- - George R. R. Martin Shares Blunt Reaction to Shocking Poop Scene in “GoT” Spinoff: 'Don't Know If We Really Need the S---'

Brenton BlanchetJanuary 20, 2026 at 4:16 AM

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Getty; HBO

George R. R. Martin (left); Dunk in 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' -

George R. R. Martin is sharing his honest reaction to the opening moments of Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

The sequence features Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall defecating while the GoT theme plays

“Not to say that my characters don’t take s--ts, but I normally don’t write about them at any length," Martin told The Hollywood Reporter

George R. R. Martin isn't wasting any time sharing his thoughts on the opening moments of the new Game of Thrones spinoff.

The author, 77, says he was "a bit surprised" by the graphic bathroom sequence (if you could call it that) which kicked off HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, published on Sunday, Jan. 18.

In the scene, which aired on Sunday, Peter Claffey's Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall can be seen squatting behind a tree and projectile pooping as the Game of Thrones theme plays in the background.

Even Martin didn't expect the moment when watching if for the first time, he told THR. “Yeah, that was a bit of a surprise,” he said. “Not to say that my characters don't take s--ts, but I normally don't write about them at any length."

Martin added, "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 s---.’ But [showrunner Ira Parker] liked it for whatever reason.”

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Steffan Hill/HBO

Dunk in 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'

But there was good reason to feature the character having diarrhea, at least according to the showrunner. As he told THR, the script read "Duncan hears the hero theme in his head," which wasn't originally established as the GoT theme.

"He was going to hear that call to greatness that we all hear that when we decide we’re going to do something really difficult that we’ve never done before," Parker said. "It’s a little scary and you feel like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna be the guy. I’m gonna do it!’ He picks up the sword. He’s thinking about it.”

He adds, “But then the reality of doing this, how difficult it is, how scary it is — that turns his guts to water."

Dunk isn't "a hero yet," Parker said, noting that the scene is set to establish that he's "just a nervy kid with a nervous stomach," which the first season will take a closer look at. "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," he said. "And that’s what the whole season is for him.”

When asked about the behind-the-scenes of the introductory poop, and if it was indeed Claffey's rear end, Parker joked to Variety that a "magician never gives it away."

"I will say that we don’t have the budget for fake anything on this show. Very, very little is done fake," he said. "We’re not crazy. It’s not a fake up there s----ing on screen, that’s his butt."

The series, based on novellas by Martin, follows Claffey's "naïve but courageous knight," and his diminutive squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). Per HBO, the show kicks off roughly a century before Game of Thrones begins, and sees Dunk and Egg face "great destinies, powerful foes and dangerous exploits."

Stepping into the role for the six-episode series, Claffey told PEOPLE ahead of its premiere, was "terrifying."

"I was a massive original Game of Thrones series fan. I was there for the whole thing, so I understand the reverence that people have for this show," Claffey, 29, said, adding that he was "just hoping to God that the show gets taken well" while referring to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

His character is "just a normal guy ... that doesn't want to sit atop the Iron Throne," but still wishes to be a "respectable knight and maybe sleep under a roof from time to time."

"In the world of Westeros, you're faced with so much backstabbing and adult themes. For [Duncan] to try and navigate that with a decent moral code, it's always very admirable," Claffey added. "I really love that we've leaned towards how good Dunk is with animals as well. That's always such a nice quality for a human to have."

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres new episodes on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.

on People

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