The Game of Thrones TV series has come and gone, and with its controversial final season having ended some time ago, sights are now turned to the books, to see how George R.R. Martin might do things differently. Now fans have gotten a small taste of Martin's approach, as the writer has discussed a small change he will be making to the fate of beloved character Hodor, compared to how things went down on HBO.
Before discussing the change however, it is worth noting that, while minor, this is of course, a spoiler for The Winds of Winter, or perhaps A Dream of Spring. Don't read ahead if you don't want to know anything about the books, or the overall story. In the show of course, Hodor died in season 6. The man and his limited vocabulary were never seen again after being commanded to "hold the door" against an incoming swarm of undead wights. His sacrifice allowed Bran Stark and Meera Reed to escape from the situation.
While the show's producers felt it would be best to have Hodor quite literally "hold the door" to drive the point home, Martin discussed how he would tweak the scene in his version of the story. "I thought they executed it very well, but there are going to be differences in the book. They did it very physical — 'hold the door' with Hodor's strength. In the book, Hodor has stolen one of the old swords from the crypt. Bran has been warging into Hodor and practicing with his body, because Bran had been trained in swordplay. So telling Hodor to 'hold the door' is more like 'hold this pass' — defend it when enemies are coming — and Hodor is fighting and killing them. A little different, but same idea."
Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that either is better or worse than the other. Television and books are two very different mediums, with different strengths that can be used to the advantage of the creatives behind any given idea. Whether or not the final books will live up to or surpass the show will have to be seen when The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring finally hits bookshelves at some point in the future.
Source: Entertainment Weekly