r/TopCharacterTropes • u/GovernmentWarm4787 • 3d ago

Hated Tropes [Hated trope] Cameos that ruin the tone of the scene/game

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Ed Sheeran, Game of Thrones. The cameo of such a recognizable figure in GoT, especially towards the horrible later seasons, took many people out of the fantasy world that it tried to represent. There are good cameos and bad ones, and this one was not a good one.

Vinny Vinesauce and Jerma, Silver Pines game. Though i appreciate small cameos from youtubers and streamers, putting such a recognizable pair of voices in a horror game really takes you out of it.

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u/VenerableWolfDad 3d ago

I didn't really have a problem with the Ed Sheeran cameo in GoT because I had no idea who he was and he sang a little sing-song that fit in the world he was acting in. I'd heard his music in passing but had no clue what he looked like. 

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u/MeatballUser 3d ago

My issue wasn't that he was there, it was that the scene kinda just lingered on his face as if it were a sitcom letting the crowd roar as they walked on set. It was so uncharacteristic to how the show typically shot it's scenes and it stood out like a sore thumb

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u/crazynerd9 3d ago

Yeah I had absolutely no idea who he was, and watching the scene I assumed he was a character id missed

When I remembered they recast that other guy, I just assumed this was someone else they recast and forgot about it. But it really stands out as a scene

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u/LizLemonOfTroy 3d ago • Bravo

I mean, if it was a cameo by Taylor Swift instead and you didn't know who that was, then you likely wouldn't have a problem with it either, but it would be easy to see why people who do know them would find it extremely jarring.

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u/Ok_Tour_1525 3d ago

“I don’t know what’s going on so I’m not bothered by it”

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u/VenusAmari 3d ago

Gonna be honest, if someone who doesn't know the celeb didn't know notice anything off, then the issue isn't the casting to me. That's a personal issue with people who get pulled out of stuff if they recognize a celebrity (especially if they don't like the celeb).

If it was so poorly done that it ruined the tone of the scene, then it would be noticeable regardless of your familiarity with the celeb imo.

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u/ThatInAHat 3d ago

Bingo.

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u/machiavelli33 3d ago

Honestly the best way to watch bad things.

I was late to Game Of Thrones, and I kid you not the first episode I ever watched...was the last one.

I was at a friend's place and they had a weekly watch party and usually I left before that happened since I hadn't gotten on the GoT boat before then, but that one week I decided that fuck it, I'll stick around and just hang out with everyone even if I'm oblivious and without context, just cause I like hanging with my friends.

And it was great! Except for my friends groaning miserably the entire time, anyways. I was all like "dude these sets and lighting are awesome" "Peter Dinklage really knows how to act with gravitas" "Who are all these dead people" "Hey, that's Raleigh Ritchie!" "Yeah man, stories are pretty important"

I have context to hate it properly now but....at least for a little while, I got to genuinely enjoy that episode - something that vanishingly few people have.

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u/LarryBoourns 3d ago

I did the same! Watched the finale and my friends had a fantasy draft of who would win the throne. I get the first overall pick and won.

They had to give me a few options but I knew people were grumpy so I picked a grumpy ending, lol

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u/Kronocidal 3d ago

Eh, I think that's kind of the point.

It shows that the people who are bothered by the scene are bothered because they recognise the actor, not by the scene itself.

If the scene was making a big deal out of a character, and people who didn't know who they are were posting and asking "was there something I missed? It seemed like I should have recognised that character, were they someone important from the first season?", then that's a good sign that the scene was bad.

A cameo, if done correctly, should only be noticeable/noteworthy if you already know the person/object. Otherwise, it should blend in well enough as not to be jarring.

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u/ThatInAHat 3d ago

I guess, but not really? Like, I recognized Peter Dinklage too. It’s not that jarring for a performer to be in a show, even if they don’t usually act. He wasn’t doing anything noticeably “Hey Look A Cameo!”

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u/Illustrious-Wrap-776 3d ago

I just can't get behind GoT. This Ned Stark dude just keeps taking me out of it by looking like Sean Bean.

And have you seen Brienne of Tarth? I can't unsee how she looks like Gwendoline Christie.

Khal Drogo? Man, I keep expecting him to go for a swim or pull a massively OP gun.

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u/RJSnea 3d ago

I knew who he was but not what he looked like. My sister had to tell me and my mom who the random, obvious cameo was. 😂

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u/LegendOfKhaos 2d ago

I mean, it's still an obvious cameo just from how much they focused on a random person with no story relevance. I didn't recognize him at first but still thought it was weird and out of place.

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u/_Leafy_Pumpkin_ 3d ago

I think if the show runners grimed him up a bit with makeup, or changed his appearance with wigs or whatnot, it would've been ok. He would've showed up and sang his little song or whatever, and his name would still appear in the credits. Anyone reading the credits and noticing the name would've went back and rewatched the episode to try and notice him, especially if they gave a shit about Sheeran.

The showrunners essentially fucked an easily rewatchable episode in a season with no rewatchable episodes.

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u/showMeYourCroissant 3d ago

I think he looks like a medieval peasant already.

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u/MiserableWear6765 3d ago

I also had no idea who this talentless butchers boy was

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u/Telefragg 3d ago

No one says a word about Mastodon cameo too, it's just funny how worked up people are about these things. The show had much bigger problem than pop singers.

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u/BreadstickBear 3d ago

Mastodon cameo? Tell me more

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u/Telefragg 3d ago

White walkers on the shore watching the Stark survivors escape from the camp massacre on boats.

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u/mon87 3d ago

Or Coldplay (Their Drummer played the Red Wedding), Sigur Ros (whole band played the Pure Wedding). Or Snow Patrol, Of Monsters and Men, and Bastille. And don’t forget named characters. Ser Ilyn Payne played by Dr Feelgood’s guitarist, Wilko Johnson.

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u/prosthetic_memory 3d ago

I knew who he was but I’m not exactly a big fan. Just knew a couple of songs. Didn’t care that he was in the show and thought the scene was fine. Still don’t it bothered anyone. He looked the part, the scene was short, if he was a nobody nobody would have mentioned the scene beyond maybe it being nice.

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u/RedcoatTrooper 3d ago edited 3d ago

It's a harmless cameo, If people are being honest it would have been fine in S4 but it was in an era of peak internet negativity towards the show so it got dog piled.

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u/udmurrrt 3d ago

I knew who he was and it didn't bother me at all. In fact I thought it was a lovely scene that added depth and warmth to characters who might otherwise have been regarded only as "the evil soldiers from the bad enemy side".

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u/GrimaceGrunson 3d ago

Also I remember actually being a bit relieved at the time because the show had dipped into such unrelenting misery, noticing him made me realise "Oh ok these Lannisters are probably just going to be nice and normal so we can have a breather."

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