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Published
February 23, 2026
12:30 AM PST

After six weeks at the tourney at Ashford Meadow, it’s finally time for Dunk (Peter Claffey) and Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) to move on. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms wrapped up its first season tonight with a funeral and the beginning of a new chapter for our heroes. Coming in after the violent Trial of Seven, which ultimately saw Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett) losing to Dunk, the finale focuses primarily on the aftermath and what happens now that Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), the crowned prince, is dead. With the tourney winding down, Dunk is offered an opportunity by Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) to return with him to Storm’s End. The scene not only reveals Dunk’s immense guilt for what happened to Baelor but also Lyonel’s deep disdain for the Targaryens, reminding us of the intrinsic rivalry between the two houses.

We spoke with Daniel Ings about his role in the newest Game of Thrones spin-off. Ings discussed how he harnessed Lyonel’s braggadocious attitude and what it took for him to portray a monumental character like Lyonel Baratheon. He discusses the Trial of Seven and where he thinks Lyonel gets his deep hate for the Targaryens from in the finale. He reveals conversations he had with showrunner Ira Parker about the character, as well as author George R.R. Martin, who teased Lyonel’s potential return in the future. For those who know the story, it’s a hopeful indication that we might see Ings again, though likely in the distant future should the series continue past three seasons.

Daniel Ings on How He Harnessed Lyonel Baratheon’s Attitude

“Yeah, I feel like there’s definitely a side to me that can be bombastic and in your face.”

Image via HBO

COLLIDER: Your character, Lyonel Baratheon, is many things. He’s a singer, he’s a dancer, he’s a fighter, he’s got it all. He’s such a bombastic and bold character. Was that a role that came naturally to you, or was that something that you had to work on? Because his personality is very much in your face when you first meet him.

DANIEL INGS: I guess it did kind of come naturally. Yeah, I feel like there’s definitely a side to me that can be bombastic and in your face. It’s definitely something that I’m comfortable tapping into, and I enjoy that, particularly with dancing. Dancing was something that I used to be very self conscious about. And then when I was younger, that was a sort of choice, like a switch that I made to just choose not to be anymore. And me and my buddies used to do ironic dancing, that was my way in. We’d call it “ironic dancing,” particularly after Zoolander came out; we did dance-offs in the middle of some dance floor somewhere. At a certain point, I was like, actually, maybe I don’t need to do this ironically anymore, maybe I just enjoy this.

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I love that.

INGS: Yeah, fine. Fuck it, you know? I feel like I enjoy dance. I can’t sing, unfortunately. I’m a horrible singer. But again, I increasingly don’t really care that I’m not very good at it. You know what I mean?

To be fair, in the scene where you sing in the show, your character is drunk, so he doesn’t really need to be a great singer in that moment.

INGS: Exactly, I think, to that end, with all of those elements, this is a guy who, in a way, he doesn’t need to be able to do those things. He just needs to not care what anybody thinks, that’s the crucial thing. And that’s kind of liberating, if you can just let it go and to get to play someone who doesn’t really give a shit what people think, it means your focus doesn’t have to be on, technically, whether it’s good, it just has to be fun.

I think that came off perfectly. He definitely has, a sort of “I don’t give a fuck” energy, which I think everybody appreciates.

INGS: [laughs]

Daniel Ings Reveals a Behind-the-Scenes Moment With Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell

“Everyone was aware to protect this little dude because he is physically little, if more grown up than the rest of us.”

Image via HBO

When you’re getting into the realm of Game of Thrones, you’re already toeing the line with what is appropriate for a kid to be exposed to. What was it like filming with Dexter [Sol Ansell] and seeing him work as a young actor?

INGS: He’s an incredibly clever and switched-on young guy. It’s really super easy to forget how young he is. He’s much smarter than me and has an incredible work ethic. He would quite happily be like, “Oh, your cup’s in the wrong hand there. You had it in the other hand. You switch it on this line.” It’s so easy to forget how young he is. He’s a really sort of fun and confident young man, incredibly impressive and much smarter than the rest of us, much like his character. So in a way, it was super easy. And also, he’s incredibly experienced, like — I think he’s 11 now — he was nine when we shot it. He’s done more stuff than any of the rest of us put together.

You’re conscious of it, although a lot of the stuff that I got to do with Dexter was pretty fun, like we were out there doing the tug of war. He did bang his head at one point because we were all doing celebrations, and Peter’s throwing him up in the air. And I remember, there was one day he hurt himself quite badly, I think he banged his head on Peter’s shoulder. And I had no idea that this had happened, and I come running in, ready to, like, jump on the two of them. And Peter, bless him, was like, “No! No! No! No!” So, everyone was aware to protect this little dude because he is physically little, if more grown up than the rest of us.

Daniel Ings Gets Into What It Was Like Filming Those Action Scenes in Armor

“…that sort of energy that you see in the Baratheon tent is replicated out on the field.”

There’s a lot of physicality that comes into playing this character, I can only imagine what it’s like having to wear the armor and that giant crown. What was it like preparing for those action scenes?

INGS: The action stuff, I have to give credit to the stunt guys, because they did so much of it. Once you see that big jousting sequence and the Trial of Seven, it’s so physically demanding, what’s expected of these characters, and the way that they shoot it. It would have been shit if I tried to do a load of that stuff. I did a fair bit of riding in it, and I’d done some riding before, so it was a little bit of training for that. We did some fight training, which, again, I’ve done a bit of before, but it’s always fun to brush up on that. The thing that I wanted to focus on with all of that was the fluidity of it, because this guy is an amazing warrior, but he’s also someone who takes great pleasure in the performance of being in that arena. Do you know what I mean? In the sport of it. He’s obsessed with the sport of it, and so, much like with the dancing, most of the preparation was around trying to make sure that, even with the stunt team, there was a kind of fluid and florid movement style with this character, that sort of energy that you see in the Baratheon tent is replicated out on the field.

To be honest, it was pretty tough. The helmet, which I wear at the end, which is incredible, and I fucking loved it, but it’s so hard. There was so many sequences where I wanted to show that he is this guy who is so excited and just delighted to be there, where everyone else is shitting themselves. He’s just like, “This is amazing!” This is his 50-year storm, and then to see the switch into mad dog as he pulls the helmet on. We did so many takes of it, because that thing… I’d put it on, and then we’d finish the take with, like, seven of us in a line, and it’s just flopping over to one side.

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They should have kept that in. I feel like that would be kind of funny.

INGS: Yeah, he’s the Laughing Storm, like he doesn’t give a shit! So that was a lot of the preparation, and I mean, you can’t really tell, but I tried to kind of hit the weights beforehand, because I knew that this was going to be a physical job…

You were shirtless in one of those scenes. So maybe that helped the confidence levels there if it was intimidating?

INGS: [Laughs] Fuck it, yeah. Exactly. I mean, I’m not massively a gym guy, but, again, the thing about the Laughing Storm is, in the books there’s a big focus on his physicality. He’s a giant, and he’s physically imposing. But I think for for me, and for Ira [Parker], our showrunner, like, I think he would have loved it. He did say to me, at one point, he was like, “Can you just start eating bagels? I just wanted you to get like fat, like big.” But I just lost a ton of weight a year or two before. I was like, that’s not gonna happen.

But for me — and I think Ira kind of came on board with it — the thing that was more interesting was, there’s not much we can do to alter my height. I’m like 6′, 6’1″. We’re never going to get me up to 6’6″ without some giant platform shoes. But actually, the thing that’s more important is, to your point earlier, the sense of bigness in every other respect. You know what I mean? The voice and the unpredictability and the chaos and energy that he brings; that was more important than getting super jacked.

I can only imagine how turning your head must have been like with that helm on. You’d have to have a radius around you where people can’t stand near, lest you knock them out with the antlers.

INGS: Yeah, and then, plus, once you add in the shield, and then your lance in there. I mean, it’s a big radius.

Daniel Ings Reveals Where Lyonel Baratheon’s Anti-Targaryen Sentiment Comes From

“He is this party guy, but he does see everything.”

Image via HBO

Talking about the Trial of Seven, at one point when Dunk goes to Lyonel to ask him to join him, Lyonel is like, “Oh yeah, this is a once in a lifetime situation. Obviously I’m going to take part in it.” And that’s the impression that we get, that he’s there for the glory of it. But I’m wondering if there’s something else in it, because obviously he and Dunk have formed a friendship that’s so unlikely. Is there a bit of that loyalty, of like, “Yeah, I’m gonna stand by you,” or is it more like, “Well, who would say no to this?”

INGS: I mean, I think it’s definitely both, but I think it would take a lot longer for him to let someone into that second part, right? Like he, for sure, is inspired by this young hedge knight, and inspired by his bravery and honor and his naivety, you know? So I think, ultimately, put it this way, I don’t think he could pick to fight on the other side, like for Lyonel Baratheon. And meeting this guy, Dunk, has just opened up the tourney for him. He does this shit all the time, and it’s fun, it’s like Glastonbury for him.

But then he meets this guy who reminds him that it’s about something bigger. I think it kind of kills two birds with one stone. So I think it’s true when he says, like, “There hasn’t been a Trial of Seven for 100 years. I’m not going to miss out. This is fucking awesome,” that I think is true, but it is also a convenient way to mask the inner context of what he’s saying, which is also like, “You’re awesome. You are the greatest thing that’s happened to this tourney. And, for sure, I’ll stand by your side.” When he says, “I knew you’d be trouble,” what he’s really saying is, “I knew you’d be fun.”

In the finale, we get a little bit deeper into Lyonel’s character, where he really shows a deep disdain for the Targaryens. I’m wondering if you talked with Ira about that? Or if it was in the script about where that dislike, and even hatred comes from?

INGS: Well, I think it’s a good point. We didn’t talk about it too much. I can’t remember if the line is still in it, but at one point, he sort of says, “The only good dragon is a dead dragon.” And, you know, there’s a complicated history between Lyonel’s heritage and the Targaryens, but I suppose it’s a general sort of anti-establishment feeling of animosity towards them, because they’re people in power, but their grip on power is slipping.

Lyonel says, at one point, war is coming, and it’s a little minute before it comes, but I think he can sense that this is a dynasty on the wane, and that tends to create violence and chaos. It’s like a dying dinosaur, the last gasp of a dying dinosaur. So, we actually didn’t talk too much about it, and, as you point out, it exposes a slightly deeper understanding with Lyonel. He is this party guy, but he does see everything. He’s an observer. He sees what these people are about, and the lack of honor in the Targaryens and the distinct sense of honor in Dunk.

Daniel Ings Reflects on George R.R. Martin’s Tease for Lyonel’s Future

“Us Baratheons, we’re rebellious folk, you know?”

Image via HBO

I know that Season 2 is filming. Are you part of it, or has your chapter with the story ended for now?

INGS: I mean, I couldn’t possibly comment on Series 2, but I would love for audiences to get to see Lyonel Baratheon again. I’d love to play this guy again. He’s not in the second book or the third book.

That’s why I was curious.

INGS: As with the first, these series will be very faithful to George [R.R. Martin]’s writing. Actually I spoke to George one day on set. He came down and was like, [George R.R. Martin voice] “You know, your character comes back later on down the line.” And I’d done a little deep dive into the Westeros lore online, and you can find so much of the history that’s written even if these books haven’t necessarily been written yet, but, yeah, there’s some interesting story to tell further down the line with Lyonel and Dunk and Egg. But, you know, I have to wait and see if the story catches up to it, and if that story ever gets told, I’d be pumped.

I would love to see you back again, and I know the story he’s talking about.

INGS: Oh, cool! It’s fun, right?

Yeah, definitely. I love George’s world, and I’m always happy to see a version of it on screen.

INGS: Totally, me too. And us Baratheons, we’re rebellious folk, you know?

All episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 are now available to stream on HBO.

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Release Date

January 18, 2026

Network

HBO

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Showrunner

Ira Parker

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Directors

Owen Harris

Writers

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George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker

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  Peter Claffey

  Ser Duncan ‘Dunk’ the Tall

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2026 BAFTA Awards host, Alan Cumming, thanked the audience for their “understanding” after offensive language was shouted from the crowd.

Cumming, 61, addressed the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards audience on Sunday, February 22, after multiple outbursts regarding winners and presenters were audibly heard from Tourette’s activist John Davidson.

Davidson serves as the inspiration behind the BAFTA-nominated biographical film I Swear, which explores Tourette syndrome. (Tourette’s, as it is commonly known, is a “a neurological disorder that may cause sudden unwanted and uncontrolled rapid and repeated movements or vocal sounds called tics,” per the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.)

“You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience,” Cumming said on Sunday in London’s Royal Festival Hall. “Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.”

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And the Oscar goes to … mess. Since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held its first awards show in 1929, the ceremony has faced plenty of scandals and criticism. Just one decade into the event’s history, the Academy encounter what would become one of the biggest controversies in Oscars history. In 1940, […]

According to a report published by Variety on Sunday, outbursts including an audible “Shut the f*** up” being shouted during a speech by BAFTA chair Sara Putt, and “F*** you” when the directors of Boong accepted their award.

The outlet also reported that the n-word was shouted when Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the Best Visual Effects award to Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Cumming’s initial comments on the outbursts were later followed by a second message, per the outlet. “Tourette’s Syndrome is a disability and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette’s Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you are offended tonight,” Cumming told the crowd.

The outlet also noted that outbursts were not overheard during the second half of the event “when Davidson appeared to have left the room … of his own accord and was not asked to leave by BAFTA.”

Prior to the ceremony starting, Davidson was introduced to the audience by a floor manager, per Variety. “I’d like to welcome John Davidson MBE from one of our nominated films I Swear. John has Tourette’s Syndrome so please be aware you might hear some involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony,” the management personnel announced.

A statement regarding Davidson was also shared with the outlet by Emma McNally, CEO of charity organization Tourettes Action, prior to the BAFTAs commencing. “We’ve had a huge amount of people reach out to us about I Swear, both individuals living with Tourette’s syndrome and those with no previous connection to the condition,” the statement read. “All have been deeply affected by the film. It’s clearly created a huge public reaction.”

It continued, “Viewers have told us that seeing John’s real story portrayed with such depth and honesty has given them a far more accurate understanding of what Tourette’s can look like and how it affects the individual – this is something they had given little thought to previously. We’re hopeful that as more people talk openly and more accurate on‑screen representations appear, we’ll continue moving toward a more inclusive and understanding society for everyone living with Tourette’s.”

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[Editor’s note: The following contains major spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.]In the season finale of the HBO series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, set in Westeros a century before the events of Game of Thrones, hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) was left wondering just what his responsibilities toward his squire Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) should be. The aftermath of the Trial of Seven and the death of Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel) make Dunk reflect on his own regret and guilt, unsure of what to do and where to go next. When Dunk ultimately decides to take Egg back, it’s on the condition of continuing to travel as a hedge knight and getting as far away from royalty as possible.

While there is a sense of closure to the story being told over the six-episode first season, there’s also a sense of adventure to come. Already deep into production on Season 2, showrunner Ira Parker is continuing to work with the source material, following The Sworn Sword while also getting feedback from George R.R. Martin as he adds his own touches to the adventures of Dunk and Egg.

Collider recently got the opportunity to chat one-on-one with Parker about the events of the finale, poking fun at the need to rename the series A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms now (and no, the title is not actually changing), that reunion between Dunk and Sweetfoot, how that final shot with Ser Arlan riding off as Dunk and Egg go on their way came about, whether Dunk was ever really knighted, the change in dynamic between Dunk and Rafe from what was in the book, the nod to Brienne of Tarth, and the reveal that Egg lied again so that he could rejoin Dunk. Parker also talked about how far into the Season 2 production they are, whether any Season 1 cast members will show up in Dunk and Egg’s world again, the possibility of continuing beyond Season 3, and how they handle any potential changes that might need to be made.

Collider: It’s fun to see a show that feels so different from the other shows in this world, and yet still looks like it fits in this world.

IRA PARKER: I’m glad it still looks like it fits in this world. That was what made us the most nervous. One of our actor’s agents almost didn’t let them be in it because he said, “We don’t know how you’re going to make this look okay for the money that they’re giving you.” They took those words back by the end. I’m glad that this is the result.

No, the Series Will Not Be Renamed ‘A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms’

“We’re just having some fun in Westeros.”

Image via HBO

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So, do you have to rename the series now to A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms, or were you just having fun with the title card at the end of the finale?

PARKER: I think that’s probably what it was. We try not to take ourselves too seriously. We’re serious when it’s appropriate. We’re just having some fun in Westeros.

It was nice to have that little bit of humor again, after some of the heavier stuff in the last couple episodes.

PARKER: It was important to have that last little conversation between them to cleanse the palate a little bit. So much stuff has come to pass between the two of them in both of their lives, and we just needed to let the audience know, “Don’t worry, going forward, this will still be the Dunk and Egg that we all grew to know and love even before we turned that relationship upside down.

I also have to give you kudos for taking the time to reunite Dunk with Sweetfoot, the horse. Why was it important for you to find the time for that moment when that’s not something that you had to do?

PARKER: We all felt, pretty early on, that a lot of people, including us, were going to care only if Dunk got reunited with that horse. If he wins the tournament, fine. The Trial of Seven, great, we want him to live. But the horse, that was a hard seed to watch. Obviously, Dunk has a great affinity for his animals, so we felt that it was appropriate to at least address that. And he’s going to an apple farm. What could be better? It’s like horsey heaven.

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I thought there was something really beautiful about seeing Ser Arlan on Sweetfoot, heading off in another direction from Dunk and Egg. It’s far away, but I thought I saw Dunk turn and look in his direction. Did that happen? Was that moment more emotional than you expected, because it made me very emotional?

PARKER: I’m glad. That was the very last thing that I wrote for this show. It wasn’t actually in the original script, and when we were cutting all the things together, our ending didn’t feel quite right. I forget exactly when or how that came up. We were very lucky when we went back to do some of the re-shoots. We very quickly went and grabbed that, and I’m really glad that we did. First of all, Dunk is looking. There is just a little bit of something there. It’s perfect because your response is exactly what I wanted. Is he looking? Is he not? Was that on purpose? Was it not? We’re sending Ser Arlan off on his way. Ser Arlan has done his job and remained present with Dunk even after he died, but now Dunk is setting off to become his own mentor.

Well, thank you for confirming and clarifying.

PARKER: You have an eagle eye. I appreciate you picking that out.

I’ve really enjoyed watching Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell work together this season. They’re so different, but they also work so well together. They’ve been a fun odd couple/buddy comedy duo. What has most surprised you about watching them together? When there’s no way you could have known if they would work until you saw them together, was there a moment that just gave you a sigh of relief?

PARKER: In the audition, they related to each other very well physically. How do you quantify that? There was just a certain natural familiarity that they always had. They both went out of their way to forge a relationship off-screen as well, hoping that would translate to more ease and more chemistry on screen, and it worked. Those guys off-screen are exactly like the pair that they are on-screen. They needle each other, but in a brotherly way. I don’t think the mentorship is bottom up the way it is in the show. It’s more classic in real life. But there’s still a lot of back and forth, which I really appreciate. They’re just two very delightful people. George [R.R. Martin] knows what he’s doing. Those odd couple pairings he creates are like none other. We’re very happy to have Peter and Dex bringing them to life, but a lot of that comes from the source material.

Did Dunk Ever Really Get Knighted by Ser Arlan in ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’?

“The whole journey is going to be about what makes a true knight.”

Image via HBO

There’s a moment in the finale flashback when Dunk reveals that he wasn’t knighted by Ser Arlan. Why did you want to make that clear?

PARKER: It’s fascinating to me that that’s what you got out of that scene. At that moment, Dunk had never been knighted by Ser Arlan. He says, “Why did you never knight me?” And then, Ser Arlan dies, and we think it’s over. But then, he’s back and, as far as we know, the continuation of that scene is, “Boy, go get me my sword,” and then he knights him. There is no conformation, one way or the other, coming out of that scene. That’s exactly how Mr. R.R. Martin requested it. It remains [ambiguous] and people can decide for themselves. Look, Danny Webb is a fucking magician. I love him so much. He’s just become Arlan. It could have been no one else in this whole world. He was just pitch perfect, all the way up until his death. This whole journey is going to be about what makes a true knight, whether or not you’re given the title, or if you have to earn the title even after you’re given it. Can you earn it, even if you’ve never been given it?

It feels like, for someone like Dunk, it’s also very much a confidence issue because even if he really has the title, it’s not something he feels that he deserves or is worthy of.

PARKER: Yep. What person doesn’t feel that way, even deep into their careers and even successfully deep into their careers, that they’re not complete frauds and undeserving of any little morsel of praise or success that they receive. Honestly – spoiler alert, except I guess people know from the original series – even when he is more successful in his career than he is now and at quite high levels, as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, he’s still feeling that way. He’s still feeling insecure because there’s always new levels of a job. No one ever lets you stay at the same place for your whole life. As soon as you do a good job, they want you to do something that’s out of your comfort zone. And so, you can remain anxious and feeling unworthy for your entire career.

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Was there ever a version of The Trial of Seven that showed Maekar attacking Baelor? Did you always want that to be something that you held for the end of the episode?

PARKER: We always knew that because of the nature of the novella that is completely told from Dunk’s POV, that our show would follow that quite closely. We’re almost religiously in Dunk’s POV, breaking only a few times for Egg, but no one else. In that Trial of Seven, we wanted to keep it between Dunk and who he was fighting in that moment. That’s not to say we don’t see other little bits of that fight, but we do through Dunk’s perspective and Dunk’s story. When Aerion says on the ground to him very softly, “I yield, it’s over,” Dunk knows it’s over, but people are still fighting. There are still battles to the death going on and Dunk thinks, “I have to get this information out.”

It’s like those war movies when the war is over, but you still feel even more tense now because, what if somebody you love dies after the war is over and they didn’t have to? He sees these brutal fights going on. You see Maekar turning around with his flail and Baelor is still fighting with him. You see the Fossoways going at it, which is one of my favorite ones, and Dunk says, “I need to get this guy to the fucking front and end this thing right now,” and literally drags him there. So, we were always, no matter what, going to show it through Dunk’s POV. That moment at the end had to come through Dunk again. He’s just been given maybe everything he wants. He finally got through it, and maybe now he’s going to be Baelor’s guy. But as George so often does, it was not exactly meant to be that way.

Why did you decide to change Dunk’s childhood friend, Rafe, into a girl and add a bit of romantic interest to it? Did something about that relationship feel important?

PARKER: Is it 100% confirmed that Rafe was a boy?

No, it wasn’t.

PARKER: More than anything else in Dunk’s life, the fact that he was an orphan with no family probably weighs the heaviest and informs most of his decisions. Just that search for family, that search for a mother and somebody to take care of you, which he never had, is very at the core of what it is to be a lonely kid out there, trying to do better. I think Rafe fills that gap in some ways. Not in all ways. Dunk does this thing where he tries to see the very best in everyone because he really wants that family, even when it’s not quite right. I’m still not completely convinced that Rafe isn’t using him a little bit because he’s big and he’s strong, and he doesn’t seem to be that smart, so she can manipulate him. She’s not a bad person. That’s just what she has to do to get by. Dunk is quite earnest. He wears his emotions at the front. It makes you hope for good things.

Rafe is a very interesting relationship in Dunk’s life. At one point, we were going to have all of his little friends. We were going to have Rafe and Ferret and Pudding all in the mix. Of course, our budget necessities brought that all down to what we could accomplish. It originally started off as City of God in Westeros, and then it got paired down a little bit. Rafe, ultimately, was the most important of all those friendships. When a kid that age says, “I love you,” what does it really mean? What is he really saying? I’m not sure it’s romantic love, even though maybe it feels that way because they’re close in age and they only have each other. What is love? Feeling safe and protected and reassured, and somebody you can trust and rely on. Rafe probably qualifies to check off a bunch of those things, and I think a mother probably does the same. I think it was written in the script somewhere that Dunk looks at her like she’s his mother, sister, best friend and wife, all wrapped into one. He’s heaping a lot of things into that moment.

‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Showrunner Ira Parker Says That Moment Connecting Dunk and Brienne of Tarth Came Up During Reshoots

“It just seemed perfect.”

Image via HBO

You also have a subtle moment connecting Dunk and Brienne of Tarth, and I love that you not only did that, but also shot at the same location. How did all of that come about? Was that something you had always wanted to include? Did that come up later?

PARKER: That came up later. That actually came up in our reshoots. That was a scene that we had early on, that came out for budget reasons but then went back in due to cutting too deeply. We were looking for the original, original spot where they did the very first of those walks, but those trees had become a bit of a Belfast landmark and had actually been destroyed a little bit, just by all the tourism. And so, even the original series had to go, in Season 3 or 4 for the Brienne and Pod walk, had to go to a different spot that looked a lot like it and use that because they couldn’t use the original. So, we went to that one. It just seemed perfect. I loved it when I found out that we could get there and do that. That’s exactly the vibe that we were going for. I love that image of the trees touching over the street. There’s something that feels very special to me about Dunk and his great, great, great-granddaughter, whoever it is, walking along the same road. I think Season 1 is a lot about what we pass down to the next generation. We have father to son. We have knight to squire. We have master to apprentice. And so, it felt very within our motifs or themes for the season.

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‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Timeline Explained: Where Dunk and Egg Fit in ‘Game of Thrones’ History

The ‘Game of Thrones’ series is not told chronologically.

We learn that Egg seems to be disobeying a bit again by venturing off with Dunk. How will that affect things for Egg and his family moving forward? Is Dunk ever going to get so fed up with this kid lying to him?

PARKER: We’ve tried a bunch of different versions for Season 2, big and small. It’s not actually even determined yet where we’re going to land on that. It will come back up again. It was initially meant as just a bit of a joke, but then people started telling me afterwards that, “No, it’s a huge cliffhanger, man. You have to go and address this.” And I was just like, “Oh, okay. Yeah. I suppose.” I don’t want it to distract from the main story they were telling in Season 2. That is the only goal. We don’t want to create an alternate timeline. In the book, it felt fair game to me because it’s actually never explicitly drawn that Maekar says, “Okay, my son can go squire for you.” They’re talking about it and Dunk makes a good point, but then Maekar just walks off, and a few moments later, Egg shows up. Maybe Egg was just hiding in the bushes. Maybe Egg followed his father there, and his father was going back to the castle to say, “Let’s fucking get out of here.” And then, Egg is like, “Hey, Ser, I’m allowed to come with you.” It created a little gap there. It was ambiguous enough that we didn’t feel like we were contradicting anything that had been written down. The after effects of this could potentially do that, so we were trying to be very careful.

How many of the Targaryens that we saw this season will crossover to the second season? And really, how much of the cast, in general, will we see again?

PARKER: Every book is a brand-new cast of people. George has a plan for later novellas, where certain people would come back in. We’ll see how it goes. It’s going to be, if any, quite light. There might not be any. We’re exploring. If it feels right, if it feels fun, if it adds something to it while not taking away from everything that we’re trying to do with The Sworn Sword, then it could happen.

Production of ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Season 2 Is Moving Right Along

“We’re doing some really cool stuff.”

Image via HBO

How are things going with Season 2? Where are you at in the process of it all?

PARKER: We are pretty deep into shooting now. We’re seeing some scenes get cut together. I’m still writing a little bit and still tweaking here and there. But everything is going very well. I love our cast this season. I think we’re doing some really cool stuff, and some very different stuff than we did in Season 1. We’ll see. You never know until it’s out there.

You’ve said that Season 2 would also be six episodes. Has it felt challenging to tell the story with just six episodes that are at 40 minutes or less, or has it felt like a good amount because you really can pack the episodes with a lot of story?

PARKER: It is challenging to tell a drama episode in that amount of time, setting up the stakes, telling a full story, and closing it off. However, I will say it’s fortunate for us that, because we are a single POV show, it’s not like we have to manage multiple storylines in every single episode. This feels like the perfect amount for us. It never felt like we were straining or trying to fill time. We were just having fun. Ultimately, at the end of the day, we actually ended up cutting down a lot of stuff because it didn’t work or we didn’t need it or it slowed things down. I’m very grateful that HBO gave us such a wide breadth to deliver an episode in. The truth is, if an episode had come in at one full hour and it was just a banger, then it would have gone out like that. But between 35 and 40 minutes seems to really be our sweet spot.

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George R.R. Martin Confirms ‘The Winds of Winter’ Isn’t His Current Priority

The author’s focus isn’t that surprising.

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Do you have plans to go beyond three seasons? Have you discussed that with George R.R. Martin at all, with him still writing and things not being done? Are you worried about the Game of Thrones problem of running out of source material? How do you feel about that?

PARKER: Certainly, I’ve talked to George a lot about this, and he’s given me a bunch of paragraphs and synopses of 10 to 12 more of these – I forget and need to count them up again – to take them all the way through their whole lives, which is very exciting. And there’s a lot of really cool stuff in there. Because we actually already know all the moments that happen, because this is in the past from A Song of Ice and Fire, there’s no danger of big events being done uncanononically. Honestly, we know their fates, or George knows their fates, and we know major events that happen within their lives, we know battles that they fought in, and we know people that came in and out of their world, marriages, and deaths, and all these things. So, we actually have a fair bit to work with. We have, essentially, a finished timeline. But we’ll see. We’ll see how this first season wraps up. If people stick with us into the second season, we’ll go from there. It’s a lot of fun to write these characters.

Everything Showrunner Ira Parker Is Doing in ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Is Guided by the Stories of George R.R. Martin

“We never change the story.”

Are there changes that you’ve already needed to make to material for the second book to do Season 2? Do you make those changes and then go to George R.R. Martin, or do you have to ask him about that stuff before you write it? How does that work?

PARKER: George gets sent every draft of the script, and he’s only been a benefit to the series. That’s all we want, his input. Every now and then, little things have to change, but we never change the story. The beginning is the beginning, the middle is the middle, and the end is the end. We just fill out the world and fill out the characters, and we try to do it in a way that feels seamless and that feels like he would have done it if he had written them as novels instead of novellas. Sometimes we get it wrong, but for the most part, so far, so good. We’ll see where Season 2 comes out. It’s been a joy writing in this world. Just getting to do the fun scenes and having a strong story laid down in front of you that works, what more could you hope for with a big TV series like this? It’s a story that people love. It’s quite a classic tale that can reach a lot of people. We just get to give a different bit of flavor, a little bit of a different tone, and a little bit of a different side of Westeros. We’ll see if people continue to follow us on this journey or not.

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Release Date

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January 18, 2026

Network

HBO

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Showrunner

Ira Parker

Directors

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Owen Harris

Writers

George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker

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  Peter Claffey

  Ser Duncan ‘Dunk’ the Tall

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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms airs on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max.

The Real Housewives of Orange County’s Vicki Gunvalson is assuring her followers that she’s “safe” after violence erupted in Mexico.

“Hi everyone,” Gunvalson, 63, began her Instagram Story on Sunday, February 22, alongside a white heart emoji. “I’m safe and not in Puerto Vallarta. Thank you so much for all the messages and concern. It truly means a lot.”

Gunvalson continued, “Please join me in keeping everyone affected in your prayers. Sending love and heartfelt thoughts to all who need them right now.”

News broke on Sunday that Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the deadly Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, was killed during a Mexican military operation. The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico shared on Sunday that citizens in several locations — including Puerto Vallarta — “should shelter in place until further notice” due to “ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity.” Several flights in and out of the country have been canceled.

Related: RHOC’s Vicki Gunvalson and Shannon Beador Address Feud Rumors

Vicki Gunvalson and Shannon Beador are ready to whoop it up this season on The Real Housewives of Orange County. “Breaking news!! 😉 Laughing and whooping it up with my sister @shannonbeador 🥂,” Gunvalson, 63, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, February 17, while posing with her costar and friend. “Wild, I know. And yes… I […]

Gunvalson, meanwhile, shared in 2020 that she purchased a condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

“Well I did it! After spending over 30 years in one of my favorite places in the world, I closed on my vacation/retirement house today,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “Other than being with my children, grandchildren and @stevelodge_oc, it’s one of my happiest and fondest memories and one of my parents favorite destinations.”

Gunvalson appeared to then acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I know some of you may think it’s wrong, especially in the state of the world, but for me it immediately gives me hope and peace that things will resume to a new sense of normal soon,” she wrote. “I won’t be visiting there until I’m able, but as of today I own a home that makes me happy. I’m going to be donating all the bedding and most of the furniture to an orphanage, and will be putting to work some painters and a decorator to make this home ‘Vicki.’”

She concluded, “Thank you to all who support my decision as it wasn’t an easy one to go through with it. Those who don’t, keep your mean comments to yourself. #imhappy #puertovallarta #sunsets #kindpeople #peaceful.”

Later that year, Gunvalson shared that she was happy with her decision.

“I took a leap of faith, I ended up closing on a condo last month and I got here last night. And I thought, you know what? This was what was meant to be,” Gunvalson said in the Instagram clip at the time, per People.

She captioned the post, “Although I was apprehensive to go through with it, I have to tell you all it was one of my best decisions.”

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The Real Housewives of Orange County star Vicki Gunvalson was recorded badmouthing Nick Viall after appearing on the actor’s podcast. Gunvalson, 62, followed up an interview for the Tuesday, December 3, episode of “The Viall Files,” hosted by Viall, 44, with candid thoughts on the former Bachelor star that she seemingly didn’t know were being […]

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In 2022, Gunvalson shared that she purchased another condo in the Mexican city. At the time, Gunvalson uploaded an image of a pool framed by palm trees while another pic showed a view of the ocean with the sunset.

“My realtor just showed me the sunset and views from my newest condo,” she wrote via Instagram. “I’m in escrow now and it will be built & ready in 20 months. #investmentproperty #puertovallarta #loveitthere #bossbabe #realestate.”

Two years later, Gunvalson shared a glimpse of the property via Instagram and wrote, “Back in PV to put the condo back together!! I just love the way it turned out🤍 my home away from home ✨.”