It’s not often that those involved with HBO’s hit fantasy series Game of Thrones apologize for what plays out on screen. In fact, it never happens, despite the constant deaths and heartbreak that happen every week. But this past Sunday’s episode The Door was different. And for the first time ever, David Benioff and Dan Weiss felt an ‘apology’ was needed. Though, it might not exactly be the kind of heartfelt reparation you’re looking for.
Emmy-winning writer-producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss used ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live to share their feelings on the death of beloved character Hodor. They sent in a special video message on Tuesday night. And it allows them to express their sincere regret, seeing that this latest episode certainly has had an impact. The hour ended with the unexpected demise of a fan-favorite, and some fans are still reeling. They explain why they certainly feel bad about it, but it’s not what you think.
“We’d like to apologize for Sunday’s episode. Not for killing Hodor. We kill a lot of main characters. 739 characters so far. We’re sorry for all the idiots who, from now on, will be shouting ‘Hodor’ every time you go through a door. We forgot how annoying people can be. That’s our bad. We should have seen that coming. Again, so, so, so sorry. We’re the worst. We can kill people in real life, too. We can even kill you…”
And you’ll have to watch the video to see how this ends. Cause there is another twist, even just in this short Jimmy Kimmel spoof. While this is all said in fun, earlier in the week, the show runners were much more sympathetic to these turn of events, which saw Bran Stark‘s beloved companion die while heroically saving Bran and Meera. Says Benioff about the inevitable death call they had to put into actor Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor. This one was particularly hard.
“It’s always interesting when we do the death calls; the Hodor one was particularly tough … [The Hodor twist came] from one of our conversations with [author George R.R. Martin]. This is one of his ideas that he told us in Santa Fe. We thought it was f-king fantastic.”
Game of Thrones Season 6 continues next Sunday with Blood of My Blood, airing Sunday, May 29 at 9 PM ET. The season is now at the halfway point, and there are surely more deaths and a few shocking scenes left to devastate fans. In the next all-new episode, an old foe comes back into the picture. Gilly (Hannah Murray) meets Sam’s (John Bradley) family. Arya (Maisie Williams) faces a difficult choice. And Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) finally faces off against the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce). Take a look at the apology below. And wonder, what will they have to apologize for this Sunday?