The world of Westeros keeps expanding, but it sounds like one of its latest chapters could have turned out very different.
According to the showrunner of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the original vision from George R.R. Martin may not have involved a six-episode HBO series at all. Instead, the author apparently leaned toward something much tighter and cinematic.
During a recent roundtable interview, showrunner Ira Parker opened up about how the Game of Thrones prequel came together and what Martin may have wanted for Dunk and Egg’s story.
“I would say it was probably George [R.R. Martin’s] preference to do a two-hour movie. But since HBO came to me with this, they were very amenable to any length or format that we wanted to use.”
The idea of a standalone two-hour fantasy epic centered on Ser Duncan the Tall and his young squire Egg has a certain appeal. This would be a great story to experience on the big screen. The story has that classic, contained adventure vibe that could easily fit into a feature-length format.
Instead, the series landed as a six-episode run, with installments ranging between 30 and 40 minutes each. It’s a shorter, more compact approach compared to the sprawling seasons of Game of Thrones, but I’m enjoying the hell out of it! I’m ultimatly happy we are getting six episodes!
The show hasn’t exactly played it safe, either. The penultimate episode of the season, titled ‘In the Name of the Mother,’ delivered the kind of brutal spectacle fans expect from this franchise.
Hedge knight Dunk faced off against Prince Aerion Targaryen in a savage Trial by Seven that ended in devastating fashion for a beloved character. It was intense, emotional, and very much in the tradition of Westeros storytelling.
While a two-hour movie would’ve been cool, the episodic structure gives these characters room to breathe and lets those pivotal moments hit even harder. Dunk and Egg’s journey feels lived-in, and the slower build adds weight to the big, bloody payoffs.
Via: CBR
