A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Faces Unfinished Story Challenges

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is on its way, but it’s going to run into the same problem that Game of Thrones eventually did. Based on George R.R. Martin’s novella series, Tales of Dunk and Egg, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the latest HBO series based on Martin’s ASOIAF universe.

The three novellas follow a hedge knight named Duncan and his young, excitable squire, nicknamed Egg, as they tramp through Westeros looking to do good and defend the weak. There are three novellas in the series, and season 1 will adapt the first, The Hedge Knight, but AKOFSV is going to run into a familiar problem.

Tales Of Dunk An Egg Is Unfinished, Like A Song Of Ice And Fire

Prince Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennet) putting on his helmet in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

The showrunner of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is going to run into the exact same problem that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss ended up having to deal with towards the end of Game of Thrones: the story is unfinished. If each season adapts a different book, Ira Parker will run out of material after three seasons.

The three novellas, which collectively are either referred to as Tales of Dunk and Egg or A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, include The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2003), and The Mystery Knight (2010), but the story is incomplete, and Martin has stated his intention to keep writing more (via Georgerrmartin).

We’ve heard this story before. Martin has yet to complete the sixth novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and Game of Thrones suffered greatly as soon as they ran out of material to adapt. Hopefully, Parker will realize early on that the story will go on unfinished, and he’ll adapt the story accordingly.

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Won’t Suffer As Much As GOT From Being Unfinished

Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan kneeling in the rain on a hill in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

It’s not entirely fair to compare A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to Game of Thrones. The books these shows are adapted from are very different in content as well as tone, and what’s left out of ASOIAF is far more critical to GOT than what’s left out of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is more like a series of vignettes starring Dunk and Egg, showcasing the lesser-known stories of Westeros and revealing what it takes for a man to become a knight if all they have to their name is bravery, kindness, and a sword. There is no overarching mystery like White Walkers.

So A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms could simply end and still be satisfying, even without the books being finished. However, there are some larger questions that run through the series that will need some kind of conclusion. Hopefully, AKOTSK makes better use of a blank slate than GOT did.