS stream): 'Thrones' Catching Up With Book Plot Means Spoilers For All](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/j83INjRk.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2015-06-16. The day_  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jun 2, 2016 12:19 PM UTC  HBO  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jun 2, 2016 12:19 PM UTC The director for the recent _Game of Thrones_ episode that destroyed nearly all its viewers in revealing the [true meaning of ‘Hodor’](http://time.com/4344559/game-of-thrones-hodor-kristian-nairn/) said his original plans for the character’s demise were much more graphic. Cinematographically, Jack Bender told the _Observer_, the whole scene was going to be shot using single shots pushing closer to the faces of both Hodor and Wylis (across the time divide). But his ideas for what that shot would reveal, as he first told _Game of Thrones_ creators [David Benioff and Dan Weiss](http://time.com/4346408/game-of-thrones-george-r-r-martin-3-twists/), were horrific. “I said, ‘What the dead would be doing to [Hodor](http://time.com/4349142/game-of-thrones-hodor-kristian-nairn-hold-the-door/) would be ripping his clothes off once they got through that door. They would be ripping his flesh off. If the dead can go through wood, they’re going to be tearing Hodor apart,'” Bender recalled. Then Benioff and Weiss told him, “If it’s too horrific, we’re not going to feel the loss of Hodor.” “I still wanted to make it scary enough, see Hodor surrounded and engulfed by these skeletal arms and long fingers, that were eventually going to smother and kill and rip him apart, or whatever they were going to do that we didn’t see,” Bender continued. “But to not let the horror of it overwhelm the emotion of losing that character and making it really land on the idea that he was sacrificing himself so his friends could get away. That was the dominant idea.” The developed concept was certainly for the best. A grisly, gruesome death for Hodor would have made for a very different episode, and [fans could surely appreciate](http://time.com/4344388/game-of-thrones-hodor/) the poignancy of Hodor’s loyalty more without the signature _Game of Thrones_ gore. \[[_Observer_](http://observer.com/2016/05/mind-bender-game-of-thrones-director-on-original-brutal-idea-for-hold-the-door/)\] Game of Thrones Director Jack Bender: First Hodor Scene Idea ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4354822/game-of-thrones-the-door-director/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4354822/game-of-thrones-the-door-director/"},"headline":"The 'Game of Thrones' Director's Original Ideas For the Door Scene Were Horrifying","datePublished":"2016-06-02T12:19:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:55:31.117Z","description":"Jack Bender discussed filming the crucial door scene (needless to say, door spoilers ahead)","url":"https://time.com/4354822/game-of-thrones-the-door-director/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65744a02d194538c/6988946af887dc5d2ee95f9a/8c8f129f4cd5c96715d3ec63c4727520a9d5c6bd7582c8686e0a7bf53c2155d8-1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65744a02d194538c/6988946af887dc5d2ee95f9a/8c8f129f4cd5c96715d3ec63c4727520a9d5c6bd7582c8686e0a7bf53c2155d8-1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"hbo-game-of-thrones-hodor","caption":"Kristian Nairn as Hodor in Game of Thrones","creditText":"HBO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4354822/game-of-thrones-the-door-director/","name":"The 'Game of Thrones' Director's Original Ideas For the Door Scene Were Horrifying"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"'Thrones' Catching Up With Book Plot Means Spoilers For All","description":"The day","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/j83INjRk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-16T18:30:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/j83INjRk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4354822/game-of-thrones-the-door-director/","duration":"PT2M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4354822/game-of-thrones-the-door-director/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```