History YMMV / Poldark

* ArcFatigue: Drake and Morwenna pine for each other after [[spoiler:her marriage]] for some of series 3 and all of series 4. TheyDo get their happy ending in the series 4 finale, but the happiness is one scene compared to a whole season of sad pining.

* CompleteMonster: [[DomesticAbuse Reverend Osborne "Ossie" Whitworth]] is secretly a [[DirtyOldMonk lecherous creature]] who will stop at nothing to satisfy his urgings. Teaming up with George Warleggan to [[ScarpiaUltimatum coerce Morwenna Chynoweth into marrying him]] to spite Drake in lieu of hanging him, he wastes no time [[MaritalRapeLicense getting it on with her in brutal fashion]]. Eventually, they have a child, John Conan, but he [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil continues to rape her]] despite Dr. Enys warning him it could kill her eventually, proving to be a hypocrite when the next season he claims to be concerned about John Conan's life. Deprived for a while of satisfaction from Morwenna, Reverend Whitworth bides his time by pursuing an adulterous affair with her sister, Rowella, and helping George bankrupt Pascoe, one of the few remaining moral bankers in Cornwall, by extracting a confession of embezzlement from Pascoe's dying partner, Nathaniel Pearce, and casually cursing both Rowella and Nat the instant their usefulness ends, and is all too ready to resume his abuse of Morwenna at full force.

** Most gowns and hair styles featured in the show are hopelessly old-fashioned for the 1790s, until everyone starts wearing classic Regency costumes from one moment to the next, ''without'' showing the transition in fashion that took place during the time.

** Most gowns featured in the show are hopelessly old-fashioned for the 1790s, until everyone starts wearing classic Regency costumes from one moment to the next, ''without'' showing the transition in fashion that took place during the time.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: You'd think George would figure out at some point exactly why the upper-class folk of Cornwall don't take him seriously. Not even having it explained to his face by multiple people on multiple occasions seems to make much difference:
-->'''Agatha:''' Boys can be cruel, especially to one who gives himself airs.\\
'''George:''' As your nephews never ceased to remind me.\\
'''Agatha:''' Georgie, it was not your grandfather they mocked. It was your pitiful attempts to deny him.

** [[spoiler:When George has Tom Harry blow up Drake's workshop over Whitworth's grisly death against Elizabeth's clear wishes, it's clear they're both over the MEH and that George is the only major character to survive Series 4 who ''won't'' get a happy ending at the end of the season.]]

** A lot of Demelza, Elizabeth and Morwenna's maternity gowns are laced quite bizarrely, and in some cases it's painfully obvious that their pregnancies are fake since a) no one during production seemed to take into account that pregnancy often causes women's breasts to increase in size and b) the fake stomachs are positioned ''far'' too low down on their abdomens. The result is that it seems as if their stays are actually trying to squeeze their babies out of them, like a tube of toothpaste!

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Francis. He's either the series's biggest [[TheWoobie woobie]] or an annoying whiner who drags everyone around him down with his continued stupid decisions.

* DesignatedVillain: Arguably, George, since many of the actions portrayed as 'evil' by the show are technically logical reactions to Ross Poldark's disregard for the law.

* NeverLiveItDown: [[spoiler:Ross cheating on Demelza]] tainted his character for most viewers for a long time -- for some, until the very end of the show.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: You'd think George would figure out at some point exactly why the upper-class folk of Cornwall don't take him seriously. Not even having it explained to his face seems to make much difference:

* ValuesDissonance: In the source material, published in the 1950s, it is clear that Ross [[spoiler:rapes Elizabeth]]. Despite efforts to update the scene for a modern audience and portray the sex as consensual in the TV adaption, many viewers still felt uncomfortable with what they considered dubious consent at best.[[note]]According to the original script, Elizabeth is indeed resistant at first but gives in to her dormant lust for Ross after he pushes her onto the bed.[[/note]]

* ValuesDissonance: In the source material, published in the 1950s, it is clear that Ross [[spoiler:rapes Elizabeth]]. Despite efforts to update the scene for a modern audience and portray the sex as consensual in the TV adaption, many viewers still felt uncomfortable with what they considered dubious consent at best.

* DesignatedHero: Ross became this for some viewers after his night with Elizabeth in Series Two. Fans differed on whether the [[MoralEventHorizon unforgivable thing]] was [[YourCheatingHeart being unfaithful to Demelza]] or [[QuestionableConsent what he did]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil to Elizabeth.]]

* {{Squick}}: Whitworth sucking a prostitute's toes and heartily enjoying it.

** A lot of Demelza, Elizabeth and Morwenna's maternity gowns are laced quite bizarrely, and in some cases it's painfully obvious that their pregnancies are fake since a) no one seemed to take into account that pregnancy often causes women's breasts to increase in size and b) the fake stomachs are positioned ''far'' too low down on their abdomens. The result is that it seems as if their stays are actually trying to squeeze their babies out of them, like a tube of toothpaste!

* CompleteMonster: [[DomesticAbuser Reverend Osborne "Ossie" Whitworth]] is secretly a [[DirtyOldMonk lecherous creature]] who will stop at nothing to satisfy his urgings. Teaming up with George Warleggan to [[ScarpiaUltimatum coerce Morwenna Chynoweth into marrying him]] to spite Drake in lieu of hanging him, he wastes no time [[MaritalRapeLicense getting it on with her in brutal fashion]]. Eventually, they have a child, John Conan, but he [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil continues to rape her]] despite Dr. Enys warning him it could kill her eventually, proving to be a hypocrite when the next season he claims to be concerned about John Conan's life. Deprived for a while of satisfaction from Morwenna, Reverend Whitworth bides his time by pursuing an adulterous affair with her sister, Rowella, and helping George bankrupt Pascoe, one of the few remaining moral bankers in Cornwall, by extracting a confession of embezzlement from Pascoe's dying partner, Nathaniel Pearce, and casually cursing both Rowella and Nat the instant their usefulness ends, and is all too ready to resume his abuse of Morwenna at full force.

* CompleteMonster: [[DomesticAbuser Reverend Osborne "Ossie" Whitworth]] rapes his wife, sleeps with her sister, and helping George bankrupt Pascoe, one of the few remaining moral bankers in Cornwall.

* ValuesResonance: On the other side of the coin, Reverend Whitworth's habit of raping Morwenna already made it difficult to sympathize with him even before the [=#MeToo=] movement got underway as the third series was being broadcast in North America on PBS, and after Creator/HarveyWeinstein fell and took many others in the industry with him many viewers were hoping Whitworth would get his [[spoiler:and were practically cheering when midway through Series 4 he's accosted during a horseride and dragged to his doom when the horse is spooked and throws him off]].

* RomanticPlotTumor: Dwight/Caroline in series 2 for some.

* CompleteMonster: [[DomesticAbuser Reverend Osborne "Ossie" Whitworth]] is secretly a [[DirtyOldMonk lecherous creature]] who will stop at nothing to satisfy his urgings. Teaming up with George Warleggan to [[ScarpiaUltimatum coerce Morwenna Chynoweth into marrying him]] to spite Drake in lieu of hanging him, he wastes no time [[MaritalRapeLicense getting it on with her in brutal fashion]]. Eventually, they have a child, John Conan, but he [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil continues to rape her]] despite Dr. Enys warning him it could kill her eventually, proving to be a hypocrite when the next season he claims to be concerned about John Conan's life. Deprived for a while of satisfaction from Morwenna, Reverend Whitworth bides his time by pursuing an adulterous affair with her sister, Rowella, and helping George bankrupt Pascoe, one of the few remaining moral bankers in Cornwall, by extracting a confession of embezzlement from Pascoe's dying partner, Nathaniel Pearce, and casually cursing both Rowella and Nat the instant their usefulness ends, and is all too ready to resume his abuse of Morwenna at full force.

* CompleteMonster: [[DomesticAbuser Reverend Osborne "Ossie" Whitworth]] is secretly a [[DirtyOldMonk lecherous creature]] who will stop at nothing to satisfy his urgings. Teaming up with George Warleggan to [[ScarpiaUltimatum coerce Morwenna Chenowyth into marrying him]] to spite Drake in lieu of hanging him, he wastes no time [[MaritalRapeLicense getting it on with her in brutal fashion]]. Eventually, they have a child, John Conan, but he [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil continues to rape her]] despite Dr. Enys warning him it could kill her eventually, proving to be a hypocrite when the next season he claims to be concerned about John Conan's life. Deprived for a while of satisfaction from Morwenna, Reverend Whitworth bides his time by pursuing an adulterous affair with her sister, Rowella, and helping George bankrupt Pascoe, one of the few remaining moral bankers in Cornwall, by extracting a confession of embezzlement from Pascoe's dying partner, Nathaniel Pearce, and casually cursing both Rowella and Nat the instant their usefulness ends, and is all too ready to resume his abuse of Morwenna at full force.