I am a big fan of the TV show and even bigger fan of the books, so I have been surprised by how much political controversy they've generated.
Last season it was the "rape/not a rape" of Cersei Lannister by her brother Jaime.
This year it's all about Loras Tyrell.
He is a minor character this season, but that seems to be what people find objectionable:
In the first seasons, fans of “Game of Thrones” and of the books were treated to a rather complex and three-dimensional gay character...And then in Seasons 3 and 4, the showrunners ran out of ideas that didn’t have to do with Loras’ sexuality.
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other problem seems to be that Loras is too defined by his homosexuality:
It seems anti-progressive to have a gay character who is overtly defined by the fact he is gay. One online user pointed out this difference by explaining that on HBO, Loras is “a gay character,” whereas in the book series Loras is “a knight and a son of House Tyrell, who happens to be gay.”
No one seems to have noticed that the show graphically portrays the persecution of Laros by the Faith of the Seven, a religious cult. This is not in the book, and I suspect it was done to make sure they didn't have another Cersei-backlash on their hands this season. In any case, it certainly serves to show what gays have had to suffer throughout history.
With Cersei, the show was faulted for not taking the oppression of women seriously enough, i.e. the rape is glossed over. This season it's being faulted for taking the oppression of gays too seriously, i.e. too much attention is directed toward Loras's homosexuality. Seems like you can't win.
The real issue here is what we can legitimately expect from art. Art doesn't exist to affirm identity or reenforce a political message. In fact, the best art challenges both, even if it's from the right.
I can understand being disappointed that Loras isn't a more important character or critiquing the show on aesthetic grounds for not giving his character more depth. But elevating it to something more serious seems to me misguided.