Podrick Payne

"There has never lived a more loyal squire."

- Tyrion Lannister to Podrick

Podrick Payne, often called Pod, is a recurring character in the second, third and fourth seasons. He is played by guest star Daniel Portman and debuts in "The Night Lands." Podrick Payne was Tyrion Lannister's squire, but has since been given to Brienne of Tarth.

Background
Podrick Payne is a distant cousin of the more famous Ser Ilyn Payne, the King's Justice, and member of a lesser branch of House Payne. He has been made a squire to Tyrion Lannister, and hopes to one day complete his training and become a knight.

Season 2
Tyrion has Janos Slynt as a dinner guest in the dining room of the Tower of the Hand. Podrick pours wine for them but spills the beverage on Janos's hand. Janos begins to chastise the boy but Tyrion dismisses him and says they know how to pour their own wine.

Podrick attends Tyrion during a dinner he holds with Queen Cersei. He cannot repress a smile when Tyrion jokes about Joffrey's inability to rule.

Podrick squires for Tyrion during the Battle of the Blackwater. He dresses Tyrion in his armor prior to the battle during a meeting with Lord Varys. Varys asks Tyrion if he trusts Podrick and Tyrion says that he does. Varys then shows them a map of the tunnel network beneath the city. When King Stannis Baratheon lands near the Mud Gate Tyrion dispatches Podrick to fetch reinforcements from the King's Gate. Podrick does as ordered, returning with a host of men just as King Joffrey flees back to the Red Keep.

Tyrion urges his surviving men and Podrick's reinforcements to help him fight the invaders. He orders Ser Mandon Moore and Ser Boros Blount to join him in leading a sortie through the tunnels. Podrick accompanies Tyrion outside the walls. In the midst of battle, Ser Mandon attempts to murder Tyrion. He strikes after Tyrion has removed his helmet but only succeeds in cutting his face. Podrick kills Ser Mandon with a lance, saving Tyrion's life. He cradles Tyrion in his arms as he collapses into unconsciousness.

When Tyrion wakes up, Podrick is in the room as Varys tells Tyrion about what has been happening while he is unconscious. Tyrion thanks Podrick for saving his life. When Tyrion tells Pod to go summon Bronn to post Gold Cloaks at his door and to find the hill tribes, Varys stops him and tells Tyrion that Bronn is no longer leading the Gold Cloaks and the hill tribes have gone home. Podrick opens the door to let in Shae, then he leaves the room with Varys.

Season 3
Tyrion sends Podrick to urgently get Bronn. Podrick finds Bronn at Littlefinger's brothel with Mirelle and insists he come with him to Bronn's frustration. When they arrive back at the Red Keep, Bronn has Podrick back him up that Bronn has just recently been knighted when two Kingsguards insult him.

Bronn reminds Tyrion that he still owes Podrick for having saved Tyrion's life. Tyrion then brings Podrick to Littlefinger's brothel and pays for three prostitutes (Marei, Genna, and the contortionist Kayla) to take Podrick's virginity. Podrick later returns with all of Tyrion's coins as the prostitutes enjoyed the experience so much that they did not want any payment. Tyrion and Bronn are amazed and insist that Podrick tell them everything that happened, in "copious detail". Ros later mentions to a confused Varys that the girls all said Podrick was the best they'd ever had, and that as three professional prostitutes, they'd been with a lot of men. Varys asks if it's that he's very large, but Ros says that according to the girls he wasn't particularly large, so much as what he did. Varys asks what it was, but Ros says that while the three prostitutes are often very descriptive, the most they could say about the wonderful experience was that it was "hard to describe".

Sometime later, Pod is present when Lady Olenna Tyrell meets with Tyrion to discuss the costs of the upcoming royal wedding. Olenna admonishes Pod for giving her too much wine and sends him off for figs. Upon returning with the fruit, she sarcastically asks if he retrieved them from Volantis before departing.

Season 4
Bearing the king's banner, Podrick awaits the arrival of Prince Doran Martell of Dorne along with Tyrion and Bronn. As the Dornishmen approach, he correctly identifies the heraldry of several Dornish houses, to the approval of Tyrion. Bronn replies that he needs a sigil. When they learn from the envoys that Doran's brother Oberyn Martell has come to the city instead, and that he arrived before dawn, Podrick accompanies Tyrion and Bronn to Littlefinger's brothel to greet Prince Oberyn and his paramour, Ellaria Sand.

In the aftermath of Joffrey's assassination, an unnamed Gold Cloak approaches Pod, offering him knighthood if he agrees to testify against Tyrion, who is suspected of committing the crime. Pod adamantly refuses. Later, Pod speaks to Tyrion in his cell, who reveals that Bronn is currently being investigated for information on the poison used to kill Joffrey, and that by refusing the Gold Cloak's offer, Pod has implicated himself as a suspect as well. Tyrion insists that Pod flee King's Landing before he too is arrested, and Pod tearfully agrees only after Tyrion outright orders him to do so. Before he leaves, Tyrion comforts Pod by saying he is the most loyal squire anyone could hope for.

When Brienne is tasked by Jaime Lannister to locate and protect the missing Sansa Stark, he assigns Podrick to act as her squire. Brienne initially rejects the offer, believing that Podrick will simply slow her down. However, Jaime insists that Podrick is not safe in King's Landing and this is a favor for Tyrion. Before Podrick departs with Brienne, Bronn gives him a gift from Tyrion. It is the axe Tyrion used during the Battle of the Blackwater.

While on the road, Podrick is having difficulties with his horse, much to the annoyance of Brienne. The two are on their way to the Castle Black, where Brienne believes Sansa has been taken in by her half-brother, Jon Snow. Brienne tries to get rid of Podrick by releasing him from the vow he swore as her squire, but to no avail. At their campsite, Podrick sets fire to a rabbit he was trying to cook, even though he did not even skin it properly. Brienne questions Podrick about his duties as squire to Tyrion. He tells her his job was mostly pouring wine, alongside other menial tasks. Brienne then asks if Podrick did anything related to combat. Podrick reveals how he killed Ser Mandon Moore of the Kingsguard by shoving a spear through his head when he tried to kill Tyrion. Brienne then allows Podrick to help her remove her armor.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Podrick is a young member of a cadet branch of House Payne. He is 12 years old at the beginning of the novels. Podrick Payne has brown hair and blue eyes and is very shy and awkward. Podrick appeared in the first novel, but his appearance in the TV series was delayed until the second season. Like several other younger characters he was aged-up in the TV series to be in his late teens. As Podrick is barely 13-14 years old during the events of the third novel (corresponding to Season 3), he never has sex with prostitutes as he did in "Walk of Punishment", or with any woman, and thus isn't described as being particularly sexually skilled.

His father was a squire for his richer cousins. After he was knighted, he married a chandler's daughter then went off to die in the Greyjoy Rebellion. When Podrick was four years old his mother left him with one of these cousins, Ser Cedric Payne, when she ran off with a wandering singer who had gotten her pregnant. Ser Cedric treated Podrick more as a servant than as a squire who was also a cousin.

Ser Cedric brings Podrick with him when the Lannisters call up their bannerman to attack the Riverlands, and when he is killed in battle, Podrick is left alone again. Pod attaches himself to Ser Lorimer, a hedge knight in Leo Lefford's service. Ser Lefford was in charge of Tywin Lannister's baggage train, but is later found to have stolen food from it, a smoked ham which he ate with Podrick. They are both going to be hanged, but Podrick Payne was spared because of his family name. He then comes to the attention of Ser Kevan Lannister who is the one who assigns Podrick to Tyrion Lannister as his squire, shortly before the Battle of the Green Fork.

Tyrion believes Podrick was assigned to him as a jape. He is very awkward, but also loyal to Tyrion, as seen when he ironed Tyrion's clothing. He stays silent most of the time, but when he talks he trips over his tongue; not sure what to say, he babbles. He is scared of people, so he talks while looking at their feet. He is terrified of his relative, King's Justice Ser Ilyn Payne. However, while he sometimes stumbles over his own words out of shyness, it is noted that he is far from stupid.

During the Battle of the Blackwater, Tyrion didn't realize that Podrick had come with him through the gates when he left the keep to lead the sortie, when asked why Podrick says simply that he is Tyrion's squire. Tyrion tells him to stay close. When Ser Mandon Moore tries to kill Tyrion, they are on a ship hung up on the chain across the Blackwater Rush. Podrick doesn't stab Ser Mandon with a spear, he just pushes him in the water and the weight of the armor does the rest.