History YMMV / DragonAgeAbsolution

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Given that the show is set in the Tevinter Imperium, which fans have been dying to see or get a glimpse of for years (especially when the epilogue scene of ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Traspasser]]'' and trailers for the upcoming ''Dread Wolf'' game confirmed we'd be seeing the Imperium), there was a lot of hype. Sadly, many expectations were let down in that very little of Tevinter is explored; barring the beginning and ending portions, ''Absolution'' occurs in a single area of Tevinter, and even that isn't well explored beyond sneaking into the Summer Palace and stealing a priceless Tevinter artifact.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Qwydion is either a refreshingly [[TheSmartGuy intelligent]] take on the PluckyComicRelief character and a breath of fresh air in a cast full of broody dullards, or an incredibly irritating, shrieky pest whose antics contrast jarringly with the overall vibe of the show.

* VocalDissonance: For some reason, the creators of this series decided to give Rezaren Ammosine a character design that looks ''exactly'' like Creator/MatthewMercer, and then they even hired the man for a major character and several background roles in this series - but not Rezaren. For fans of Mercer's highly popular Dungeons & Dragons actual-play webseries ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'', it can be quite jarring to hear the "wrong" voice coming out of that character's mouth - especially since Rezaren's personality is also very much in line with the sort of disturbingly charming and somewhat sympathetic antagonist NPCs that Matt usually comes up with. Besides, the high fantasy heist genre and fact that he's voicing the "quest-giver NPC" in this story plus a number of random background characters makes this whole miniseries feel ''very'' much like a one-shot tabletop RPG session DMed by Matt Mercer, so it feels doubly weird that he's not lending his voice to the main villain.

* JustHereForGodzilla: While the series clearly has its fans, it seems that a big chunk of ''Franchise/DragonAge'' fandom cares more about [[spoiler:The Crimson Knight turning out to be resurrected Meredith Stannard]] than the rest of the story.

* ShockingMoments: TheStinger reveals the identity of the Crimson Knight mentioned towards the end of the show. [[spoiler:It's Meredith, Kirkwall's former Knight-Commander, who is somehow leading the Red Templars despite being little more than a chunk of red lyrium.]]

** The show largely presents the cast as sympathetic to the audience. However, over the course of the first season, they carve up [[WhatMeasureIsAMook dozens of Templars]] whose only crime was working for the Imperial Chantry and [[GodzillaThreshold unleash a freaking dragon]] (which Lacklon even [[LampshadeHanging notes]] is just going to ravage the countryside) just to save Hira from Rezaren's clutches. And given the revelation that Hira [[spoiler:is a genocidal maniac set on destroying Tevinter and who planned to betray Miriam]], all of this death and destruction [[AllForNothing was for nothing]].

** The protagonists are supposed to be morally ambiguous, given that they are mercenaries and thieves. However, the show presents their actions as sympathetic when, towards the end of the season, they carve up [[WhatMeasureIsAMook dozens of Templars]] whose only crime was working for the Imperial Chantry and [[GodzillaThreshold unleash a freaking dragon]] (which Lacklon even notes is just going to ravage the countryside) just to save Hira from Rezaren's clutches. Also, given the revelation that Hira [[spoiler:is a genocidal maniac set on destroying Tevinter and who planned to betray Miriam]], all of this death and destruction [[AllForNothing was for nothing]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Given that the show is set in the Tevinter Imperium, which fans have been dying to see or get a glimpse of for years, there was a lot of hype. Sadly, many expectations were let down in that very little of Tevinter is explored; barring the beginning and ending portions, ''Absolution'' occurs in a single area of Tevinter, and even that isn't well explored beyond sneaking into the Summer Palace and stealing a priceless Tevinter artifact.

* HateSink: [[spoiler: Hira's]] DarkAndTroubledPast gives her good reason to hate Tevinter, [[spoiler: but any sympathy fans have vanish the second they learn she wants to start a war that will destroy the Imperium regardless of any innocents living in it]]. That's not even going into [[spoiler: her willingness to hand Miriam over to Rezarem with some half-baked plot to "steal her back", nevermind the emotional manipulation she used to get Miriam on board with the heist in the first place just to get at the Circulum]].