No se las podías mirar

No se las podías mirar
 

Hi,

Las llamas eran tan brillantes que no se las podías mirar.

What is the place of se in this sentence? Is it really necessary?

The use of 'se' is required when expressing an impersonal subject (when no particular person is being referenced). Notice the word 'reference.' It requires a third-person singular form of the verb.
Your sentence has a second-person singular form of the verb. A particular person is being addressed (it's not a reference to a third party). Therefore, it isn't an impersonal reference and 'se' doesn't belong in the sentence.

So s in podías is probably a typo?

Yep.

I agree. It's definitely a typo.


It's either: "No se las podía mirar" or "no las podías mirar". Both would be correct, but one is an impersonal sentence, the other is talking to "you", the reader.