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This article contains spoilers fromA Knight of the Seven Kingdomsepisode 4, "Seven."
Knight of the Seven Kingdomsshowrunner Ira Parker is offering his apologies to all the Dunk and Egg diehards.
Thus far, theGame of Thronesprequel series has been celebrated for bringingGeorge R.R. Martin'sThe Hedge Knightnovella to life while being impressively faithful to the source material (an aspect of the show that Martin himself has repeatedly applauded). But Parker has alsotaken a few creative libertiesand made adaptational alterations — including a key conversation that the showrunner now regrets leaving out.
During a recentReddit AMA, a fan chided Parker for omitting a scene between Dunk (Peter Claffey) and blacksmith Steely Pate (Youssef Kerkour). The moment, which would have slotted into the show's fourth episode, comes as Dunk prepares to fight for his life in his Trial of the Seven. As the pair walk towards the arena together, Dunk is greeted by several smallfolk who pat him on the back and wish him luck in the upcoming trial by combat.
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Dunk is confused and asks the blacksmith, "Why? Who am I to them?" Steely Pate replies, "A knight who remembered his vows."
The fan complained, "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, before he realizes any champions have answered his call... It's an odd choice given how faithful you've otherwise been to the novella."
Parker offered a candid response to the criticism, writing, "Honestly it was a mistake on my part. Not my first, not my last on this show."
He continued, "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."
Below Parker's answer, several fans praised the showrunner for the sincere answer with one Redditor writing, "Your honesty is really refreshing."
To Parker's point, the sentiment that Dunk is appreciated for remembering his vows is echoed elsewhere in the episode by those who rally to his side, including Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), who arrives to fight beside him, stating, "This man protected the innocent, as every true knight must."
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Elsewhere in the Reddit AMA, Parker fessed up to another mistake he made when one fan asked why Prince Maekar andPrince Aerionaren't wearing their personal coat of arms as described in the books. As the commenter pointed out, both princes wear the traditional Targaryen family heraldry, while in the book, they've added personal touches to the symbols on their armor.
"So far I've seen fans point [out] 2 mistakes in this show that I was unaware of," Parker replied. "This is one of them. Definitely should have had Maekar's... That would have made it soooo easy to distinguish him in the fog. Whoops."
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Luckily, neither of those slip-ups prevented Parker from getting showered in praise by Martin, who has made it very clear that he "loved" all six episodes ofA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'first season. As for fans and critics, the series has earned glowing scores on Rotten Tomatoes (95% from critics, 73% from viewers) and IMDb (8.7 out of 10), with two episodes left to go.
New episodes ofA Knight of the Seven Kingdomsair Sunday nights on HBO and HBO Max.
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