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We finally know how Hodor got his name and fans guessed the heartbreaking reveal years ago

Wylis Hodor Game of Thrones
HBO

Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for "Game of Thrones" season six.

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The ending of "Game of Thrones" season six episode five "The Door" was a difficult one to watch. The death of the direwolf Summer and Hodor’s final stand left many fans in tears.

And while it was bittersweet to learn what "Hodor" means after all this time — literally "hold the door," the last phrase Wylis ever hears in his final moments — one fan guessed at the meaning of this phrase way back in 2008 on Reddit.

"The poor guy is just asking someone to hold the door for him, since he's always carrying someone else around," Westeros.org user Myridden guessed in a forum discussion. "After a while, 'Hold the door' became 'Hold the doorHold the doorHoldoorHodoor. Dammit! Hold the door!' His mind finally snapped, and now all he can say is Hodor."

Some Redditors also discovered writer Michael A. Ventrella's blog post from 2014. The author claimed in his post to have met George R.R. Martin and guessed that "Hodor" meant "Hold the door." 

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[Ventrella]: I finally figured out why you have a character named "Hodor."

Martin: Oh?

[Ventrella]: I was thinking about your comment about wanting to be an elevator operator.  It’s clear to me now that "Hodor" is short for "Hold the door."

Martin: (laughing) You don’t know how close to the truth you are!

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While neither guess was exact, it turns out that "Hodor" really is a simplification of "hold the door." In the final moments of Sunday's episode, Bran watches as a young Hodor in the past goes crazy after somehow being connected to Hodor in the present through Bran.

Hodor close up Game of Thrones
HBO

Young Hodor somehow sees his own death at the hands of the wights and hears Meera screaming for him to "hold the door!" against the army of wights as she and Bran escape into the night.

In the vision, a young Hodor keeps screaming "hold the door, hold the door!" as he writhes on the ground in pain at Winterfell. As the scene continues, "Hold the door" slowly evolves into the more simplistic "Hodor," the name and phrase that Wylis will carry with him for the rest of his life.

No wonder the episode was called "The Door."

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It’s not the first time fans have predicted a huge moment in season six. In the first episode of the season, "The Red Woman," fans finally learned for certain what many book readers have guessed on Reddit for years — Melisandre is actually an old woman who is centuries old, but hides her true appearance with magic.

Time will tell just how many other things intent readers of George R.R. Martin’s series have guessed.

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