History YMMV / GameOfThronesS5E4TheSonsOfTheHarpy

* HarsherInHindsight: [[spoiler: Stannis and Shireen's interaction.]]

* IdiotBall: Seriously, Ser Barristan? With the city full of masked assassins attacking your Queen's loyalists, you never thought to wear armour while walking the streets?

* BrokenBase: This episode looks to be one of the series's less well received episodes with fans, though others defend it. A major controversy is whether it was justifiable to kill off Ser Barristan this early in the adaptation (we don't know if he dies in the next book), though there are two sides. Many critics, however, felt that the introduction of the Sand Snakes was kind of clunky.

* IdiotBall: Seriously Ser Barristan, with the city full of masked assassins carrying out attacks against your Queen's loyalists, you never thought of walking the streets wearing an armor?

* JumpedTheShark: An allegation from book readers on Barristan's death. The reasoning behind killing off one of the book's most popular characters before his most active role is unclear. The creators haven't elaborated on why they did it, and both fans and Barristan's actor have expressed considerable frustration over the plot deviation.

* JumpedTheShark: An allegation from book readers on Barristan's death. The reasoning behind killing off one of the book's most popular characters before his most active role, in order to preserve a not particularly popular RomanticPlotTumor, is unclear. The creators haven't elaborated on why they did it, and both fans and Barristan's actor have expressed considerable frustration over the plot deviation.

** In Dave Hill's defense, we don't know how much of these changes were from him, due to the group writing system on the TV series (Benioff and Weiss make final decisions). Even when he ''suggested'' that Olly be the one to kill Ygritte (just instead of a random Watch member), it was Benioff and Weiss who okayed it. Hill doesn't make big decisions such as whether or not to kill off Barristan. As for the clunkyness of the Sand Snakes scene, it is difficult to tell how much of that is on him, and how much on the episode's director. Meanwhile, giving an infodump about Rhaegar and Shireen was welcomed by some, as a "better late than never" situation - Hill himself didn't choose to ignore these backstories in previous episodes, when he ''was not'' a writer, but just had to work with what he had.

** In Dave Hill's defense, we don't know how much of these changes were from him, due to the group writing system on the TV series (Benioff and Weiss make final decisions). Even when he ''suggested'' that Olly be the one to kill Ygritte (just instead of a random Watch member), it was Benioff and Weiss who okayed it. Hill doesn't make big decisions such as whether or not to kill off Barristan. As for the clunkyness of the Sand Snakes scene, it is difficult to tell how much of that is on him, and how much on the episode's director. Meanwhile, giving an infodump about Rhaegar and Shireen was welcomed by some, as a "better late than never" situation - Hill himself didn't choose to ignore these backstories in previous episodes, when he ''was not'' a writer, but just had to work with what he had.

** Writer Dave Hill has faced particular criticism for the above, as he is known for deviating from the books for his own vision (e.g. Olly killing Ygritte).

** The episode's greater focus on {{Posthumous Character}}s, Stannis' caring side, and the mystery of Jon's mother was extremely well received by book fans who have argued in favour of such elements for years, but some have criticized that the sudden increase was a touch {{anvilicious}} after four seasons of relative neglect.

* BrokenBase: This episode looks to be one of the series's less well received episodes with fans, though others defend it. A major controversy is whether it was justifiably to kill off Ser Barristan this early in the adaptation (we don't know if he dies in the next book), though there are two sides. Many critics, however, felt that the introduction of the Sand Snakes was kind of clunky.

* BrokenBase: This episode looks to be one of the series's less well received episodes with fans.

* BrokenBase: This episode looks to be one of the series' more controversial episodes with fans.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Specifically, Artistic Licence: Herpetology. The snake Bronn kills is a nonvenomous mimic of a coral snake. Even then, coral snakes are extremely timid and would have no reason to approach, much less attack, a sleeping human. Justified, though, since not many actors are likely to let a venomous snake anywhere near them.
** Also, who's to say that Planetos' coral snakes aren't venomous compared to Earth's?

** The introduction of the Sand Snakes was heavily criticised as a clunky scene far below the show's usual quality. The awkward acting (considering the impressive acting histories of two of the actresses), low production values of the set, bizarre monologue and poor writing are particular targets. Their StupidEvil behavior also left a bad taste in many viewers' mouths, since even if they couldn't let the treacherous captain live after he'd betrayed Jaime, there was literally ''no reason ''' whatsoever''' '' for them to brutally torture him first.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Specifically, Artistic Licence: Herpetology. The snake Bronn kills is a nonvenomous mimic of a coral snake. Even then, coral snakes are extremely timid and would have no reason to approach, much less attack, a sleeping human.

* ArtisticeLicenceBiology: Specifically, Artistic Licence: Herpetology. The snake Bronn kills is a nonvenomous mimic of a coral snake. Even then, coral snakes are extremely timid and would have no reason to approach, much less attack, a sleeping human.

* ArtisticeLicenseBiology: Specifically, Artistic Licence: Herpetology. The snake Bronn kills is a nonvenomous mimic of a coral snake. Even then, coral snakes are extremely timid and would have no reason to approach, much less attack, a sleeping human.

* Artistic Licence: Herpetology: The snake Bronn kills is a nonvenomous mimic of a coral snake. Even then, coral snakes are extremely timid and would have no reason to approach, much less attack, a sleeping human.

** The introduction of the Sand Snakes was also heavily criticised as a clunky scene far below the show's usual quality. The awkward acting (considering the impressive acting histories of two of the actresses), low production values of the set, bizarre monologue and poor writing are particular targets. Their StupidEvil behaviour also left a bad taste in many viewers' mouths, since even if they couldn't let the treacherous captain live after he'd betrayed Jaime, there was literally ''no reason ''' whatsoever''' '' for them to brutally torture him first.

** The introduction of the Sand Snakes was also heavily criticised as a clunky scene far below the show's usual quality. The awkward acting (considering the impressive acting histories of two of the actresses), low production values of the set, bizarre monologue and poor writing are particular targets.

** The ambush by the Sons of the Harpy upset many fans who felt the staging compromised the established skills and tactics of both the Harpies and the Unsullied. The Harpies had previously been shown as knife-wielding assassins not guerrillas capable of attacking patrols in daylight and the famously disciplined Unsullied [[CallThatAFormation fight like individuals]] without even trying to hold a formation, which would have been BoringButPractical against knife-wielding mooks along a narrow front. The choreography was also criticized for things like the {{Zerg Rush}}ing Harpies [[MookChivalry ignoring obvious chances]] to stab the named characters until the choreography called for it.
** Barristan's DeathByAdaptation is very controversial. Either it was a realistic and fittingly heroic LastStand given the number of attackers and Barristan's age or a blatant ContrivedCoincidence that felt more like DroppedABridgeOnHim when compared to the obvious PlotArmor wielded by the shirtless Ramsay Snow in a similar situation. Since Barristan is also an EnsembleDarkhorse among book fans, many readers were disappointed by the change negating several of his most popular scenes from the books, including one of the most memorable sword fights in ''A Dance With Dragons''.

** Considering all of the above, some elements of the episode were received extremely favorably by the fans. The greater focus on Rhaegar, on Jon's mother, and Stannis' characterisation as a caring father and ruler were book elements that fans felt needed greater focus.

** The attack of the Harpy on the Unsullied and Ser Barristan upsets many book purists because it compromises their skill levels and is totally contrary to the abilities and tactics of the Harpy, Unsullied and Barristan in the books. While some feel its realistic given Barristan is too old, and that it was an ambush in a small area, viewers annoyed at the PlotArmor wielded by the shirtless Ramsay Snow, feel that it has less to do with skill and more like DroppedABridgeOnHim. Likewise fans were annoyed at Ser Barristan's death, feeling that he was too important a character to suffer DeathByAdaptation.
** The choreography of the fight scene was criticised too, such as a Harpy not stabbing Barristan despite an obvious and easy chance to.
** The death of Barristan is sure to be controversial, since he is an EnsembleDarkhorse who is still alive in the books. Fans see his death as an unnecessary deprivation of his future popular scenes, including one of the most famous sword-fights in the book.

* BrokenBase: The attack of the Harpy on the Unsullied and Ser Barristan upsets many book purists because it compromises their skill levels and is totally contrary to the abilities and tactics of the Harpy, Unsullied and Barristan in the books. While some feel its realistic given Barristan is too old, and that it was an ambush in a small area, viewers annoyed at the PlotArmor wielded by the shirtless Ramsay Snow, feel that it has less to do with skill and more like DroppedABridgeOnHim. Likewise fans were annoyed at Ser Barristan's death, feeling that he was too important a character to suffer DeathByAdaptation.

* BrokenBase: The attack of the Harpy on the Unsullied and Ser Barristan upsets many book purists because it compromises their skill levels and is totally contrary to the abilities and tacticts of the Harpy, Unsullied and Barristan in the books. While some feel its realistic given Barristan is too old, and that it was an ambush in a small area, viewers annoyed at the PlotArmor wielded by the shirtless Ramsay Bolton, feel that it has less to do with skill and more like DroppedABridgeOnHim. Likewise fans were annoyed at Ser Barristan's death, feeling that he was too important a character to suffer DeathByAdaptation.