7. Its Gotten Way Too Violent
The Criticism: Those prone to criticise Game of Thrones for its constantly high levels of violence were up in arms after season 5, with the horrifying rape of Sansa Stark and poor little Princess Shireen being burned alive by her own father just too much for some to bear. For the first time in its run the show received a significant backlash that went beyond the usual shock, with some websites withdrawing Game of Thrones promotional material amid calls for a boycott. Even US Senator Claire McCaskill called HBOs show gratuitous and disgusting after watching season 5 and announced that she was giving up on it, hoping others would do the same. Why Its Wrong: Game of Thrones has not become more violent as it has progressed through the seasons, it has always been violent. What has changed is the source material. For most fans of Martins work, books number four and five are the weakest in the series, not really living up to what had come before, and the knock-on effect of this has been felt on screen. Shireen Baratheon getting sacrificed to the Lord of Light and Ramsay having his way with Sansa were two particularly shocking moments, but they stand out simply because everything else going on just isnt as engaging as past seasons. The Red Wedding portrayed a pregnant woman getting stabbed brutally in the stomach, and yet it was hailed as ground-breaking TV. We watched Oberyn Martell literally get his skull crushed by the Mountain and it was seen as nothing more than a brilliant moment in the Lannister/Martell story. The level of violence has always been to the extreme, though the writing has failed to keep up the same head of steam at times.