Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) became an entirely different character when translated from A Song of Ice and Fire into Game of Thrones. The books describe Jorah as ugly and balding, while Glen's good looks and full head of hair feel like a far cry from that description. Additionally, book Jorah acts as a villain, motivated purely by his disgusting lust for Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), going so far as to forcibly kiss her during A Storm of Swords, while, in the show, although Jorah still harbors those inappropriate feelings, he ultimately also believes in and respects Dany as a person first and foremost.
As Game of Thrones progressed, Jorah became a more and more prominent character, eclipsing his book counterpart, developing in ways his A Song of Ice and Fire equivalent never did, and even assuming roles intended for other figures from George R. R. Martin's novels. By the time of his grand return in season 5, episode 3, "High Sparrow," he feels like an entirely different character than the person Martin initially conceived for the series. Nowhere is this more apparent than in one quick moment towards the beginning of Sseason 5.
Jorah meets Tyrion in the books
Jorah's services as Daenerys' chief advisor come to an abrupt end towards the end of A Storm of Swords, when she discovers his history of spying on her in hopes of receiving a pardon from King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy). She spares his life due to their past friendship, but banishes him from Meereen, threatening to take his life if he ever returns.
This would mark the end of Jorah's time in the series if not for a chance encounter with Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) in the fifth and most recently published book in the series, A Dance with Dragons. While travelling to Meereen with the crew of the Shy Maid, Tyrion and Haldon Halfmaester stop in the Volantine city of Selhorys, and, in typical Tyrion fashion, visit a brothel. There, Tyrion sees a man who he does not initially recognize: Jorah Mormont, who enlists the services of a "silver-haired whore," clearly meant to resemble Daenerys.
Shortly after his time with Dany's look-alike, Jorah kidnaps Tyrion, and the two set off on their own journey to Meereen, in hopes that bringing Daenerys a Lannister captive will cause her to welcome Jorah back into her good graces. However, if she knew he'd hired her look-alike at a brothel, her opinion of him would likely fall even further.
Jorah meets Tyrion in the show
Much like in the books, Tyrion makes a quick pit stop in a Volantine brothel on his way to Meereen, though this time, he's travelling with Varys (Conleth Hill) instead of the entirely omitted Shy Maid crew. Once again, he is kidnapped by Jorah, and the two set out on the road to Meereen.
Again, like in the books, this scene includes a prostitute with silver hair, now explicitly dressed to resemble Daenerys. However, in the show, Jorah does not hire her. Instead, shortly after her introduction, it cuts back to Jorah, who looks at her with utter disgust, and almost anger, clenching his fist to help push down his rage.
This small moment perfectly encapsulates the difference between Jorah in the two mediums. While book Jorah leaps at the chance to sleep with a prostitute who resembles Daenerys, in the show, Jorah is livid that someone would impersonate his one true queen in a brothel. He believes Daenerys deserves more respect than an imposter using her likeness to sell sex. While Jorah is still almost certainly attracted to the Daenerys lookalike, he puts the real Dany on too much of a pedestal to want to sleep with the fake.
Of course, show Jorah's feelings toward Daenerys are wildly unhealthy as well. To say nothing of the egregious age gap, he often treats her as the only person who matters in the world, blocking out everyone else's needs, including his own, to best serve her. By the time of his eventual on-screen death, he's long since accepted that he and Daenerys will never be a real couple, and dying to protect her from the undead invasion is, ultimately, the way Jorah would have wanted to go. However, show Jorah's refusal of the silver-haired prostitute shows that he doesn't simply think of Daenerys as a sex-object, much unlike his counterpart from the books.
For more from the world of Westeros, make sure to tune into House of the Dragon season 3, airing new episodes on Sundays on HBO Max.
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