‘I Don’t Know if We Really Need the S**t’ — George R. R. Martin Reacts to a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Poop Scene as Showrunner Insists It Isn’t Meant to Disrespect Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has reacted to the poop scene in HBO spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which has quickly become the main talking point following the release of Episode 1.

Warning! Spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1, Episode 1 follow:

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms adapts George R. R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novella trilogy, itself a prequel to Game of Thrones set 100 years before the events of the main books. Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell play Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg, respectively.

Season 1 (Season 2 is already confirmed) kicks off with wandering knight, Ser Duncan grieving the death of his lord, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). We hear the iconic Game of Thrones theme song before it is rudely interrupted by a shot of Duncan letting rip in a rather violent fashion, while clinging on to a tree for dear life.

It turns out that this shock poop scene came as something of a surprise to George R.R. Martin, who told The Hollywood Reporter: “Not to say that my characters don’t take shits, but I normally don’t write about them at any length. When I saw the rough cut, I wrote, ‘What is this? Where did this come from? I don’t know if we really need the shit.’ But [showrunner Ira Parker] liked it for whatever reason.”

So, what are those reasons? Parker told The Hollywood Reporter that the poop scene and the way it interrupts the Game of Thrones theme song isn’t meant to be disrespectful to the original show. Rather, it’s meant to highlight reality kicking in as Ser Duncan realizes just how scared he truly is at the prospect of becoming a hero, which “turns his guts to water.”

“Because he’s not a hero yet, you know?” Parker continued. “All we’re trying to say here is that Dunk is not a hero yet. He’s just a nervy kid with a nervous stomach — just like me. And as badly as you want to do something great, as soon as you actually have to go off and do it, it becomes trickier. And that’s what the whole season is for him.”

Despite not being sure about the poop scene, George R. R. Martin has expressed his enthusiasm about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in the past. Indeed, Martin teased last year that he couldn’t wait to see Dunk and Egg’s story come to TV screens.

“I’ve seen all six episodes now (the last two in rough cuts, admittedly), and I loved them,” Martin said in a blog post in January. “Dunk and Egg have always been favorites of mine, and the actors we found to portray them are just incredible. The rest of the cast are terrific as well. Wait until you guys meet the Laughing Storm and Tanselle Too-Tall.”

Martin continued to celebrate A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, adding: “It’s as faithful an adaptation as a reasonable man could hope for (and you all know how incredibly reasonable I am on that particular subject).” Check out IGN’s review of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 for more.

His view on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is in stark contrast to his view of fellow Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon. In a recent interview, Martin opened up about his “abysmal” working relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal. Meanwhile, we’ve heard the first word of a potential HBO Game of Thrones sequel series starring Arya Stark.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.