Did ‘Knight of the Seven Kingdom’ cut out a Dunk-Steely Pate book scene? Creator admits to major mistake
The newest 'Game of Thrones' spinoff, 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,' retains several endearing aspects of the original show while simultaneously coming up with a few tricks entirely of its own devising. Based on the 'Tales of Dunk and Egg' novella series written by author George R. R. Martin in 1999, it follows noble knight Dunk as he makes his way through a time period that precedes the events of the original show by a hundred years. In a recent Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), showrunner Ira Parker answered some questions fans had about the show.
While most other users expressed their awe at the marvelously staged action sequences and heaped praises on Parker's showman vision, one particular comment enquired about a scene from Martin's novella 'The Hedge Knight', which has been adapted into the HBO show, and has left out a key passage involving Dunk and Steely Pate.
The user, known as Theostru, posed the question to Parker as follows: "Many readers consider Dunk's exchange with Steely Pate - 'Who am I to them?' 'A knight who remembered his vows' - 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, let alone Breakspear joining him. Could you speak to your reasoning in removing (or potentially moving to a later episode) the exchange? Removing it entirely diminishes the soul of the story, and moving it to a later moment weakens its impact, as Dunk already has the favor of the Prince of Dragonstone. It's an odd choice given how faithful you've otherwise been to the novella."
In his reply, Parker also revealed the foresight of his vision and his innate ability to distill the book's passages into a coherent essence that would play well on the screen. Parker remarked, "Honestly, it was a mistake on my part, not my first, not my last on this show." The showrunner further explained, "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," Parker explained. "It may not be said explicitly, but Dunk's actions remain the same." It is fair to contend that a motion picture adaptation of any fictional literary source would need to adapt the source material in keeping with the exigencies of screen space and time. Parker did this on 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' to the best of his ability, and the remaining episodes in the debut season are speculated to further prove this. The show is exclusively available on HBO Max.
