Fans are furious over this 'Game of Thrones' plotline and it’s not hard to see why

Warning: There are major spoilers ahead if you're not caught up with "Game of Thrones" season six.

Sunday's season six premiere of "Game of Thrones" brought more bloodshed to the already shredded cast of characters. The two biggest characters we saw get the axe — or dagger, to be more precise — were Doran Martell and his son Trystane. The royal family was butchered at the hands of the infamous Sand Snakes — a group of women some fans believe are the worst characters the series has produced yet. 

The loathing of Dorne's femme fatales began during season five, but the season six opening was enough to solidify some people's strong feelings. 

The vitriol thrown at Dorne and the Sand Snakes may be confusing to some show-only fans. Sure, their fight choreography and affinity for grandiose speech-making is overblown, but what's the big deal?

Ellaria Martell's mission for vengeance is a hugely misdirected set of choices that go against everything her dead lover, Oberyn, would have wanted. There is literal character butchery happening alongside the destruction of theoretical character development. 

It's one of the few storylines in HBO's adaptation of the book series which has outright failed in fans' eyes. To fully explain why, we have to turn to the books. So buckle in — we're going on a wild trip to Dorne.

The Sand Snakes in the books are a lot different

In the book series, Oberyn Martell (the Red Viper who represents Tyrion in his trial-by-combat and loses) has seven bastard daughters. As a group, they are referred to as the Sand Snakes — a play on the local bastard surname "Sand" and Oberyn's snake symbol.

Ellaria Sand is Oberyn's most recent partner and the mother to several of his bastards. Naturally, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes are devastated by Oberyn's death in both the books and the show. Dorne's people are also still gravely bitter over the death of Elia Martell, Oberyn's sister and wife to Rhaegar Targaryen. She was raped and murdered, along with her children, during the sack of King's Landing back when Robert Baratheon seized the Iron Throne.

Prince Doran is Oberyn's older brother, and the ruler of Dorne. Though Dorne is technically part of the Seven Kingdoms and therefore loyal to the crown (Tommen Baratheon), they still retain customs of regional titles like "prince" and "princess." 

So Prince Doran is in charge, and he has three children in the books: Arianne, Quentyn, and Trystane. Princess Arianne is the eldest, and most rebellious, child. Dorne has an equal hierarchy when it comes to inheriting power, so Arianne is next in line for the "throne" of Dorne.

Oberyn's death sends the people into chaos, with a sudden push for revenge against the Lannisters. Three of the seven Sand Snakes (Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene) act aggressively enough that Doran feels the need to lock them up. Doran wants no harm coming to Myrcella Lannister, who is bethrothed to his youngest son Trystane.

Arianne sympathizes with the Sand Snakes, and concocts a plan to rebel against her father. Here is one of many key points: Arianne does not want Myrcella to die. She wants to name Myrcella the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, pitting her against Tommen Baratheon and reclaiming a matriarchal system of power in Westeros. 

Unfortunately Arianne's plan goes awry. She's caught with Myrcella, who is injured in the scuffle but overall okay. Prince Doran locks Arianne up as well, but then finally reveals a major plot twist to her.

In the books, it turns out Doran has been scheming against the Lannisters ever since Elia's murder nearly two decades ago. He made a pact to marry Arianne to Viserys Targaryen — Daenerys' older brother. Unfortunately, Viserys died at the hands of the Dothraki before their plan could come to fruition. Now, Doran is sending his middle child Quentyn to Daenerys instead. 

Essentially, the Martells wind up having this secret plot with the Targaryens that would mean the downfall of the Lannisters. Great! That's exactly what the people want. Arianne, the Sand Snakes, Ellaria — everyone just wants revenge on the Lannisters. And Doran is planning on giving it to them. 

The show's ill-received changes

Obviously, the show did away with virtually all of this plot. Doran only has one child (Trystane) and never unveils a larger plan. Instead, we get a whole lot of "kill Myrcella!" plot.

Ellaria and three of the Sand Snakes are the only female Dornish characters we see. There is no Arianne or a plan to crown Myrcella. Instead, Ellaria rallies Oberyn's daughters behind her and they set out to kill Myrcella. 

This in itself is a troubling plot. Before he died on the show, Oberyn specifically told Cersei she should be grateful Myrcella was sent to Dorne. "We don't hurt little girls in Dorne," he said. 

So the four women in the series who are wholly dedicated to Oberyn just happen to have missed this moral lesson of his? Killing Myrcella is a very poor way to honor his memory or seek vengeance for him. 

People pointed out some plot holes in their scheme, as well. Poisoning her minutes before she sailed off was a strange choice. Theoretically, Jaime should have just turned the ship around and immediately outed their crimes to Doran. Instead, Jaime sailed on with Myrcella's dead body and Trystane on board. [As a counter, what would they have done if they returned? Jaime may not have been sure if Doran was in on it ... or how would they have defended themselves against the sandsnakes?]

The decision to allow Ellaria and the Sand Snakes to see Myrcella off didn't make a whole lot of sense, either. We know in the books that he's a patient man, but he had the sense to imprison the Sand Snakes — not let them roam around near children they've attempted to murder.

Then, the season six premiere revealed that Obara and Nymeria had followed the ship all the way to King's Landing. They were able to board the boat in the King's Landing harbor and access Trystane's cabin to murder him. 

Back in Dorne, Doran's trustworthy nature is once again a little baffling. He leaves himself vulnerable to Ellaria and Tyene as they walk through the Water Gardens. Then, in a blink of an eye, his bodyguard is dead and Ellaria stabs him in the chest.

No speech, no reveal about a larger plan, nada. Just a lot of blood. 

Another thing fans were upset about was Areo Hotah's completely anti-climactic death. Areo is Doran's main bodyguard, and even has a point of view chapter in the book series. Areo is deadly with his badass weapon of choice: an enormous battle axe.

In the show, Areo's skills were made clear during season five. At one point, Doran asks Areo if he remembers how to use his weapon, since it's been awhile since there was need for it. Areo fingers the sharpened blade and assures his prince that he is ready.

Then, when Jaime and Bronn are discovered, Areo whips the axe to Jaime's throat and says "When you were whole, it would have been a good fight." Areo's skills are on the same level as the famous Kingslayer. 

Show watchers never get to see Areo in action. He's all talk, and then the season six premiere showed Tyene stab him in the back with a tiny dagger and boom — dead. It was a pretty unsatisfying way to see this huge warrior leave the show.

What the murder of Doran and Trystane reveals

The season six opening episode murder of Doran and Trystane made the Ellaria's mission clear: She wants strong women to be in charge of Dorne. This feels in line with Arianne's story in the books, especially regarding the move towards a matriarchy. 

But again, the violent streak in Ellaria and the Sand Snakes' plan is what upsets fans. Everything goes back to Elia and Oberyn's deaths. Is murdering their last remaining family members really the best way to get revenge? 

The show's writing seems to emphasize how the people of Dorne are fed-up with Doran and his peaceful ways. 

"When was the last time you left this palace?" Ellaria asked Doran as he bled to death. "You don't know your own people, their disgust for you. Elia Martell, raped and murdered and you did nothing. Oberyn Martell, butchered, and you did nothing. You're not a Dornishman. You're not our prince."

We see the faces of Doran's other guards, impassive as they watch him die. Clearly almost everyone else in Dorne agrees with Ellaria. Doran asks about his son with his dying breath. Ellaria responds: "Your son is weak, just like you. And weak men will never rule Dorne again."

We can all appreciate this surge of women reclaiming power and declaring that no man shall rule them. "Game of Thrones" has had several issues confronting feminist storylines, with accusations of gratuitous rape scenes and excessive female nudity. 

This new take on the Dorne plot seems to be emphasizing women's control and dominance. But is their rash message really the best take? Accusing Doran and Trystane of being weak feels like a misinterpretation of their characters. 

Both Doran and Trystane believe in peace above war, and mercy above punishment. Is that weakness? Or smart ruling? Westeros has enough ruthless killers in charge, most of whom send people by the thousands to die for the mere sake of their pride. Having Doran and Trystane balance out the bloodshed was a refreshing change. 

Where the Dorne plot may be headed

We're going into speculation territory, so be warned. 

Our guess is that this usurping of Dorne's power is part of a set up for the future, maybe even for the end of this season. We know Doran's book-plot was leading to an alliance with the Targaryen. Maybe the showrunners are still planning on bringing the two houses together. 

If Daenerys eventually leaves Meereen and heads to Westeros, Dorne is a logical first stop. It's the southernmost area of Westeros, and sits close enough to King's Landing for her to regroup troops and march on the capital. Daenerys arriving to a female-ruled Dorne sounds like the makings of a perfect alliance. Both Ellaria and Daenerys want the Lannisters dead, and Ellaria would probably be open to the possibility of Queen Daenerys ruling the Seven Kingdoms. 

But would that be enough for plot redemption?

Generally, people's consensus seems to be that Dorne is beyond repair when it comes to character development and a compelling story. Much of an episode discussion on Reddit centered around the "disaster" of Dorne. "As a Dorne fan, my disappointment reached new peaks," Redditor dluminous wrote. 

"Why even include [Doran] in the show if you're going to butcher his entire storyline? Dorne is such a train wreck,"another person said. Others were more blunt: "Wow f--- this show Dorne storyline."

Time will tell if the showrunners can redeem themselves in book readers' eyes. Perhaps, with the butchery out of the way, we'll start to see a more well-rounded showing from Ellaria and her devious Sand Snakes.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: People are freaking out about this shocking twist in the 'Game of Thrones’ premiere