Viewers of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms have shared their reactions to a scene of a character defecating in the show’s opening moments.
The Game Of Thrones prequel series is based on George R.R. Martin‘s Tales Of Dunk And Egg novellas, and focuses on squire Ser Duncan the Tall, or Dunk (Peter Claffey), whose mentor dies. He then inherits his travels to Ashford to compete in a tourney, where he gets his own squire Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), a prince of the Targaryen dynasty.
The series premiered in the US last night (18 January), with the first few minutes depicting Dunk’s decision to enter the tournament. However, as the credits music appears to begin, it cuts to a shot of him projectile defecating.
Viewers have since shared their reactions to the unexpected scene, one writing on X: “The way they skipped over an intro to him pooping by that tree was DIABOLICAL.”
“Did we really need to see him taking a shit,” another added, while a third joked: “Did I take too many gummies or A [Knight] of the Seven Kingdoms start by showing a guy having diarrhea?”
“Just finished the premier of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Good news is there is action early in the show. Bad news is it’s just the hedge knight pooping,” a fourth noted, while another quipped: “Talk about taking a shit on the theme music.”
The way they skipped over an intro to him pooping by that tree was DIABOLICAL #AKOTSK #AKnightOfTheSevenKingdoms pic.twitter.com/F6d8b2K4Z4
— Giselle// (@giselleb1234) January 19, 2026
Did we really need to see him taking a shit. #AKnightOfTheSevenKingdoms pic.twitter.com/NlB7Y9ZEXQ
— Tamieka’s Den (@tamieka_den) January 19, 2026
Did I take too many gummies or A Night of the Seven Kingdoms start by showing a guy having diarrhea?#HBOMax #GOT
— Big12BS (@BBSIV_) January 19, 2026
Just finished the premier of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
Good news is there is action early in the show.
Bad news is it’s just the hedge knight pooping. pic.twitter.com/SNHYokvGom
— Irony Odyssey (@Ironyodyssey) January 19, 2026
talk about taking a shit on the theme music #knightofthesevenkingdoms
— Jason Alden Lone Wolf Guardian (@Kavalden) January 19, 2026
Martin himself has admitted that the scene was a “bit of a surprise” to him, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “Not to say that my characters don’t take shits, but I normally don’t write about them at any length.
“When I saw the rough cut, I wrote, ‘What is this? Where did this come from? I don’t know if we really need the shit.’ But [showrunner Ira Parker] liked it for whatever reason.”
Explaining the decision to include the moment, Parker revealed: “The reality of doing this, how difficult it is, how scary it is — that turns his guts to water. Because he’s not a hero yet, you know? All we’re trying to say here is that Dunk is not a hero yet.
“He’s just a nervy kid with a nervous stomach — just like me. And as badly as you want to do something great, as soon as you actually have to go off and do it, it becomes trickier. And that’s what the whole season is for him.”
In NME‘s three-star review of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, we said: “You’ll find yourself rooting for Claffey’s klutzy knight as he tries to prove his virtue as well as his mettle. Considering that Dunk’s defining achievement in episode one is defecating athletically from behind a tree, that’s no mean feat.”
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