The 30 most heartwarming moments on Game of Thrones

19. Daenerys and Jorah share a tearful goodbye (“The Door”)

KATIE: Although she’s banished him twice, I don’t think Daenerys ever imagined she’d lose Jorah entirely. In this moment, that’s precisely what she faces: a future in which Jorah either dies by grayscale or commits suicide before the disease kills him. Daenerys has already lost Drogo, Ser Barristan and even Viserys (okay, so he wasn’t much of a loss, but he was still the only family she ever knew). And now there’s Jorah, dying, at long last confessing his feelings for his queen.

If you ask me, Daenerys always knew Jorah knew loved her, but Jorah wouldn’t say it aloud out of duty and respect for her. But close to death, he’s got nothing left to lose. And maybe that’s what frightens Daenerys the most. His willingness to step over the line drives home how dire his situation is.

Daenerys tells Jorah, “When I take the Seven Kingdoms, I need you by my side.” Daenerys often talks about what she wants—the Iron Throne, her birthright, etc. But here, she says she needs Jorah by her side. Her rigid resolve cracks when faced with the prospect of losing her oldest companion, forever. She just can’t bring herself to say goodbye to him, banishments be damned.

SARAH: “Ser Jorah the explorer, I adore ya and implore ya… please don’t die,” said Daenerys to her oldest friend. I’m paraphrasing here, but that’s basically what she meant.

Daenerys Targaryen isn’t a crier. She’s a hard woman—she’s had to be—and doesn’t often left her vulnerabilities show. It would take a lot for her to shed tears in the company of others, and while her eventual breakup with Daario left her unmoved, Jorah Mormont is a different story entirely. To repeat Katie’s point, the real possibility of his death hurt her more than either of his banishments, because she always knew that a banished Jorah would keep coming back. Of course, she had to send him away because his presence was putting her, Daario and her entire posse of Dothraki in danger, but don’t mistake that for cruelty. Daenerys knows that Jorah is prepared to go to the ends of the earth to make her happy, even if he needs to beat impossible odds to do so. Ordering him to live was her best chance of securing his survival.

There’s a certain triumph in this moment that makes me want to jump into the air and click my heels together. During their impromptu road trip to search for their queen, Daario Naharis took great pleasure in reminding Jorah that Daenerys was his lover. He basked in the smug satisfaction of being the man that she had chosen to share her bed, knowing that Jorah was in love with her. So to see him left out in the cold while Jorah—dear, sweet, faithful Jorah—is rewarded for his loyalty with Dany’s true affection warmed my heart like a mug of steaming cocoa.

(I love you really, Daario, but you’re such an easy target.)