167 ASOS 24 Daenerys II: The Wine of Courage

At Astapor, Dany is shown the Unsullied, an elite force of eunuch slave soldiers trained to obedience by tests of horrors. Though Baristan Selmy begs her to hire sellswords instead, Dany is so upset by the stories of the Unsullied training that she knows she must free them by finding a way to buy them.

Madness Not Courage

Arstan is unimpressed by the claim these Unsullied have been standing for a day and a night without food or water. He does not think so much obedience is soldierly. These men are not without fear; they live in a state of such high pitched fear they can't even tell anymore. Numbing them further is a daily tonic called the Wine of Courage. It seems used here as a metaphor for being emboldened by trauma.

Scenes

1: Unsullied: Horrible Kraznys mo Nakloz shows the Unsullied

2: Slaves or Sellswords? Arstan begs Dany hire sellswords instead of buying a slave army

3: No More Innocent Blood: Back aboard ship, Dany slaps Jorah and says the Unsullied aren't men because they killed babies but that she has to buy them.

Ironies

Mnemonic Titles

2022: Unsullied: Daenerys can't leave Astapor without having ended the practice of making Unsullied soldiers. If she does, she'll be sullied as complicit in the many atrocities of their making.

2026: The Wine of Courage: Dany could not have bought the Unsullied but for her own traumas prompting her to find a way to buy them. The wine of courage is a drink the Unsullied take from childhood that numbs them to be more formidable soldiers. It is a here a metaphor for childhood repression.