In Game of Thrones’ sixth season, Hodor (Kristian Nairn) died much in the same way he lived: being helpful, overworked, and generally misunderstood by the people around him. Even by Game of Thrones standards, Hodor’s fate was a sad one, but not nearly as dark as this Hodor-themed KFC commercial.
On the show, Hodor dies holding the door against a swarm of White Walkers and wights who are trying to murder Bran, Meera, and Hodor himself while near the cave of the three-eyed raven. In a weird, mind-trippy sequence, we learn that the reason that Hodor can only say his own name has to do with a bit of complicated warging and time travel that inadvertently leads to a young Hodor hearing the phrase “hold the door” and witnessing his own death in the future through Bran.
KFC’s commercial has a few similarities to Hodor’s final scene, like a bloodthirsty hoard, a repeated phrase, and a man with one job—but its final twist is (in my opinion) even more shocking and heartbreaking to witness.
