Jorah should have just come clean when he saved Dany from the merchant. I know he was scared and felt that because he had truly devoted himself to her he did not need to admit that he was originally a spy for Robert through Varys. I do understand Dany's anger at him and I also laud Barristan telling Jorah upfront what he intended to do. Barristan was about doing what he felt was right, but did not want to just pull the rug up from under Jorah as he still thinks highly of Jorah and plus Barristan is just a good man. He did not have to tell Jorah, but he still wanted him to know what was coming his way so he could at least have some preparation on defending himself. All the same, he quite bluntly stated that even if Jorah was allowed to stay, he was never going to be near Dany again. I do feel bad for Jorah, but I understand Dany's reasons. It's just a terrible situation for all parties. Even in her anger you could tell Dany was heartbroken by learning that Jorah was originally against her.
Ygritte also spares Gilly and Baby Sam because she could tell they were wildlings. Tormund would have likely spared them too, but The Thenns , not so much; hence why she told Gilly to be quiet and keep Sam quiet as well.
Edit: I do love the brotherly bonds between Grenn, Ed, Pyp, Jon, and Sam. And Ed cracks me up when he shit talks about Craster, but also talks up Gilly like she is a survivor and he's not blowing smoke up Sam's ass; he's spot on. She did survive Craster, and against all odds survived a long walk to The Wall and survived a White Walker. Still I feel bad for Sam, even though sending her to Mole's Town was the right call at the time.
Edit 2: The reason that Ironborn commander and the other soldiers in that castle looked sickly was because Howland Reed(Jojen and Meera's dad; aka the two kids leading Brann up north) has his men doing sneak attacks on The Ironborn by blowing poisoned darts at them. House Reed are MEGA backers of The Starks. Howland Reed was also a very good friend of Eddard; the two fought side by side in Robert's Rebellion. Hell if memory serves Howland was one of his top lieutenants.
DevilJynx
2025-02-07 19:39:03 +0000 UTC
That's sound like so much unnecessary plot. The TV version is better imo. Dany should not be that forgiving and a mission does not even sound like the right way for him to prove his loyalty to her. I like that she didn't listen to his pleads because there is really nothing you can say to excuse those actions. Changing your ways doesn't forgive what you did. It needs to take so much more to earn that trust back than the options the book gives
Ichigoat
2025-02-07 16:14:33 +0000 UTC
Nice to see Sansa being a bit more proactive, learning lessons from Baelish of all people :D
As for the thing with Jorah, I don't really like how it's portrayed in the TV show as much. Makes it seem like Dany (pettily, childishly even) doesn't even want to give him a second chance, despite his long-standing devotion to her, and the fact that he saved her from the assassination attempt he himself had caused.
In the books, she learns of his past treachery along with Barristan's true identity (he was disguising himself before) shortly before Mereen was taken. Feeling betrayed and having to respond to their disloyalty, Dany gives the 2 of them a chance to redeem themselves with a sort of suicide mission - to go through Mereen's sewers and open the gates from the inside. They actually succeed and Barristan holds his head high when granted an audience, where he begs to formally enter her service, which she accepts. Jorah, however, makes the mistake of not only attenting the public audience with the wrong attitude, he literally says that after what they did, Dany "has to" let him reenter her service. This put Dany into a bad spot, because now she couldn't accept him anymore, lest his "demand" diminish her power and authority. He literally made it impossible for her to accept him back into the fold, and so she banished him. Here in the show, Jorah actually begs her for forgiveness, which is exactly what he should have done to make her forgive him.
That's why I like the book version more, and it also reminds me of a scene from Anna and the King where, much in the same way, the king was forced to execute 2 people he didn't wish to, because Anna suggested that she would "speak to him" to change his mind in front of his council. If he hadn't given the 2 the worst punishment for their crimes after such a public announcement, he would have seemed weak, under her thumb. Exactly the same corner that Dany was backed into here. It's a much more "royal" reason to do something like that.