A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Showrunner Reveals "Mistake" in Book Change

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is trying to be loyal. 

The Game of Thrones spin-off’s Feb. 6 episode, “Seven,” ended with a cliffhanger for Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), the protagonist of George R. R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg book series. 

But Song of Ice and Fire diehards were quick to notice the absence of a fan-favorite quote—as the HBO Max fantasy drama’s showrunner Ira Parker found out during a Reddit AMA on Feb. 10.

In The Hedge Night novella, Dunk shares a poignant moment with blacksmith Steely Pate (Youssef Kerkour), who tells the former squire of Ser Arlan Pennytree (Danny Webb) that people are rallying behind him because he’s a “Knight who remembered his vows.”

“Many readers consider [this] to be the soul and the moral of the entire novella,” one fan remarked in the Q&A. “The impact comes not just from the exchange itself, but its careful placement at Dunk’s lowest point, before he realizes any champions have answered his call … It’s an odd choice given how faithful you’ve otherwise been to the novella.”

The comment caught the eye of Parker, who didn’t need to consult the source material to remember the moment in question. 

Photo: HBO Max

“Honestly it was a mistake on my part. Not my first, not my last on this show,” he replied. “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.”

From the start, Parker had envisioned Dunk as a refreshing break from the Jon Snows and Arya Starks we've already seen across Westeros. 

“He's not like George's other underdog characters, who normally have this very sharp wit about them,” he explained to the Associated Press at the show’s Berlin premiere in January. “He has earnestness, but he's guileless. He's honorable. He's trying hard. He's got grit."

Dunk’s noble attributes were put on full display in episode four, as the towering warrior attempted to round up six other fighters in a trial by combat against Prince Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett).

"His only special power is just putting one foot in front of the other,” Parker added. “Hopefully, that will be a very recognizable journey for a lot of our audience out there."

Season one of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres new episodes Sundays on HBO Max.