Did Hodor/Wylis see Bran?

Question

[Spoiler alert for Game of Thrones S06E05 "The Door"]

In the last scene where the Night's King enters the cave, while Bran and Three-Eyed Raven are green-sighting into old Winterfell, Meera shouted to Bran to warg into Hodor and wake up.

He did it and warged into the present Hodor, but after a few minutes, when Meera shouts "Hold the Door" we are taken back into the green-sight and there we could see that Hodor is actually staring at Bran and it totally seems like he could see him.

We know what happened later but it is still a mystery whether Hodor saw Bran or not. - If Hodor saw Bran then his entire life (since then) he would have the memory of Bran and he knew Bran's face even before he was born. - When Bran asked Hodor about what happened in the episode "Red Woman", Hodor became sad as if he didn't want to tell what happened.

Was Bran seen by Hodor?

Answer 1

As seen in the episode, it seems clear that Hodor actually sees Bran in Winterfell. However, it is unclear whether or not Hodor remembers what he had seen since:

1. He probably incurred some sort of brain damage after having that fit, so it could be that he doesn't remember anything.
2. I'm the other hand, as you pointed out, in the scene where Bran asks him about his past, he does seem sad, which may imply that he either remembers having a fit without remembering Bran or that he actually remembers Bran.

Ultimately, it is still unclear as to whether Hodor, in fact, remembers Bran, but it is logical to assume that that much brain damage at such a young age would mean that he, in fact, forgot about Bran.

Something interesting to see in the coming episodes is how much Bran can actually influence the present through the past. There are some interesting theories about Bran and his abilities that came up on Reddit yesterday - Reddit Bran theory

Answer 2

We don't know exactly how much into the past Bran can project. In the previous episodes, a young Ned Stark in the past seems to hear Bran, and turns around to the source of the sound. Early in this episode, the Night King of the present or just a short distance into the past, notices and touches Bran. Of course, the Night King is not human (anymore) and possesses magic that could allow him to see.

Young Wylis in this episode, only seems to notice something. At no point does he touch or point or does anything that would say "I see a person/ghost there". He could simply hear something, or sense a presence, or feel that something odd is in that general direction.

That said, as @athul777 says, and I argue extensively on "Why Doesn't Hodor Speak?" , Wylis seems to suffer physical brain damage from the events, and likely will have damage to his memory as well. If he did see him, he never acts like it or umm, says anything about it. He acts as kindly towards Bran as he did to any of the Stark children, or others in Winterfell in the books or the show. So it's largely a moot point.

Answer 3

Hodor is also half-giant, perhaps him being half giant has properties to the old North magic that allows him to see? If you recall throughout the series, only Beasts can be Green-sighted, giants happen to fit into that category even though they have a small intellectual standpoint. COULD it be possible that since hodor isn't fully human, that he COULD see something humans cannot?