History PanderingToTheBase / GameOfThrones

* Some of the sexual content is this. In an interview, [[WordOfGod Neil Marshall]], director of the episodes ''Blackwater'' and ''The Watchers on the Wall'', admitted that the HBO executives told him and his colleague to add more nudity and sex scenes to "appeal to the perverted part of the fanbase."

* The show has been accused of this with the House Tyrell for most of the show, with scenes that didn't happen in the books. Margaery Tyrell and her grandmother Olenna Tyrell have become quite popular characters and the scenes are well-acted... however, overall they don't contribute much to the plot. Even worse, the writers were already making huge cuts to the material in Season 5, meaning other storylines seriously suffer and feel very rushed.

* Some of the sexual content is this. In an interview, [[WordOfGod Neil Marshall]], director of the episodes ''Blackwater'' and ''The Watchers on the Wall'', admitted that the HBO executives told him and his colleague to add more nudity and sex scenes to appeal to "the perverted part of the fanbase."

* For some, among the criticism for Season 7 is that it used a bit too much of this, including [[spoiler:Gendry's and the Brothers Without Banners' overly convenient return, The Hound's humanization CharacterDevelopment, Daenerys and Jon Snow hooking up, Littlefinger finally getting killed, Theon gaining the (reluctant) respect of the other Ironborn, Jorah's infection being cured by a completely inexperienced Samwell, finding out Jon is the true heir to the throne]], and so on.

* Starting with the sixth season the show's writers began working this trope overtime, perhaps to compensate for having passed up the original ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' series the show is based on. In addition to Coldhands example above, there's also [[spoiler:Arya's]] single-handed massacre of the entire [[spoiler:Frey]] family, the kiling off of the Sand Snakes by Euron Greyjoy after they proved to be among the show's most unpopular characters, Jorah being miraculously cured of his greyscale thanks to a complete AssPull from Samwell Tarly, Daenerys crossing thousands of miles from Dragonstone to north of the Wall in a span of hours to pull off a BigDamnHeroes moment, and most infamously [[spoiler:a romantic relationship between Jon Snow and Daenerys]].

* Season 8 was viewed as having some moments of this, including [[spoiler: most of the major characters surviving "The Long Night" even if realistically [[PlotArmor they shouldn't have]], Arya and Gendry hooking up, Brienne and Jaime hooking up]] and last but not least, CLEGANEBOWL (although that one was deemed as [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools acceptable pandering]] considering how long it had been hyped and it was seen as a bright spot in the season). Much of this apparent pandering was one of the things the fans ''criticized'' about the final season because of an apparent lack of realism/proper set up.

* Season 8's "The Iron Throne" is accused of this in places. [[spoiler:After Jon [[KillTheOnesYouLove reluctantly assassinates his love]] [[FaceHeelTurn Daenerys]] to save the world from destruction, he is taken prisoner, leaving some viewers to question why Daenerys's dragon Drogon and her [[UndyingLoyalty loyal followers]], the Unsullied, didn't immediately kill Jon in retaliation. Later, the idea of an elective monarchy with Bran as the new king seems to go over a little too well, as does the North being granted independence with Sansa as queen. Gendry is now the uncontested lord of the Stormlands, even though he was an unacknowledged bastard of Robert Baratheon until the now-dead Daenerys legitimised him, which could easily be used to attack his position. As for the Small Council, Davos is Master of Ships, which most viewers were okay with, but the other members range from unlikely to frankly questionable. Tyrion is Hand of the King ''again,'' despite being behind multiple disasters during his last stint as Hand; Sam is somehow Grand Maester, even though he didn't even finish the training to become an ordinary maester; Brienne is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which while plausible on her own merits seems unlikely that Westeros would be progressive enough to accept a woman in the role when Renly's choice to add her to his Kingsguard was seen as controversial. Finally ''Bronn'' is Master of Coin despite having ''no'' qualifications for the role whatsoever beyond liking money a lot; in Season 3 Tyrion even had to explain to him how banks and loans work -- [[SarcasmMode clearly the person you'd want in charge of a whole continent's finances]]]].

* Season 8's "The Iron Throne" is accused of this in places. [[spoiler:After Jon [[KillTheOnesYouLove reluctantly assassinates his love]] [[FaceHeelTurn Daenerys]] to save the world from destruction, he is taken prisoner, leaving some viewers to question why Daenerys's dragon Drogon and her [[UndyingLoyalty loyal followers]], the Unsullied, didn't immediately kill Jon in retaliation. Later, the idea of an elective monarchy with Bran as the new king seems to go over a little too well, as does the North being granted independence with Sansa as queen. Gendry is now the uncontested lord of the Stormlands, even though he was an unacknowledged bastard of Robert Baratheon until the now-dead Daenerys legitimised him. As for the small council, Davos is Master of Ships, which most people were okay with, but the other members range from unlikely to questionable. Tyrion is Hand of the King again despite being behind multiple disasters during his last stint as Hand, Sam is somehow Grand Maester, even though he didn't even finish the training to become an ordinary maester, Brienne is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which is more plausible though it seems unlikely Westeros would be progressive enough to accept a woman in the role when Renly's choice to add her to his Kingsguard was seen as controversial, while ''Bronn'' is Master of Coin despite having ''no'' qualifications for the role whatsoever beyond liking money a lot; in Season 3 Tyrion even had to explain to him how banks and loans work]].

* Season 8's "The Iron Throne" is accused of this in places. [[spoiler:After Jon [[KillTheOnesYouLove reluctantly assassinates his love]] [[FaceHeelTurn Daenerys]] to save the world from destruction, he is taken prisoner, leaving some viewers to question why Daenerys's dragon Drogon and her [[UndyingLoyalty loyal followers]], the Unsullied, didn't immediately kill Jon in retaliation. Later, the idea of an elective monarchy with Bran as the new king seems to go over a little too well, as does the North being granted independence with Sansa as queen. Gendry is now the uncontested lord of the Stormlands, even though he was an unacknowledged bastard of Robert Baratheon until the now-dead Daenerys legitimised him. As for the small council, Davos is Master of Ships, which most people were okay with, but the other members range from unlikely to questionable. Tyrion is Hand of the King again despite being behind multiple disasters during his last stint as Hand, Sam is somehow Grand Maester, even though he didn't even finish the training to become an ordinary maester, Brienne is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which is more plausible though it seems unlikely Westeros would be progressive enough to accept a woman in the role when Renly's choice to add her to his Kingsguard was seen as controversial, while ''Bronn'' is Master of Coin despite having no qualifications for the role whatsoever beyond liking money a lot]].

* Some of the sexual content is this. In an interview, [[WordOfGod Neil Marshall]], director of the episodes ''Blackwater'' and ''The Watchers on the Wall'' admitted that the HBO executives told him and his colleague to add more nudity and sex scenes to appeal to "the perverted part of the fanbase."

* Some of the sexual content is this. In an interview, [[WordOfGod Neil Marshall, director of the episodes ''Blackwater'' and ''The Watchers on the Wall'']] admitted that the HBO executives told him and his colleague to add more nudity and sex scenes to appeal to "the perverted part of the fanbase."

* The show has been accused of this with the additional Tyrell scenes in Season 5 which didn't happen in the books. Margaery Tyrell and her grandmother Olenna Tyrell have become quite popular characters and the scenes are well-acted... however, overall they don't contribute much to the plot. Even worse, the writers were already making huge cuts to the material in Season 5, meaning other storylines seriously suffer and feel very rushed.

* The Martells being killed off suddenly in the first episode of Season 6 seems to have been a reaction to the poor reception the Dornish storyline in Season 5 got. However this seems to have been a massive misreading of the situation, as Alexander Siddig's Doran Martell was probably the most liked character of the Dornish plot, his death meaning the heavily disliked Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes somehow became the rulers of Dorne.
* Some of the sexual content is this. In an interview, [[WordOfGod one of the co-directors of the series]] admitted that the HBO executives told him and his colleague to add more nudity and sex scenes to appeal to "the perverted part of the fanbase."
* Starting with the sixth season the show's writers began working this trope overtime, perhaps to compensate for having passed up the original ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' series the show is based on. In addition to Coldhands example above, there's also [[spoiler:Arya's]] single-handed massacre of the entire [[spoiler:Frey]] family, the kiling off of the Sand Snakes by Euron Greyjoy after they proved to be among the show's most unpopular characters, Jorah being miraculously cured of his greyscale thanks to a complete AssPull from Samwell Tarly, Daenerys crossing thousands of miles from Dragonstone to north of the Wall in a span of hours to pull off a BigDamnHeroes moment, and most infamously [[spoiler:a romance developing between Jon Snow and Daenerys that culminates in them having sex on a boat]]. There's a reason the fans have taken to cracking wise about "RIP ''Game of Thrones'' writing: 2011-2016".
* Bronn was an amusing character but got highly expanded throughout the series. His trip to Dorne with Jaime in Season 5 was heavily disliked, even though it showcased the character he felt unnecessary. By the end he somehow ends up as Lord Paramount of the Reach and on the Small Council as Master of Coin, even though he has no financial knowledge and it just seems to be narrowing it down to people the audience know. It becomes especially bizarre he would be given one of the highest lordships in the land when he is just smallfolk all on the value of a promise made by Tyrion when Bronn had him at crossbow-point.

* Season 8's "The Iron Throne" is accused of this in places. [[spoiler:After Jon [[KillTheOnesYouLove reluctantly assassinates his love]] [[FaceHeelTurn Daenerys]] to save the world from destruction, he is taken prisoner, leaving some viewers to question why Daenerys's dragon Drogon and her [[UndyingLoyalty loyal followers]], the Unsullied, didn't immediately kill Jon in retaliation. Later, the idea of an elective monarchy seems to go over a little too well, as does the North being granted independence with Sansa as queen. Gendry is now the uncontested lord of the Stormlands, even though he was an unacknowledged bastard of Robert Baratheon until the now-dead Daenerys legitimised him. As for the small council, Davos is Master of Ships, which most people were okay with, but the other members range from unlikely to questionable. Tyrion is Hand of the King again despite being behind multiple disasters during his last stint as Hand, Sam is somehow Grand Maester, even though he didn't even finish the training to become an ordinary maester, Brienne is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which is more plausible though it seems unlikely Westeros would be progressive enough to accept a woman in the role when Renly's choice to add her to his Kingsguard was seen as controversial, while ''Bronn'' is Master of Coin despite having no qualifications for the role whatsoever beyond liking money a lot]]. Bran being elected King by the assembled Lords after Tyrion nominates him on the grounds he has the best story is seen as especially ridiculous and pandering, considering much of his storyline got cut anyway. Not to mention creating an elective monarchy (as many fans and history buffs point out) would most likely make things worse for the realm.

* Season 8's "The Iron Throne" is accused of this in places. [[spoiler:After Jon [[KillTheOnesYouLove reluctantly assassinates his love]] [[FaceHeelTurn Daenerys]] to save the world from destruction, he is taken prisoner, leaving some viewers to question why Daenerys's dragon Drogon and her [[UndyingLoyalty loyal followers]], the Unsullied, didn't immediately kill Jon in retaliation. Later, the idea of an elective monarchy seems to go over a little too well, as does the North being granted independence with Sansa as queen. Gendry is now the uncontested lord of the Stormlands, even though he was an unacknowledged bastard of Robert Baratheon until the now-dead Daenerys legitimised him. As for the small council, Davos is Master of Ships, which most people were okay with, but the other members range from unlikely to questionable. Tyrion is Hand of the King again despite being behind multiple disasters during his last stint as Hand, Sam is somehow Grand Maester, even though he didn't even finish the training to become an ordinary maester, Brienne is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which is more plausible though it seems unlikely Westeros would be progressive enough to accept a woman in the role when Renly's choice to add her to his Kingsguard was seen as controversial, while ''Bronn'' is Master of Coin despite having no qualifications for the role whatsoever beyond liking money a lot]]. Bran being elected King by the assembled Lords after Tyrion nominates him on the grounds he has the best story is seen as especially ridiculous and pandering, considering much of his storyline got cut anyway.

* Ramsay's AdaptationExpansion can be considered this. While [[LoveToHate monstrously evil Joffrey was still an enjoyable character]], but was killed off early in Season 4, Ramsay seems to have been an attempt to [[HistoryRepeats redo this]]. In the books Ramsay, while a sadistic monstrous psychopath, did not have the same prominence as the show, with it being clear he would not be able to rule the North himself. However his role was greatly expanded so he could be the next Joffrey. This happens to the detriement of other characters, with Stannis getting ignominiously beaten in Season 5 by Ramsay and Ramsay being built up as the main villain of Season 6's Northern storyline after killing his father, leading to what was basically a repeat of last season's storyline which required very contrived writing on both sides to work.

* Ramsay's AdaptationExpansion can be considered this. While monstrously evil Joffrey was still an enjoyable character, but was killed off early in Season 4, Ramsay seems to have been an attempt to redo this. In the books Ramsay, while a sadistic monstrous psychopath, did not have the same prominence as the show, with it being clear he would not be able to rule the North himself. However his role was greatly expanded so he could be the next Joffrey. This happens to the detriement of other characters, with Stannis getting ignominiously beaten in Season 5 by Ramsay and Ramsay being built up as the main villain of Season 6's Northern storyline after killing his father, leading to what was basically a repeat of last season's storyline which required very contrived writing on both sides to work.

* Ramsay's AdaptationExpansion can be considered this. While monstrously evil Joffrey was still an enjoyable character, but was killed off early in Season 4. Ramsay seems to have been an attempt to redo this. In the books Ramsay, while a sadistic monstrous psychopath, did not have the same prominence as the show, with it being clear he would not be able to rule the North himself. However his role was greatly expanded so he could be the next Joffrey. This happens to the detriement of other characters, with Stannis getting ignominiously beaten in Season 5 by Ramsay and Ramsay being built up as the main villain of Season 6's Northern storyline after killing his father, leading to what was basically a repeat of last season's storyline which required very contrived writing on both sides to work.

* Ramsay's AdaptationExpansion can be considered this. While monstrously evil Joffrey was still an enjoyable character, but was killed off early in Season 4. Ramsay seems to have been an attempt to redo this. In the books Ramsay, while a sadistic monstrous pyschopath, did not have the same prominence as the show, with it being clear he would not be able to rule the North himself. However his role was greatly expanded so he could be the next Joffrey. This happens to the detriement of other characters, with Stannis getting ignominiously beaten in Season 5 by Ramsay and Ramsay being built up as the main villain of Season 6's Northern storyline after killing his father, leading to what was basically a repeat of last season's storyline which required very contrived writing on both sides to work.

* Ramsay's AdaptationExpansion can be considered this. While monstrously evil Joffrey was still an enjoyable character, but was killed off early in Season 4. Ramsay seems to have been an attempt to redo this. In the books Ramsay, while a sadistic monstrous pyschopath, did not have the same prominence as the show, with it being clear he would not be able to rule the North himself. However his role was greatly expanded so he could be the next Joffrey. This happens to the detriement of other characters, with Stannis getting ignominiously beaten in Season 5 by Ramsay and Ramsay being built up as the main villain of Season 6's Northern storyline after killing his father.

* Bronn was an amusing character but got highly expanded throughout the series. His trip to Dorne with Jaime in Season 5 was heavily disliked, even though it showcased the character he felt unnecessary. By the end he somehow ends up as Lord Paramount of the Reach and on the Small Council as Master of Coin, even though he has no financial knowledge and it just seems to be narrowing it down to people the audience know.

* Season 8's "The Iron Throne" is accused of this in places. [[spoiler:After Jon [[KillTheOnesYouLove reluctantly assassinates his love]] [[FaceHeelTurn Daenerys]] to save the world from destruction, he is taken prisoner, leaving some viewers to question why Daenerys's dragon Drogon and her [[UndyingLoyalty loyal followers]], the Unsullied, didn't immediately kill Jon in retaliation. Later, the idea of an elective monarchy seems to go over a little too well, as does the North being granted independence with Sansa as queen. Gendry is now the uncontested lord of the Stormlands, even though he was an unacknowledged bastard of Robert Baratheon until the now-dead Daenerys legitimised him. As for the small council, Davos is Master of Ships, which most people were okay with, but the other members range from unlikely to questionable. Tyrion is Hand of the King again despite being behind multiple disasters during his last stint as Hand, Sam is somehow Grand Maester, even though he didn't even finish the training to become an ordinary maester, Brienne is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which is more plausible though it seems unlikely Westeros would be progressive enough to accept a woman in the role when Renly's choice to add her to his Kingsguard was seen as controversial, while ''Bronn'' is Master of Coin despite having no qualifications for the role whatsoever beyond liking money a lot]].

* Season 8 was viewed as having some moments of this, including [[spoiler: most of the major characters surviving "The Long Night" even if realistically [[PlotArmor they shouldn't have]], Arya and Gendry hooking up, Brienne and Jaime hooking up]] and last but not least, CLEGANEBOWL (although that one was deemed as [[TropesAreNotBad acceptable pandering]] considering how long it had been hyped and it was seen as a bright spot in the season). Much of this apparent pandering was one of the things the fans ''criticized'' about the final season because of an apparent lack of realism/proper set up.

** For some, among the criticism for Season 7 is that it used a bit too much of this, including [[spoiler:Gendry's and the Brothers Without Banners' overly convenient return, The Hound's humanization CharacterDevelopment, Daenerys and Jon Snow hooking up, Littlefinger finally getting killed, Theon gaining the (reluctant) respect of the other Ironborn, Jorah's infection being cured by a completely inexperienced Samwell, finding out Jon is the true heir to the throne]], and so on.
** Season 8 was viewed as having some moments of this, including [[spoiler: most of the major characters surviving "The Long Night" even if realistically [[PlotArmor they shouldn't have]], Arya and Gendry hooking up, Brienne and Jaime hooking up]] and last but not least, CLEGANEBOWL (although that one was deemed as [[TropesAreNotBad acceptable pandering]] considering how long it had been hyped and it was seen as a bright spot in the season). Much of this apparent pandering was one of the things the fans ''criticized'' about the final season because of an apparent lack of realism/proper set up.
** Season 8's "The Iron Throne" is accused of this in places. [[spoiler:After Jon [[KillTheOnesYouLove reluctantly assassinates his love]] [[FaceHeelTurn Daenerys]] to save the world from destruction, he is taken prisoner, leaving some viewers to question why Daenerys's dragon Drogon and her [[UndyingLoyalty loyal followers]], the Unsullied, didn't immediately kill Jon in retaliation. Later, the idea of an elective monarchy seems to go over a little too well, as does the North being granted independence with Sansa as queen. Gendry is now the uncontested lord of the Stormlands, even though he was an unacknowledged bastard of Robert Baratheon until the now-dead Daenerys legitimised him. As for the small council, Davos is Master of Ships, which most people were okay with, but the other members range from unlikely to questionable. Tyrion is Hand of the King again despite being behind multiple disasters during his last stint as Hand, Sam is somehow Grand Maester, even though he didn't even finish the training to become an ordinary maester, Brienne is Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which is more plausible though it seems unlikely Westeros would be progressive enough to accept a woman in the role when Renly's choice to add her to his Kingsguard was seen as controversial, while ''Bronn'' is Master of Coin despite having no qualifications for the role whatsoever beyond liking money a lot]].

* Bronn was an amusing character but got highly expanded throughout the series. His trip to Dorne with Jaime in Season 5 was heavily disliked, even though it showcased the character he felt unnecessary. By the end he somehow ends up as Lord Paramount of the Reach and on the Small Council as Master of Coin, even though he has no financial knowledge and it just seems to be narrowing it down to people the audience know.

* Starting with the sixth season the show's writers began working this trope overtime, perhaps to compensate for having passed up the original ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' series the show is based on. In addition to Coldhands example above, there's also [[spoiler:Arya's]] single-handed massacre of the entire [[spoiler:Frey]] family, the kiling off of the Sand Snakes by Euron Greyjoy after they proved to be among the show's most unpopular characters, Jorah being miraculously cured of his greyscale thanks to a complete AssPull from Samwell Tarly, Daenerys crossing thousands of miles from Dragonstone to north of the Wall in a span of hours to pull off a BigDamnHeroes moment, and most infamously [[spoiler:a romance developing between Jon Snow and Daenerys that culminates in them having sex on a boat]]. There's a reason the fans have taken to cracking wise about "RIP ''Game of Thrones'' writing: 2011-2016".