Hodor

"Hodor."

- Hodor

Hodor is a recurring character in the first and second seasons. He is played by guest star Kristian Nairn and debuts in the series premiere, though he does not speak until "Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things." Hodor is a simpleminded servant of House Stark and aids Bran Stark's mobility after he sustains a paralyzing injury.

Background
Hodor is simpleminded (i.e. mentally handicapped) and he is only capable of saying one word, "hodor" (which is a nonsense word), though he can apparently understand complex instructions other people give. Nonetheless, the Starks set him to work at a productive occupation within his capacities, as stableboy serving at Winterfell. Hodor is incredibly large and strong. While he is slow of wits, he is gentle and loyal to the Starks. He is actually Old Nan's great-grandson and only living relative.

Season 1
Hodor greets the arrival of King Robert Baratheon with the rest of the Winterfell household. Theon Greyjoy directs Hodor to carry the crippled Bran Stark to the great hall to meet Tyrion Lannister. He holds Bran whilst Tyrion offers to give him the plans for a new kind of saddle that he can ride even in his crippled state. Some weeks later, Hodor bursts into Bran's room with the saddle made from Tyrion's diagram.

Hodor bathes naked in the hot pool in the godswood while Bran prays. Hodor is seen by Osha, who tells Bran that she thinks he must have giants' blood in him. Bran reminds Hodor to get dressed.

Season 2
Bran dreams that he is Summer, seeing the world through the direwolf’s eyes as he stalks through the Godswood and looks up at the Red Comet. He goes to the pool next to the Heart Tree and looks down at his reflection. The next day Bran has Hodor carry him out to the Godswood; Osha accompanies them and finds a plant that can be used to make a pain relieving tea. She asks Bran if he has had more strange dreams and he claims that he does not dream at all. He changes the subject to the comet, saying that he has heard men say it is an omen favouring Robb in the War. Osha says that she has heard people say the comet is Lannister red and favours their enemies and that she heard a stable boy say the comet was blood red and marked the death of Eddard. Hodor kneels by the pool and Osha helps Bran to the ground by its edge, affectionately stroking his hair. She tells him that stars do not fall for men and that a red comet signifies dragons. Bran stares at his reflection in the water and asserts that dragons are extinct.

Bran continues to have wolf dreams. During one he follows Hodor from within Summer. Hodor comes to wake Bran up and Summer accompanies him. Bran discusses his dreams with Osha as Hodor prepares his horse. Bran says that he dreamt that the sea came to Winterfell, flooding the castle and killing his people and killing Ser Rodrik Cassel. Ser Rodrik leads the garrison to relieve the siege of Torrhen's Square by an unknown enemy. The attack was a feint orchestrated by Theon Greyjoy who uses the opportunity to seize Winterfell. Osha frees Hodor, Bran and Rickon from the clutches of the Ironborn. They travel to a shepherd's farm on the outskirts of the Stark lands. Theon hunts for them with hounds, tracking them to the farm and then losing the scent. He returns to Winterfell with the charred corpses of two boys, claiming that they are Bran and Rickon. He makes no mention of Hodor and Osha. The escapees doubled back through a stream to avoid the hounds and are hiding in the crypts beneath Winterfell. The bodies were orphans working at the farm.

In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels Hodor is a the great-grandson of Old Nan, the oldest woman in the castle. Hodor's real name is Walder, but he is only capable of speaking the word, "Hodor", and has become named for it. The meaning of the word is unknown.

In the books, there are numerous instances in which the mentally handicapped are forced into demeaning positions as court fools, etc., and not simply among the smallfolk. Even handicapped persons born into noble Houses are often reduced to being court fools and aren't treated as blood relatives. For example, the second son of Stevron Frey, Aegon, himself the first son of Walder Frey, was born mentally handicapped and is put in a degrading position as the court fool at The Twins and nicknamed "Jinglebell". This demeaning treatment given to the mentally handicapped is similar to the discrimination that Tyrion Lannister faces due to his dwarfism: as he points out, had he been born a commoner, they'd have simply left him out in the woods to die as a baby. Hodor offers a contrast between how House Stark and most other noble Houses treat the mentally disabled and the weak in general. Instead of making him a court fool or social outcast, the Starks have treated Hodor with respect as a person, giving him an actual vocation within his ability so he can live as a fairly functional member of society.

Hodor does not have a large scar on his right temple in the books. This was added by the TV series' makeup department to hide a tattoo possessed by actor Kristian Nairn.

According to the TV series official pronunciation guide developed for the cast and crew, "Hodor" is pronounced "HO-dor".