{"id":189605,"date":"2026-02-23T05:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T05:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/189605\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T05:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T05:01:10","slug":"a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-finale-ira-parker-on-eggs-big-lie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/189605\/","title":{"rendered":"‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ finale: Ira Parker on Egg’s big lie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This story contains spoilers for Episode 6 of \u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.<\/a>\u201d <\/p>\n

Ira Parker intended the very last scene of \u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,\u201d Episode 6 (titled \u201cThe Morrow\u201d), to be just \u201csomething that was a little funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s season finale of the HBO fantasy series ends with everyone, including the royal Targaryen entourage,<\/a> departing Ashford after the conclusion of the trial and tournament. Just before the credits roll, Prince Maekar, who notices his young son Aegon is once again missing, frantically shouts, \u201cWhere the f\u2014 is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, the very, very, very end was almost just meant as a joke,\u201d the showrunner says during a recent video call. \u201cBut I think people \u2014 both in my writing camp and in the HBO camp and probably in the world \u2014 took that quite literally. So I\u2019ve maybe had to deal with it a little bit more in Season 2 than I was planning to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a <\/p>\n

\u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms\u201d showrunner Ira Parker, right, with director Sarah Adina Smith on the set of the fantasy series. <\/p>\n

(Steffan Hill \/ HBO)<\/p>\n

Starring Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall and Dexter Sol Ansell as Prince Aegon Targaryen, \u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms\u201d is an adaptation of George R.R. Martin<\/a> novellas set in the same world as his \u201cA Song of Ice and Fire\u201d series<\/a>. These \u201cTales of Dunk and Egg\u201d stories take place around 100 years before the events depicted in \u201cGame of Thrones<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The moment in question could be a big deal for some fans of Martin\u2019s<\/a> novellas. The scene is not included in \u201cThe Hedge Knight,\u201d the book upon which the first season of \u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms\u201d is based. Whether Egg had Maekar\u2019s permission to join Dunk\u2019s travels as his squire is left more open ended in the novella itself.<\/p>\n

While the young prince said he had his father\u2019s blessing, \u201cit\u2019s not confirmed canonically\u201d in the book, says Parker. \u201cWe haven\u2019t done anything egregious here, I don\u2019t think. [And] I believe it from a character perspective. I believe that Egg would do that again, because he\u2019s already done it. We\u2019ve seen him. He runs away. That\u2019s sort of his thing. And he lies to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without sharing any details, Parker teases the situation will be addressed again next season.<\/p>\n

\"a <\/p>\n

Dunk (Peter Claffey) in the season finale of \u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.\u201d <\/p>\n

(Steffan Hill \/ HBO)<\/p>\n

The showrunner, who co-created the series with Martin, admits that approaching \u201cThe Morrow\u201d was \u201cdaunting.\u201d Set in the aftermath of Trial of Seven, Episode 6 involved \u201ca lot of creation\u201d to stretch out the remaining events from the source material.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery early on, all of us knew that we weren\u2019t going to add any story,\u201d says Parker, who previously worked on \u201cThrones\u201d prequel \u201cHouse of the Dragon<\/a>.\u201d \u201cThe story is the story. We\u2019re going to be 100% faithful to the novellas in that respect. But where we could add, because we needed about another 50% of material in order to fill out even our six 30-minute episodes, was going to be in the characters.\u201d<\/p>\n

This has meant the show has spent more time with the very relatable Dunk and his precocious charge Egg. Its supporting ensemble including Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) and Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas), who give Dunk a helping hand, have also been more fleshed out. This has allowed audiences to just \u201cenjoy hanging out in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t always convinced that people would allow us to do it,\u201d Parker says. \u201cHanging out in Westeros. It meant a little bit of a slower start. Luckily, people have come along with us<\/a> on the ride. … We really just hoped that people would be charmed enough by these characters and the story and want good things for Dunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like \u201cThe Hedge Knight,\u201d the episode concludes by teasing Dunk and Egg\u2019s journey to Dorne, but Parker confirms Season 2 will be an adaptation of the second novella, \u201cThe Sworn Sword,\u201d which takes place a year and a half or so after the events of \u201cThe Hedge Knight\u201d and sees the pair in a part of the Reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love \u2018The Sworn Sword\u2019 because I think it\u2019s very funny, and I think the sort of \u2018will they \/ won\u2019t they\u2019 between Dunk and Lady Rohanne is just good territory for us,\u201d he says. (Parker said they considered setting Season 2 in Dorne but that it would have taken too much time to flesh out the story even with Martin\u2019s notes.) <\/p>\n

In a conversation edited for clarity and length, Parker discussed his collaboration with Martin, every aspect of the show being a reflection of Dunk, and \u201cA Knight of the Nine Kingdoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"two <\/p>\n

Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings), left, and Dunk (Peter Claffey) while a maester (Paul Murphy) looks over the injured hedge knight. <\/p>\n

(Steffan Hill \/ HBO)<\/p>\n

The show is called \u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,\u201d but in the finale, Egg points out to Dunk that there are actually nine kingdoms in Westeros. Can you explain that moment and actually showing the alternate title card?<\/p>\n

The situation is so overwrought in this episode. With Baelor\u2019s death and with everything that Egg has gone through, which we see him struggling with. Where Dunk\u2019s head is at, going off alone again. The fact that they both get together is wonderful and uplifting, but we sort of had to reassure the audience \u2014 that even though Egg is now officially a prince and Dunk knows that, and this tragedy has come to pass between the two of them, the core of that relationship, what we learned to love about their relationship before all of this happened, actually still remains. So that was the importance of having a type of conversation like that. It didn\u2019t necessarily have to be the conversation about the kingdoms, but just Egg, in his way, making sure that Dunk never feels like he knows anything. And it is a wink to the audience and to the fans [who have raised questions<\/a> about the number], but we\u2019re not changing the name of the show.<\/p>\n

You mention Egg\u2019s struggles and we do see just how much anger he has toward his brother Aerion in this episode. What were your thoughts on depicting that onscreen and what it says about Egg? <\/p>\n

I talked to George a little bit about Egg and his motivations early on, and George said kids feel disappointment more acutely and that that is a huge part of it. It\u2019s not to be discounted. I don\u2019t want to go out there and say it\u2019s because of Targaryen trauma and everything he\u2019s been through. He\u2019s a boy. Things were happening that were very nice for him that he was very happy about. Then it was all taken away and he blames people. He feels like he\u2019s caused all these problems [for others], and when that doesn\u2019t have a place to land, that\u2019s what turns into anger. It just sort of brews up inside of you.<\/p>\n

He sees Aerion as the true cause of all this. At that young age, he doesn\u2019t know how to undirect that. He has some sort of a father there in Maekar. But the fact that he ends up with Dunk, that\u2019s the whole story of Episode 6. Is Dunk, after all this, going to decide to save this kid who is just going to be thrown to the wolves otherwise? Who\u2019s not going to get what he needs to direct his frustration and his disappointments to good energy targets? Kids who have that end up, generally, in better situations than kids who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very important for me to show the importance of having a mentor in your life. We\u2019re obviously very thematically about fathers and sons, knights and squires, and, to a certain extent brothers. But it is, at the core of it, what it is to have a teacher. Dunk had that in Ser Arlan. Dunk certainly has no obligation to do anything for this family at this point and he does it … because it was done for him. So he\u2019s paying it forward, being a benefit to the person next to him.<\/p>\n

\"a <\/p>\n

Dunk (Peter Claffey) is ready for his next journey. <\/p>\n

(Steffan Hill \/ HBO)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one thing that sets Dunk apart. He\u2019s one of the few people we see in this world who believes in doing good and that that\u2019s what he\u2019s supposed to be doing. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s an addition to that, which is that he wants so badly to do good and do right by his mentor who taught him what a knight was supposed to be. But there is this feeling that the world isn\u2019t going to let you do that. We see somebody like Ned Stark, who\u2019s very honorable, [but] probably suffered ultimately from his naivety \u2014 his belief in others. Dunk, I think, has one extra level. Or maybe I\u2019m just projecting that onto him because sometimes I think about how to protect myself in this world where not everybody always has the best intentions. You so badly want to do good, but then there\u2019s also the reality of that, and a big part of Dunk\u2019s early journey in this world is learning those lessons.<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s just because my head is also stuck in Book Two, where I think that is brought even more to the forefront. But he\u2019s never going to change. He\u2019s always going to be hopeful. <\/p>\n

You did a Reddit AMA<\/a> recently and you responded to someone who had asked about the show\u2019s production budget that everything in this show was a reflection of the lead character. Can you explain what you meant by that?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s very chilling at the beginning to realize that you have one [point of view] character, but then when you realize how many facets go into making up that one person \u2014 from costumes, cinematography, music, everything \u2014 you realize you actually are telling a lot of different stories, just about one person and how they relate to the world. You have to make sure that that is one hell of an immersive experience, because it\u2019s not like you could just have an audience member tune out if they don\u2019t like the Dunk story this week. We had to make you feel in every single episode that you are in that situation, that you can somehow relate to Dunk and what he\u2019s going through. This is because it\u2019s about to get even tougher for him. Hopefully the people who come to us for the light, fun, enjoyable take on Westeros will stick with us through some of the harder, trickier, grimmer moments. Because this is George R.R. Martin\u2019s world, and it gets dangerous. <\/p>\n

But it was actually a very nice, natural way for us to differentiate ourselves [from the other shows]. We\u2019re not a prequel. These are novellas that have existed for 30 years. It\u2019s more organic. Rather than being so grand and epic in scale, it\u2019s still small and simple and hopeful. [Dunk\u2019s] still basically just a kid. It\u2019s two kids setting out to have a little bit of fun. There\u2019s got to be some some whimsy about it. That very easily allowed us to find our own voice.<\/p>\n

\"a <\/p>\n

Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) has a lot of anger for his older brother. <\/p>\n

(Steffan Hill \/ HBO)<\/p>\n

How is it like to work with George R.R. Martin?<\/p>\n

He has been wonderfully collaborative. It\u2019s been the most fulfilling creative partnership of my whole life. A lot of people can start out in this industry reading your stuff and telling you what they think is wrong without asking you why you did something the way that you did it. Giving you the benefit of the doubt and the conversation jumping off from there, George is very good at that. Whenever he would call me about a new script, we\u2019d talk out what\u2019s in my head in the version of events that led me down this path. And then he talks about why he either did it another way or has issues with it. It becomes a very natural conversation. It\u2019s an extension of a writer\u2019s room with a living legend, one of the greatest living writers in the world today. He just likes talking about this stuff with you, and I like talking about it with him. <\/p>\n

What were your earliest conversations with him about \u201cDunk and Egg\u201d like? Did you already have an idea of how you wanted to do the show before you talked to him? <\/p>\n

I swung pretty wildly at the beginning from the point where HBO sent it to me \u2014 where I thought \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d shows are 10 episodes, an hourlong each, how could we possibly do that with these three novellas \u2014 to finding out what HBO\u2019s intentions were for it, finding out what George\u2019s intentions were for it. Having conversations with George about what he likes, why Dunk is his sole POV character. Why, for example, he never wrote any Egg chapters. He has so many specific thoughts on all of this that that really helped inform what my approach was going to be. <\/p>\n

I think it was very important for me to go into that first meeting, when I flew to Santa Fe to meet him, with a mile-high preparation. I knew everything possibly in and around this world and these characters, and I had a lot of pitches, if it came to that. But I didn\u2019t go in there and lead with that. I just went and I sat down and we had conversations. I asked a lot of questions and I listened a lot. And then I went back and I re-formed and I went off and wrote a pilot. Then we were off to the races.<\/p>\n

\"two <\/p>\n

Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas), left, was a true friend to Dunk (Peter Claffey). <\/p>\n

(Steffan Hill \/ HBO)<\/p>\n

You worked on \u201cHouse of the Dragon,\u201d which is such a different show, even though it\u2019s in the same world. How did your time there affect how you wanted to approach this show? <\/p>\n

That room was one of my favorite rooms that I\u2019ve ever been in. Ryan Condal is a true writer\u2019s writer. He has so much love for this world. It\u2019s funny because everybody thinks comedy rooms are just so funny all the time, everybody\u2019s cracking jokes, and drama rooms are so serious because of the material. It\u2019s actually often the exact opposite. In drama, because comedy is not currency, everybody\u2019s just cracking jokes all the time. And Ryan has such a sharp wit; we share a very similar sense of humor. I think it was him who put me forward for this to HBO when they were looking for a writer for \u201cDunk and Egg,\u201d and I\u2019m very grateful. <\/p>\n

Our room for \u201cKnight of the Seven Kingdoms\u201d was very different. We hired all drama writers, just people that have different sensibilities. I felt like I was living my very best days. We had 11 days in that writer\u2019s room because the writers\u2019 strike<\/a> shut us down so quickly, but we knew that that was coming up. So we got going as fast as we possibly could and we broke as much as we could. Then I assigned scripts the very last day. But those 11 days in that room, I think we broke, ultimately, 20 seasons of a show by accident.<\/p>\n

We were having so much fun, we were creating it all for the first season. We did it all for six episodes. As soon as we got back from the strike, a few of my writers were just like, \u201cHow do you expect us to write 35-minute episodes with these beats to be broken?\u201d We pulled it a lot, lot back from what that was, but writers rooms are the happiest place on Earth, or least lonely place on Earth. It\u2019s not always happy \u2014 it\u2019s hard sometimes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story contains spoilers for Episode 6 of \u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.\u201d Ira Parker intended the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189606,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[88988,69418,26715,4566,88987,3410,69417,48,52,51,47,50,49,12154,63642,592,278,69421,1860,3044,8074],"class_list":["post-189605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-character-perspective","tag-dunk","tag-egg","tag-episode","tag-ira-parker","tag-kid","tag-knight","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-martin","tag-novella","tag-people","tag-season","tag-seven-kingdoms","tag-show","tag-story","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}