A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, or Nine Kingdoms, I suppose, has been lauded for its faithfulness to the source material. But at times, show's creators have deviated George R.R.'s novellas.
Earlier in the season, series showrunner Ira Parker admitted to a "mistake" in which they omitted a key exchange between Dunk (Peter Claffey) and the blacksmith Steely Pate (Youssef Kerkour).
Now the good news is not everyone is familiar with the original novellas of which A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is adapted from, but those who have read the prequel novellas may have noticed another change in the series finale.
As a quick recap, the season finale ends with Prince Maekar offering Dunk a position at Summerhall to train and oversee Egg as his squire. Disillusioned by royal politics, Dunk declines and instead intends to return to the life of a wandering hedge knight.
However, after being visited by the spirit of his mentor Ser Arlanof Pennytree, Dunk reconsiders and tells Prince Maekar that he will, indeed, take on Egg as a squire, but only if it's away from Summerhall. Prince Maekar refuses.
As Dunk prepares to head off, he's surprised by Egg who tells him that Prince Maekar agreed to let him go. This, of course, is a slight deviation from the book, as it was never actually revealed in the book if Maegar had given permission for Egg to leave.
"It’s not confirmed canonically," Parker told the LA Times. "We haven’t done anything egregious here, I don’t think. [And] I believe it from a character perspective. I believe that Egg would do that again, because he’s already done it. We’ve seen him. He runs away. That’s sort of his thing. And he lies to people.”
Although Parker wouldn't share any specific details about Season 2, the showrunner did tease that the situation will be addressed again.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 2 is already confirmed, and expected to premiere next year. Filming has been underway since January. The second season of the prequel series will be based on The Sworn Sword, which Parker recently admitted was his favorite installment in Martin's trilogy.
"We’re now getting into The Sworn Sword, which is my favorite novella in many ways, with Rohanne Webber or the Red Widow, Ser Bennis, and Ser Eustace, who are these classic characters," Parker told AV Club. "I can’t say much but we have three absolutely brilliant actors coming in to do these roles. I’m excited."
As always, be sure to check back with SFF Gazette for all future Game of Thrones news, including anything we learn about Season 2 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.