10 Worst Game of Thrones Plots We'd Like to Forget (But Can't)

Amongst the fantasy, action, and plot twists of the award-winning Game of Thrones, are 10 storylines that fell short of the show’s reputation, and fans’ standards.

1. Shae’s Betrayal (Season 4)

Shae and Tyrion’s relationship appeared strong, and worth rooting for. When Tyrion’s father tried to buy Shae off, she refused the bribe, proving her love and loyalty.

That’s what makes the next part truly baffling; when Tyrion is put on trial, accused of murdering his nephew, King Geoffery, Shae turns on him, and testifies against him, for a bribe.

If she refused a bribe before, why would she take one after? It would have been a great twist if it made sense.

2. The Sand Snakes (Season 5)

The Sand Snakes were underwhelming from their introduction to their anticlimactic deaths, and far from what was described in the books. The bastard daughters of Oberyn turned assassins, were on a mission to conquer Dorne and wage war with the Iron Throne, but the whole storyline fell short.

The Sand Snakes were not interesting or memorable and were easily defeated despite being skilled fighters. We can easily forget these characters, but not their lackluster storyline.

3. The Kingdom of Dorne (Seasons 5 & 6)

Dorne is easily one of GOT’s most disappointing plotlines because of how little justice it does for Dorne in the books. The show failed to explore Dorne, and the new characters lacked depth due to limited screen time.

Overall, Dorne was a big hit-and-miss that should have never happened, the GOT writers let fans down tremendously with the adaptation.

4. Jon’s Resurrection (Season 6)

Death happens on Game of Thrones more times than fans can blink, we get pretty used to it. What we’re not used to seeing, is a dead character coming back to life.

Jon Snow dies in season 5 after being stabbed by his brothers in the Night Watch. We mourn him, miss him, and then he is suddenly brought back to life in season 6 when he is resurrected by Melisandre, presumably by a human sacrifice.

As happy as we were to have Jon back, his dying and coming back to life plot undermines the severity of death in the series, now that we know characters can be brought back.

5. Arya becoming a Faceless Man (Seasons 5 & 6)

Arya Stark was easily one of our favorite characters for her rebellious nature and rejection of being a ‘lady,’ opting to become a fighter instead.

However, she took it one step further by electing to join the House of Black and White, home to the Faceless Men who served the Many-Faced God. Her choice to forgo her identity to join a cult of religious assassins made no sense, and the asylum full of faces was utterly disturbing. It was just a strange story that didn’t have a clear motive or conclusion.

6. Jon and Daenerys (Season 7)

We waited a long time to see these two powerful characters get together. Cementing their love story, the pair have sex for the first time, and it is at this moment that we find out they are related.

Cersei and Jamie’s brother-sister story was bad enough and then came the revelation that Daenerys is Jon’s aunt.

7. Bran the Broken / Three-Eyed Raven becoming King (Season 8)

Season 8 was full of disappointing conclusions.

We just believed there were better candidates for the throne than Bran. Characters who were more capable of ruling, who had authority, and who fans emotionally connected with. Bran taking the Iron Throne just felt incredibly underwhelming.

8. Jamie and Cersei (Seasons 1 to 8)

Twin siblings Jamie and Cersei Lannister had been in a secret relationship since childhood and had three children together. Watching their sex scenes was uncomfortable, with their worst scene of all being where the incestuous siblings have sex in front of, and whilst mourning, their dead son Geoffrey. (Please please can this be erased from our memories forever.)

After everything, despite their character development over 8 seasons, the pair met a brutal and underwhelming end, being crushed by bricks, together.

9. Daenerys becoming the Mad Queen (Season 8)

We watched Daenerys Targaryen grow from a broken, naive child into the powerful Mother of Dragons. Her character development was easily one of the greatest in the series, and her character was a strong favorite.

This was until the show hit us with an insane plot twist, with Daenerys using Drogon to invade and burn King’s Landing, killing thousands of innocent people.

Daenerys’ descent into madness was shocking and upsetting, and we wish it had never happened.

10. The Night King’s Death (Season 8)

For seven long seasons, we feared the all-powerful, merciless Night King. In season 8, it finally came time for the epic battle we’d all been waiting for, as Fire took on Ice.

But then Arya swoops in and swiftly stabs the Night King. He shatters, as does his army of White Walkers and Ice Dragon. Just like that, the most anticipated moment in the series was over. It was sudden and disappointing, and we’d like to pretend it was far more exciting than it was because the writers failed on this one.