‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Showrunner Knows Cutting This Scene From the Book Was a “Mistake”

HBO’s new Game of Thrones prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is now in the back half of its first season, and by and large people are really enjoying it. One thing the show has going for it is that it sticks very close to the excellent source material: the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas by George R.R. Martin. But the show still cuts some scenes, and not everyone is happy about that.

For instance, in the latest episode, the magnificent “Seven,” our hero Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) is getting ready to fight in a Trial of Seven, where he and six allies must face off against an equal number of foes assembled by the vile Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett), a member of the royal family. Dunk, a poor hedge knight, found himself in this situation after he defended an innocent woman, Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford), from Aerion, who attacked her because he was offended by the puppet show she put on. In a scene that appears in the book but not in the show, Dunk is approached by various peasants who pledge him their support in the battle to come. He’s surprised. “Why?” he asks the blacksmith Steely Pate, played on the show by Youssef Kerkour. “What am I to them?” Pate answers: “A knight who remembered his vows.”

In a Reddit AMA, one fan asked showrunner Ira Parker why this exchange, which the fan considers to be “the soul and the moral of the entire novella,” was cut. See an official illustration of the cut scene below, and read on to learn how Parker responded.

‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ showrunner Ira Parker Admits When He’s Wrong

Illustration by Gary Gianni from the book A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin, published by Bantam Books | New York. Photo by Dan Selcke.

Ira Parker was not defensive about his choice to cut the scene, and admitted that it was the wrong call:

Honestly it was a mistake on my part. Not my first not my last on this show. That scene was in the script at one point, then fell out. I agree that “a knight who remembers his vows” is the soul of this story, but I think that is still very much at the core of the show, even if I stupidly left out this scene… it may not be said explicitly, but Dunk’s actions remain the same.

It’s true that the essence of the exchange is still present in the show, but it would have been nice to hear this particular line in the series itself, since it does get to the core of what it’s all about.

Still, it’s refreshing to hear a showrunner freely admit that they messed up, since it means they’re humble enough to learn from their mistakes. This will surely give fans confidence as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms goes into its second season, which will adapt the second Dunk and Egg novella, “The Sworn Sword.” Season 2 will be about the same size as season 1, although it will cost more to make due to inflation and on-location shooting. It’s being filmed right now, and is on track for a 2027 release. Unlike new seasons of House of the Dragon, HBO’s other Game of Thrones prequel series, fans won’t have to wait multiple years between new seasons.

As for the rest of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1, the penultimate episode will air this Sunday, with the finale coming a week after that.