‘Game of Thrones': Who Is the Man Stuck in That Oldtown Cell?
The scaly hand reaching to Samwell belongs to a fan-favorite main character
Phil Hornshaw | July 16, 2017 @ 7:31 PM
Last Updated: July 16, 2017 @ 7:37 PM
HBO
(Note: This post contains spoilers for the premiere of Season 7 of “Game of Thrones.”)
The Season 7 premiere of “Game of Thrones” includes one character whose face is never seen. Among the secrets Samwell Tarly discovers in the Citadel at Oldtown is Jorah Mormont, kept in a cell.
It seems Jorah’s quest to find a cure for his greyscale has brought him to Oldtown, AKA maesters HQ. He’s kept in quarantine, hoping the maesters might find a way to cure the horrific disease.
Greyscale is maybe the most feared disease in the world of “Game of Thrones,” and it’s slowly consuming Daenerys’ formerly most-trusted adviser.
Jorah contracted Greyscale back in Season 5, when he kidnapped Tyrion Lannister and set out to bring him to Daenerys. The Mother of Dragons had previously exiled the knight for spying on her for the Iron Throne in Season 1, and he hoped Tyrion would get him back in her good graces. But, as Jorah and Tyrion were sailing close to Valyeria, they were attacked by guys infected by greyscale called Stone Men.
The greyscale disease is passed by touching the skin of someone infected, or an object that has touched the disease. That’s what happened to Stannis Baratheon’s daughter, Princess Shireen. She contracted greyscale from a toy doll.
The disease spreads until it covers the person’s skin, turning it hard and grey like stone and causing it to crack painfully. Not even amputation is guaranteed to stop its spread. But it’s not just gross — it also makes those infected go insane when it reaches the brain, turning them basically into feral monsters. The infected can live for years with the disease before it kills them.
When Daenerys discovered Jorah had greyscale after he and Daario Naharis came looking for her in Vaes Dothrak, she ordered him to set out to look for a cure. Apparently, his search took him to Oldtown. There, the maesters of the Citadel seem to be trying to treat him — but judging by how gross Jorah’s arm has become, they don’t seem to be succeeding.
It’s possible to cure greyscale, but nobody is quite sure exactly how. Princess Shireen was cured, leaving her with some of the telltale scaly skin on her face, but saving her from the insanity that follows. With Jorah in quarantine, we’re still not sure if he’ll make it through his illness, but at least he’s probably in the best place in the world to try.
All 49 'Game of Thrones' Main Characters, Ranked Worst to Best (Photos)
"Game of Thrones" has a lot of characters, and too many to rank. So we're just going to focus on the 49 characters who are or were the most important, in our humble opinion. If you don't like our list, Littlefinger will poison your wedding cake. (Many spoilers, obviously.)
49. Viserys Targaryan
A total jackass, Viserys had maybe the best death in the whole series: having molten gold dumped on his head.
48. Rickon
Who? (I feel bad for this joke after season 6, but I'm going to leave it)
47. Robb Stark
The Red Wedding was a coming of age for viewers of the show. Rewatching those early seasons knowing that's gonna happen exposes Robb for the lame dude he really is.
46. Stannis
Basically a stodgy, moralistic Southern Baptist minister. I'm from Alabama, so I was pulling for him.
45. Bran Stark
Needs to work on his pouty face and grow out his hair if he wants to be the new Jon Snow.
44. Roose Bolton
He's like the Count Dooku of this show, acting like he's working for himself though he's really just a pawn who probably will get his head cut off by young Darth Vader.
43. Daario
Was a hot blond dude, but now (after a casting change) is just a regularly attractive brown-haired dude who was banished from Dany's bed because who cares about love anyway?
42. Ned Stark
The Mark Twain of the show, giving his kids a bunch of advice that wasn't actually useful before he got murdered. Wait, how did Mark Twain die? This analogy may not track all the way but whatever.
41. Joffrey
Oh man. Remember that time the cake was too dry and it made his eyes bug out and his face turn purple and he spit foamy red drool everywhere? Hilarious.
40. Shae
Did what she needed to survive, until it turned out doing what she needed to do to survive (hooking up with Tywin Lannister) got her killed.
39. Tommen
Not the most decisive king, either before or after he had sex. But he's better than Joffrey, I guess.
38. Khal Drogo
Got fridged for the sake of Daenerys' character arc. Beautiful.
37. Gendry
Melisandre put a leech on his penis one time. It feels like that's all I should put here.
36. Theon
I'm still pulling for his post-castration power play. Or for him to just get killed already.
35. Jorah Mormont
Really sad because he still can't afford to buy Khaleesi's love.
34. King Robert
Probably the most chill and carefree character on the show, drunk most of the time, yelling a lot even though he really didn't have any problems. Well, until that time he drank too much and got killed by a boar.
33. Ramsey Bolton
Is Ramsey the most demented dude on this show? Well, he's definitely the funniest demented dude, which isn't actually funny at all when you think about it.
32. Catelyn Stark
Loses to the Lannisters both in the Game of Thrones and the Game of Angsty Overprotective Moms.
31. Talisa Stark
Every joke that comes to mind is far too reprehensible even for a "Game of Thrones" list, so I'm not going to put one here.
30. Sam
A huge nerd who predictably finds love in a house of somebody else's daughter-wives.
29. Lord Commander Mormont
Died because Sam found love in a house of somebody else's daughter-wives.
28. Ygritte
A marksman with a bow, loved Jon Snow, killed by a child. She was basically an audience surrogate.
27. Gilly
Doesn't know anything except for all the stuff Sam doesn't know how to do. Which is most things.
26. The High Sparrow
He tried pulling a huge awesome gambit, but ultimately he was not prepared for the Game as well as he thought, judging by how hard Cersei outplayed him.
25. Red Viper
His irascible lust distracted him from delivering the killing blow against the Mountain. He would be much, much higher on this list were it not for that glaring oversight.
24. The Hound
Killed the butcher's boy, then spent several seasons saying lots of mean things before being left to die on a rock. If his redemption arc goes well he might get a bump.
23. Jaime Lannister
Can I make a joke about masturbating with your off hand? There's nothing in our style guide about that. Anyway, where's the scene where Jaime learned how to do that?
22. Jaqen H'ghar
Speaks in riddles, has many faces (and many bodies), and set Arya on the path to losing her eyesight even though he would have been burned alive if she hadn't saved him. What a clown.
21. Tywin Lannister
Was killed by his hated dwarf son. Exactly what he deserved, though I secretly hoped he would at some point just be nice to his kids.
20. Ellaria Sand
Committed one of the greatest and most upsetting murders on the whole show.
19. Tormund Giantsbane
Has a great name, murder in his heart and a huge beautiful red beard. Also he was in "Fate of the Furious," the latest movie in my favorite film franchise. What's not to like?
18. Jon Snow
Well, he's dead. King of the dead ones. Definitely not coming back ever. No longer dead. Murdered a particularly irritating character. Could stand to be less nice, though.
17. Euron Greyjoy
We can't help but appreciate the (no pun intended) joy with which Euron enacts his villainy. "I AM THE STORM!" Hahaha.
16. Hodor
Shoulda been named "Meme." (Another joke I feel about bad about after season 6. I moved him way up in compensation.)
15. Margaery Tyrell
Delightfully passive-aggressive toward Cersei all the time. Sure, she was killed horribly by Cersei because she made a classic "Game of Thrones" miscalculation -- and I really should bump her down for that -- but, nah, she was too much fun.
14. Brienne
Tall, kills a lot of men, is single and celibate, takes no crap from anyone and doesn't play the game. A perfect counter to basically everything else on "Game of Thrones."
13. Tyrion Lannister
Thinks with his penis. Which is okay because his penis is so smart.
12. Varys
Slightly smarter than Tyrion because he doesn't have a penis.
11. Melisandre
Lots of people think of Melisandre as the "sexy" main character, but she's actually the "terrifying" main character. Remember that time she burned a child alive? That sucked. Now she suffers for it, finally, but she'll probably be back to do something amazing. Still waiting, though.
10. Missandei
"All men must die. But we are not men." Any questions?
9. Davos Seaworth
Easily the MVP of season 7.
8. Littlefinger
Probably the smartest character on the show, but uses all that brainpower for evil. So he's great, is what I'm saying.
7. Daenerys
Commits most of the best murders on the show, thanks to those dragons and her invulnerability to fire. and they're usually justified. Big bonus points for that.
6. Arya Stark
Never underestimate this faceless woman.
5. Olenna Tyrell
Makes a great joke about useless genitals, and constantly talks smack about everyone. And she got the absolute last word in her death scene. My dream woman.
4. Sansa Stark
A lot of viewers still underestimate here even now in season 7, thinking she's playing right into Littlefinger's hand rather than having her own plan for dealing with his machinations. Ludicrous.
3. Bronn
Enters the show in the most "Game of Thrones" way possible: by stepping out of the background of a scene to kill a guy for Tyrion.
2. Grey Worm
Just the best. Sad because his life sucks. Badass who kills a lot of his problems. Communicates a lot without saying much. Grey Worm seems like the kind of tragic "Game of Thrones" character who is going to have a brief moment of triumph before getting slaughtered. I hope that triumph is really good.
1. Cersei
Yeah, she's a terrible person, but she's the product of a terrible father and terrible environment. Through season 7, though, she's been better than everyone else at playing the game, even though every move she's made has had some kind of awful unintentional consequence for people she cares about. We'll see if she can maintain this spot as the endgame approaches, however.
1 of 50
We judge all the characters who matter (or mattered)
"Game of Thrones" has a lot of characters, and too many to rank. So we're just going to focus on the 49 characters who are or were the most important, in our humble opinion. If you don't like our list, Littlefinger will poison your wedding cake. (Many spoilers, obviously.)
