The brutal and violent sequence of The Trial of the Seven was the main event of the latest episode of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” but there was an attempt to avoid the entire runtime being eaten up by the heightened action scenes with a character-driven flashback to Dunk’s (Ser Duncan The Tall) time in Fleabottom (where the extremely poor reside in King’s Landing) and shrowrunner Ira Parker wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to add it.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Parker explained why it ultimately happened and sort of worked to hammer home Dunk’s reasoning to protect the innocent from harm, without spoiling the show, which led to events leading up to the Trial of Seven. However, was expecting folks not to be into the era switch-up (we’re not sure if Parker was aware of the glowing reception, as it has now set a record on IMDB).
“I hate that I’ve had to do a flashback at this point when everybody just wants the battle, but we had to,” Parker told EW. “But I do think it stands on its own, and I do think it’s fun to see Dunk like that. I do think it adds a lot to the story, and it adds to the ending of episode 5 as well…But, yeah, it’s gonna displease some people.”
In that flashback, we see a very desperate Dunk nearly seeing the end of his life until his ward, Ser Arlan of Pennytree, ends up saving his life in their very first encounter, placing him on the path of a squire.
Parker also recalled shooting that well-crafted battle sequence that ended up the meat of the episode and brought back the twisty dramatics the “Game of Thrones” franchise is known for.
“When you’re out there, and you’re shooting it, mud is drying up on you because it happens to not be raining for the first time ever in Belfast, and you have to get the fire hoses on it. Plus, the wind changes and all of a sudden your mist coming in from one way is now blowing completely out, so you gotta go shift that all around. Plus, you got stunt guys covered in fake sugar blood, which is attracting all the wasps. And meanwhile, you’re trying to get in there and get everything you had planned. It is chaotic, and we embraced that pretty early on.”
There has been a multitude of fan expectations that the second season (based on George R.R. Martin‘s second novella) will explore the Blackfyre Rebellion, headed up by a “bastard” faction of the Targaryens via Daemon Blackfyre. However, it remains to be seen if the show will ultimately go overboard with more flashbacks, given the show’s budgetary limitations when compared to “House of the Dragon.”
With only a six-episode count for season one, the show’s finale will drop this Sunday as “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is officially set to return for two more follow-up seasons, with the aim for the next batch of episodes to debut sometime in 2027.
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
