‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Showrunner Admits This Book Change Was a “Mistake”

HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has been winning over fans, especially with its fourth episode, which many are calling the best of the series so far. The episode scored an impressive 9.7 on IMDB, making it the highest-rated in the Game of Thrones franchise since season seven’s “The Spoils of War.”

One big reason fans love the show is how closely it follows George R.R. Martin’s source material. Martin has always stressed the importance of staying true to his work, and the show has mostly delivered.

But showrunner Ira Parker recently admitted he made one mistake in adapting the story. During a Reddit AMA, a fan asked about a scene from Martin’s novella The Hedge Knight that didn’t make it into the show.

The scene involves Dunk (played by Peter Claffey) and the blacksmith Steely Pate (Youssef Kerkour). In the book, Dunk is heading to a joust, expecting defeat, when several smallfolk greet him respectfully. Confused, he asks Steely Pate, “Why? Who am I to them?” The blacksmith replies, “A knight who remembered his vows.”

The fan wrote, “Many readers consider [this] to be the soul and the moral of the entire novella. The impact comes not just from the exchange itself, but its careful placement at Dunk’s lowest point… It’s an odd choice given how faithful you’ve otherwise been to the novella.”

Parker didn’t shy away from admitting the mistake. He replied, “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.”

Many fans appreciated Parker’s honesty. One Reddit user wrote, “I have to say I think your honesty is really refreshing.”

Parker also gave some details about the upcoming second season in an interview with THR. He confirmed it will stay at six episodes and said, “The scope will be the same, maybe even smaller. The budget has stayed the same, but everything is more expensive due to inflation. Plus, book two takes place in a drought, so we can’t shoot exteriors in Belfast. We have to go to a sunny location with no water, which costs money — that’s a major expense that we did not have in season one. I’m having a lot of fun with season two. It’s going to be a different season, and, I hope, for the better.”

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!