History YMMV / Sharpe

* CantUnhearIt: It isn't possible to read any of the novels and not hear all Sharpe's dialogue in Creator/SeanBean's accent. Especially since Cornwell {{Ret Canon}}ed in that Sharpe grew up in Yorkshire.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Cornwell himself has stated that he regrets [[spoiler: killing off Hakeswill, as he's had difficulty coming up with an equally depraved and personal arch-nemesis for Sharpe]].

** In ''[[Recap/SharpeS1E2SharpesEagle Sharpe's Eagle]]'', Sharpe gets into a fistfight with Lt. Berry, played by a young Creator/DanielCraig, so we have future Bond villain [[Film/GoldenEye Alec Trevalyen]] sparring against a future Film/JamesBond, respectively.

** In ''Sharpe's Challenge'', Sharpe battles against the evil William Dodd, played by Creator/TobyStephens, meaning two villains from the [[Creator/PierceBrosnan Brosnan-era]] Franchise/JamesBond-films went head-to-head, with Alex Trevelyan coming out on top.

*** At the end of ''Sharpe's Battle'', Colonel Runciman is made a Baron. In ''Series/{{Dune}}'', Ian [=McNeice=] would play another Baron - Vladimir Harkonnen.

* CantUnHearIt: It isn't possible to read any of the novels and not hear all Sharpe's dialogue in Creator/SeanBean's accent. Especially since Cornwell {{Ret Canon}}ed in that Sharpe grew up in Yorkshire.

* MemeticMutation: Tied in with MemeticBadass. It's generally agreed by fans that the reason Sean Bean dies so much is the universe balancing itself out because of Sharpe's inability to die.

* EarWorm: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBwXvW11gDc Over the Hills and Far Away]]" - also a {{Leitmotif}}, IronicNurseryTune, DoItYourselfThemeTune and SourceMusic.
--> ''O'er the Hills and O'er the Main,\\
To Flanders, Portugal and Spain,\\
King George commands and we obey\\
Over the Hills and far away.''

* MagnificentBastard: Wellington, in the TV series. In the books, Wellington acts in a more historical role, taking occasional interest in Sharpe's career and giving him patronage when he deems fit. In the TV series, however, Wellington treats Sharpe as his personal attack dog- when confronted with a problem he smiles archly and goes about his business, quietly dispatching Sharpe and the Chosen Men to kill people until the problem disappears. Arguably Wellington was a MagnificentBastard in real life too.
** In the books, it's Major Hogan, Wellington's spymaster, who provided most of the Magnificent Bastardry. He appears in the first two episodes of the series, played near-perfectly by Creator/BrianCox, before having to be replaced by a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute or two and leaving Wellington to pick up the MagnificentBastard role. Numerous exchanges in the books have Wellington as more the uptight one and Hogan as a sly, cunning SOB, only for the TV adaptations to swap the roles and have the spymaster-of-the-week be the stuffy one while Wellington acts like... well, like a MagnificentBastard.
** General Calvet and Chef du Battalion Dubreton as well.
** Lord. Pumphrey. He's practically a one-man GovernmentConspiracy, and would probably rub along well with Varys of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' fame. There is ''nothing'' he won't do to protect British interests, but he cements his status in ''Sharpe's Fury'': Not only does he fight alongside Sharpe and Harper (and quite well too), when Sharpe discovers Lord Pumphrey's killing of [[spoiler: Astrid]], Pumphrey mocks him to his face and saunters away scot-free.
** Lord Fenner skirts the penumbra of this trope. His beautiful schemes and effortless charm are certainly worthy of this trope. On the other hand, his [[spoiler:disgusting treatment of Lady Camoynes]], which ultimately ruins him, does not befit a true MB.[[spoiler: Lady Camoynes herself outdoes him in the end.]]

** ''[[Recap/SharpeS2E1SharpesCompany Sharpe's Company]]'' & ''[[Recap/SharpeS2E2SharpesEnemy Sharpe's Enemy]]'': [[SerialRapist Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill]] lacks any of his book counterpart's redeeming qualities, however minor, while still maintaining his heinousness. Sharpe's ArchEnemy, Hakeswill was a SociopathicSoldier who was responsible for sentencing Sharpe to a [[WhipItGood flogging]] he knew would be a death sentence, before Sharpe was saved after receiving 200 lashes. An [[BadBoss abusive bully to his men]], Hakeswill regularly subjects soldiers to floggings to extort sexual favors from their wives and tries to rape Sharpe's wife Teresa. When Sharpe's best friend Harper stops him, Hakeswill [[FrameUp frames him for a theft]], resulting in his brutal flogging. Murdering one of his own soldiers to use his body as cover in the heat of battle, Hakeswill kills another soldier and tries to rape Teresa again. Hakeswill deserts the army before raping and murdering Sally Clayton, an innocent woman he's lusted after. Becoming the leader of a group of vicious bandits, Hakeswill waylays a group of noble women and is only stopped from raping them by warnings that it will damage the ransom value. When he learns Sharpe is bringing the ransom, Hakeswill doubles it at the last minute and allows his men to rape the non-noble women and tries to rape the nobles anyways. When Teresa stops him, Hakeswill fatally shoots her before being captured and facing the firing squad for his crimes.

** ''[[Recap/SharpeF2SharpesPeril Sharpe's Peril]]'': [[AristocratsAreEvil Colonel Count Vladimir Dragomirov]] is a [[SociopathicSoldier cavalry commander]] in India, who also has a foothold in the opium trade. To cover his tracks, Dragomirov slaughters the village that had been growing the plants needed to make opium, as well as a garrison of British soldiers, leaving their commander tied up naked and ExposedToTheElements. Dragomirov and his men "save" a baggage train led by Colonel Richard Sharpe, but only to make scapegoats of a group of bandits opposing them. When Sharpe is separated from the baggage train along with Marie-Angelique, the fiancée of Dragomirov's [[TheDragon dragon]] Major Philippe Joubert, Dragomirov threatens to have her gang-raped by his men unless Sharpe gives up the train, then has Sharpe tied up in a pit of snakes. When Sharpe and Marie-Angelique escape, Dragomirov pursues them to a village where the train has stopped, murders a priest that tries to dissuade him while telling the man "God does no work on a Sunday", and attacks the village with the intent of murdering everyone there. {{Greed}}y and treacherous, Dragomirov didn't care who he murdered as long as he gained something from it.

** [[SerialRapist Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill]], from "[[Recap/SharpeS2E1SharpesCompany Sharpe's Company]]" and "[[Recap/SharpeS2E2SharpesEnemy Sharpe's Enemy]]", lacks any of his book counterpart's redeeming qualities, however minor, while still maintaining his heinousness. Sharpe's ArchEnemy, Hakeswill was a SociopathicSoldier who was responsible for sentencing Sharpe to a [[WhipItGood flogging]] he knew would be a death sentence, before Sharpe was saved after receiving 200 lashes. An [[BadBoss abusive bully to his men]], Hakeswill regularly subjects soldiers to floggings to extort sexual favors from their wives and tries to rape Sharpe's wife Teresa. When Sharpe's best friend Harper stops him, Hakeswill [[FrameUp frames him for a theft]], resulting in his brutal flogging. Murdering one of his own soldiers to use his body as cover in the heat of battle, Hakeswill kills another soldier and tries to rape Teresa again. Hakeswill deserts the army before raping and murdering Sally Clayton, an innocent woman he's lusted after. Becoming the leader of a group of vicious bandits, Hakeswill waylays a group of noble women and is only stopped from raping them by warnings that it will damage the ransom value. When he learns Sharpe is bringing the ransom, Hakeswill doubles it at the last minute and allows his men to rape the non-noble women and tries to rape the nobles anyways. When Teresa stops him, Hakeswill fatally shoots her before being captured and facing the firing squad for his crimes. A beast of a man who lives only for rape and murder, Hakeswill is perfectly summed up by Sharpe when his luck comes to an end:
-->"A liar. A thief. A rapist. A murderer. That's not a man. Take it away."
** [[TheMole Colonel Brand]], from "[[Recap/SharpeS4E3SharpesMission Sharpe's Mission]]", is a double agent who starts his career by [[KickTheDog personally killing an injured British officer]], then carrying him back to the British lines and being [[VillainWithGoodPublicity hailed as a hero]] for trying to save him. This is the first of several acts of so-called heroism arranged by his handler French Colonel Cressan, who wants Brand to lure Sharpe and Ross into a trap. Brand murders a Gypsy couple who [[HeKnowsTooMuch saw him meeting Cressan]], then slaughters a Gypsy camp in a failed attempt to kill the couple's daughter, who also witnessed the meeting. He leads his men in massacring a group of French ex-deserters [[SuicideMission set up by Cressan]] and given faulty gunpowder so they were effectively unarmed, making a point of [[SoftSpokenSadist sadistically]] garroting the one who ran furthest. Despite giving them the self-aggrandizing name Brand's Boys, he has no loyalty to his men, calmly telling Sharpe that [[TheSocialDarwinist he abandons anyone who is injured]]. Even after being exposed and arrested, he tries to convince Sharpe to let him and his men massacre a fort garrison who have also been set up Cressan. {{Smug|Snake}}, arrogant and [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections believing himself invulnerable]] right up to the end, he can't resist BullyingADragon:
-->Well, you've had your fun, Sharpe. But it'll be over in the next few minutes when the Frogs come over that wall. Then you'll need a friend. I'll be your friend, Sharpe, but you're going to have to beg. Because they'll torture you, they'll torture you and they'll torture Ross. You'll be begging me to make them stop. [[SedgwickSpeech And by god, I'm going to make you beg, Sharpe!]]
** [[AristocratsAreEvil Colonel Count Vladimir Dragomirov]], from ''[[Recap/SharpeF2SharpesPeril Sharpe's Peril]]'', is a [[SociopathicSoldier cavalry commander]] in India, who also has a foothold in the opium trade. To cover his tracks, Dragomirov slaughters the village that had been growing the plants needed to make opium, as well as a garrison of British soldiers, leaving their commander tied up naked and ExposedToTheElements. Dragomirov and his men "save" a baggage train led by Colonel Richard Sharpe, but only to make scapegoats of a group of bandits opposing them. When Sharpe is separated from the baggage train along with Marie-Angelique, the fiancé of Dragomirov's [[TheDragon dragon]] Major Philippe Joubert, Dragomirov threatens to have her gang-raped by his men unless Sharpe gives up the train, then has Sharpe tied up in a pit of snakes. When Sharpe and Marie-Angelique escape, Dragomirov pursues them to a village where the train has stopped, murders a priest that tries to dissuade him while telling the man "God does no work on a Sunday", and attacks the village with the intent of murdering everyone there. {{Greed}}y and treacherous, Dragomirov didn't care who he murdered as long as he gained something from it.

* {{Narm}}: Sharpe's rescue of La Marquesa from a convent in ''Sharpe's Honour'' is supposed to be daring and dramatic, but it's hard not to laugh at him getting pelted with loaves of bread and plucked chickens by a pack of angry nuns and unable to fight back because of his [[WouldntHitAGirl chivalrous nature]].

* ChaoticGood: Sharpe, with Neutral tendency. A great example of GoodIsNotNice, he relies on guile, wits and raw fighting ability to win, but always sides against evil characters.

** Lord Fenner skirts the penumbra of this trope. His beautiful schemes and effortless charm are certainly worthy of this trope. On the other hand, his [[spoiler: disgusting treatment of Lady Camoynes]], which ultimately ruins him, does not befit a true MB.[[spoiler: Lady Camoynes herself outdoes him in the end.]]

--> "I lied. My wife tauht me. She taught me many things. Above all, how to say goodbye."

** [[AristocratsAreEvil Colonel Count Vladimir Dragomirov]], from ''Sharpe's Peril'', is a [[SociopathicSoldier cavalry commander]] in India, who also has a foothold in the opium trade. To cover his tracks, Dragomirov slaughters the village that had been growing the plants needed to make opium, as well as a garrison of British soldiers, leaving their commander tied up naked and ExposedToTheElements. Dragomirov and his men "save" a baggage train led by Colonel Richard Sharpe, but only to make scapegoats of a group of bandits opposing them. When Sharpe is separated from the baggage train along with Marie-Angelique, the fiancé of Dragomirov's [[TheDragon dragon]] Major Philippe Joubert, Dragomirov threatens to have her gang-raped by his men unless Sharpe gives up the train, then has Sharpe tied up in a pit of snakes. When Sharpe and Marie-Angelique escape, Dragomirov pursues them to a village where the train has stopped, murders a priest that tries to dissuade him while telling the man "God does no work on a Sunday", and attacks the village with the intent of murdering everyone there. {{Greed}}y and treacherous, Dragomirov didn't care who he murdered as long as he gained something from it.

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments:
** The [[MacrossMissileMassacre Rocket]] [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy Troop]] in ''Sharpe's Enemy'' spend the entire morning firing at an abandoned barn. The result?
-->'''Sharpe''': Very consistent, Lieutenant. Ten salvos, and none of them hit.
** After that, Sharpe decides to go to the one place where he can have peace and quiet. The barn.
** Just about everything General Calvet says to Sharpe after taking him prisoner, but in particular his version of NotSoDifferent:
-->'''Calvet''': For a change, Englishman, you and I will be on the same side. We are allies. Except that I am a General of Imperial France and you are a piece of English toadshit, which means that I give the orders and you obey them like a lilywhite-arsed conscript. So stop gawping like a novice nun in a gunners' bath-house and tell me where we're going!

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Just about everything General Calvet says to Sharpe after taking him prisoner, but in particular his version of NotSoDifferent:
--> For a change, Englishman, you and I will be on the same side. We are allies. Except that I am a General of Imperial France and you are a piece of English toadshit, which means that I give the orders and you obey them like a lilywhite-arsed conscript. So stop gawping like a novice nun in a gunners' bath-house and tell me where we're going!

** [[SerialRapist Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill]], from ''[[Recap/SharpeS2E1SharpesCompany Sharpe's Company]]'' and ''[[Recap/SharpeS2E2SharpesEnemy Sharpe's Enemy]]'', lacks any of his book counterpart's redeeming qualities, however minor, while still maintaining his heinousness. Sharpe's ArchEnemy, Hakeswill was a SociopathicSoldier who was responsible for sentencing Sharpe to a [[WhipItGood flogging]] he knew would be a death sentence, before Sharpe was saved after receiving 200 lashes. An [[BadBoss abusive bully to his men]], Hakeswill regularly subjects soldiers to floggings to extort sexual favors from their wives and tries to rape Sharpe's wife Teresa. When Sharpe's best friend Harper stops him, Hakeswill [[FrameUp frames him for a theft]], resulting in his brutal flogging. Murdering one of his own soldiers to use his body as cover in the heat of battle, Hakeswill kills another soldier and tries to rape Teresa again. Hakeswill deserts the army before raping and murdering Sally Clayton, an innocent woman he's lusted after. Becoming the leader of a group of vicious bandits, Hakeswill waylays a group of noble women and is only stopped from raping them by warnings that it will damage the ransom value. When he learns Sharpe is bringing the ransom, Hakeswill doubles it at the last minute and allows his men to rape the non-noble women and tries to rape the nobles anyways. When Teresa stops him, Hakeswill fatally shoots her before being captured and facing the firing squad for his crimes. A beast of a man who lives only for rape and murder, Hakeswill is perfectly summed up by Sharpe when his luck comes to an end:

** [[TheMole Colonel Brand]], from ''[[Recap/SharpeS4E3SharpesMission Sharpe's Mission]]'', is a double agent who starts his career by [[KickTheDog personally killing an injured British officer]], then carrying him back to the British lines and being [[VillainWithGoodPublicity hailed as a hero]] for trying to save him. This is the first of several acts of so-called heroism arranged by his handler French Colonel Cressan, who wants Brand to lure Sharpe and Ross into a trap. Brand murders a Gypsy couple who [[HeKnowsTooMuch saw him meeting Cressan]], then slaughters a Gypsy camp in a failed attempt to kill the couple's daughter, who also witnessed the meeting. He leads his men in massacring a group of French ex-deserters [[SuicideMission set up by Cressan]] and given faulty gunpowder so they were effectively unarmed, making a point of [[SoftSpokenSadist sadistically]] garroting the one who ran furthest. Despite giving them the self-aggrandizing name Brand's Boys, he has no loyalty to his men, calmly telling Sharpe that [[TheSocialDarwinist he abandons anyone who is injured]]. Even after being exposed and arrested, he tries to convince Sharpe to let him and his men massacre a fort garrison who have also been set up Cressan. {{Smug|Snake}}, arrogant and [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections believing himself invulnerable]] right up to the end, he can't resist BullyingADragon:

** Creator/MarkStrong is Colonel Brand in ''Sharpe's Mission.''

--> "You told me you didn't speak french"

** Near the end of ''Sharpe's Waterloo'', Harris and Hagman in the farmyard. [[spoiler: Harris spots that Hagman is about to be shot and shouts his name, but isn't quite fast enough to stop it happening... and then is himself bayoneted in the back. He ''crawls'' the few yards to grab his friend's hand and then dies]]. This is topped off by [[spoiler:Sharpe audibly choking up on learning of their deaths]].

*
* Near the end of ''Sharpe's Waterloo'', Harris and Hagman in the farmyard. [[spoiler: Harris spots that Hagman is about to be shot and shouts his name, but isn't quite fast enough to stop it happening... and then is himself bayoneted in the back. He ''crawls'' the few yards to grab his friend's hand and then dies]]. This is topped off by [[spoiler:Sharpe audibly choking up on learning of their deaths]].

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Did Lord Pumphrey really think [[spoiler: Astrid and Skovgaard]] were a threat to British interests, or did he want to murder a potential romantic rival for Sharpe?
** Probably both.

* ChaoticGood: Sharpe is this with Neutral tendency. A great example of GoodIsNotNice, he relies on guile, wits and raw fighting ability to win, but always sides against evil characters.

** [[TheMole Colonel Brand]], from ''Sharpe's Mission'', is a double agent who starts his career by [[KickTheDog personally killing an injured British officer]], then carrying him back to the British lines and being [[VillainWithGoodPublicity hailed as a hero]] for trying to save him. This is the first of several acts of so-called heroism arranged by his handler French Colonel Cressan, who wants Brand to lure Sharpe and Ross into a trap. Brand murders a Gypsy couple who [[HeKnowsTooMuch saw him meeting Cressan]], then slaughters a Gypsy camp in a failed attempt to kill the couple's daughter, who also witnessed the meeting. He leads his men in massacring a group of French ex-deserters [[SuicideMission set up by Cressan]] and given faulty gunpowder so they were effectively unarmed, making a point of [[SoftSpokenSadist sadistically]] garroting the one who ran furthest. Despite giving them the self-aggrandizing name Brand's Boys, he has no loyalty to his men, calmly telling Sharpe that [[TheSocialDarwinist he abandons anyone who is injured]]. Even after being exposed and arrested, he tries to convince Sharpe to let him and his men massacre a fort garrison who have also been set up Cressan. {{Smug|Snake}}, arrogant and [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections believing himself invulnerable]] right up to the end, he can't resist BullyingADragon:

** [[SerialRapist Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill]], from ''[[Recap/SharpeS2E1SharpesCompany Sharpe's Company]]'' and ''[[Recap/SharpeS2E2SharpesEnemy Sharpe's Enemy]]", lacks any of his book counterpart's redeeming qualities, however minor, while still maintaining his heinousness. Sharpe's ArchEnemy, Hakeswill was a SociopathicSoldier who was responsible for sentencing Sharpe to a [[WhipItGood flogging]] he knew would be a death sentence, before Sharpe was saved after receiving 200 lashes. An [[BadBoss abusive bully to his men]], Hakeswill regularly subjects soldiers to floggings to extort sexual favors from their wives and tries to rape Sharpe's wife Teresa. When Sharpe's best friend Harper stops him, Hakeswill [[FrameUp frames him for a theft]], resulting in his brutal flogging. Murdering one of his own soldiers to use his body as cover in the heat of battle, Hakeswill kills another soldier and tries to rape Teresa again. Hakeswill deserts the army before raping and murdering Sally Clayton, an innocent woman he's lusted after. Becoming the leader of a group of vicious bandits, Hakeswill waylays a group of noble women and is only stopped from raping them by warnings that it will damage the ransom value. When he learns Sharpe is bringing the ransom, Hakeswill doubles it at the last minute and allows his men to rape the non-noble women and tries to rape the nobles anyways. When Teresa stops him, Hakeswill fatally shoots her before being captured and facing the firing squad for his crimes. A beast of a man who lives only for rape and murder, Hakeswill is perfectly summed up by Sharpe when his luck comes to an end:

** [[SerialRapist Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill]], from "Sharpe's Company" and "Sharpe's Enemy", lacks any of his book counterpart's redeeming qualities, however minor, while still maintaining his heinousness. Sharpe's ArchEnemy, Hakeswill was a SociopathicSoldier who was responsible for sentencing Sharpe to a [[WhipItGood flogging]] he knew would be a death sentence, before Sharpe was saved after receiving 200 lashes. An [[BadBoss abusive bully to his men]], Hakeswill regularly subjects soldiers to floggings to extort sexual favors from their wives and tries to rape Sharpe's wife Teresa. When Sharpe's best friend Harper stops him, Hakeswill [[FrameUp frames him for a theft]], resulting in his brutal flogging. Murdering one of his own soldiers to use his body as cover in the heat of battle, Hakeswill kills another soldier and tries to rape Teresa again. Hakeswill deserts the army before raping and murdering Sally Clayton, an innocent woman he's lusted after. Becoming the leader of a group of vicious bandits, Hakeswill waylays a group of noble women and is only stopped from raping them by warnings that it will damage the ransom value. When he learns Sharpe is bringing the ransom, Hakeswill doubles it at the last minute and allows his men to rape the non-noble women and tries to rape the nobles anyways. When Teresa stops him, Hakeswill fatally shoots her before being captured and facing the firing squad for his crimes. A beast of a man who lives only for rape and murder, Hakeswill is perfectly summed up by Sharpe when his luck comes to an end:

** [[TheMole Colonel Brand]], from "Sharpe's Mission", is a double agent who starts his career by [[KickTheDog personally killing an injured British officer]], then carrying him back to the British lines and being [[VillainWithGoodPublicity hailed as a hero]] for trying to save him. This is the first of several acts of so-called heroism arranged by his handler French Colonel Cressan, who wants Brand to lure Sharpe and Ross into a trap. Brand murders a Gypsy couple who [[HeKnowsTooMuch saw him meeting Cressan]], then slaughters a Gypsy camp in a failed attempt to kill the couple's daughter, who also witnessed the meeting. He leads his men in massacring a group of French ex-deserters [[SuicideMission set up by Cressan]] and given faulty gunpowder so they were effectively unarmed, making a point of [[SoftSpokenSadist sadistically]] garroting the one who ran furthest. Despite giving them the self-aggrandizing name Brand's Boys, he has no loyalty to his men, calmly telling Sharpe that [[TheSocialDarwinist he abandons anyone who is injured]]. Even after being exposed and arrested, he tries to convince Sharpe to let him and his men massacre a fort garrison who have also been set up Cressan. {{Smug|Snake}}, arrogant and [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections believing himself invulnerable]] right up to the end, he can't resist BullyingADragon:

* FanPreferredCouple: The women of ''Sharpe's Gold'' (Ellie Nugent), ''Sharpe's Battle'' (Lady Kiely) and ''Sharpe's Sword'' (Lass) are quite popular with viewers, preferring that Sharpe wound up with them instead of Jane Gibbons.

** In "Sharpe's Eagle", Sharpe gets into a fistfight with Lt. Berry, played by a young Creator/DanielCraig, so we have future Bond villain [[Film/GoldenEye Alec Trevalyen]] sparring against a future Film/JamesBond, respectively.
** In "Sharpe's Battle", Sharpe's adversary, General Loup, has an {{Animal Motif}} of a wolf. Then Creator/SeanBean plays a nobleman, [[Series/GameOfThrones Eddard Stark]], whose family has a wolf as their {{Animal Motif}}.

** Creator/DanielCraig is Lt. Berry in ''Sharpe's Eagle''.