Hold The Slaw: Hodor Is Back From The Dead In KFC's 'Game Of Thrones' Ad

HBO's Game of Thrones has never been afraid of a culling its own population, but Season 6 of the Ice and Fire saga really took the biscuit. As we waved goodbye to the rotten Ramsay, majestic Margaery, and tragic Tommen, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss really brought the feels when they gave gentle Hodor the axe.

Large and in charge #KristianNairn played the role of giant Hodor across the first six seasons of #GameofThrones. In addition to the scene where he gets his peen out, Hodor is remembered for meeting his poignant demise in Season 6's "The Door." For those worrying that Nairn hasn't had anything to do since departing the show, not only is he a well-known DJ and considering a career in politics, it now looks like he is doing the bidding of KFC rather than Bran.

The fast food giant has just featured Nairn back in his Hodor mindset for their latest UK commercial. When you have eventually stopped sobbing about the loss of Hodor, KFC's ad will have you reaching for the tissues and a bargain bucket in equal measure.

If you remember the fifth episode of Season 6, Hodor's namesake was revealed to be the inadvertent result of meddling from Bran Stark's warging powers. With Bran trapped in limbo in the past, he entered a young Winterfell lad called Wylis (later to be Hodor) and caused his tragic downfall. The phrase "hold the door" echoed across time and never have three words ever meant so much — well, apart from "Kentucky Fried Chicken."

For the ad, we see Nairn back in full Hodor mode, but losing his singular line of "Hodor" in favor of a tastier option. The ad echoes Hodor's death from "The Door," with the clawing hands of wights replaced by a horde of ravenous workers. Demanding chicken and fries, we see Nairn regress to another time and slowly mutter "chicken and rice." Does this mean that Colonel Sanders secretly hired Bran Stark to go back in time and introduce us to (marginally) healthier lunchtimes? Using the tragic death of the bumbling giant to sell chicken may seem like a cheap shot, but there is no denying that it works!

With some holding out hope that Hodor could return in White Walker form before Game of Thrones wraps its eighth season, it looks like Nairn is a little busy being the unofficial spokesperson for KFC right now. Who knows though, perhaps he could return to KFC for a follow-up ad. We could see Nairn getting extra fries from the freezer when he comes across an army of White Walkers led by a zombified chicken known as the Night Wing — you heard it here first, Thrones fans!