The Hedge Knight graphic novel - could it work as a roadmap for HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
So, per reports, HBO's Dunk & Egg show is going to be 6 episodes. I've seen several people saying that's too long, it should be 4 episodes at most, a 2 hour movie at most, there will be too much filler, blah blah blah. Well let me tell you, that's not true!
In 2003, The Hedge Knight was adapted as a 6 issue comic book (later collected as a graphic novel), and I think its script, each issue ending in a cliffhanger or dun-dun-dunnn moment, would work perfectly for the show, and is very probably how they'll do it.
Potential spoilers under the cut, but first - is this not perfect casting and costuming? It so is.
Like I said, I think each issue could be the plot of each episode. So I'm just going to summarize these issues, I hope you've read the GN or the novella. (If not, go read it, go read all of Dunk & Egg, it's so good.)
#1 - Dunk buries Ser Arlan, decides to go to Ashford for the tourney, meets Egg and a weird drunk guy at an inn on the way, gets to Ashford, sets up camp in the forest (bathes naked in a stream), goes to the tourney field and sees Tanselle performing her puppet show, gets measured for armor he can't quite afford, gets back to his camp to find the weird little bald kid making dinner.
#2 - Dunk agrees Egg can be his squire, that night he sees the falling star, next morning goes to Ashford castle and gets told he needs to prove he's a knight to enter the tourney (or that Arlan was, since he says Arlan knighted him), meets Aerion (badly) but also the Kingsguard, sells his horse for armor money, talks to Tanselle and meets the Fossoways, then meets up with the young Dondarrion lord whose dad Arlan worked for and relates the House Dondarrion origin story (imagine them telling that via puppet imagery, ooh), gets told "yeah knowing that is no proof you're a knight, sucks to be you".
#3 - Dunk goes back to the castle, stumbles into Baelor and Maekar arguing about M's missing kids, Baelor remembers his epic joust with Arlan so yay Dunk can be in the tourney, Dunk and Egg talk to Tanselle about painting him a shield, they watch the opening of the tourney (lots of jousting and pageantry including Lyonel "the Laughing Storm" Baratheon), and the first day ends after Aerion deliberately kills that horse.
#4 - Dunk argues with Egg over how much of a douche Aerion is, more flirting with Tanselle, gossip with Raymun Fossoway about the Targaryens, Egg runs in to say Aerion's hurting Tanselle, Dunk beats up Aerion and almost gets murdered by Aerion's goons, Egg reveals himself to save Dunk, Dunk in prison, talks to Egg and Baelor, Baelor tells him he can be mutilated for striking a prince or ask for trial by combat, so "how good a knight are you, truly?"
#5 - Aerion says sure, trial by combat, but only a trial of seven, Dunk has to find 6 guys, talks to Raymun and Steffon Fossoway, Daeron apologizes and tells Dunk his dragon dream, shield reveal, next morning the smallfolk are all "a knight who remembered his vows", various guys show up to help Dunk and Raymun gets knighted, but Steffon Fossoway goes to Aerion's side so they're still missing a guy, "are there no true knights among you?", wait is that Valarr??? no it's Baelor in Valarr's armor omg
#6 - The trial of seven. You know how this ends. 😭 Then talking to Maekar, and Dunk and Egg ride off into the sunset together.
I hope that's convincing enough for the doubters! I can see a few points where something might be shifted from the end of one to the beginning of the other -- but on the whole I think the comic is an excellent roadmap for the show, and I hope this is the way they lay it out. Also ftr, the Sworn Sword graphic novel was also originally 6 issues so possibly season 2 ditto (unless they add an episode for the in between THK-TSS Dorne and Oldtown adventures that didn't actually appear in the novellas, idk). But the Mystery Knight was only released as one book, so who knows, they might go for more episodes when they get to that season.
Also, re taking inspiration from the comic, I really hope they adapt the Kingsguards' gold codpieces. Just because.
Who do you think would be Daemon's favorite descendants?
OOOOOH I LOVE THIS QUESTION okay there's a few that come to mind (by order of appearance):
aemon "the dragonknight" targaryen - this one is for obvious reasons that include him being one of the greatest knights in the history of westeros just like his granddad <3 aemon targaryen you will always be loved by me (and daemon)
daeron i targaryen - daemon would appreciate his unhingedness and sheer audacity to do something like invade dorne at the age of 16
daeron ii targaryen - daeron was a cultured and scholarly man, just like daemon was, and he was a good king that saw dorne and westeros finally being united. was overall very based, we love you daeron the good
brynden "lord bloodraven" rivers - let’s be real who wouldn’t love to have brynden thee rivers as a descendant, he was smart, cunning, he wielded dark sister, and was sent to the night watch for being a real targaryen loyalist. legendary behavior
daenerys targaryen - the greatest targaryen of them all, the mother of dragons, the last targaryen, the only ruling targaryen queen after rhaenyra...yeah she’s definitely a favorite!
begging hbo to make the opening sequence for dunk and egg (at least for the hedge knight) some sort of puppet show or at least involve puppets of some kind
yuh mhm im now suddenly okay with book purism bc it’s my favourite thing that’s been turned grey and boring. anyways the best targaryen era i don’t care what anyone says.
According to the way they adapted Fire and Blood in House of the Dragon, we can probably expect some changes in Dunk and Egg:
Dunk is actually the long lost son of Daemon Blackfyre and Dornish Daenerys Targaryen (y'know because EVERYONE has to have their parents explained)
Egg will not be loyal to Dunk, he'll be a total scumbag
Maekar DID kill Baelor on purpose.
Before Baelor dies he whispers that Egg should be King and Dunk must immediately be named a Kingsguard.
Aerion will commit like one actrocity and then get a redemption arc.
Bloodraven and Bittersteel are estranged lovers (this could work) and all this is a bitter divorce
Bloodraven gets his info by selling feet pics. The trees told him that's how Alicent did it.
Shiera Seastar DOES actually eat children and bathe in blood.
Daeron the Drunken will take so much fantasy cocaine/LSD that the whole thing was actually all an acid trip
Daemon II Blackfyre will not serve cunt or camp.
The Blackfyre Rebellion? All happened in one big miscommunication Trope.
The dragons aren't dead, they're actually just finding themselves in the wilderness, you know? They're just really getting into their earthy crunch side.
Maekar Targaryen will do nothing all season. Just serve face and say offensive shit
The Dornish will be an integral part of the season. You will only know about it because of Behind the Episode.
Valarr Targaryen is a socialist and that is why they killed him off.
The mastermind behind all the Targaryen deaths? Baby Walder Frey.
Who really stole the dragon egg at Whitewalls? Time Travelling Penny in disguise.
I heard that the casting of Baelor "Breakspear" was announced for the new Knight of The Seven Kingdoms/Dunk and Egg series and I just wanted to doodle my version of Breakspear, aka my pookie Oscar 💜
There's something about maekar naming most of his children after other targs while baelor gave his own names free of any burden. something something maekar wanting glory and recognition through them something something baelor gifting autonomy to his sons under his own legacy. And in valarr's case it's interesting because he's free of an overbearing father like maekar but being baelor's son is such a heavy weight too. he's a mediocre knight, he wont be dunk's champion..... maekar saying when there's a drought and valarr's king, the smallfolk will wish for baelor and blame him.
Of course, this IS maekar projecting (fork spotted in kitchen etc) but it'd be true if valarr had ever become king. how noble baelor was, how honorable, how brave, how good. and these would be enough for someone to resent him (maekar!) but valarr kept participating in tourneys to try and become his father. and when I think about baelor just accepting nothing is ever going to change, accepting maekar's unfair stubbornness and valarr's indifference I want to screammm. he must be the good he wants to see in the world. and he dies.
Announced Casting for upcoming series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms; they are as follows: Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg, Peter Claffey as Duncan the Tall, Sam Spruell as Maekar Targaryen, Finn Bennett as Aerion Targaryen, Bertie Carvel as Baelor Breakspear, Daniel Ings as Lyonel the Laughing Storm, and Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle! Last pic is speculated actors, and we do not know their role yet
Myriah’s willing to do anything for her sons… Even if that means beating a level of Super Marwyn Brothers that they haven’t been able to pass on their BoyGame
Do you have any ocs that get to hold that sweet «consort»-title? Alt. Question how does Myrielle get along with her father-in-law or Aerion’s uncles?
funny you mention that .
since aerion doesnt technically die before maekar kicks the bucket in this universe .. well ... ... ........... <_< ... the succession is a little more clear . which isnt actually a very good thing in this case ... but how funny is king aerion if you don't think about it too hard (the answer is very) ! myrielle gets the consort title for a little while at least but it shifts into queen dowager slash regent eventually .
as for maekar ..
in my mind they're not really At Odds necessarily - she respects him and wants to be on his good side as her father in law . finds him a respectable man and doesn't intentionally try to piss him off or anything but i feel like she finds ways to do so regardless. she's a bit too similar to aerion in the sense that she somehow always ends up on the scene of the crime and i imagine it causes a lot of additional stress for him to have the aerion myrielle pipeline of bickering as kids > twisted marriage > kids named after horrible monarchs in the background alongside everything else that's already going on for him LOL
i do think they have some care for each other in the sense of familial loyalty by means of marriage . maekar wants to make sure she doesnt get in trouble and ruin his son's reputation further and myrielle finds comfort in him as a distant father figure when her own family isnt really at court anymore
baelor is a fun one i think because it's a double whammy of Both myrielle and tybolt show up at court and theyre amazed by him . i like to think tybolt even before they get to king's landing looks up to baelor in the sense of being a kid who wants to be a knight and a great lord looking up to a knight and a great lord . and myrielle ends up tagging along even if she doesn't care much for knighthood or his feats ... her cool uncle in law that she idealizes and crushes on in a childish sense the same way she does a lot of the male figures in her life .
digging way too deep for a little tumblr post i think she looks at him from a distance as an ideal shining example of what a Man Should Be and envies him . somewhere maybe she wishes she could be like him the same way tybolt does despite knowing that will never ever happen
THE OTHER TWO ... 90523590r239 well. theyre kind of nothingsauce to me sorry (not true aerys served nerd loser and died so i respect him) and i don't think she's very attached to them either. rhaegel she would gossip about in a really unnecessarily mean way and with aerys its kind of like
Hi, I remember you once drew a Baelor Breakspear piece, I've been searching for it but can't seem to find it. Could you post it on your Tumblr. Thanks and continue the great work.
forever mad at grrm for creating THE baelor breakspear and having him name both his sons some banger ass names in a world where everyone and their grandma is called aegon just for all three of them to fucking DIE