Skip to main content

game of thrones - Is Benjen dead?


After the events of Game of Thrones season 8 episode 3 "The Long Night", did Benjen and (if they are not the same person) Coldhands die when



Arya killed the Night King?




I am clueless on the books and new to the TV show so apologies if this is dumb.



Answer




Benjen is already dead at the start of season eight.


Benjen is Coldhands in the show and as Coldhands he was in some state between alive and dead.



Benjen: The Wall is not just ice and stone. Ancient spells were carved into its foundations. Strong magic to protect men from what lies beyond. And while it stands, the dead cannot pass. I cannot pass.


Game of Thrones, Season 6 Episode 10, "The Winds of Winter"




Note though that he wouldn't have died when the Night King was killed, if he was still alive, because he was created under the influence of the Children of the Forest not the Night King.



Benjen: I led a ranging party deep into the North to find White Walkers. They found us. A White Walker stabbed me in the gut with a sword of ice. Left me there to die. To turn. The Children found me. Stopped the Walker’s magic from taking hold.


Bran: How?


Benjen: The same way they made the Walkers in the first place. You saw it yourself.


Bran: Dragonglass. A shard of dragonglass plunged into your heart.


Game of Thrones, Season 6 Episode 6, "Blood of my Blood"



Later on in "Beyond the Wall" Benjen is killed by a group of wights to allow Jon time to escape.




Benioff: For Coldhands, it’s almost kind of a relief in some ways because he’s been trapped in this kind of purgatory state between life and death for quite some time and, like so many in the show, waiting to find out what his purpose is. Why is he still alive when he should be dead?


Game of Thrones, Season 7 Episode 6, "Beyond the Wall" - Inside the Episode




But did Benjen really meet his fate there? After all, when we thought the Night’s Watch ranger was dead earlier in the series, he returned to save Sam Tarly from a white walker. Could Thrones throw another deus ex Benjen at us in season eight?


Simple answer: no. Although Thrones co-creator David Benioff has already hinted that was the last of Benjen, director Alan Taylor, who helmed the episode seemed to confirm Benjen does indeed die in this scene.


Speaking on the DVD commentary during the sequence in episode Beyond The Wall, Taylor says “he meets his end here”, referring to Benjen.


Radio Times, It looks like this Game of Thrones character really is dead





The fate of Benjen in the books is unknown and whilst GRRM previously declined to comment on whether Benjen is Coldhands, in a reply to his editor for A Dance with Dragons he apparently confirms Benjen is not Coldhands, see this reddit post for the source.



Comments on the ADWD manuscript, quoted below.


Editor: Is this Benjen? I think it's Benjen... :) And does Bran never recognise him because he never sees his face fully?


GRRM: No



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...