By Nash Jenkins
Beloved fan favorite character Hodor appeared to die during Sunday night’s episode of Game of Thrones. The gentle giant, who served as Bran’s protector throughout the series, was killed by White Walkers toward the end of the episode. Almost immediately, the show’s fanbase on Twitter was alight with indignant grief.
There is, however, a silver lining in this loss. Through his death, which came about in a complicated sequence in which Bran operated in both the past and present, fans learned why he was only capable of saying one word, his name.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Introducing the 2025 Closers
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- Why, Exactly, Is Alcohol So Bad for You?
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- 11 New Books to Read in February
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Column: Trump’s Trans Military Ban Betrays Our Troops
Contact us at letters@time.com