History UnintentionallyUnsympathetic / GameOfThrones

** Also in Season 7, her decision to execute Dickon Tarly alongside his father because he refuses to bend the knee to her has her needlessly prioritizing her pride over practicality and the goodwill of Westeros; she would have gotten way more political use out of keeping the heir of house Tarly alive and under her thumb than she does out of just ending their line and upsetting all their subjects and allies.

** Daenerys, for all good it would do her to keep the higher ground in the conflict, right on ''indulges'' Sansa's resentment. She has no compunctions to talk about how she killed Westerosi lords in the South for not submitting to her, has her dragons flippantly eat up Winterfell's provisions when Sansa potentially has to feed her subjects through ''years'' of winter. Add in that Daenerys not only has taken away the independency both of Sansa's brothers have fought for but also demands Jon to lie so he cannot claim his birthright, and she comes off as fuelling Sansa's distrust rather than trying to mend bridges.

** Daenerys doesn't come off looking too well in this episode either, as when Sansa makes a very good point about how Winterfell will feed the enormous army and the two dragons that Dany had brought to its doorstep, Dany does little to assuage her fears and snarkily says her dragons eat "Whatever they want", which, of course, only helps to further damage her family's already damaged reputation in the North. She also refuses to back down or grant concessions when Sansa asks her what her plans were for the North after the war ended, with Dany instantly turning cold when Sansa makes it clear that the Starks fought hard to win the North back from the Boltons and don't plan to simply hand it over to Dany simply because Dany wants it. Dany comes off as being just as unreasonable and needlessly hostile as Sansa in that moment.

* Olly is taken in by the Night's Watch after his entire family and village is wiped out by vengeful wildlings. He's a young boy, scared, helpless, and weak. [[spoiler:Killing Ygritte]] was something that most people found upsetting, but not wholly unreasonable --[[spoiler:she helped kill his family, after all, shooting his father in the back of the head with an arrow]] and he believed he was protecting Jon. However, the second he [[spoiler:drove his knife into Jon Snow, one of the series' most beloved and iconic characters]], it became nigh-impossible to feel sympathy for him, especially as Jon had shown nothing but kindness to Olly, even treating him like a younger brother. No one shed a tear at [[spoiler:his death]]. The writers may have meant for Olly to be a {{Woobie}} with sympathetic motives, but the fact that he has so little screentime and does nothing of value instead turned him into a rather useless [[spoiler:hero killer]].

* Rhaegar Targaryen after the revelation that [[spoiler:he loved and married Lyanna (making Jon the rightful heir to the Seven Kingdoms), which was apparently intended as heartwarming. While not being a rapist is always a good thing [[note]] although the fact that Lyanna was only 15, while he was both in his 20s and her direct superior in authority makes the relationship questionable,[[/note]] his treatment of Elia Martell (annulling their marriage, which would degrade and humiliate her if she lived long enough to learn about it) and their two children (making their status dubious at best and illegitimate at worst, since it was an ''annulment'' not ''divorce'') was really appalling, especially considering that they soon died specifically for being his family. The icing on the cake was the decision to name his new son Aegon, when he already ''had'' a son named Aegon; to many, this came off like the older child was an {{Unperson}} in Rhaegar’s eyes. In the light of those events, you can now really pity Oberyn and almost pity Ellaria and the Sand Snakes. Beyond this, there's little said of what he told his new bride of the deaths of her father and brother at his insane fathers hands (if he told her anything).]]

* Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes' coup and assassination of Princes Doran and Trystane Martell, and Myrcella Barstheon. Ellaria is motivated by her wrath over Oberyn's death and views Doran being an OrcusOnHisThrone, willing to lick the Lannister's boots while they continue to inflict slights on their family. This even stretched to WordOfGod, as during the Season 5 exit interview, Creator/DavidBenioff and Creator/DBWeiss admitted that they viewed Ellaria's coup as just because Doran was a "weak leader." The fandom disagreed. This particular plot point is one of the most hated plots of the entire series, with viewers finding Ellaria's motivations and actions to be irrational. In Season 7, two of the Sand Snakes, Obara and Nym, were killed by Euron Greyjoy while Cersei delivers her own brand of justice on Ellaria and Tyene for killing Myrcella. Not a lot of viewers feel sorry for them, given that they deserve to suffer the consequences of their actions.

* Grey Worm has caught flak in Season 8 since despite being a professional soldier, he [[spoiler:massacres surrendering Lannister soldiers without a second thought, executes POW's out of spite and lets his Unsullied and Dothraki troops rampage through King's Landing and slaughter civilians]]. While the audience is supposed to sympathize with him since he's reeling from [[spoiler:the death of Missandei]], his response to it feels [[DisproportionateRetribution overly excessive]], especially since many of the people who were suffering [[MisplacedRetribution had nothing to do with it]].

* Jaime's actions at the end of "The Last of the Starks" and in "The Bells" are apparently intended to paint him as a TragicHero, but actually left a lot of viewers either dismayed, frustrated or both for the wrong reasons. [[spoiler:He goes to King's Landing to save Cersei even though he knows she's an irredeemably dreadful person who tried to ''kill him and his little brother'' and didn't even care all that much about their last child killing himself because he "betrayed" her; in the process, he pulls a RedemptionRejection and breaks Brienne's heart (''after'' sleeping with her). He also claims not to care about anyone else, including the people of Kings Landing(who he actively gave up his honour to save and became the Kingslayer) and shows it through his actions, not helping any of the innocent civilians escape the carnage but going to a lot of effort to save Cersei, ultimately getting himself killed in the process (Cersei also dies, so it was [[AllForNothing all pointless anyway]]).]]

** Daenerys doesn't come off looking too well in this episode either, as when Sansa makes a very good point about how Winterfell will feed the enormous army and the two dragons that Dany had brought to its doorstep, Dany does little to assuage her fears and snarkily says her dragons eat "Whatever they want", which, of course, only helps to damage her family's already damaged reputation in the North. She also refuses to back down or grant concessions when Sansa asks her what her plans were for the North after the war ended, with Dany instantly turning cold when Sansa makes it clear that the Starks fought hard to win the North back from the Boltons and don't plan to simply hand it over to Dany simply because Dany wants it. Dany comes off as being just as unreasonable and needlessly hostile as Sansa in that moment.

* In hindsight, Randyll Tarly was perhaps meant to evoke more sympathy from the viewers than he really deserved. Much like [[spoiler: Cersei's death in "The Bells"]], Randyll's execution after refusing to bend the knee to Daenerys is framed as an AlasPoorVillain moment, with him dying alongside his beloved son Dickon. Even Tyrion seems put off by it. Considering that in the next season Daenerys actually does go off the deep end and becomes an AxCrazy tyrant, Randyll Tarly's DefiantToTheEnd sacrifice comes off more than a bit like martyrdom, and is perhaps foreshadowing for Dany's turn to darkness. Except...Randyll Tarly absolutely brought this all on himself. Not only did he betray his liege Olenna Tyrell (big no-no in a feudal society) to follow Cersei Lannister - the woman who ''blew up his former liege lord Mace Tyrell and his family in a church'' - he also sacked Highgarden, demonstrating that he has really no moral high ground over the RapePillageAndBurn ways of the Dothraki. In context, Daenerys giving him the option to take the black to avoid execution comes off as relatively lenient. It doesn't help that Tarly's refusal to bend the knee basically boils down to xenophobia (ignoring the fact that Daenerys isn't even a "foreign queen", as she was born in Westeros). Even his [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes love for his son Dickon]] rings hollow when you remember how he treated his ''other'' son. All in all, Randyll Tarly comes off less like a DoomedMoralVictor and more as someone who's facing some LaserGuidedKarma.

* Bran Stark during the final episode. [[spoiler: Tyrion makes Bran king by proclaiming he has the best story out of all other Lords and Ladies, and props him as a wise ruler. Problem is, Bran isn't shown to do much of about anything at all, excluding giving Arya Littlefinger's dagger, telling Sam about Jon's heritage, and telling Theon he will die. The last 2 examples are even more egregious as Bran's omniscience meant he possibly foresaw Dany going mad with the revelation and burning down King's Landing, and did nothing to stop it in any way, in order to become King, as well as letting Theon die and not trying to save him by informing him that Arya is about to kill the Night King. All this has a side-effect of making Bran the worst possible choice to become King, as he got rid of all his rivals in pursuit of the Iron Throne, even exiling Jon to the Night's Watch because he's the legitimate ruler of the Iron Throne, not the traits of a good and wise King the showrunners wanted to portray Bran as.]]
* In hindsight, Randyll Tarly was perhaps meant to evoke more sympathy from the viewers than he really deserved. Much like [[spoiler: Cersei's death in "The Bells"]], Randyll's execution after refusing to bend the knee to Daenerys is framed as an AlasPoorVillain moment, with him dying alongside his beloved son Dickon. Even Tyrion seems put off by it. Considering that in the next season Daenerys actually does go off the deep end and becomes an AxCrazy tyrant, Randyll Tarly's DefiantToTheEnd sacrifice comes off more than a bit like martyrdom, and is perhaps foreshadowing for Dany's turn to darkness. Except...Randyll Tarly absolutely brought this all on himself. Not only did he betray his liege (big no-no in a feudal society) to follow Cersei Lannister - the woman who ''blew up his former liege lord and his family in a church'' - he also sacked Highgarden, demonstrating that he has really no moral high ground over the RapePillageAndBurn ways of the Dothraki. In context, Daenerys giving him the option to take the black to avoid execution comes off as relatively lenient. It doesn't help that Tarly's refusal to bend the knee basically boils down to xenophobia (ignoring the fact that Daenerys isn't even a "foreign queen", as she was born in Westeros). Even his [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes love for his son Dickon]] rings hollow when you remember how he treated his ''other'' son. All in all, Randyll Tarly comes off less like a DoomedMoralVictor and more as someone who's facing some LaserGuidedKarma.

* Varys insists that everything he does is for the good of the realm, but his actual track record in this regard can come off as sketchy. He did little to undermine the Mad King during Robert's Rebellion despite not approving of his actions. Although he himself admits that Robert was [[DamnedByFaintPraise only a better ruler by virtue of the fact that he just didn't care about ruling]], rather than use his skills and resources to try and stabilize the realm under Robert, he plots with Illyrio to put Viserys on the throne, even though -- as Daenerys points out -- he must've known that Viserys would be a horrible choice. Had Varys supported Viserys because he didn't know what Viserys was like, then he failed to do his research properly. [[spoiler:Upon learning Jon has a better claim to the throne than Dany, he immediately starts to throw his support behind him instead, despite knowing little about him and Jon having no interest in ruling. Varys states one of the reasons Jon would be a good choice as king is because he doesn't want to rule but just a season ago, one of his main criticisms against Robert was that he was uninterested in ruling. Varys also seems to think Dany is crazy because she's feeling vengeful and isolated after [[TraumaCongaLine losing many of her friends and supporters]]. Rather than help her, he plots to oust and replace her, contributing to her [[CreateYourOwnVillain descent into madness]], as his actions all but confirm her worst fears that she's completely alone and unable to trust anyone. As a result, Varys's actions come off as hypocritical to some and contributing toward his own demise.]][[labelnote:From the books]]In the books, Varys is a [[AdaptationalHeroism much more sinister character]] who more blatantly undermines the Baratheons in order to restore the Targaryens; his book counterpart supports Young Griff - who claims to be Rhaegar's NotQuiteDead son Aegon - and is also the one who murders Kevan Lannister instead of Qyburn, as Kevan was pretty much the only competent advisor Tommen had.[[/labelnote]]

* Sansa [[HateAtFirstSight dislikes Daenerys on sight]] and is openly hostile towards her, despite knowing very little about her personally and Dany at least attempting to find common ground with her. While it's understandable that Sansa would be wary of her, at this point Dany hasn't done anything as far as Sansa herself knows to suggest she's a terrible ruler and is willingly there to help the Starks fight the Army of the Dead. Thus, Sansa can come off as being unnecessarily hostile towards Dany; some viewers also question why Sansa would go out of her way to antagonize Dany if she truly thought she was dangerous and therefore might just decide to incinerate her (remember that a large part of Sansa's arc was supposed to be her becoming a ''smart, diplomatic politician''). She also continues to try to push for Northern independence despite her liege lord, Jon, having willingly bent the knee to Daenerys, working behind his back. Later, Sansa breaks Jon's trust by [[spoiler:telling Tyrion about his real parentage with the intention of undermining Dany, even though she swore she'd keep it secret and Jon made it clear he didn't want to be king]]. This ends up playing a large role in [[spoiler:kicking off Dany's SanitySlippage]], leading to [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom disastrous consequences]] in the following episode, and Sansa's actions could have seriously endangered Jon. She never really expresses remorse or grief over this beyond briefly asking Jon if he can forgive her, while insisting there was no other way.

* Sansa [[HateAtFirstSight dislikes Daenerys on sight]] and is openly hostile towards her, despite knowing very little about her personally and Dany at least attempting to find common ground with her. While it's understandable that Sansa would be wary of her, at this point Dany hasn't done anything as far as Sansa herself knows to suggest she's a terrible ruler and is willingly there to help the Starks fight the dead. Thus, Sansa can unintentionally come off as being unnecessarily hostile towards Dany; some viewers also question why Sansa would go out of her way to antagonize Dany if she thought she was dangerous (remember that a large part of Sansa's arc was supposed to be her becoming a ''smart, diplomatic politician''). Later, Sansa breaks Jon's trust by [[spoiler:telling Tyrion about his real parentage with the intention of undermining Dany, even though she swore she'd keep it secret and Jon made it clear he doesn't want to be king]]. This ends up playing a large role in [[spoiler:kicking off Dany's SanitySlippage]], leading to [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom disastrous consequences]] in the following episode, and Sansa's actions could have seriously endangered Jon. She never really expresses remorse or grief over this beyond briefly asking Jon if he can forgive her, while insisting there was no other way.