Why A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Episodes Are So Short, According To The Showrunner

After "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon" took similar approaches to the world of Westeros in tone and focus, the third show based on the franchise of ice and fire feels like a breath of fresh air. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" certainly belongs in the same world as its predecessors; an unforgiving world of inequality, cruelty, and violence. And yet it is not only a funny show, but it even feels surprisingly hopeful, at least when it comes to protagonist Dunk (Peter Claffey) and his attempts to make a name for himself as a knight. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" even introduces George R. R. Martin's love of songs to TV for the first time.

Indeed, it's the little things that make this show feel special and unique among the adaptations of Martin's work. It pays attention to making the world feel tactile and lived-in, like the incredible puppet shows in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" serving to illustrate legends and myths passed around by the smallfolk. It's not a big aspect of the show, but it adds to the overall feel and look of Westeros.

Likewise, the very format of the show makes it stand out. That's because "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is only 8 episodes long, with each episode running at around half an hour. Yes, this means we barely get to spend any time with Dunk and Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), but there is a good reason for it.

Speaking with GQ, showrunner Ira Parker talked about not wanting the show to overstay its welcome. "We weren't stretching. We weren't doing any strange side quests with Dunk and Egg. We wrote it as if George had written a 300-page book."

According to showrunner Ira Parker, the team already knew about the 30-minute episode runtimes before they approached George R. R. Martin, which Parker said made it easier to convince Martin of the value of the adaptation. "One of [Martin's] big concerns with this being a faithful adaptation is that it just does not stretch out to that level."

"Him knowing that HBO wasn't going to force that—then we could just have fun. Then we can hang out in Westeros," Parker continued. "We can get to know Dunk and Egg better and their relationship better. Season one, we can introduce a little bit of our Trial-ers [of the Seven] before it comes to the main showdown. Lyonel Baratheon has a much bigger part in the show than in the book, where I think he has one line right before the trial."

Indeed, that is the double-edged sword of adapting something like "Tales of Dunk and Egg." The novellas are so short that it is easy to simply stretch them and add to the adaptation. Granted, after watching the first season of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," it's very easy to imagine enjoying more of just Dunk and Egg hanging out. Still, the season is just long enough to adapt Martin's work without it feeling overwhelming, while adding things to the adaptation that the source material didn't have. A good example of this is the show vastly improving on Lyonel Baratheon with an incredible first-episode scene that's original to the TV adaptation. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is just enough to flesh out the story beyond the confines of a single 160-page story, without the main plot losing steam.