[BOOK SPOILERS] Pod and whores

[Dove]

It was a bit pointless, and the nudity was once again gratuitious, but it entertained me enough to the point where I didn't mind it's inclusion.

To be honest, I think reading the books has caused the inability of many of us to simply relax, let loose and watch what's unfolding in front of us. We're always fretting about when certain events will occur, or trying to analyze every single aspect of a scene, assessing it's relevance and importance to the overall plot. Sometimes, it's fun to just let all that go, and simply try to forget that you've read the books. The plot doesn't necessarily have to run a mile a minute. Hell, us readers sometimes analyze everything on the show even more than TV critics!

Exactly this. Sometimes a dumb but funny Bronn/Tyrion/Pod scene is just a dumb but funny Bronn/Tyrion/Pod scene. Whether you found it funny or not is subjective but it's pretty obvious that we as fans tend to over-analyze and severely scrutinize stuff if we have multiple written 'interpretations' of what could just be a goofy bromance kind of scene. I mean, maybe there's more but it's totally okay if there isn't either - when you've got shit like Theon and Brienne nearly getting raped and Jaime's hand getting chopped right after it it's okay to just have some levity for the sake of levity.

And I laughed out loud like a dork at "Meereenese knot" so hey that's one plus for all us booknerds.

[Jojosh]

It was a nice scene from character you wouldn't see much of from otherwise. Plus it gives us more Bron(whose a really good character in the show) so no problem from me

[The Marquis de Leech]

Shakespeare interrupts Macbeth with a drunken porter who complains that he can't get an erection. Sometimes humour is just humour.

[StarkTagaryen]

all i could think was Pod for the Win! i thought it was funny, could have been used to take up time since they seem to be going through the plots really quickly or is that just me?

[greensleeves]

It was a bit pointless, and the nudity was once again gratuitious, but it entertained me enough to the point where I didn't mind it's inclusion.

To be honest, I think reading the books has caused the inability of many of us to simply relax, let loose and watch what's unfolding in front of us. We're always fretting about when certain events will occur, or trying to analyze every single aspect of a scene, assessing it's relevance and importance to the overall plot. Sometimes, it's fun to just let all that go, and simply try to forget that you've read the books. The plot doesn't necessarily have to run a mile a minute. Hell, us readers sometimes analyze everything on the show even more than TV critics!

Case in point: Breaking Bad's pilot has a scene where Skyler gives her husband a half-assed handjob while surfing for deals on eBay. Is it highly important character development? No. Is it crucial to the plot? No. Is it well-done and entertaining enough to watch? Absolutely. There's no reason why Game of Thrones should be held to a different standard when it comes to deciding whether throwaway comedy scenes should be included or not. Personally, I didn't find the Pod scene that funny(the funniest part was "Lord Twatbeard", and that wasn't even related to Pod), but getting so worked up over it is a bit of an overreaction.

No. I like scenes that take a break from the fast paced plots and I don't mind changes from the books (quite the opposite... the changes make the wait for WoW more interesting). However, the Pod scenes fell completely flat and pretty much forced me into over analyzing them. Who paid for the whores? What were their motivations? ick.

[Pinkie Baelish]

No. I like scenes that take a break from the fast paced plots and I don't mind changes from the books (quite the opposite... the changes make the wait for WoW more interesting). However, the Pod scenes fell completely flat and in pretty much forced me into over analyzing them. Who paid for the whores? What were there motivations? ick.

I highly doubt it was intended to be a big mystery. Either Pod is lying and never slept with them, or it was LF's way to settle his debt with Tyrion, which I'm very skeptical of. And what possible motivations could the whores have? Their job is to fuck people for money. They just do what they're told. I highly doubt they have some other underlying motives.

[greensleeves]

I highly doubt it was intended to be a big mystery. Either Pod is lying and never slept with them, or it was LF's way to settle his debt with Tyrion, which I'm very skeptical of. And what possible motivations could the whores have? Their job is to fuck people for money. They just do what they're told. I highly doubt they have some other underlying motives.

I didn't want to think about it... but I was pretty much forced to in order to make sense of the scene. They even drag it out for you... Tyrion starts asking question after question. Urgh. I don't mind doing some critical thinking, but I prefer to do it on interesting topics that build on the characters.

Anyways the most light hearted moments of the night were with Hotpie and the small council.

[greensleeves]

Edit: I was also referring to the motivations of the characters (not the whores). Sorry that was unclear.

[Pinkie Baelish]

Anyways the most light hearted moments of the night were with Hotpie and the small council.

:agree: Hot Pie and Arya's farewell was adorable

[Warhawk137]

I liked it.

I think the people who dislike it because it MUST be evidence of a hugely plot-important conspiracy are way overanalyzing it.

[Ser Desmond Wine's Bane]

I am concerned about the emphasis being put on Pod. I thought the emphasis in the books were too much. I mean Daenaerys hasn't given her bloodriders any freebies down the local knocking shop.

[valerio]

What's the plot-importance of the hundreds of pages describing foods and banquets in the books then.

[Xcorpyo001]

I liked it.

I think the people who dislike it because it MUST be evidence of a hugely plot-important conspiracy are way overanalyzing it.

But there is a plot in the brewing.

People already forgot about the penny tax. Another episode in which we can expect some ample bosoms on display.

Will Pod be required to pay the tax, even if he gets the action for free?!?

[lostinwesteros]

I loved it! Pod is one of my favorite characters, and the look on his face was priceless. One thing I didn't get....why was the money returned? Just that Pod is so precious?

[aFeastForDragons]

I taught it was hilarious!

I really wonder where it is going though.

[MaHaBone]

Thought it was total filler. Mildly funny, and it hit the boob quota, but it wasted precious time on fluff that didn't move the story.

If Littlefinger was fishing secrets out of Pod, he wouldn't have let him keep the money. Too suspicious.

If Tyrion set the whole thing up to make Pod feel like a man (shades of Tysha?) then well, it was cute, but still pretty pointless.

If Pod really is the God of Lovers... okay? I guess?

[Kaldaur]

Ran's analysis is pedantic and annoying, similar to many of the other reviews this site has seen fit to release. This is a television show, built for a completely different medium than a series of novels. The truth is, the showrunners have been doing an excellent job of conveying the source material to us in a way that stays predominantly true to the books--if they have to also fulfill a stupid HBO requirement for pointless sex, so be it. No one here should be surprised that this requirement is there, and while other HBO shows like The Wire managed to move away from that nudity in later seasons, Game of Thrones has not. We just have to accept that's the way it is and enjoy the episodes we're given. Frankly, Pod's scene was funny and added some levity to an episode where a guy got his hand chopped off. There has to be some balance, especially as the season moves toward its conclusion. These scenes do not diminish the story; they just provide tangents for viewers to release some of their tension and worry.

[StarkDragon]

Ran's analysis is pedantic and annoying, similar to many of the other reviews this site has seen fit to release. This is a television show, built for a completely different medium than a series of novels. The truth is, the showrunners have been doing an excellent job of conveying the source material to us in a way that stays predominantly true to the books--if they have to also fulfill a stupid HBO requirement for pointless sex, so be it. No one here should be surprised that this requirement is there, and while other HBO shows like The Wire managed to move away from that nudity in later seasons, Game of Thrones has not. We just have to accept that's the way it is and enjoy the episodes we're given. Frankly, Pod's scene was funny and added some levity to an episode where a guy got his hand chopped off. There has to be some balance, especially as the season moves toward its conclusion. These scenes do not diminish the story; they just provide tangents for viewers to release some of their tension and worry.

Well, Patrick Stewart has given his point of view.

'Engage!'

[Tadco26]

I agree with Ran's analysis. It's a problem the show has had since season 1. It's not that their is anything wrong with sex scenes, the problem is that they cover the average chapter of material in 3-5 minutes. Having ~7 minutes focused on this scene is like Martin spending ~2 full chapters on a sex scene, rather than 1-2 pages or less which is typically the case. There are also, as many defenders of the sex scenes like to point out, many sex scenes actually in the books to choose from. There shouldn't be such a need to make up new ones. And the writers reminding us how they don't have time to keep other parts of the book falls flat when the add such pointlessly long scenes to the show. Having said all that, it was mildly entertaining, well acted, and if they had 16 or even 12 episodes instead of 10 I wouldn't have minded it nearly as much. It's more a matter of there being more important and interesting story lines to follow, and a lack of time to show them all that bothers me.

[Cas Stark]

No purpose that I can see other than to waste time better spent on relevant plot points. I don't understand why they would devote so much time to a gratuitous scene like that, that provides no character insight or reveal or moves the plot forward in any way.