A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Creator Defends Finale's Big Change And Promises It Will Be Addressed

The latest "Game of Thrones" show is a fascinating adaptation. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" captures the comparatively lighthearted tone of the original novella, the smaller stakes, and the sense of hope and optimism of the source material. And yet, the changes the show makes to George R.R. Martin's "The Hedge Knight" seem to have pretty big repercussions for Westerosi lore.

Such is the case with the finale of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," which has an original scene that might significantly change the ambitious plans for the show's future.

Speaking with L.A. Times, showrunner Ira Parker defended the decision to have Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) lie about having his father's permission to travel the realm with Dunk (Peter Claffey) and live as smallfolk. "It's not confirmed canonically," Parker said of Egg's lie. "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."

In Martin's novella "The Hedge Knight," Maekar (played here by Sam Spruell) doesn't exactly give his permission for Egg to travel with Dunk, but he does agree with Dunk that it would be best for the boy to travel around Westeros rather than grow up in a castle. The first season of the show ends with a post-credits scene wherein Maekar is leaving Ashford with his men and he starts looking for Egg. He soon starts getting angry and yells that his son has gone missing — right after we see Egg lie to Dunk and explicitly say he has his father's blessing to travel with him.

Author George R.R. Martin approved every change in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," which means he would be aware of this adaptive tweak and was fine with it. Still, even if Martin liked the alteration, it doesn't change the fact that Egg's lie would have big repercussions for season 2 and beyond.

The kidnapping of a prince is not a petty crime. We already had a gnarly trial by combat partially because Dunk was accused of kidnapping Egg. Even if Maekar knows Egg and Dunk are friends, he now needs to respond in force to make an example of Dunk. Does this mean Dunk and Egg have to keep looking over their shoulders as Targaryen soldiers follow them every step of the way? Do we get yet another trial of the seven? Will the next season be some "Scooby-Doo" joke where Dunk and Egg keep having to hide from soldiers and wear silly costumes to avoid detection?

We don't know yet, but Ira Parker promises to at least address this change.

"This is a little bit of a thread, but I don't want to start getting into two big ripple effects that change the nature of the story we're allowed to tell in [season] 2 that make it too big," Parker told EW. "It will be addressed, but hopefully it will not detract from anyone's enjoyment of 'The Sworn Sword.'"

Given the lighthearted tone of this adaptation, we'll most likely get a single cutaway joke where Egg and Maekar settle this via message-by-raven. But even book fans now have something entirely new to look forward to in season 2, and as far as weird adaptation choices go, this was nothing compared to the "Furious 7" homage in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms."