The latest episode of Game of Thrones brought back a fan-favorite character with a brief significant purpose. Benjen Stark. a.k.a Coldhands (played by Joseph Mawle) reappeared 'Beyond the Wall' to save his favorite "nephew", Jon Snow (Kit Harrington).
The half-frozen Jon Snow was already on Benjen's steed and being sent to Eastwatch-by-the-sea when he realized that Benjen was relatively undead. It's an unexpected appearance that showrunner David Benioff thinks closes Benjen's story in a satisfying way.
Benioff discussed Benjen's final appearance in this week's Inside the Episode.
"The thing with Coldhands is it allows us to work in a pretty compressed time frame because there just isn't time. We need the emotional connection. Coldhands has to somehow convince [Jon] very quickly, 'Do what I say,'" explained Benioff. "The easiest way for him to do that is to show his face. Jon kind of has to respect the position because he just did the same thing.
"For Coldhands, I think it's kind of a relief because he's been trapped in this kind of purgatory state between life and death for quite some time, and like so many characters on the show, waiting to find out what his purpose is. Why is he still alive when he should be dead? For him, it seems like he's found his purpose in these past two seasons by saving first Bran and now Jon."
Benioff went on to compare Coldhands' sacrifice to what Jon Snow did to buy Daenerys and his Suicide Squad some time. He talks about how Jon Snow was striking down wights as he was walking away from Daenerys and Dragon so that they will have more time to escape.
"He sees that they're all going to die if the dragon doesn't take off. The rational decision at that point in time is you guys go to safety and I'll try to keep them off you as long as I can. He's the guy who jumps on the grenade to save the platoon. That's always been Jon," explained Benioff.
Benioff also explains why Daenerys dropped everything at Gendry's raven to go Beyond the Wall and save Jon Snow and his crew. "In terms of going North to rescue them, a number of people up there have different claims on her heart. Jorah's been by her side since the beginning. He's saved her life so many times, I think she would feel as if it was a betrayal if she didn't at least try to save him. And then, of course, there's Jon Snow. You definitely get the sense that he's become quite important to her in a pretty short amount of time."
Game of Thrones Season 7 finale is set to air this Sunday at 9 p.m. EST.
Read more:Fans Are Mind-Blown Over The Tiny Detail About Longclaw in Game of Thrones Season 7, Episode 6
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