A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ showrunner explains the unexpected opening scene
A bold tonal choice sets the stage for Ser Duncan’s journey from boy to knight.
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,’ HBO’s new Game of Thrones spin-off, debuted yesterday. And something that caught our attention was that its first scenes went from the solemnity, sadness, and courage of a knight to one of the most unexpected scenes we could have hoped for, inspired by the works of George R.R. Martin, even though the franchise has given us a lot in the nearly 15 years that the series has been running.
The scene shows Ser Duncan (Peter Claffey) burying his lord and mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). It is a difficult moment for the character, but as he summons the courage to prove his bravery, part of the Game of Thrones theme song begins to play. He has made up his mind: he is going to compete in a jousting tournament... the music swells. However, the scene is interrupted by a shot of Duncan having what can only be described as explosive diarrhea.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ira Parker, the series’ showrunner, explained this particular sequence.“He was going to hear that call to greatness that we all hear that when we decide we’re going to do something really difficult that we’ve never done before. It’s a little scary and you feel like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna be the guy. I’m gonna do it!’ He picks up the sword. He’s thinking about it,” said Parker. “But then the reality of doing this, how difficult it is, how scary it is — that turns his guts to water. Because he’s not a hero yet, you know? All we’re trying to say here is that Dunk is not a hero yet. He’s just a nervy kid with a nervous stomach — just like me. And as badly as you want to do something great, as soon as you actually have to go off and do it, it becomes trickier. And that’s what the whole season is for him.”
A moment that surprised the series creator
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The same article reveals that the author of the novels, George R.R. Martin, was surprised by this decision. “Not to say that my characters don’t take shits, but I normally don’t write about them at any length. When I saw the rough cut, I wrote, ‘What is this? Where did this come from? I don’t know if we really need the shit.’ But [showrunner Ira Parker] liked it for whatever reason.”
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