Game of Thrones

[gremcint]

When I want to watch a drama I want to watch a drama, not a medieval porno.

First I have nothing against porn, I just believe there is a time and a place. This is not it.

I don't like what I call mixed messages, I don't like to go back and forth between violence and sex, I think it could really mess things up in some people. However this is not my main issue, it's the fact that I'm watching an interesting story and all of a sudden BAM sex scene. it throws off the narrative, it grinds the plot to a halt and makes me roll my eyes. Now I've watched things with sex scenes and usually don't have a problem, they're part of the story, develop characters and usually fade to black.

Here's the problems with the sex scenes in Game of Thrones:
first off too graphic, I'm sorry but if I want to watch porn I will watch porn
Second: the people are ugly, it's harder to tune it out when I'm going "ew gross"
Third: the people are usually filthy, see point two
Fourth: too many
Fifth: they are completely gratuitous
Sixth: I don't think some of those actors/actresses are healthy, that one girl's breasts bent, seriously.

Now what really finished it for me was the sex scene of two characters I didn't recognize that cut to a second sex scene of two characters I didn't know that zoomed out to show a man peeping on them that was getting blown. This then cuts to the runner of the whorehouse being yelled at by a client who he interrupts to then go wipe the cum from one of his whore's mouths.

After reading that paragraph tell me the sex scenes aren't gratuitous.

[Jaden]

I haven't seen the show, though I really want to, but I'm a huge fan of the book series.

The sex scenes aren't really supposed to be about sex, which is why the people are ugly and filthy. With one or two exceptions, they're not supposed to be something that any sane, healthy person would want to get off to. They're either for plot reasons, to establish character, to show manipulation, or literally just to gross you out with how disturbing the idea is (pretty much all of Tyrion's scenes, especially with Sansa).

[Andara Bledin]

Eh, Tyrion is one of the few that treats his partners like human beings.

HBO has a thing for sex in their series - you can see it with Deadwood, too.

But, still, the sex in Game of Thrones is mostly in the book, it's just that in a book, the author can kind of gloss over it, but if you're having a scene with sex in it in a TV show, it's kind of hard to hand-wave what's going on.

^-.-^

[Hyena Dandy]

Yeah, as Seinfeld said...

"You can't yada-yada sex"

[Jaden]

Eh, Tyrion is one of the few that treats his partners like human beings.

True enough, and I suppose that ties into my comments about the sex scenes developing character - Tyrion's sex scenes speak to his general strength of character a lot.

[HYHYBT]

After reading that paragraph tell me the sex scenes aren't gratuitous.

That depends. I could see that as non-gratuitous if it were scene-setting, for instance, particularly if the whole thing only took a few seconds.

(And the part about glossing over a sex scene makes me think, not of Seinfeld, but of How I Met Your Mother, which *does* occasionally skip over things or substitute, say, the neighbors playing bagpipes, rather than having sex, loudly and at all hours. But HBO, of course, is different.)

[Hyena Dandy]

True enough, and I suppose that ties into my comments about the sex scenes developing character - Tyrion's sex scenes speak to his general strength of character a lot.

It's true. As I've told people about e-RPs, you can learn a lot about a character through how they behave during sex.

[SkullKing]

After reading that paragraph tell me the sex scenes aren't gratuitous.

Actually, while I understand that the above scene may be(very) gross, it does seem to set the scene perfectly.

I mean, I did not see the scene in question and yet it efficiently creates a mental picture of a sleazy whorehouse, perfect example of "show, don't tell"

As for the going back and forth between violence and drama and sex. If done well I actually like it a lot.

Makes the story seem more complete. It is like a love story without sex. most of the time it seems incomplete to me.

A good example are David Gemmel's stories. They are not focused on sex, and most books have relatively few sex scenes, but they can be a bit graphic when important.

[gremcint]

we know he's in a whorehouse, they tell us he runs one everytime he's on screen, it's also been pretty clear in the lesbian training scenes. I've seen shows have whorehouses before and they've been able to set the scene just fine without that, it's called background noise.

No it's just gratuitous padding. Also it can't be very good character development If I had no idea who they were. The only necessary sex scenes were the lannisters in the first episode and some of the ones with Khaleesi. Even then, just fade to black.

Ok I'll admit there are probably some character moments but for those it could be like the seen with the imp in the first episode where we see him after when his brother wakes him up with the two women in bed, no need to have a scene of him porking them.

[linguist]

Now what really finished it for me was the sex scene of two characters I didn't recognize that cut to a second sex scene of two characters I didn't know that zoomed out to show a man peeping on them that was getting blown. This then cuts to the runner of the whorehouse being yelled at by a client who he interrupts to then go wipe the cum from one of his whore's mouths.

After reading that paragraph tell me the sex scenes aren't gratuitous.

did you notice that he wiped her mouth out of sight of the complaining customer, then sent her to him, whereupon she immediately kissed him? this was a character development scene for littlefinger, showing him as a master manipulator who appears to give people what they want while hiding his own agenda.

No it's just gratuitous padding. Also it can't be very good character development If I had no idea who they were.

you didn't know who they were because who they were is irrelevant. as i said above, the scene was about developing littlefinger's character.

[AdminAssistant]

The advantage HBO, Cinemax, and Starz have over regular cable is that they can include nudity/sex/language that wouldn't fly on regular cable. It would be foolish of them to not make use of it.

[SkullKing]

did you notice that he wiped her mouth out of sight of the complaining customer, then sent her to him, whereupon she immediately kissed him? this was a character development scene for littlefinger, showing him as a master manipulator who appears to give people what they want while hiding his own agenda.

Maybe that the scenes are important, but subtle enough that you need to pay attention to see WHY they are important., and since the OP does note like them, he does not pay attention, and does not see their importance. Especially if he expects a just a blatant sex scene?

[anakhouri]

A lot of the sex scenes seem to occur when someone has to do some expository speech...my husband says it's to give the viewers something to look at while they listen to the background information.

There is a ton of sex in the books, much of it unhappy, nasty, ugly and graphic. In the novels most of the sex does advance the plot/character development. I agree that in the show it doesn't, so I can only assume my husband is right. Using it as padding would be silly, since they've had to cut out a ton of stuff already, so I think HBO really is just covering exposition and marking the series as a definitely adult show.

[Nekojin]

Maybe that the scenes are important, but subtle enough that you need to pay attention to see WHY they are important., and since the OP does note like them, he does not pay attention, and does not see their importance. Especially if he expects a just a blatant sex scene?

I've been thinking about it a bit...

Keep in mind that I haven't yet seen or read the scene in question, and I have only seen the first season and I'm most of the way through the first book.

This part in particular:

the sex scene of two characters I didn't recognize that cut to a second sex scene of two characters I didn't know that zoomed out to show a man peeping on them that was getting blown.

The first part is to establish where you are. The second part (and third part, that I didn't quote) are filling you in very clearly on Littlefinger's ethics. Not only is he selling you sex with the prostitute (with an implicit understanding that what you do with the prostitute is confidential), he's selling the opportunity to watch your supposedly-confidential liaisons to others. He's probably also watching for anything particularly outré, for political leverage.

From the little details that have been dropped, I get the distinct idea that Littlefinger was actually deeply in love with Catelyn Tully when he challenged for her hand. I get the impression that he was an idealistic youth with ideas of love conquering all, and there being justice in the universe. When he was beaten badly by his opponent, Brandon Stark - not just beaten, but essentially humiliated by continuing to be beaten until he collapsed from his injuries, rather than have a winner be declared when the outcome was obvious - he turned bitter and cynical, deciding that honor was worthless except as a lever over other men. Keep in mind that this is all my speculation - I haven't read books 2-5 yet, so please don't spoil it for me.

[HYHYBT]

The advantage HBO, Cinemax, and Starz have over regular cable is that they can include nudity/sex/language that wouldn't fly on regular cable. It would be foolish of them to not make use of it.

True, but it matters *how* something is used. Otherwise, it's like (to borrow from another recent thread) "well, we're making this in 3D, so it would be a waste not to make stuff jump at the audience every five minutes."