Why Benjen had to die?

[Gala]

6 hours ago, Mikkel said:

I don't think that's quite true, her reasons for disliking Jon were threefold: first the obvious, he's a walking talking reminder of Ned's infidelity*, secondly he's a potential threat to her children**, and if not him then his children's children might be etc etc. and thirdly the normal discrimination against bastards in general.

^{*yes Jon is of course the wrong target for her anger, but that doesn't change the fact that he is just that}

^{**Jon would of course have no legal claim but when has that ever stopped a sufficiently ambitious person?}

The point is that he would remain all that in Cat's eyes even being Lyanna's child with only exception of Ned's infidelity.

[Mikkel]

2 hours ago, Gala said:

The point is that he would remain all that in Cat's eyes even being Lyanna's child with only exception of Ned's infidelity.

Well, possibly, but the worst marker against Jon would be gone, and the second one would be greatly diminished (being the Lord's bastard is very different from being the Lord's deceased sister's bastard after all).

Would that have been enough for her to welcome him with open arms - no probably not, but it would certainly have improved her disposition towards Jon. Possibly enough to overcome the "bastard" stigma. Who knows, it's a complete what-if at this point. Just goes to show the depth of Martin's characters though.

[Zzzzzzz]

Benjen had to die because they hadn't resolved his story and they didn't want to pay the actor for the final season.

[John Meta]

On 8/21/2017 at 10:55 PM, Squirrel_Wight said:

also if you really have to have benjin to appear so extremely ex-machina like, prepare it somehow, make a scene where we see him getting ready to come to help, or riding like hell to reach the party, just something that its not as clunky and silly as gandalfs eagles

I would propose the writer's way was better and your way is not as good. When you say "prepare it somehow" the writers already did this by giving the audience the information that Benjen was scouting the region north of the wall. That it the "somehow" in which the scene is "prepared"

Your method would make it prepared to a greater extent; but I believe that greater extent would rob the scene of any real tension and release. What I mean is, if we went your way, everyone would know Benjen was going to show up, and so there would be no narrative tension when Jon is left behind and facing the coming walkers.

Benjen's appearance was really the only appearance that  released narrative tension. Dany's appearance was completely expected (she was even summoned to the area, and we saw her make her choice and go; I would propose it would've been perhaps better to cut from Dany's scene when Tyrion is saying "Do nothing" then we see Dany's concerned face musing over what to do, and we cut scene; then we do not know to expect Dany's arrival, and it would have more impact and release of tension) and so while there was some visual tension, there was no narrative tension at all. So Dany's arrival only released visual tension; but Benjen's arrival released both visual and narrative tension, and so was the arrival with more impact. 

The way you propose would've caused two successive reveals of the same calibre; neither having narrative impact. By narrative impact meaning the viewer is thinking "How can this be resolved?" and their is genuine uncertainty; which is what creates dramatic tension.