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On Jorah’s death and Dany’s loss

So, I’ve been thinking about Jorah’s death in 8x03 a lot. Of the six “major” characters who died, his was the saddest but also the most well-done. As everyone said in the BTS video, if Jorah was going to die, this was the best way for him to go - dying to protect Dany, his queen and the woman he loves. And Dany was fighting just as fiercely to protect him.

Three quick things I wanted to point out to bring the potency and poeticness of his death to full light:

1. I don’t think it was a coincidence that Jorah was wielding Heartsbane. The same night he received it, he also died. I don’t mean the sword is cursed or anything, but Heartsbane does mean “what causes the downfall, ruin or death of one’s heart.” And, yes, obviously Jorah died and therefore his physical heart is no longer beating. But, I’d argue that Jorah is Dany’s metaphorical or emotional heart. He has been with her through so much, and I think most people agree that Dany was a better person whenever Jorah was around. When he was banished, she was definitely more violent, more harsh and more reckless, in a way. In the books, Dany notes that Jorah always gave her good counsel, and it seems that was the same in the show. She showed a lot of emotion when he came back in the bigger pit fight, when he told her he had Greyscale, when he returned to her in S7 and when he died in this week’s episode. Jorah obviously means a lot to her (more on that later), and I think he is her metaphorical heart — her moral center, her guiding light, her friend who would never fail her. Dany has lost a lot of people in her life, and I think over time Jorah became ‘Her Person’ (Gray’s Anatomy-style) where he was a constant in her life and she mentally and emotionally relied on that for her well being and stability. They started this journey together, and now he’s gone and she’s still standing. I hope in 8x04 we get to see just how affected Dany is by his death. If anything, I feel like she’s just going to become unhinged. Anyway, after wielding Heartsbane, Dany’s metaphorical heart met his end. That’s why I think it was so fitting that Heartsbane is what saved Dany and what Jorah was wielding when he died.

2. Drogon appearing next to Dany was incredibly poignant. In the books and in the show, it’s implied or outright said that dragons have a telepathic connection with their riders. We see this in 5x09 when Drogon comes to save Dany in the pit. Despite being a danger for him to approach, Drogon understood that his mother was in pain/distress and came to save her. Here, the same thing happens. I’m not sure whether Drogon realized the threat was gone, but he was just dealing with all those wights attacking him, and probably wasn’t too eager to go back to the area where he’d just been attacked. But he feels his mother’s pain, and knows that she is in such distress and pain that regardless of the risk, he has to be by her side to save her. And when he sees there is no threat, but his mother is still in pain, he does what he can to comfort her. Maybe he knew who Jorah was, remembered him from when he was young. But even if he didn’t, it still makes his appearance poignant. Dany was in such pain from losing Jorah that Drogon sensed it and had to come back to her, even if there was a threat to himself.

3. We had a really nice moment from Sam last episode (which is thematically similar to much of GRRM’s work) about how death is really forgetting. And now with Jorah’s death, it’s a bit like Dany has lost the collective memory of parts of her own past. Jorah was the only one of her allies who had been with her since S1, who had met and knew her brother and Drogo, who had seen her brother and her son and her husband die, who had seen the birth of dragons, who had seen her endure the Red Waste and survive Qarth. Now, Grey Worm and Missandei are still with her and have been since S3. But Jorah was the only one of her advisors who had known her for that whole span, who had been faithful to her before she had dragons. He was the only one she could’ve talked to about what Viserys was like or Khal Drogo. She can’t do that anymore, now that he’s gone. There’s no one left who remembers them, except her. With Jorah’s death, Dany lost a part of herself — a part of her Memory. And now that Jorah isn’t there to keep those memories of her past in the forefront, she may — over time — forget those experiences. Maybe not them entirely, but the lessons and the meaning and the significance of them. Without Jorah, the Dothraki Sea, her husband, her son, her brother, the Red Waste and Qarth are just distant memories. Perhaps, for her, Jorah’s death will really be Dany forgetting. In the books, Jojen tells Bran that so long as Bran remembers Old Nan, she’s still alive in his memory. So long as Dany remembers Jorah, he’s still alive in her memory. But will she? Will she be so consumed with attaining power, with taking down Cersei, with conquering the Seven Kingdoms as Aegon did, that she will forget that Jorah told her that she would be a great queen — not because of her claim — but because of her gentle heart? Will she live up to the memory he had of her, or will she simply forget his words and him and only look to the future?

I really hope not.

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It’s okay everyone! Ghost, Rhaegal, and Drogon survived! Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the thousands of soldiers who gave their lives to defend the living world and were brutally torn apart by the dead, some of whom were beloved side characters who were with us from the start, but i don’t care

#the animals lived we’re good #rip jorah #got spoilers #daenerys targaryen #drogon #ghost #rhaegal