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In "Beyond the Wall" (Game of Thrones, S07E06) ...

... when Jon was in trouble, Benjen Stark came and rescued him and helped Jon escape on his horse.

Why didn't Benjen tag along on the same horse and escape?

Why did he choose to fight the wights, which is almost suicidal?

I suppose this is the same horse with which Benjen Stark saved Bran and Meera in "Blood of My Blood" (S06E06).

So why not do the same here?

Napoleon Wilson
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srk_cb
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    Why did he chose to fight wights which is almost suicidal? Hm. He's already dead - suicidal is one of those things he isn't all that worried about, I'm sure. – Ghoti and Chips Aug 21 '17 at 07:25
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    The whole "capture an undead" plotline was clunky and ill-conceived. I wouldn't look too hard for logic and reason in it, beyond an excuse to show characters people like fighting zombies. – Steve Aug 21 '17 at 19:53
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    Because George RR Martin is no longer writing the story. – Chloe Aug 21 '17 at 22:30

1 Answers1

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  1. He can't cross the wall anyway

    BENJEN: This is where I leave you.

    BRAN: You're not coming with us?

    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.
    —"Winds of Winter" (Game of Thrones, S06E10)

  2. He would slow Jon down on the horse, lowering his already tiny chance of survival

  3. This way he can distract the dead, increasing Jon's survival chance

    Benjen's distraction of the army of the dead for Jon Snow, "Beyond the Wall" (Game of Thrones, S07E06)

    BENJEN: You ride for the pass.

    JON: Come with me.

    BENJEN: There's no time. Go! (SLAPS HORSE)
    —"Beyond the Wall" (Game of Thrones, S07E06)

  4. Benjen probably wants to finally die, anyway

    As mentioned by show creator, writer and producer David Benioff in "Game of Thrones: Season 7 Episode 6: Inside the Episode (HBO)":

    DAVID BENIOFF: For Coldhands I think it's almost a relief in some ways because he's been trapped in this kind of purgatory state between life and death for quite some time.
    —Game of Thrones: Season 7 Episode 6: Inside the Episode (HBO)

    Benjen's "life" as a walking corpse must be quite miserable (being corpse-like, being stuck north of the Wall as a solitary being who exists only to do as the Three-eyed Raven instructed - which consists mainly of hunting zombies and saving Bran, for all we know), so this honourable ending to his miserable existence must be a satisfying way for his character to finally find peace (that is: assuming he doesn't now become a wight for the Army of the Dead and/or therefore miss his chance to find peace in death - somehow I feel that being less conscious, which the wights seem to be, is better)

Ghoti and Chips
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    If he could not pass - so they also cannot take undead with them to show Cersei? – Jan Ivan Aug 21 '17 at 11:16
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    @JanIvan That's an interesting point. You should ask it as a question. – Comic Sans Seraphim Aug 21 '17 at 11:26
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    @JanIvan They can pass, as one wakes up in Castle Black and kills a bunch of men of the Night's Watch. – Ghoti and Chips Aug 21 '17 at 11:29
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    The one that wakes up in Castle Black was not undead when the body came through, so it passed as a body, not as a wight. – Todd Wilcox Aug 21 '17 at 11:59
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    @ToddWilcox but the body wasn't rotting, there was no smell, meaning it must have been a wight before it went past the wall. A theory is that wights may pass if "invited." This explains why the first one got past and tried to kill the Lord Commander and how the one they are currently taking to King's Landing passes. – Yates Aug 21 '17 at 12:25
  • @ThomasYates less invited, more "carried" I would say. – Moo Aug 21 '17 at 12:40
  • @Moo I never said it was the best theory :P – Yates Aug 21 '17 at 12:53
  • @ThomasYates my point was that people tend to over think these things - Benjen said X so X is literal and unquestionable, but how reliable is Benjen on these matters? We have no idea really :) So you can read anything you want into his comment - a wight being carried over the walls threshold is entirely different to voluntarily walking over it... – Moo Aug 21 '17 at 12:57
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    @ThomasYates it's the same basic issue as the "rule of two" in Star Wars -- treated as inviolable because Yoda said it was a rule, but there seems to be no basis for it being anything other than something an ancient Sith made up, so it can be ignored just as easily. Same basic deal here - don't get hung up on the literal understanding. – Moo Aug 21 '17 at 13:00
  • @JanIvan My guess is it's difference between living and dead. Wights have passed the wall twice now but they are dead brought back to life by White Walkers. But Benjen and the White Walkers are living turned something else by magic from the Children of the Forest. They still have conciseness and thought left in them, making them different from the wights. Whatever that difference in magic is is what causes one to be able to pass the wall and the other to be stuck. – Virusbomb Aug 21 '17 at 13:48
  • Also, if that were the case, how would Jon and Beric get back through the wall, since technically they're both undead as well? Beric has even gone so far as to say that his heart doesn't even beat any more – Taegost Aug 21 '17 at 14:52
  • Plus the purpose of his existence is also to fight the White Walkers and thwart their aims to the best of his ability. Helping Bran and Jon, even at the cost of his own non-life are more important to those ends than his ongoing survival in that state. – PoloHoleSet Aug 21 '17 at 16:24
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    @Taegost - probably the magic binds those created by ice magic, not fire magic. – PoloHoleSet Aug 21 '17 at 16:26
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    My understanding of the "I cannot pass" comment is that he cannot pass through that particular door, which is closer to how it is in the books where there's an ancient back passage with a kind of validation system (in the books though it's only people accompanied by sworn Night's Watchmen who can pass, so they'd need to change it, but I think that's what's being referenced - specific passages). – user56reinstatemonica8 Aug 21 '17 at 22:07