http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/GameOfThronesTheDothrakiSeaAndTheRedWaste

Only spoilers from the current season will be hidden, so beware spoilers if you're not up to date on the episodes.

open/close all folders

The Dothraki

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

Daenerys Targaryen: My brother used to say the only thing the Dothraki knew how to do was steal things better men had built.
Jorah Mormont: It's not the only thing. They are quite good at killing the better men.

Tribal horse nomads inhabiting the great steppe of central Essos, the "Dothraki Sea". They plunder settled peoples for resources (although some times the mere threat of force will suffice and they will be paid to leave) and follow people for their physical strength only, not bloodline. One Dothraki horde or Khalassar is lead by a Khal, and his wife is known as Khaleesi.

In General

Ambiguously Brown: The Dothraki characters are played by actors of all kinds of ethnicities. In universe, they're meant to be the local equivalent to Central Asian peoples, who are in fact relatively fair skinned in real life.
Animal Motif: The tribe is heavily associated with horses. In fact, it is considered as their de-facto "sigil".
Anti-Magical Faction: All the Dothraki have a deep hate of "Maegi" (witches). Subverted later when they bow to Daenerys after she performs a miraculous act: the witches that they do hate might just be poisoners.
- Generally in the novels the Dothraki are said to hate "blood magic", fearing them as poisoners, etc. (which turns out to be a justified fear). That being said, they believe in all sorts of "magical" omens and prophecies. Most factions in this world don't even believe in magic — the socially important maesters in Westeros are "anti-magic" in the sense that they encourage the view that "magic" doesn't even exist.
Armor Is Useless: They think so. Jorah proves them wrong in his duel with Qotho.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The Dothraki follow only the strongest among them; a khal claims his position by impressing, intimidating, or killing anyone who questions his authority.
Barbarian Hero: What they fit and model themselves on complete with Beard of Barbarism.
Braids of Barbarism: A Dothraki only cuts off his hair when he is defeated in combat, as a sign of shame. Undefeated warriors keep their long hair in braids.
Born in the Saddle: Riding is a huge deal to them, with equestrianism being one of the most defining traits of a man's worth, alongside his fighting abilities. It even plays into their leadership: as Jorah so succinctly puts it, when a Khal can't ride, he is no longer Khal.
Conlang: The Dothraki language, created for the show by David J. Peterson using the few words included by Martin in the books as a base.
Culture Clash: Westerosi culture is almost completely alien to the Dothraki, and vice versa. Dany definitely feels the culture shock in Season 1, but starts to gradually get used to it.
A Day in the Limelight: While the Dothraki are featured in several episodes, they finally get to show off their combat prowess in The Spoils of War when they annihilate the Lannister forces.
Demoted to Extra: The Remnant of the Dothraki khalasar feature less in Dany's storyline in Season 2 (which does mirror the books to an extent). By Season 3, they are just part of the background. Then they come back very prominently in the Season 5 finale, setting up their return in Season 6.
The Dreaded: Dothraki bloodriders are considered this by most Essosi. Jorah bragging about his defeat of Qotho gets him enough street cred to qualify for the reopened fighting pits. Robert Baratheon himself believes that only 40,000 Dothraki were enough to topple Westeros if they ever crossed the Narrow Sea, and in Season 7 after they do that (this time its the entire unified khalassar under Daenerys), they deal such devastating defeat to the royal forces in the Battle of Goldroad that Jaime Lannister is terrified of ever taking them in direct combat again after seeing what they are capable of.
Easily Forgiven: They ultimately integrate into Westeros' society without any problems, despite having participated a war of conquest against the continent.
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: While women can never politically lead a khalasar in Dothraki culture, they value strength, and have a general Rape, Pillage, and Burn warrior culture, the widows of former khals make up the dosh khaleen (literally, "council of crones") back in their capital city. These crones are basically their religious leaders, commanding great respect even from the khals. Drogo himself must submit his new marriage to their inspection.
Even Evil Has Standards: They're a warmongering, violent bunch, but even they find Viserys Targaryen to be too much of an asshole to deal with.
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of the nomadic steppe peoples of Eurasia like Huns, Mongols, Turks, etc, with some elements of Native American (particularly the Comanche) thrown in for flavor. The show tones down the more overt Mongolian depiction of the books, however, which might come as too stereotypical and offensive on screen. Their language in the show was thought up to be a combination of Turkish, Russian, and Arabic.
Flaming Sword: They get the arakhs magically set afire by Melissandre right before the Battle of the Dawn, not that it does them much good.
Fragile Speedster: The Dothraki fighting style is based around light unarmored cavalry making lightning-fast maneuvers. Jorah and Rakharo have a discussion about this: Jorah admits that Westerosi fighting styles favoring heavy armor will slow a warrior down, but they'll keep him alive.
Gilded Cage: The Dosh Khaleen (crones and wise women) are a position of prestige for the widows of Khals, except they can't ever leave their holy city and are sworn to celibacy, whether they want to be or not.
Holy City: Vaes Dothrak is the only city of the Dothraki. They are forbidden to carry weapons into the city and while it is generally frowned upon to spill or shed blood there, if someone dies a particularly stupid death or the Khal in charge of the Dothraki that died doesn't care then it is generally overlooked.
Horse Archer: The Dothraki learn to use bows from horseback at 4. Some of them are even skilled enough to stand atop their saddles and fire mid-charge.
Klingon Promotion: Not an explicitly stated rule, but not discouraged either due to Might Makes Right. Mago challenges Drogo to single combat (and loses) because he believes his Khal to be weak for listening to Dany. This is also part of why the Dothraki all bow down to her much later in the series: if she managed to kill all the Khals at once, she is the natural choice for their new Khaleesi.
Kneel Before Frodo: The entirety of the Dothraki all bow down before Daenerys when she burns their Khals alive and emerges from the inferno unharmed.
Language Equals Thought: There are over 10 words for "horse" in Dothraki, but they don't have a word for "boat" because they have no presence at sea whatsoever, nor do they have a word for "thank you". They also have no word for "throne" because their khals lead the roaming khalassars themselves, they don't rule from a throne in a castle somewhere. When Daenerys tries explaining to Drogo what her birthright is and why it matters, his initial reaction is basically "Why would our son want a chair?"
Might Makes Right: Personal strength is pretty much the summation of worth in Dothraki culture. A Dothraki can do whatever he wants, if he's strong enough to get away with it. If a Dothraki wants a woman, he rapes her and keeps her, fighting other men who might try to take her from him. If a Dothraki wants a piece of gear, he intimidates its owner into giving it up, or fights them for it. And, of course, Asskicking Leads to Leadership.
Modest Royalty: The Dothraki as a whole don't have a great deal of attraction to luxury and shiny objects, which is understandable given that they're a nomadic people and so have to restrict themselves to what they can carry with them. Drogo for instance has trouble understanding the importance and value of the Iron Throne, as for him the only seat he needs is the horse's saddle. He does, however, own a belt of huge gold medallions, which he melts down and pours over Viserys' head to give him a fatal "crown for a king".
- Indeed, the Dothraki had absolutely zero interest in invading Westeros, being quite content with the plunder and tribute they had in Essos, until King Robert Baratheon and his assassin tried to kill Daenerys, pissing them off.
National Weapon: They're famous for their arakh, a large sickle-sword used on horseback and on foot. It's adapted from the scimitars they used in the books.
No OSHA Compliance: Not that health and safety regulations really exist, but having all their important buildings in Vaes Dothrak be made of straw and mud, lit with huge flaming braziers, and lacking ways to put a blaze out quickly is a tremendously stupid idea. For what it's worth, it's also a bad idea to have a large hall with only one exit.
No Woman's Land: Downplayed compared to some examples, in that it's shown that Dothraki can genuinely love their mates and show them tenderness, but women are little better than the slaves, and will be raped by whoever wants them until one man decides he wishes to keep them. Even then, a woman is only safe so long as her "husband" is strong enough to scare off or kill any man who tries to steal her from him and sometimes not even from him (one Lhazareen dosh kaleen reminisces how she was forced to have a khal's child and he broke her ribs when it turned out to be a female — she was less than 16 when that happened). Slave women have it even worse. Even though the dosh khaleen is respected for its leadership role, the women in it are still forced to live as prisoners in a gilded cage, forbidden from ever leaving Vaes Dothrak, and sworn to celibacy, whether they want to or not. After Daenerys unites them into a single khalassar under her command, she does her best to stamp out this kind of thinking.
Proud Warrior Race: The Dothraki treat fighting as the true purpose of life; their whole culture is built around the idea that laboring for what one wants is dishonorable, and one should instead take what you want by force. During her wedding to Khal Drogo, Daenerys is informed that a wedding with only three deaths is actually considered a dull affair amongst the Dothraki.
Race Lift: From, broadly speaking, Central Asian/Mongol Stereotype looking fellows in the book (Drogo's long drooping moustache, for instance) to Ambiguously Brown in the show.
- Real-life nomadic peoples from the plains of Central Asia actually sort of look like this — not exactly "East Asian" but kind of halfway between European and East Asian features — which is unsurprising given that they are geographically located between Europe and East Asia. Martin described them as having almond-shaped eyes and copper skin, but didn't say they look "East Asian". When asked why so few East Asian characters appear in the story, Martin cited that Yi Ti is even further away than the Dothraki and Qarth — not even citing the Dothraki as "East Asian" in appearance. The books even mentions that the analogue for East Asia have their own version of the Dothraki.
Rape, Pillage, and Burn:
- What their interactions with other races usually boils down to. The Dothraki fight amongst themselves for what they want on an individual basis, but they readily band together to plunder and pillage the other peoples of Essos for loot, slaves, and simple amusement.
- Deconstructed in Season 7. While Dany could easily set them loose on Westeros to destroy any army in their path and plunder all of Westeros, doing so will lose her the goodwill of the people and make her the same. Ultimately she ditches this mindset during The Bells in Season 8 and her unleashed forces ravage King's Landing anyways.
Shame If Something Happened: As is made clear in the first season, the Dothraki use their reputation to scare settlements into providing them with the things they can't make as nomads, including food, liquor, and weaponry, promising they won't attack if properly bribed. Of course, even if the settlement pays its tribute, the Dothraki may attack anyway, just for fun.
Social Darwinist: They have a firm "might makes right" mentality.
Screaming Warrior: Dothraki screech while going into battle. There is a good reason why they are referred as a horde of "screamers". When we see them in Season 7, the Lannister soldiers that they attack are visibly affected by the din.
Token Evil Teammate: To Dany's forces, since they're most keen on Rape, Pillage, and Burn, though the Ironborn and the Dornish (at the very minimum the Sand Snakes) could also qualify.
Tribal Face Paint: Blue (Woad), like the one used by the Celts in real life. Daenerys later wears her own blue travelling outfit in inspiration to it.
When All You Have Is a Hammer…: ...everything looks like it can be trampled in single, massed charges. Since the Dothraki lack foot soldiers of any description, their main tactic seems to be head-on charges with overwhelming numbers rather than flanking. In the DVD commentaries, Jorah explains that this is a matter of pride for the Dothraki, citing one of their historical defeats against the Unsullied.
Jorah: [Their enemies] were so few that they could have easily been flanked. But they were men on foot, and men on foot are fit only to be ridden down.
The Worf Effect: In the third episode of Season 8, where they all charge at once towards the Army of the Dead to be completely slaughtered (off-screen no less) to show how dangerous the Night King's minions are.
Zerg Rush: Part of what makes them so dangerous is the sheer numbers they can commit to a charge. That said, they're not weak individually (though they lack armor). This is finally deconstructed in Season 8 when they try to use this tactic against the Night King's army, the kind of enemy that doesn't break, knows no fear, and doesn't have any sense of self-preservation... And as a result, the Dothraki get slaughtered all at once.

Khal Drogo

"Maybe I told the Great Stallion to go fuck himself and came back here to wait for you."

Played By: Jason Momoa

"I will take my Khalasar west to where the world ends and ride wooden horses across the black salt water as no Khal has done before!"

The Khal or leader of a nomadic Dothraki tribe or khalasar and a renowned warrior. He contracts to marry Daenerys in exchange for a promise to win Viserys the crown of Westeros.

Adaptational Badass: Unlike the books, we get to see Drogo fight onscreen.
Adaptational Villainy: Zigzagged. Daenerys is clearly distraught on their wedding night and Drogo aggressively uses his Marital Rape License at least twice, while in the books he's slow and gentle with her, and even asks for her consent.^explanation That said, Dany is also younger in the books, so Drogo is asking for consent from a 13-year old girl rather than a 16-year old. The novels also mention Drogo forcing himself on her numerous times afterwards to the point Daenarys is considering suicide, while the show leaves this out and has her learn the erotic arts to take charge of their lovemaking earlier, and thus her relationship with Drogo becomes healthier and mutually affectionate sooner.
Alas, Poor Villain: His death is treated as very devastating despite being the leader of a tribe that practices rape and slavery (among other things). But the fact that he was willing to adjust his livelihood and values to be fitting to the likes of Dany, the two genuinely fell in love. Thus, when he falls into a And I Must Scream state, Dany has no other choice but to Mercy Kill him.
And I Must Scream: Ends up catatonic thanks to an intentionally botched healing ritual.
Anti-Villain: As long as you don't piss him off or question his rule, he's a Noble Demon Reasonable Authority Figure… in charge of a tribe that practices, among other things, rape and slavery, and he considers this perfectly acceptable. That said, the fact that he willingly softens his ways to be more in line with Dany's Westerosi ethics, as seen in "The Pointy End", further reinforces this trope.
Anyone Can Die: Built-up as an upcoming Big Bad, from a Westerosi perspective. Dies without even touching the Narrow Sea.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: There's a reason he's the leader of his khalasar, as demonstrated in "The Pointy End".
Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Drogo was quite content to rule the Dothraki despite Viserys and kind of Daenerys wanting to use them to take back Westeros. When Dany and their unborn child are threatened by a failed assassination attempt… that's when he decides he's going to invade Westeros
Badass Boast:
- Khal Drogo is the master of these; first, his declaration of his intent to invade Westeros and later the dressing-down he gives a tribesman who challenges his authority.
  Khal Drogo: I will not have your body burned. I will not give you that honor. The beetles will feed on your eyes. The worms will crawl through your lungs. The rain will fall on your rotting skin until nothing is left of you but bones.
- His promise to his son.
  Khal Drogo: And to my son, the stallion who will mount the world, I will also pledge a gift. I will give him the iron chair that his mother's father sat upon. I will give him Seven Kingdoms. I, Drogo, will do this. I will take my Khalasar west to where the world ends and ride wooden horses across the black salt water as no Khal has done before! I will kill the men in iron suits and tear down their stone houses! I will rape their women, take their children as slaves and bring their broken gods back to Vaes Dothrak! This, I vow, I, Drogo, son of Bharbo. I swear before the Mother of Mountains as the stars look down in witness! As the stars look down in witness!
Blasphemous Boast: The illusion that Daenerys sees in the House of the Undying tells her that he'd tell the Great Stallion to go fuck himself if it meant that he could spend more time with his wife on Earth. Dany notes that that's the kind of thing that he'd say.
Braids of Barbarism: The mentioned custom of the Dothraki only cutting their braid off when they're defeated? Drogo has never been defeated, and his hair reaches to his thighs for it.
Chewing the Scenery: Normally a rather taciturn fellow, but when he makes a speech, then by the Mother of Mountains, a speech will be made! The sprays of saliva and wild flexing gesticulations are just icing on the cake.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Drogo has a real penchant for causing these, be it pouring molten gold on one’s head, or slashing throats... then ripping their tongues out through said hole in their throat.
Death Is Dramatic: The attempts to save him escalate, then he passes away, gets burned with his killer and has dragons reviving from his funeral pyre.
Defrosting Ice King: He starts off as brutish and stoic, but overtime his heart is softened by Daenerys.
The Dragon: How Viserys sees him. Drogo, on the other hand, ignores Viserys entirely whenever possible and has little interest in his agenda.
Dual Wielding: Among the weapons he carries are a pair of knives. He discards both in his fight with Mago to prove he doesn't need a weapon to kill someone.
Eloquent in My Native Tongue: Speaks only enough Westerosi to, say, diss Viserys, but he is an intelligent and charismatic war leader, and yes, extremely well-spoken in Dothraki.
Empty Shell: After the ritual performed by Mirri Maz Duur to save his life.
Ephebophile: He buys the sixteen-year-old Daenerys as a wife and then rapes her repeatedly.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Of the "Anti-Hero across the eye" variety. Though, it has to be noted that the scars are real. Actor Jason Momoa got them after being attacked with a broken bottle in a bar.
Guy Liner: He has copious amounts.
Hidden Depths: He's a barbarian murderer-rapist, but he's capable of love and mercy, can be reasoned with, and is open to constructive criticism (from his wife, at least).
Hoist by His Own Petard: Unnecessarily presses Mago's blade into his own flesh just to mock his challenge, which ultimately leads to his death when his wound festers.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Daenerys.
I Am X, Son of Y: "I, Drogo, son of Bharbo…"
Informed Attribute: A pointed aversion. In the books, Drogo is never seen fighting, and his combat prowess was this trope. According to Word of God, that didn't work for Jason Momoa. Thus came the addition of a small fight scene in "The Pointy End," where Drogo fights Mago and gets a chance to show his chops.
Lightning Bruiser: Is revealed to be one during his fight in "The Pointy End", when his speed and agility allow him to spend most of it weaponless and unarmored, dodging any and all blows that come his way.
Loophole Abuse: He can't shed blood in Vaes Dothrak, so he killed Viserys in a brutal but bloodless way.
The Lost Lenore: A rare male example. Daenerys still loves and misses him deeply, as shown when she encounters a vision of him in the House of the Undying.
Mercy Kill: Tearfully followed through by Daenerys after he's reduced to a catatonic state.
Noble Demon: While the Dothraki he leads use Rape, Pillage, and Burn as their standard lifestyle and he embraces it, he genuinely falls in love with Dany, and is capable of mercy and kindness at times.
Not So Stoic: After Dany is nearly assassinated, he drops his stoicism and goes full Large Ham.
Obfuscating Stupidity: A possibility, and one that is acknowledged in the commentary to "A Golden Crown", is that Drogo is capable of speaking the Westerosi more than he lets on. He knows enough to understand Viserys in "A Golden Crown" and taunt him in the same language, and his repeated use of "No" to Daenerys on their wedding night fits as responses to what she's asking him—"No, I don't speak the common tongue, but no, I know how to say other words than no." In the books, Daenerys teaches some Westerosi to him, but his accent is so heavy she's really the only one who can understand him when he speaks it. It's also possible she taught him some Westerosi by the time of "A Golden Crown", where Viserys speaks directly to Drogo and Drogo seems to understand the words at least a little; a translator is relaying what Viserys is saying, but it's not clear how much Drogo needs the help.
Papa Wolf: Threatening his unborn child is a really, really bad idea.
Perfectly Arranged Marriage: He and Daenerys eventually end up happy together, once they've managed to defeat the language barrier and their sexual relationship becomes fully consensual.
Proud Warrior Race Guy: Comes with being Dothraki.
Real Men Wear Pink: Or in this case lots of eye makeup. Also, as Jason Momoa put it on the commentary:
Jason Momoa: The one with the largest braid is the biggest pimp. So... mine's the largest!
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: His laconic summary of Viserys pretty much hits the nail on the head.
Viserys: That is no place for a king!
Drogo: You are no king!
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Drogo showed little interest in conquering Westeros until an assassin is sent to kill Dany. He subsequently decides he's going to fuck Westeros up in revenge.
Testosterone Poisoning: Played for Drama. Drogo is the manliest man in a tribe that prides itself on machismo, bloodlust and objectification of women, which is portrayed in a negative light, although he willingly softens up thanks to Dany's assertion.
The Stoic: He rarely shows much in the way of emotion, favouring instead a cold stare.
This Means War!: Up until "You Win or You Die", the politics and power struggles surrounding the Iron Throne of Westeros don't mean much to Drogo. Then, things get personal.
Tranquil Fury:
- In contrast to Viserys' frothing rage, he is perfectly calm and composed when he kills Viserys for threatening Dany's life.
- Again in "The Pointy End", when he remains calm as Mago attacks him with a sword, and he makes a point on killing him with nothing but his bare hands, all while telling Mago what he is going to do with his corpse.
- Not so much in "You Win or You Die", where an enraged Drogo delivers a speech seemingly seconds away from frothing at the mouth.
Walking Shirtless Scene: Every single scene. Drogo has no use for shirts.

Qotho

"This must not be."

Played By: Dar Salim

One of Khal Drogo's bloodriders.

Adaptational Nice Guy: In the books, Qotho is described as being the most sadistic of Drogo's bloodriders, who leaves bruises on Doreah's skin, makes Irri sob at night, and is so cruel that even his horses react in fear of him. In the show, he is mostly just a misogynistic Jerkass.
Character Death: Head cut open by Jorah in a duel.
Culture Clash: With Daenerys over what to do with Mirri Maz Duur.
Composite Character: Gets some lines of both Haggo and Cohollo, both of whom do appear but suffer from a severe case of Demoted to Extra to the point they are not even identified and their fates are not even brought up.
Dies Wide Open: As shown as his body falls when Jorah kills him.
The Dragon: To Drogo.
Duel to the Death: Gets into an impromptu one with Jorah Mormont when he threatens to stop the potentially life-saving but forbidden ritual that Dany has ordered for Drogo. He loses.
Even Evil Has Standards: He may be a raping, misogynistic, pillaging murderer, but even Qotho draws the line at using blood magic to pervert the laws of life and death.
Jerkass Has a Point: He ends up being completely right though about distrusting Mirri Maz Duur.
Manly Facial Hair: Like most male Dothraki, he has a spectacular-looking beard, which implicitly serves as a symbol of his prowess and virility.
Properly Paranoid: Well, he was right about not trusting the witch after all.
Slasher Smile
- He grins as Drogo pours molten gold on Viserys' head. See here◊.
- He also smirks at Drogo when ordered to back off from Mago, knowing what's coming for him.

Cohollo

Played By: N/A

One of Khal Drogo's bloodriders.

Adaptational Attractiveness: In the books, he's squat and bald, with a crooked nose and a mouth full of broken teeth. The extra portraying him is neither squat nor bald.
All There in the Manual: His name and fate.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: After Drogo falls from his horse.
Demoted to Extra: He stops being in any way a notable character after Khal Drogo dies and Daenerys moves on from the Dothraki Sea.
Manly Facial Hair: Like most male Dothraki, he has a spectacular-looking beard, which implicitly serves as a symbol of his prowess and virility.

Haggo

Played By: N/A

One of Khal Drogo's bloodriders.

All There in the Manual: His name and fate.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: After Drogo falls from his horse.
Demoted to Extra: He stops being in any way a notable character after Khal Drogo dies and Daenerys moves on from the Dothraki Sea.
Manly Facial Hair: Like most male Dothraki, he has a spectacular-looking beard, which implicitly serves as a symbol of his prowess and virility.
The Quiet One: While Cohollo has a single line, Haggo becomes this because his lines are given to Qotho.

Mago

"A khal who takes orders from a foreign whore is no khal."

Played By: Ivailo Dimitrov

One of Khal Drogo's bloodriders.

Braids of Barbarism: Sports a rather long one.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Drogo slits his throat and pulls his tongue out from the wound itself. Also, after Drogo kills him, he doesn't cut off Mago's braid, further insulting him.
Death by Adaptation: He survived the first book, and will reappear in the sixth. Here, he's killed by Khal Drogo.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: He sports a badass scar above his left eyebrow.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Gets his throat cut with his own arakh.
Proud Warrior Race Guy: To the point where he takes not being allowed to rape as a grievous insult and proof that his Khal doesn't deserve to lead.
Spiteful Spit: After Drogo orders him not to rape the Lhazareen women.
The Starscream: Because Drogo accepts the will of a foreign whore, which results in Duel to the Death.
You Are Already Dead: Invoked by Drogo's Badass Boast during their "duel".
Drogo: Your bones will rot.
Mago: You will have to kill me first!
Drogo: I already have!
(Drogo cuts his throat and pulls his tongue out)

Khal Jhaqo

A former ko in Drogo's khalasar. Named himself Khal and took off with part of Drogo's khalasar after Drogo was incapacitated.

Dragon Ascendant: He used to follow Khal Drogo, but after Drogo's death, he went on to become a Khal in his own right.
The Ghost: Essentially disappears from the show altogether after Drogo dies.

Khal Moro

"It is forbidden to lie with a Khal's widow."

Played By: Joe Naufahu

A Khal who captured Daenerys Targaryen when she became lost in the Dothraki Sea after escaping from Meereen.

Arc Villain: For Daenerys' plotline for the first half of Season 6 as the man who captured her.
Ascended Extra: In the books, Moro was one of the many guests present during Khal Drogo's wedding to Daenerys and that was pretty much the extant of his character. He is given a comparatively larger role in the show, but its evident he isn't the same character as he doesn't recognize who Daenerys is until she reveals herself as Drogo's widow.
Asshole Victim: Being burned alive is a pretty painful way to go, but given he and the other Khals were going to gang-rape Daenerys inside the temple, the audience won't shed a tear at all for his death.
Bad Boss: When one of his bloodriders is found beaten to death by a rock (Daario had in fact stabbed him then used the rock to cover it up), Moro dismisses it out of hand, deeming the man deserving of his death if he allowed himself to be killed by a rock. This is despite him being killed inside their Holy City, where no blood-spilling is allowed.
Composite Character: He shares the same role as Khal Jhaqo, as the one Dothraki leader who encounters Daenerys and Drogo in the books after getting lost in the Dothraki sea.
Deadpan Snarker: Moro has quite the sharp tongue, specially when directed to his wives and his bloodriders.
Even Evil Has Standards: He strongly respects Dothraki tradition.
- He intends to force Daenerys into his bed, but after she declares herself to be Drogo's widow, he backs down and declares that neither he nor any of the men in his khalasaar will touch her, as it is forbidden to lay with a khal's widow. He then cuts Daenarys free of her bonds and (off-screen) gets her a change of clothes.
- While the other khals in the council discuss what to do with her, Moro is quietly firm in her joining the dosh khaleen, and is disgusted by the idea of selling her to the slave masters for horses.
Karmic Death: Spends his last moments smugly gloating to Daenerys how him and the other Khals will gang-rape her. Daenerys responds by burning him and all the other Khals alive, Moro being the last to die.
Kill It with Fire: Courtesy of Daenerys, who burns him to death in order to claim rulership over the Dothraki.
Polyamory: He has two wives who are present with him when Daenerys is brought before his tent and he expresses interest on making her his newest wife.
Oh, Crap!: Twice! First when Daenerys touches the metal braziers with her bare hands, and again moments before Dany sets him ablaze by knocking the fire over in his direction.
Rhetorical Question Blunder: What can be better than seeing a beautiful woman naked for he first time? Turn out there are at least four other things apparently.
Speak Ill of the Dead: When he finds out one of his bloodriders has apparently been killed with a rock, he mocks him and says he deserved to die if he went out in such a pathetic way.
Villain Has a Point: He correctly calls Daenerys out for losing her husband and unborn child to Mirri Maz Duur's sorcery, having trusted the latter would keep her word and heal the leader of the horde that had just slaughtered and enslaved her people.
Vitriolic Best Buds: He has a snark-filled and not-entirely-superior conversation with his own bloodriders.

Qhono

Played By: Staz Nair

See Servants of Daenerys.

The Dosh Khaleen

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/high_priestess_2.png

The High Priestess of the Dosh Khaleen.

The council of Khaleesi widows who are confined to their own temple and serve as wise women and advisors to the Khalasar.

Royal Harem: Not as precisely as the trope implies, but they actually play a role similar to the real life Ottoman Harem, where women served as advisors despite being confined in one section of the Palace.

Lhazar

Lhazar is a peaceful, semi-nomadic nation of shepherds that live between the Dothraki Sea and the Red Waste. They are often a raid target of the Dothraki.

In General

Ambiguously Brown: Much like the show's version of the Dothraki, they have a vaguely Middle Eastern-ish sort of appearance, but don't really correspond to any known race.
Crystal Dragon Jesus: The Lzahareen are monotheistic and worship "the Great Shepherd" in the sky.
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: To shepherd peoples of the ancient Middle East.
Race Lift: Like the Dothraki, the book describes them as East Asian.

Mirri Maz Duur

"Why don't you take a look at your Khal? Then you will see exactly what life is worth, when all the rest is gone."

Played By: Mia Soteriou

A healer and wise woman of the Lhazareen, taken as a slave by Drogo's khalasar. Daenerys takes her under her protection.

Adaptational Villainy: In the books, it's left ambiguous whether she sabotaged Drogo's wound or not, since he tears off her poultice and goes back to his traditional remedies. This is omitted from the show, though both versions are explicit that Mirri wanted him dead.
Alliterative Name: Her first two names (Mirri Maz Duur).
Alternate Character Interpretation: Invites tons of it, both in-universe and out. For a start, Drogo's catatonia and Rhaego's death may have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and she has a point when she chews Daenerys out. Most of the fandom seem torn between seeing her as Good Is Not Nice or as Good Powers, Bad People.
Anti-Villain: Genuinely believes that killing Rhaego and rendering Drogo helpless is for the greater good, and may be right.
Blood Magic: Employs this to save Drogo's life, at Daenerys' request.
Breaking Speech: May be a What the Hell, Hero?, depending on your outlook, but either way it's a doozy.
Mirri Maz Duur: Saved me? Three of those riders had already raped me before you saved me, girl. I saw my god's house burned. There, where I had healed men and women beyond counting! In the streets I saw piles of heads. The head of the baker, who made my bread. The head of a young boy, that I had cured of fever just three moons past. So tell me again exactly what it was that you saved.
Daenerys: Your life.
Mirri Maz Duur: Why don't you take a look at your Khal? Then you will see exactly what life is worth, when all the rest is gone.
Brutal Honesty: Towards Daenerys, both when she tells her what happened to her son and during the above Breaking Speech.
Burn the Witch!: Though it's less because she's a witch and more because she betrayed Dany.
Cool Old Lady: Whether she falls into this or Evil Old Folks depends on your viewpoint. Indisputably, she killed Daenerys' son. But you can legitimately argue whether or not that was a good thing, since "destined unifying leader of the Dothraki" is incredibly dangerous to the rest of Essos. Likewise, seeing Khal Drogo reduced to an Empty Shell could be argued as legitimate payback, given he had her village destroyed and her friends, family and neighbors slaughtered for laughs.
Defiant to the End: Vows to not scream when Dany orders her thrown onto Drogo's funeral pyre. She fails to keep this promise, because burning alive is a very painful way to die.
Disproportionate Retribution: Played with. Rendering Drogo an Empty Shell in revenge for raiding her village is quite understandable, perhaps even justified, but causing Daenerys' son to be stillborn may be going a bit far. Mirri justifies it via the fact Rhaego was prophesised to be the Stallion Who Mounts the World and so she may have saved many more people from being killed or enslaved, but as Daenerys points out, at this stage Rhaego hasn't even been born yet and is completely innocent of any wrongdoing.
The Dreaded: The Dothraki fear her as a maegi (witch). Daenerys is dismissive of this, but learns the hard way that Mirri really is someone to fear if you cross her.
Evil All Along: Played With. She hates the Dothraki, and had a hand in the catatonia of Khal Drogo and the death of Daenerys' unborn son. Of course, this is a group that just wiped out her community to enslave them.
Exact Words: Her blood magic does heal Drogo's wound and keeps him physically alive. Mentally, on the other hand...
Face Death with Dignity: Averted. When Daenerys has her tied to Drogo's funeral pyre, she defiantly vows not to scream as she burns. She dies shrieking in pain.
Gone Horribly Wrong: In her murder of Rhaego (and possibly Drogo), she attempted to avert the prophecy of the Stallion Who Mounts the World. But in the process she gives Daenerys the means to awaken her three dragons, who goes on a warpath across Slaver's Bay before finally departing to Westeros with thousands of Unsullied, mercenaries, and freed men, as well as all the Dothraki hordes united under her as one khalasaar. Mirri may have killed Rhaego and stopped him from becoming The Stallion, but Daenerys as the Mother of Dragons is a far more dangerous warlord than Rhaego could have ever been.
Kill It with Fire: her punishment for the death of Rhaego and saving Drogo's life but leaving him brain dead.
Irony: She murdered "The Stallion Who Mounts the World" in the womb - and in doing gives his would-be mother even greater power by all but telling her how to bring dragons back to the world.
I Warned You: Says this to Daenerys after Rhaego is stillborn, stating she warned her that "only death can pay for life".
Made a Slave: Daenerys takes her as a slave to spare her from being raped and killed by the Dothraki. Mirri isn't exactly grateful.
No Sympathy: She isn't very sympathetic at all to Daenerys when she has only just learned her baby was stillborn. Justified since, to Mirri's eyes, Daenerys' child — "The Stallion Who Mounts The World", is prophesied to lead the Dothraki to heights of conquest and plunder never before seen in the world.
Only a Flesh Wound: Averted. An ultimate badass doesn't get away with from an otherwise one-sided fight. An infection and less than stellar field medicine may kill you, even without one of your victims compounding the matter.
Pay Evil unto Evil: Invoked. As she bluntly reminds Daenerys, the Dothraki aren't nice people, and Khal Drogo's khalasar chose to attack her village, butcher its occupants, and rape her literally because it was their idea of entertainment. Add in that Daenerys' unborn son, Rhaego, was prophesied to lead the Dothraki to even greater feats of bloodshed and butchery, and it's little wonder that she took delight in her Blood Magic ritual causing Rhaego to be miscarred and stabilizing the dying Khal Drogo as a mindless vegetable.
Rape and Revenge: Raped four times and her town is razed. Her response is to bring Dany's khalasar down and scatter its remains.
Screw Destiny: She wants to avert the prophecy of The Stallion Who Mounts The World, aka Daenerys' unborn son Rhaego, having seen first-hand the destruction wrought by a Dothraki horselord who isn't prophesied to be the worst ever. She succeeds by murdering Rhaego in Daenerys' womb.
- However, Destiny screwed her right back in that doing so created an even greater power - three dragons. That was all it took for the first Targaryen kings to conquer Westeros.
Small Role, Big Impact: She only appears in a few episodes at the end of Season 1, but her actions change the course of Daenerys' life, particularly due to the fact her death enables Daenerys to hatch her three dragons.
Ungrateful Bastard: Played with. Daenerys more or less accuses Mirri of being this after she betrays her, killing her unborn son and leaving her husband in a vegetative state even though Daenerys had saved her life several times and kept her safe. Mirri, however, counters that the only reason she needed "saving" was because Drogo attacked her village and that her life had already been ruined.
Unwanted Rescue: A variant; Dany saved her, but Mirri Maz Duur has good reason to wish her (and her son) harm all the same.
Villain Has a Point: She's an antagonistic character to Daenerys, but she does make some fair points. Drogo invaded her village unprovoked and his warriors killed or enslaved her people, so he wasn't exactly innocent. To a lesser extent, Daenerys and Drogo's unborn son was technically prophesied to be the 'Stallion Who Mounts the World' and would be responsible for many deaths, so in killing him before he was born, Mirri may have prevented this. She also points out that although Daenerys had saved her life, she had already seen her people slaughtered, her home destroyed, been repeatedly raped and been enslaved; from her perspective, her life was hardly worth living at this point.
Wicked Witch: Inverted; she features some of the physical traits, but she's a healer, and did a great deal of good in her hometown but she's still an enemy of the protagonist.
Would Hurt a Child: Was more than willing to murder Daenerys's unborn son in the womb to stop him becoming a warlord even more terrible than his father.
Daenerys Targaryen: My child was innocent!
Mirri Maz Duur: Innocent?! He would have been the Stallion Who Mounts The World! Now, now he will burn no cities. Now his khalasar will trample no nations into dust.

Characters / Game of Thrones - The Dothraki Sea & the Red Waste

The Dothraki