There was an unusual amount of reading on last week’s Game of Thrones. Jon got messages from both the Citadel and Dragonstone, while Sam was going over the recipe to make greyscale meat pies. (Wait…that transition was so gross I might be mixed up a little). But it turns out the saddest text from the episode was the note nobody read–Jorah’s crushing goodbye to Daenerys–while the most important might have been Sam’s succinct letter to Jon.

HBO’s “Making of Game of Thrones” production diary shared all of the texts from the second episode “Stormborn,” including what Jorah had written right before Sam came to freelance as the world’s most inexperienced dermatologist. This was all that was clear in the episode.

Considering earlier in the day Archmaester Ebrose had hinted to Jorah that ending his life was a better option than being exiled to Valyria with the other Stonemen, and Jorah was sadly looking at his sword while writing this letter to his queen, it wasn’t hard to guess it might have been a final goodbye, to both her and the world.

But seven bloody hells is it even worse than you’d imagine. Here’s exactly what Jorah wrote to his Khaleesi, the women he loves.

In case you can’t read that good for you, it’s awful and makes me feel bad. Jorah is one of my favorites and this is terrible. But fine, if you insist here’s what it says (grab some Kleenex):

“Khaleesi,

I came to the Citadel in the last hope that the maesters could treat me as you ordered. Even with all their arts I am beyond any cure but the grave. I have had a longer life than I deserved, and I only wish I could’ve lived to see the world you’re going to build, standing by your side. I have loved you since the moment I met you.”

Image: Fox

“I am beyond any cure but the grave.” What a fitting line, because I can’t get away from this show even though I think it’s trying to kill me.

While Jorah’s letter hit us square in our hearts, the other texts from the episode tell us a little bit more about the story. First there was the letter Tyrion sent on behalf of Daenerys to Jon, which Davos wisely noted was a friendly threat about the might of her strength.

“Queen Daenerys Targaryen, First of Her Name, invites you to Dragonstone. My queen commands the combined forces of Dorne and the Reach, an Ironborn Fleet, legions of Unsullied, a Dothraki horde, and three dragons. The Seven Kingdoms will bleed as long as Cersei sits on the Iron Throne. Join us. Together we can end her tyranny. I appeal to you, one bastard to another, as all dwarves are bastards in their father’s eyes.

Tyrion Lannister Hand of the Queen”

Jon is putting a lot of stock in Tyrion being kind to him the short time they spent traveling from Winterfell to the Wall together, even if they did bond over both being “bastards.” This meeting is especially dangerous for Jon because the subtext of Tyrion’s note is telling him, “Don’t mess around, Daenerys can’t be stopped,” but Jon has no intention of bending the knee.

Of course, it’s the other note Jon got that really pushed him to meet with her. Here’s the message Sam sent from the Citadel, featuring a little copy of the Dragonstone map he found.

“Jon, This is a map I found in a book. Dragonglass is rare in Westeros, but there is a mine on Dragonstone. This might be the only source left in Westeros.

Sam”

“This might be the only source left in Westeros” is far more important than just saying there is a lot there. Dragonstone could be the only place to find it, and that means a potential alliance between Jon and Daenerys is even more vital to beating the White Walkers. If she doesn’t believe him, or rejects his offer, it might never be mined.

But it also raises the stakes of Dragonstone itself as a target. What if Euron’s 1,000 ship Iron Fleet attacks the island and starts destroying it? The only source of dragonglass could be lost, buried under a mountain of rock and stone.

With Cersei preparing for Daenerys’ dragons in a way no Westerosi was ever ready to face Aegon’s, that dragonglass could be the only hope the living have.

Of course, dragonglass is a better bet for humanity than the a-holes at the Citadel, who apparently decided it was more important to weigh the livers of dead alcoholics than it was to improve a life-saving procedure for one of the world’s worst diseases.

Here’s one of the pages Sam was reading from the book Archmaester Pylos on Rare Diseases.

We hope a salve of “resin of pine, the green bark of elder twigs, white beeswax, and oil from the olive” works on raw skin.

You can see the other shots from this manual in our gallery below, but what stands out is just how craven the maesters have been in ignoring it. We understand the procedure is dangerous, but so is the disease. Couldn’t they just wear one of those horrible beak masks like doctors did during the Plague?

If they are sitting on otherwise unknown information this valuable, what else is hidden away in the Forbidden section of their library? How important could the lost knowledge they are hiding really be? What deep, dark, long lost answers about the White Walkers and the Long Night are just waiting for a young Samwell Tarly to find, if he has enough time?

Jorah went to the Citadel for answers, and so far all we know is the maesters aren’t concerned with answering some questions.

No wonder his note was so devastating.

What do you think of these notes? What do they really tell us? We want to read in the comments below what you have to write.

Game of Thrones Images: HBO