Aside from White Walkers, wights, and other deadly enemies, the characters in Game of Thrones also had to steer clear of the fatal disease known as Greyscale. The dreaded condition was essentially a death sentence, killing its victim slowly. Despite the high mortality rate, two key characters made a recovery in the HBO series.

Greyscale, also referred to as “Prince Garin’s curse,” was a contagious disease that first attacked the skin. After coming in contact with Greyscale, the victim’s skin cracked and flaked. The flesh would appear like grey stone or reptilian scales as the skin tissue hardened and died. In time, the Greyscale would spread from head to toe before affecting vital organs and the brain. The deterioration was known to take years before victims succumbed to the infectious disease.

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Several Game of Thrones characters contracted Greyscale including Shireen Baratheon, Jorah Mormont, Archmaester Pylos, Karl Whitehill, and two of Gilly’s sisters. Even though it was rare, getting Greyscale was quite easy since it only took coming into contact with an infected person or object. Those who were in the late stages of Greyscale were exiled to cities in ruin such as Old Valyria in Essos. This shunned group was known as the “Stone Men.” When Jorah was ambushed by Stone Men in season 5, he became infected, but, thankfully, he was one of the few to be cured.

Two Characters Were Cured Of Greyscale In Game Of Thrones

Aside from Jorah, young Shireen was the only other character to be cured of the skin disease. The daughter of Stannis Baratheon became infected when she was an infant. Stannis bought her a doll in Dorne that held Greyscale. Rather than send Shireen to live with the Stone Men, he brought in every maester and healer he could find to help cure the disease. Their efforts worked by the girl was left with a scaly scar on her face up until her tragic death at the hands of a spiritual sacrifice.

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As for Jorah, Daenerys Targaryen forced him to relieve his duties in her army so that he could find a cure before it was too late. In Game of Thrones season 7, Jorah came in contact with Samwell Tarly at The Citadel. Sam snuck into the restricted section of the library to research a cure for Jorah’s Greyscale. The procedure to remove the infected areas was risky, often proving fatal or not being completely effective. Sam went ahead with the treatment, cutting off Jorah’s infected layer of skin with a scalpel. A medicinal ointment was then spread on the exposed skin tissue. Jorah didn’t suffer from blood loss or shock as was the case with many patients; instead, he lived to see another day. Jorah managed to make a recovery so that he could reunite with Dany and fight at the Battle of Winterfell before bravely dying during the ground attack.

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Kara Hedash
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Kara Hedash is a features editor and writer for Screen Rant. From time to time, she dives into the world’s most popular franchises but Kara primarily focuses on evergreen topics. The fact that she gets to write about The Office regularly is like a dream come true. Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had work published on The Mary Sue and Reel Honey. After graduating college, writing began as a part-time hobby for Kara but it quickly turned into a career. She loves binging a new series and watching movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. She also has a soft spot for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. Her favorite Avenger is Thor and her favorite Disney princess is Leia Organa. When Kara’s not busy writing, you can find her doing yoga or hanging out with Gritty.

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