Slaver's Bay

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/slavemasters_shield.png

"Nobody remembers if the waters around Ghis had names before the Empire, but ever since they have been known only as Slaver's Bay and the Gulf of Grief. Of Ghis, however, nothing remains but ruins where end all great civilisations."

— Ser Jorah Mormont, History and Lore: Old Ghis and Slaver's Bay.

A great bay in south-eastern Essos, littered with cities where slave trading and training is the main business. The main three cities of the eastern Slaver's Bay: Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen, still cling to the culture of their Ghiscari ancestors who were conquered by the Valyrians.

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In General

Adaptation Dye-Job: In the books, Ghiscari characters (particularly nobles) are frequently described as having their hair dyed and sculpted into various shapes which would look ridiculous on screen. The show omits this along with all the various large and small plot points which result.
All Your Base Are Belong to Us: After taking over Meereen, Daenerys announces her victory by draping a Targaryen Flag over the Harpy at the Great Pyramid of Meereen. She subsequently uses the Pyramid as her Keep and holds court in its chambers.
Animal Motifs: The harpy.
Bread and Circuses: The fighting pits served as a distraction for the people of Slaver's Bay.
Culture Justifies Anything: The Harpy oppose Dany because she's threatening their culture and way of life. This would be more believable if their "culture" of the Ghiscari Empire was legitimate when its merely a Rose-Tinted Narrative of a dead empire, with all its traditions and records lost, making their Cultural Posturing look less legitimate. The Ghiscari all speak Valyrian, and moreover they are a minority in a city of former slaves and seem to consider their culture legitimate on account of being masters.
Fantastic Racism: In the sense that Game of Thrones uses its own in-universe ethnic groups, the Masters largely descend from the Ghiscari while their slaves are largely from any group unlucky enough to be targeted by them. However, they seem to hold some classist views regarding dynasty and ethnicity. Despite detesting Daenerys for wanting to rid them of slavery, they hold a strange Villain Respect for her due to her status as a highborn, to the point when they think they're negotiating her surrender, the Masters who do so offer to let her and Tyrion (who similarly descends from Westerosi nobility) go free, but they insist on re-enslaving the Unsullied and Missandei, seeing them as nothing more than slaves that were 'stolen'. And when things turn against them, they offer the lowborn Master among them as sacrifice explicitly because he's lowborn, figuring that meant he deserved to take their karmic punishment.
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of the Barbary Coast. The Unsullied's Training from Hell and equipment is based on Ancient Sparta and them being enslaved foreigners turned brainwashed, highly disciplined eunuch soldiers is based on Mamluks and Janissaries. Finally, the stepped pyramids are taken from Ancient Mesopotamia.
- The Ghiscari Empire's rivalry with the Valyrian Freehold — and its subsequent destruction — mirrors the Punic Wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire.
- The notion of independent city-states sharing a similar cultural identity is a reminder of the Greek city-states, all of which practised slavery.
Gladiator Games: Meereen's fighting pits were famous for pitting fighters against each other. Daario Naharis came from the fighting pits and Oberyn during his tour of Essos also fought there apparently. Most of the pit fighters were slaves but Dany reopens the pits for freedmen much to the amusement and skepticism of some Essosi slavers.
Kick the Dog: Would you expect any less of slavers? Upon hearing of Daenerys liberating slaves Meereen crucifies slave children, 163 in all, as signposts to piss her off. When she arrives they do their level best to torture and humiliate her.
Meaningful Rename: Following Daenerys' departure from Essos in Season 6, the region has been renamed the Bay of Dragons.
Mythical Motifs: The old Ghiscari Empire had the harpy as the symbol of their civilization. The slaver cities kept the harpy statues as their symbols.
Patriotic Fervor: Even worse than Qarth's.
Proud Merchant Race: They consider themselves to be naturally above other peoples due to their great wealth and cultural posturing.
Slave Mooks: The Unsullied. See the Targaryen sheet for more tropes.
Starfish Language: Each city in Slaver's Bay speaks a dialect of Valyrian. Like the Dothraki language, these dialects were created for the show by David J. Peterson taking as base the few words that appear in the books.
Race Lift: To a marginal extent. In the books, Slaver's Bay practised the ancient and medieval form of slavery which was mostly Prisoners of War or survivors and captives of city sackings and the slaves were mixed races and many of them were white and the masters were descendants of mixed Ghiscari and Valyrian marriages. Since the region was introduced in Season 3 when the show was shot in Morocco, and used local extras, this created a Mighty Whitey vibe that was otherwise not part of the books, nor was the intent of the author. They took some criticism for this but the TV producers cited the production issues and that this wasn't their intention.
- Notably they seem to have taken the criticisms from Season 3 to heart, because from Season 4 onwards (now that it was being filmed in Croatia, then Spain) the show has made it a point to make the demographics more mixed: we prominently see dark-skinned slave-masters and white slaves. Prime example is episode 4.4 "Oathkeeper", when Grey Worm rallies the city's slaves in revolt. The lead showrunners Benioff and Weiss outright stated that they gave Grey Worm more to do in Season 4, having him lead the slave revolt on Daenerys's behalf instead of Daenerys herself, specifically because they were trying to avoid a Mighty Whitey interpretation.
The Farmer and the Viper: Upon finding out they are supporting the Sons of the Harpy, Tyrion decides to negotiate with them instead of just trying to destroy them as Daenerys did, and gave them an otherwise satisfactory deal, where they would not have to abolish slavery immediately (over a period of seven years instead of a single day), and they would be compensated for lost slaves. It works at first, but then the masters promptly turn on Tyrion and try and send their army to forcibly retake Meereen, and if not Daenerys and her dragons, they would have succeeded.
The Remnant: The cities of Slaver's Bay are whats left of the old Ghiscari Empire.
- The Sons of the Harpy are remnants of the pre-Daenerys era.
Training from Hell: Every slave gets this.
Ungrateful Bastard: After Tyrion negotiates compensation in exchange for slowly phasing out slavery the masters go on a mass sacking and slaughter of Meereen anyway, only prepared to stop if basically all of Westeros was given to them to enslave.
What Happened to the Mouse?: It's unknown what happen to the pacified Bay of Dragons after the death of Daenerys and her the splintering of her army, especially since it was the fear of Daenerys and her dragons that kept the corrupt ruling class in check.
Would Hurt a Child: The Masters of Meereen are fully willing to crucify 150 slave children to intimidate Dany. Dany in turn is fully willing to crucify and kill 150 wise masters.

Meereen

"A grand old city, choking on violence, corruption, and deceit."

— Varys

Meereen is the largest of the three cities that give Slaver's Bay its name. It is renowned for retaining much of the ancient Ghiscari architecture and culture and has a skyline dominated by large pyramids.

Hizdahr zo Loraq

"Is it justice to answer one crime with another?"

Played By: Joel Fry

"Your Grace, I cannot defend the actions of the masters. I can only speak to you as a son who loved his father."

One of the Great Masters of Meereen.

Adaptational Badass: Somehow he manages to singlehandedly negotiate the great families of Meereen into accepting Dany as their ruler and makes peace with Yunkai, both of which are outright impossible in the books; in fact, while a peace is negotiated with Yunkai in the books, their armies never leave. Subverted in Season 6 where Yunkai are one of the Sons of the Harpy's benefactors and by planning to reopen the fighting pit Hizdahr fell right into their death trap.
Adaptational Heroism: In the books, he's much more self-interested and ruthlessly ambitious, pestering Dany to reopen the fighting pits for profit and to marry him. Here, his Establishing Character Moment was begging the queen to return his father's body so he could give him a proper burial. This made him a lot more sympathetic, and his point of maintaining traditions seems to stem from a genuine attempt to keep conditions in Meereen stable with a healthy dose of compromise. And it turns out that he had nothing to do with the Sons of the Harpy, where the book version (while not yet confirmed) is almost certainly either their leader, or at least very highly-placed among them. In fact, he's killed by them as he's trying to help Daenerys during their attack in "The Dance of Dragons".
Adaptational Wimp: He's not as powerful as he was in the books. In the books, he uses his political skill and influence to convince Daenerys to marry him and re-open the fighting pits. On the show, they're Daenerys's ideas. He's forced to marry her because he's completely at her mercy.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Played with. Hizdahr willingly kneels before Dany when he begs for his father's body. Later, though, he alone of the captive Masters shows courage when faced with being killed by Dany's dragons. He stands straight and tall, refusing to beg for his life because all men must die. Even later, however, we have a double subversion: after spending time in solitary confinement, expecting to be the next Master burned and eaten by the dragons, he kneels once more, admits his fear, and pleads readily for his life.
And Now You Must Marry Me: Dany forces him to marry her. His immediate reaction is one of relief, but only because her decision to marry him means she's not going to kill him. Given that Dany later tells Tyrion that she may not have to kill Hizdahr, even this is uncertain, making it a case of Can't Kill You, Still Need You.
Appeal to Tradition: A common Running Gag with him.
Aristocrats Are Evil: Averted. However, Daenerys tends to view him through the lens of this trope, because all the nobles of Meereen used to own slaves.
Beleaguered Assistant: He offers his advice to Daenerys, yet nobody respects him.
Blue Blood: He's the son of one of Meereen's oldest families, one devoted to preserving and restoring its architecture beauty and cultural traditions.
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie: He asks for proper funeral rites for all the Meereenese Great Masters, including his father. Daenerys only allows his father's bones to be buried properly.
Butt-Monkey: His father is crucified without being proven guilty. He tries to mediate between Daenerys and the former Masters once the situation becomes tense and gets nothing but mistrust, even when he's proven right. Daenerys and Daario snark at him behind his back, and Daenerys even threatens to have him burned alive and eaten by her dragons for revenge, even when he had nothing to do with Ser Barristan's death. She later changes her mind, but still obliges him to marry her. Then she openly tells Daario that she will never be faithful to him. Later, at the Great Games, Daario flourishes his knife around Hizdahr's neck while Daenerys smiles, enjoying Hizdahr's discomfort. Finally, when the Sons of the Harpy attack, Hizdahr's final act is to try to lead Daenerys to safety, but when he is murdered by the Sons of the Harpy, she doesn't even seem to notice.
Cowardly Lion: Hizdahr chooses to Face Death with Dignity directly after seeing his potential fate: being burned alive and ripped in half. Later, he privately admits to Dany that he is terribly afraid of dying but does not want to die a coward.
Death by Adaptation: He's killed by the Sons of the Harpy in "The Dance of Dragons", while his book counterpart is still alive at the end of book 5.
Death by Irony: After persuading Daenerys to reopen the fighting pits, he's murdered at the Great Games.
Don't Create a Martyr: He expresses frustration that Dany chooses to execute Mossador before a massive crowd, as a symbol that justice must apply to all, rather than doing so quietly and pragmatically, out of the public eye. His misgivings are proven correct when a riot breaks out immediately after Mossador is killed.
Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Played with. Dany's declaration that she will marry him can be read as empowering for her, as a woman who was once forced into an arranged marriage. However, it can also be seen as unfair to Hizdahr, since he's not asked if he wants to marry the woman who had his father crucified, who also seemed on the verge of killing Hizdahr himself. His situation also presents an interesting parallel to Sansa: she is seen as a victim fairly unambiguously in her arranged betrothals, whereas he is not.
Due to the Dead: Hizdahr insists that, although the crucifixion of the slave children was indefensible, the Masters' bodies should be taken down and given proper funeral rites. In particular, he wants his father to be buried and find peace in the afterlife.
Early-Bird Cameo: In "Breaker of Chains", he's among the Great Masters gathered over the walls of Meereen. If you've read the books and seen fanart, it's easy to tell who he is, since the camera pans over him quite a few times.
Even Evil Has Standards: His father spoke out against crucifying the slave children. And he decries Dany's eye-for-an-eye retaliation as brutal and unnecessary.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He might be a slave-owner, but he grieves the loss of his crucified father, and requests that Dany allow him to give his father's remains proper rites.
Face Death with Dignity: When Daenarys threatens to have him fed to her dragons, he simply replies "valar morghulis." He does admit he's afraid of dying when Dany visits him but the thought counts.
Forgotten Fallen Friend: Dany and the others barely even react to his death, although they're in the middle of a heated battle so it's somewhat excusable. Though even after they've had time to breathe, he still isn't mentioned.
The Friend Nobody Likes: Pretty much everyone on Dany's small council holds some measure of dislike for him despite his polite and affable manner. Dany and Mossador particularly dislike him, often disagreeing with Hizdahr's sound advice due to his connection to the Great Masters.
Good All Along: Suspicion is cast on Hizdahr as a member or even leader of the Sons of the Harpy, to the point where Daario suggests multiple times that Daenerys should kill him, but Hizdahr's innocence is proven when the Sons of the Harpy murder him at the Great Games.
Heel–Face Turn: Evolves from an oligarchic slaver to a honest advisor of Daenerys.
Henpecked Husband: He would have inevitably become this if his marriage to Dany had gone through. She proudly tells Daario that she won't be remotely faithful to him though she assures Tyrion that she hopes she won't have to kill him. He dies before their marriage can go anywhere.
Hidden Depths: Despite being scared, he manages to face a dragon with an impressive calm.
Last of His Kind: After his father's death, he's the only member of his family that we see. Since he dies before producing a heir with Daenerys, his family is now extinct.
Mouth of Sauron: He holds a rather valuable position as the voice of the (former) Great Masters. It's a much less sinister version of this trope, however.
Noble Male, Roguish Male: He's the noble one to Daario's roguish, by social standing and attitude if not for morality. Although he turns out to have been a good guy, after all. They even have a verbal Cock Fight after the fighting pits are reopened and, surprisingly, Hizdahr wins.
The Quisling: He is this in the eyes of the Sons of the Harpy. They kill him for it.
Realpolitik: He often reminds Daenerys that compromising is necessary in politics, and that the stability of a country is much more delicate than she thinks.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He was this, back when he was a slave-owning Great Master. At least according to him. He also tries to be this once he becomes Dany's advisor and later her husband-to-be, though his vision of being reasonable considerably differs from the other members' of the court.
Red Herring: Daario suspects that he's not just a member of the Sons of the Harpy, but their leader. Nope, he's completely unaffiliated with them.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: It seems as if Mossador and Hizdahr are being set up to oppose each other in this manner. Mossador's execution in the same episode where he and Hizdahr disagree cuts this short abruptly. Daario and Hizdahr can also be seen this way, with Daario recommending bloody solutions to Dany's problems and Hizdahr arguing for diplomacy and compromise.
Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: He came off as extremely polite yet he kept pestering Dany to reopen the fighting pit in the name of keeping tradition. Everyone, especially book readers expects him to have ulterior motive and betray Dany. It was only after he was killed by the Sons of the Harpy that it became clear that he was exactly as nice as his facade showed.
Shoot the Shaggy Dog: He endures constant humiliation under Daenerys' rule to keep Meereen in a state of relative stability, only to be murdered by the Sons of the Harpy, leaving behind enormous turmoil.
Team Switzerland: Is sent to conduct a Peace Conference with Yunkai on Dany's behalf. Given that the alternative to reaching a peaceful resolution is being killed by Daario's Second Sons, this can double as Gunboat Diplomacy (though Hizdahr isn't at the helm of that gunboat).
Token Good Teammate: How he presents himself and his father to Daenerys, insinuating that not all of Meereen's Great Masters were child-murdering sadists. Later, he ostensibly is one of the few Meereenese noblemen who actively support Dany's leadership.
We Hardly Knew Ye: We didn't get to see how his and Dany's marriage would have looked.
What the Hell, Hero?: He gives one to Daenerys in "The Laws of Gods and Men" when he tells her that his father (who was crucified on her orders) actually spoke out against the crucifixion of slave children.
Would Not Hurt A Child: According to Hizdahr, both himself and his father were against the Great Masters' vile idea to taunt Dany by crucifying hundreds of children.

Yezzan zo Qaggaz

"This is the day your lives actually start to mean something."

Played By: Enzo Cilenti

A member of the House of Qaggaz and a slaver who purchases and trains pit fighters. He owns one of the lesser fighting pits.

Adaptational Attractiveness: Yezzan in the books is morbidly obese, as opposed to the Lean and Mean version portrayed here.
Adaptational Villainy: In the books, Yezzan genuinely wants to make peace with Daenerys and Meereen, while here he is one of the leaders of the Sons of the Harpy, an organisation determined to overthrow Daenerys. In addition, due to being a Composite Character with Nurse, he is somewhat less kind towards Tyrion and Jorah than he was in the books.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Begs for his life when the other Masters offer his life as penance for breaking their deal with Tyrion. Lucky for him, the other two die for being cowards.
Composite Character: He's a combination of the book Yezzan, a slaver who purchases Jorah and Tyrion, and Zahrina who deals in cheap pit fighters. He also has some of the characteristics of Nurse, Yezzan's overseer. In the books, Yezzan was a somewhat kinder-than-others slaveowner while Nurse was a nasty slavedriver.
Jerkass: Buys slaves, keeps them chained, forces them to die in a bloodsport for "a preview" game and subverts anti-slavery laws to still keep indentured labor.
Large Ham: The minute he sees Dany appear in the Pavillion he plays it up like Peter Ustinov in Spartacus.
Loophole Abuse: Dany said no freedman can fight in the pits, so Yezzaan buys slaves at auctions and pays them meager lifetime's wages up front, which means the slaves can't technically say they haven't been paid for their work. He's essentially started Moving the Goalposts.
Make an Example of Them: It's implied he is going to suffer this as retribution for Astapor, Yunkai and Volantis breaking their peace treaty with Daenerys. Instead, his compatriots are killed by Grey Worm for their cowardice and Yezzan is left alive, solely so he can remind the surviving Masters back home what will happen to them if they get ideas about reviving the slave trade or crossing Daenerys again.
Nouveau Riche: He was a lowborn slaver who somehow made it as Astapor's new leader.
Rank Up: Went from owning a lesser fighting pit to Mouth of Sauron from Astapor.
Sole Survivor: He's the only Master left alive after their assault on Meereen, precisely because the others offered him up to be killed in their stead.

Oznak zo Pahl

Played By: Daniel Naprous

A Meereenese nobleman sent by the Great Masters to challenge Daenerys.

Adaptational Wimp: In the books, he at least manages to leap off his horse as it falls and get in a few seconds of sword fighting before he's killed.
All There in the Manual: His name is stated in the books but not mentioned onscreen or in HBO material.
The Champion: To the Great Masters.
Curb-Stomp Battle: He charges at Daario, Daario just slaughters his horse and cleaves Oznak up before the guy can even get back on his feet.
Excrement Statement: Part of his mockery of Daenerys is to piss in her direction.
Jerkass: The first thing he does is throw insults at Daenerys and the Unsullied.
Off with His Head!: Daario beheads him with his arakh.

Fennesz

Played By: Trevor Allan Davies

A slave in the service of Master Mighdal, one of the Great Masters of Meereen, and charged with educating the children of the household. In his own opinion, he was well treated by his master and loved by the children he taught.

Composite Character: He doesn't specifically exist in the novels, but his appearance in the show was a good way to succinctly represent what was happening to the former slaves of Meereen on a wide scale in the novels. Meereen's entire economy was based around the training and export of slaves.
Happiness in Slavery: A nuanced version. He doesn't particularly like slavery and he would have joined with the young generation of newly freed, but he's so old and worn that he doesn't know any other form of life, and can't handle the change in circumstances in his last years. He was once a teacher, loved and respected by his master's children, but now that he's a homeless old man, he's constantly abused by younger people.
Omniglot: He speaks several languages, including the common tongue and Valyrian.

The Sons of the Harpy

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sons_of_the_harpy_5.png

"Conquerors always meet with resistance."

A shadowy organization that conducts hit-and-run assassinations on former slaves after Daenerys' conquest of Meereen.

Adaptational Badass: They are a far bigger threat on the show then they were in the books. The books' Harpy were a more modest Nebulous Evil Organization that carried out sneak attacks on defenseless freed people while avoiding direct battle against the Unsullied. Here, they are a lot more active and even capable of attacking the likes of Ser Barristan.
Aristocrats Are Evil: Subverted at first glance, it appears they are all masters disgruntled that slavery was abolished and their power lost since they target former slaves. Its revealed afterwards that even former slaves have joined the ranks of their group. Doubly subverted when it turns out the group is actually funded by nobles from other slaving cities.
Attack! Attack! Attack!: Seem to lack any sense of self-preservation and attack no matter the enormous casualties or the heavy opposition they face. Even a dragon tearing them apart and setting dozens aflame does little to quell their spirit.
Combat Pragmatist: They prefer to surround their opponents in very tight quarters and overwhelm them with large numbers. Justified, since they are fighting the Unsullied.
Curb-Stomp Battle: The Sons are exterminated after being on the receiving end of one of these in Battle of the Bastards. They learn far too late that ambushing Unsullied and murdering unarmed freedmen from the shadows in no way, shape or form makes them capable of standing against Dothraki screamers.
Demoted to Extra: After playing a large role in Dany's storyline in Season 5, they largely vanish in Season 6. Their only appearances are an off-screen moment in the Season 6 premiere where they attack Meereen's harbor and torch all of the city's ships and a brief scene in "Battle of the Bastards," where they are quickly taken out by Dothraki riders.
Hero Killer: They manage to kill Ser Barristan, although not without heavy, heavy losses.
Honey Trap: One of their methods.
La Résistance: They see themselves as this.
Knight of Cerebus: As soon as they show up, things start going downhill for Dany very fast.
Malevolent Masked Man: They wear scary, golden masks and they are really malevolent men.
Mass "Oh, Crap!": The Sons exhibit this upon seeing every Dothraki in Essos coming straight at them.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: With their adaptational badassness, ability to sneak great number of them in plain sight, and lack of self preservation, the Sons of the Harpy in the show might be more than the opportunistic resistance from the books. Their actions look more similar to the warlock coup from Season 2.
Occupiers Out of Our Country: The story they present to gain support from the people.
Slashed Throat: Their modus operandi. White Rat found out very early.
The Unreveal: In Season 5, Daenerys focus her efforts in unveiling the identity of the Harpy, the mysterious leader of this group. Even Hizdahr is suspected of being their leader. Turns out there is no such thing, the Sons of the Harpy have no leader and are secretly backed by a coalition of slaver states.
Zerg Rush: Their main tactic is to ambush in large numbers.

Vala

Played By: Meena Rayann

She is a prostitute in Meereen who is secretly in league with the Sons of the Harpy, a resistance movement against Daenerys Targaryen.

An Offer You Can't Refuse: Varys offers to ship her off to Pentos with her young son and start anew if she reveals all she knows about the Sons of the Harpy.
The Bus Came Back: She reappeared in Season 6 to be interrogated by Varys after her long absence.
Femme Fatale: A prostitute who serves as The Mole for them posing as a Honey Trap. White Rat didn't see his death coming.
Ms. Fanservice: She is briefly topless while offering her services to White Rat.
Platonic Prostitution: She is hired to hold White Rat in her arms while he sleeps and sing him lullabies.
Shame If Something Happened: Vala is on the receiving end of this trope by Varys when interrogating her about the Sons of the Harpy, by bringing up her son. Though he doesn't actually threaten to harm him if she doesn't spill the beans, he says that she would be executed for working with the group (as per standard procedure for collaborators with the enemy) and it would have been terrible if the child was left without his dear mother.

Malko

"Got a lot of fight in you, huh?"

Played By: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

The captain of a slaving ship operating in Slaver's Bay and the Summer Sea.

Bald of Evil: He's a shiny-headed slaver.
Canon Foreigner: Malko is largely an original character; he takes the place of two Yunkish slavers who capture Tyrion and Jorah, but they're so vaguely-defined he can hardly be said to be a Composite Character. He's also partly based on Brown Ben Plumm, the mixed-skin mercenary who Tyrion sweet-talks his and Jorah's service into the Second Sons.
Kick the Dog: Being a slaver is bad enough, but he needlessly pummels Jorah when he's unable to defend himself.
Large and in Charge: Malko is the captain of his ship, and is played by the massive and intimidating Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.
Large Ham: At Jorah and Tyrion's slave auction, he becomes one, creatively exaggerating Jorah's already impressive skills.
Scary Black Man: His skin colour isn't exactly commented on, but he's black and he's certainly scary considering that he thinks nothing of casual mutilation.
Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: He's quite amused with Dany's idea of reopening the fighting pits and restricting it to freed men. He notes that he's never heard of non-slaves fighting in the pits, which suggests that Hizdahr was sugar-coating Meereenese traditions to Dany. The slave auction we see confirms this: the institution isn't dead but it's gone underground and slavery continues only with the Serial Numbers Filed Off.

Astapor

Kraznys mo Nakloz

"Tell the Westerosi whore she has until tomorrow."

Played By: Dan Hildebrand

A "Good Master" of the city of Astapor, one of the three cities of Slaver's Bay. He's a slaver that trains and sells "Unsullied", fanatically loyal eunuch slave soldiers praised for their lack of humanity.

Adaptational Attractiveness: In the books, he is described as extremely fat (with epic man-boobs) and has a large red and black beard. In the TV series, he's a thin bald man with a normal-looking Van Dyke beard.
Ambition Is Evil: His desire to own a dragon blinds him to the clear problems that come with it.
Aristocrats Are Evil: He's one of the "Good Masters", the rulers of Astapor.
Asshole Victim: He's not mourned when Drogon burns him alive.
Bad Boss: Horribly mistreats The Unsullied he owns.
Bald of Evil: He's very bald.
Beard of Evil: A van dyke beard.
Brutal Honesty: He uses his language as a shield to insult Jorah and Daenerys, but makes no attempt to hide the brutal conditions in which the Unsullied are raised and trained.
Catchphrase: "Tell the Westerosi whore/bitch that..."
Death by Materialism: Too blinded by the prospect of owning a dragon to see the several holes in his plan.
Hate Sink: He spends his entire screentime doing nothing but throwing insults and kicking the dog to the point where even the likes of Alliser Thorne would blush.
Jerkass: He keeps insulting Daenerys (referring to her as a "stupid bitch" and an "ignorant Westerosi whore") and Ser Jorah ("Tell the old man he smells of piss"). Note that he believes that neither of them understand him because he's speaking Valyrian.
Kick the Dog: He pointlessly cuts off an Unsullied soldier's nipple despite Daenerys' objections, just to prove that the Unsullied are unfeeling meat-robots and completely obedient to their master.
Man on Fire: He is incinerated by Drogon's dragon breath.
Oh, Crap!: When he sees that Dany speaks Valyrian, then even more once Dany orders the Unsullied to attack.
Patriotic Fervor: He seems to despise Westeros. Maybe with good reason, given that he is a slaver and slavery is illegal and considered taboo there.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Besides being a slave-trader, he's also a misogynist and xenophobe. He constantly insults Daenerys, both for her gender and for being a "Westerner".
Smug Snake: Kraznys certainly considers himself the smartest person in the room, confidently strutting about with all the charm of a used car salesman. In reality, he's no salesman: Missandei is the one who really sells the Unsullied, since Kraznys simply gives vague instructions amid disgusting insults in his own language. Which Dany understands perfectly well. And, relatedly, he might just qualify as the dumbest person in the room; see "Too Dumb to Live", below.
Starter Villain: For Daenerys' Slaver's Bay arc.
Straw Misogynist: He constantly calls Daenerys a whore and treats Missandei like something he found growing in his shower.
Too Dumb to Live: Where the hell do we even start? Selling the woman who's told you she's intent on conquest, and is also disgusted by slavery, a huge army of unquestioningly obedient elite soldiers who are already armed and inside your city's walls? Thinking a dragon is something that can be traded like a horse and immediately tamed like one? Assuming the Valyrian-descended noblewoman doesn't speak Valyrian, and constantly insulting her in that language? It almost gets to the point that you wonder how he came to his position if he's that thick.
Villainous Breakdown: Loses it when Dany orders the Unsullied to kill the masters and free the slaves, screaming "Kill her!" over and over again before Dany has Drogon put him out of everyone's misery.

Greizhen mo Ullhor

"If [the Unsullied] fail in battle, they will shame Astapor."

Played By: Clifford Barry

Another "Good Master" of Astapor.

Adaptation Name Change: In the books, one of the Good Masters that confers with Daenerys is Grazdan mo Ullhor, however, Grazdan is pretty much the Ghiscari equivalent of "John" and it is likely the name was changed to avoid future confusions.
Aristocrats Are Evil: Much like the other Good Masters, who are all rich slavers.
Evil Old Folks: He's rather older than Kraznys.
Karmic Death: Killed by the Unsullied.
Patriotic Fervor: Hesitant to sell half-trained Unsullied because if they fail in battle they may shame Astapor.

Cleon

A "butcher", either literal or figurative, who sets himself up as King of Astapor following Daenerys' liberation of the city.

From Nobody to Nightmare: From a lowly butcher to the King of Astapor — assuming Ser Mormont didn't mean "butcher" in the other way.
- In the novels, he was in fact an actual butcher of meat.
The Ghost: Hasn't appeared onscreen yet — which leads to a little confusion as to whether or not Ser Mormont was being literal or slightly more "figurative" when describing him as a "butcher".
Rags to Riches: Used to be a butcher... in one way or another.
The Usurper: Overthrew the council Daenerys set up to rule Astapor, and installed himself as King.

Yunkai

Razdal mo Eraz

"Our Empire was old before dragons stirred in Old Valyria. Many an army has broken against our walls."

Played By: George Georgiou

One of the Wise Masters of Yunkai.

Adaptation Name Change: In the books, his name is Grazdan mo Eraz.
Aristocrats Are Evil: He's part of a culture that thrives on cruel slave labor, although it's unclear how 'evil' he is. It could be argued that he's merely protecting his home and doing his job, but you don't get to be a 'Wise Master' by being the nicest guy in the room.
Badass Boast:
Razdal: Our Empire was old before dragons stirred in Old Valyria. Many an army has broken against our walls.
Razdal: If blood is your desire, blood shall flow.
Bullying a Dragon: Literally, when he tries to threaten Daenerys while her dragons and guards are present. He is naturally put in his place.
- Happens again during the siege of Meereen as he and the other Masters have come to Daenerys to discuss the terms of her surrender, with the expected result once Drogon shows up.
The Bus Came Back: After his first appearance in Season 3, he reappears in Season 6 among the many slave masters negotiating with Tyrion Lannister.
Dirty Coward: He and another master spend their last moments trying to sell out Yezzan to be killed at the hands of Grey Worm. Grey Worm just kills them both and lets Yezzan live.
Guy Liner: Like many of the aristocratic Essos types.
Hate Sink: He's bigoted, greedy and cowardly, even by slaver standards, and is perfectly willing to throw his own partner under the bus just to save his own skin. Fortunately, it doesn't end well for him.
Jerkass Has a Point: He meets with Daenerys hoping to settle things peacefully, offering gold and enough ships to get her army to Westeros if she agrees not to attack Yunkai. He doesn't become hostile until Daenerys makes her intentions clear.
Karmic Death: Threatens to sell Grey Worm and Missandei back into slavery and doesn't hesitate to sacrifice Yezzan zo Qaggaz due to his lowborn origins. Needless to say, Grey Worm has very good reasons to slice his throat.
Mouth of Sauron: To the Wise Masters of Yunkai.
Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Tries to bribe Daenerys with large amounts of gold and ships to leave Yunkai alone. When that doesn't work, he warns that he has very powerful friends.
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: He and his Volantene counterpart try to use their highborn status to get Yezzan executed because he's lowborn. Unfortunately for them, Grey Worm is even more disgusted by their alacrity in throwing Yezzan under the bus.

Mero, the Titan's Bastard

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mero_7.png

"Take your clothes off and come sit on Mero's lap... and I may give you my Second Sons."

Played By: Mark Killeen

Mero: The Second Sons have faced worse odds and won.
Jorah Mormont: The Second Sons have faced worse odds and run.

A mercenary captain in charge of the Second Sons when it was under contract to Yunkai.

Adaptational Wimp: In the show, Mero is killed offscreen. In the books, he survives Daenery's attack on Yunkai, shaves his head and hides amongst the freedmen following Daenerys's army. When she goes for a tour of her camp, Mero ambushes Daenerys and nearly manages to kill her; she is only saved by the intervention of Barristan Selmy, who holds Mero off long enough for a mob of freedmen to arrive who, outraged at Mero trying to kill their Mhysa, promptly subject him to mob justice.
All Men Are Perverts: He's openly and unapologetically lechurous towards Daenerys and Missandei.
Asshole Victim: Mero is betrayed and murdered by his comrade, but no one's going to mourn a psychotic self-promoting wanker like him.
Daenerys: Ser Barristan, if it comes to battle, kill that one first.
Barristan Selmy: Gladly, Your Grace.
Composite Character: With Sallor the Bald. He's killed by Daario alongside Prendahl na Ghezn.
Death by Adaptation: Type 2. In the books he survives further into the storyline.
Flirtatious Smack on the Ass: Casually delivers one to Missandei.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: A nasty one below his right eye.
Icy Blue Eyes: He has them.
In-Universe Nickname: "The Titan's Bastard", in reference to the Titan of Braavos, a huge statue similar to the Colossus of Rhodes.
Jerkass: Oh, where to begin? With a big smug grin, he insults Daenerys to her face, harasses Missandei, demands sexual favors for his Second Sons, and threatens to rape/gang-rape them both. This happens in a single scene.
Lecherous Licking: To Daenerys. He lustily licks the air as if going down on her.
Not Even Bothering with the Accent: He sounds Estuary/SE London for some reason, even though he's supposed to be a Braavosi like Syrio Forel.
Off with His Head!: Daario kills him and presents his head to Daenerys as a sign of loyalty.
Perma-Stubble Of Evil: Mero has the usual unshaven rogue look, although he's less a rogue and more an opportunistic psychopath.
Perverted Sniffing: When Missandei approaches to pour him wine, he quickly puts his nose close to her crotch.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Acts derisively towards Daenerys because she's a beautiful woman.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies off-screen in his first appearance. We don't even get to see him fight Daario.

Prendhal na Ghezn

"Our contract is our bond."

Played By: Ramon Tikaram

"That dragon bitch, she talks too much."

Another captain in charge of the Second Sons, during its contract to Yunkai.

Ambiguously Brown: Like most Ghiscari
Number Two: To Mero.
Off with His Head!: Daario kills him and presents his head to Daenerys as a sign of loyalty.
Perpetual Frowner: As opposed to the constantly smirking Mero and Daario, Prendhal seems irritated about everything in general.
The Quiet One: He doesn't speak much during the meeting with Daenerys, although this is later subverted when he's shown to have more input between the three of the Second Sons leaders.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies off-screen in his first appearance. We don't even get to see him fight Daario.

Characters / Game of Thrones - Slaver's Bay

See also the book character sheet for these characters.

Slaver's Bay

Meereen