[TV] HBO Game of Thrones: Duncan & 'Egg'

[Ihavewaffles]

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Dunk_and_Egg

Game of Thrones Prequel Set 90 Years Earlier In Development At HBO.

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/gam...bo-1234889520/
https://screenrant.com/game-thrones-...inoff-prequel/
BY GRAEME GUTTMANN 4 MINUTES AGO

Another Game of Thrones prequel is in the works at HBO based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas by George RR Martin. Game of Thrones ended its historic run with a fizzle rather than a bang. Many were confused as to how a show that had such a solid run could end so poorly. HBO reportedly lost half its viewers after Game of Thrones ended, but it's unclear if that is because the series ended or because of the way it ended.

HBO had multiple Game of Thrones prequels in development at one point in the hopes of narrowing it down to one that they felt could usher in a new era for the franchise. Naomi Watts led prequel The Long Night filmed a pilot but was ultimately nixed. Now, HBO is moving forward with House of the Dragon, a series that will chronicle the Targaryen dynasty's early years. Chief content officer Casey Bloys said more spinoffs were possible, and it looks like HBO is moving forward with at least one more.

According to Variety, HBO is developing a prequel based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas set 90 years before the flagship series's events. No one is attached to the prequel as far as writers or talent, but the series is a high priority for the network. Martin and HBO declined to comment on the news.

Fans have long expressed a desire for the novellas to be brought to the small screen. While the series being in development does not necessarily mean it will come to fruition, it is a clear indication that HBO is interested in expanding the Game of Thrones franchise beyond just one prequel series. With HBO saying Game of Thrones will never get a direct prequel or spinoff, this one will be about as close as it gets. The novellas, of which there have been three so far, follow a legendary member of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall, and Egg, a young boy that would become Aegon V Targaryen, King of Westeros.

Aegon is the King of Westeros, whose son precedes Aerys II Targaryen, better known as the Mad King, Daenerys Targaryen's father, who was murdered by Jamie Lannister. The Tales of Dunk and Egg are considerably more lighthearted than the oppressive darkness of A Song of Ice and Fire, giving the series the chance to explore a more familiar era from a new angle. In the future, HBO likely wants to introduce unique stories that explore different facets of the established world. Game of Thrones brought Westeros to prominence, and now The Tales of Dunk and Egg can explore the same world more thoroughly with the adventures of two lesser-known characters.




Joffrey: "So this is the famous "Book of Brothers"... all the great deeds of all the great Kingsguard...Four pages for Ser Duncan! He must have been quite a man."
Jaime: "So they say."
— Joffrey Baratheon and Jaime Lannister discuss Ser Duncan's entry in The Book of Brothers.


The Hedge Knight

The first novella was originally published August 25, 1998.

Plot
Upon the death of a nomadic 'hedge knight', Ser Arlan of Pennytree, his squire Dunk adopts Ser Arlan's armor as his own, as well as his equipment, three horses, and remaining money, in hope of winning more gold at the town of Ashford, under the name of 'Ser Duncan the Tall'. En route, he gains his own squire in a boy nicknamed 'Egg'. At Ashford, Dunk sells one of his horses for a suit of armor by the smith Pate, and befriends Ser Steffon Fossoway's squire and cousin, Raymun Fossoway. Without proof of his knighthood, he is nearly barred from competition until Prince Baelor Targaryen vouches for him. Forbidden to use Ser Arlan's coat of arms, Dunk commissions an attractive young puppeteer named Tanselle to paint a new one. Dunk watches the first day of competition, with Egg on his shoulders. After several spectacular tilts, Baelor's nephew, Prince Aerion Targaryen, disgraces himself by killing Ser Humfrey Hardyng's horse.

When Dunk retires into the Fossoways' tent to drink with Raymun, Egg reveals that Tanselle is being beaten by Prince Aerion, who is offended at the notion of the puppet knight defeating a dragon. Dunk rushes to defend Tanselle and attacks Aerion; when the royal guard arrests Dunk, Egg reveals that he is actually Prince Aegon Targaryen, Aerion's younger brother. After meeting Prince Baelor again, Dunk chooses trial by combat rather than mutilation for his attack on Aerion, who demands a 'Trial of Seven' (in which two parties of seven knights contend on horseback). Steffon and Raymun, and later Aegon, promise to acquire Duncan's partisans; and Aerion's other brother Prince Daeron, called the Drunken, warns Dunk that his father will have three knights of the Kingsguard fight in the trial.

Dunk is met again by Pate, who presents him with a new shield, originally an old one that was re-rimmed in new steel by Pate and that Tanselle has painted in his chosen sigil - an elm tree silhouetted against the sunset with a shooting star - and left for him before departing. At the morning of the trial, Raymun brings Ser Humfrey Hardyng and Ser Humfrey Beesbury to Duncan's side; and Aegon brings Ser Robyn Rhysling and Ser Lyonel Baratheon (called the "Laughing Storm"). Steffon sides with the accusers for the reward of a lordship; and Raymun begs to be knighted and fight in Steffon's place. Dunk hesitates, because his own knighthood is dubious, and Lyonel grants Raymun his knighthood - however, Dunk is still one knight short. Finally, Prince Baelor announces that he will champion Dunk himself. In the resulting joust, Dunk is unhorsed by Aerion, but beats him into submission, and Aerion recants his accusation. The fighting costs the lives of both Humfreys; and Baelor himself is later revealed to have suffered a blow to the head, stuck by Maekar's mace, after removing his helm, perishing from the injury shortly afterwards to the lament of many present. Prince Maekar, Aegon's father, later offers Dunk a position in his household to train Aegon; but Dunk insists on permission to travel, and takes Aegon as his squire, under his former alias of 'Egg'. Thereafter Dunk and Egg set out to Dorne.




The Sworn Sword

The second novella was published in 2003.

Plot
The story begins in the Reach with Duncan the Tall sworn to Ser Eustace Osgrey of Standfast, and illuminates several aspects of the feudal system of Westeros. A series of flashbacks narrated by Ser Eustace relate the events of the Blackfyre Rebellion and its conclusion at the Battle of the Redgrass Field.

At the fort of Standfast, Dunk and Ser Eustace's other sworn sword, Ser Bennis the Brown, discover that a dam has been built across the local stream, by peasants in service to Lady Rohanne Webber of Coldmoat. Bennis reacts angrily, cutting the cheek of one of the peasants. Upon hearing the news, Ser Eustace realizes that Lady Webber will be angered by Bennis's actions against her servants, and orders Dunk and Bennis to train levies from his three villages. For a peaceful solution, Eustace sends Dunk to Coldmoat, where Dunk learns that Lady Rohanne stands to lose her lands to a male cousin if she does not take a fifth husband by the second anniversary of her father's death. Her castellan, the haughty Ser Lucas Inchfield (known as the "Long Inch" for his 6-foot 7-inch height), is her most insistent suitor, but she has already refused him. Dunk fails to change the Lady's mind on either the dam's construction or seeking justice for her servant, and Rohanne informs him that Ser Eustace is a former traitor, who supported the usurper Daemon Blackfyre, and has therefore been stripped of most of his lands. When Dunk attempts to appeal to Rohanne's fond memories of Eustace's youngest son, Addam, she angrily slaps him and demands he leave; as Dunk departs, he learns that she was once in love with Addam, who died at Redgrass Field.

Shocked by the news of Ser Eustace's past treason, Dunk returns to Standfast to leave the old knight's service. That night, Ser Eustace's forest is burned, and Duncan recalls Lady Rohanne's threat of "fire and sword" to destroy Standfast. He therefore disperses the levies, and promises to oppose Lady Rohanne himself. At the river, Dunk rides into the ford to parley with Lady Rohanne where the noise of the water will prevent anyone on either bank from overhearing them. Before he enters the stream, Ser Eustace suggests that Dunk should kill Lady Rohanne at this meeting. Instead, Dunk offers his own blood to Lady Rohanne by slicing his cheek. This pays the debt for the wounded peasant; and for the claim that Lady Rohanne had the forest burned, she demands an apology or vindication, and all agree upon trial by combat between Dunk and Ser Lucas, to be fought in the stream as the only neutral ground present. In the fight, Dunk is nearly outfought by Ser Lucas, but drowns him and nearly drowns himself, but is resuscitated by Lady Rohanne's maester. When he awakens, Dunk learns that Ser Eustace and Lady Rohanne are now married, to reconcile their debts. Before Dunk leaves, Rohanne implies that she would have sooner married Dunk if he was not of low birth, but instead offers him her finest mare to make amends; and when he refuses, Lady Rohanne insists that he take something to remember her by, and he pulls her into a passionate kiss, and takes a length of her hair as a keepsake. Thereafter he and Egg ride with the intent to reach the Wall.




The Mystery Knight

The third novella was published in 2010.

Like The Sworn Sword, the book takes place during the reign of Aerys I and the aftermath of the Blackfyre Rebellion is examined in more detail.

Plot
The story begins with Dunk and Egg leaving Stoney Sept, to ask service with Lord Beron Stark against Greyjoy raids on the northern coast. On the way they encounter a septon beheaded for preaching treason; and later a group of knights and minor lords traveling to a tourney in honor of the wedding of Lord Butterwell of Whitewalls to a Frey of the Crossing, wherein the victor's prize is a dragon egg. Dunk takes a dislike to Gorman Peake, whom he believes the killer of his own mentor's former squire. Egg tells Dunk that Peake's arms of three castles on an orange field is because the Peake family owned three castles, but forfeited two to the Crown when Peake sided with Blackfyre. During the journey Dunk befriends three other itinerant knights: Ser Maynard Plumm, Ser Kyle the Cat of Misty Moor, and Ser Glendon Ball who claims to be the bastard son of the famous knight Quentyn "Fireball", who fought for Daemon Blackfyre.

The wedding is set at Whitewalls and Lord Frey arrives with his four-year-old heir, Walder Frey, and his fifteen-year-old daughter, who weds Lord Butterwell (and is alleged to have been caught by Walder having lost her virginity to a servant). Egg becomes increasingly suspicious when he sees that most of the competitors belonged to the rebel party. During the wedding Dunk is drafted by John the Fiddler to carry the bride to the bedchamber. Dunk does so and later hears from John that the latter once saw Duncan himself, in a dream, in the armor of the royal guard. Dunk enters the first match of the joust under the name of 'Gallows Knight' (for a new shield acquired after the loss of his own); but is defeated in the first tilt by Ser Uthor Underleaf, known as the Snail Knight for his sigil. Duncan later gives Underleaf his armor and horse as forfeit, and Underleaf informs Dunk that someone bribed him to kill Dunk in the final tilt. Before the jousting continues, word spreads through the castle that the dragon egg is missing, and the blame is placed on Ser Glendon Ball, who is imprisoned by Peake. In search of the absent Egg, Duncan is wounded by Alyn Cockshaw, who claims to have bribed Uthor Underleaf, and throws him into a well. Maynard Plumm comes to Duncan's aid, and it is discovered that Plumm is one of Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers' many spies (or possibly Bloodraven himself), and that John the Fiddler is the eponymous son of Daemon Blackfyre. Dunk finds Egg in the sept with the cowering Lord Butterwell, who on discovering Egg's true identity is terrified for his life. Lord Butterwell's son-in-law Black Tom Heddle tries to kill Egg to incite a war, and is killed by Duncan, who thereupon tells Egg to flee with Butterwell. To buy time for Egg's escape Dunk confronts the younger Daemon Blackfyre, and accuses Gorman Peake of falsely charging Ball with the theft of the dragon egg.

Daemon allows Ball to prove his innocence in trial by combat, in which Ser Glendon soundly defeats Daemon. By this time a large army under Bloodraven, who is also the King's Hand, encircles Whitewalls, and Daemon is captured. Dunk and Egg meet Bloodraven, and Egg demands that Bloodraven reward Glendon, Duncan, and the other hedge knights. For surrendering to Bloodraven without a fight, Lord Butterwell is spared his life and allowed a tenth of his wealth; but his fortress is forfeit to the Iron Throne and torn down. Bloodraven, at Egg's request, gives Dunk the gold to ransom his armor. When Dunk asks Bloodraven what became of the dragon egg, Bloodraven tells Dunk it was taken by an agent of his (implied to be one of the performing dwarfs at the wedding).

George RR Martin on the Making of Dunk and Egg.

Aegon Targaryen
Oct 11, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYokqk5CIrs

George RR Martin on the Famous Battle in Dunk and Egg.

Aegon Targaryen
Apr 4, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO1O1pMNW10

Game Of Thrones Dunk and Egg Prequel Story Explained.

Emergency Awesome
Sep 14, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p24DaLTmbs0

Listen free for 30 days

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
By: George R. R. Martin
Narrated by: Harry Lloyd
Series: A Song of Ice and Fire
Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/A-Knigh...PS6C85YKR55JRJ

[Voidwielder]

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Dunk_and_Egg

Game of Thrones Prequel Set 90 Years Earlier In Development At HBO.

https://screenrant.com/game-thrones-...inoff-prequel/
BY GRAEME GUTTMANN 4 MINUTES AGO

Another Game of Thrones prequel is in the works at HBO based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas by George RR Martin. Game of Thrones ended its historic run with a fizzle rather than a bang. Many were confused as to how a show that had such a solid run could end so poorly. HBO reportedly lost half its viewers after Game of Thrones ended, but it's unclear if that is because the series ended or because of the way it ended.

HBO had multiple Game of Thrones prequels in development at one point in the hopes of narrowing it down to one that they felt could usher in a new era for the franchise. Naomi Watts led prequel The Long Night filmed a pilot but was ultimately nixed. Now, HBO is moving forward with House of the Dragon, a series that will chronicle the Targaryen dynasty's early years. Chief content officer Casey Bloys said more spinoffs were possible, and it looks like HBO is moving forward with at least one more.

According to Variety, HBO is developing a prequel based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas set 90 years before the flagship series's events. No one is attached to the prequel as far as writers or talent, but the series is a high priority for the network. Martin and HBO declined to comment on the news.

Fans have long expressed a desire for the novellas to be brought to the small screen. While the series being in development does not necessarily mean it will come to fruition, it is a clear indication that HBO is interested in expanding the Game of Thrones franchise beyond just one prequel series. With HBO saying Game of Thrones will never get a direct prequel or spinoff, this one will be about as close as it gets. The novellas, of which there have been three so far, follow a legendary member of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall, and Egg, a young boy that would become Aegon V Targaryen, King of Westeros.

Aegon is the King of Westeros, whose son precedes Aerys II Targaryen, better known as the Mad King, Daenerys Targaryen's father, who was murdered by Jamie Lannister. The Tales of Dunk and Egg are considerably more lighthearted than the oppressive darkness of A Song of Ice and Fire, giving the series the chance to explore a more familiar era from a new angle. In the future, HBO likely wants to introduce unique stories that explore different facets of the established world. Game of Thrones brought Westeros to prominence, and now The Tales of Dunk and Egg can explore the same world more thoroughly with the adventures of two lesser-known characters.

It's just three short stories... each could be 3 episodes I suppose but not more than that. And the real juice in them comes from Dunks internal monologue and thoughts.

[Kuja]

Hedge knight almost sounds like a witcher. This will be good.

[Egomaniac]

It's just three short stories... each could be 3 episodes I suppose but not more than that. And the real juice in them comes from Dunks internal monologue and thoughts.

Sure.

But you're assuming that they are just going to stop when they finish those three stories.

The nature of the Dunk and Egg novellas is that they are all, more or less, stand-alone stories. There's not really a limit to how many stories that HBO can produce with that kind of format.

[Ihavewaffles]

It's just three short stories... each could be 3 episodes I suppose but not more than that. And the real juice in them comes from Dunks internal monologue and thoughts.

I liked the conflict when he worked for the chequy lion, problems with the red widow

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/House_Osgrey

[Egomaniac]

Hedge knight almost sounds like a witcher. This will be good.

I suppose they aren't entirely dissimilar. Travel from place to place, selling your services.

Generally less monster hunting and more bandits and raiders though.

Ser Duncan the Tall is not exactly Geralt of Rivea either. :P

[BloodyAngel12]

It's just three short stories... each could be 3 episodes I suppose but not more than that. And the real juice in them comes from Dunks internal monologue and thoughts.

You could squeeze a season of maybe 4-6 episodes out of each story.

[Tetley]

I highly recommend reading the short stories. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms includes all three and outstanding illustrations along the way.

[Shadowferal]

So...Martin is still getting paid.
Hmf.

[ohiostate124]

The stories are good and atleast its finished.

[Voidwielder]

The character arcs are not. George said he wants/needs to write at least 9-12 more to get to Summerhall events.

[eschatological]

My girlfriend gave me this book. I didn't realize it was a set of three novellas. I read the first two, haven't gotten around to the the third. She thinks, and I kinda agree, that it's GRRM's best writing.

It would definitely need to be fleshed out if you wanted to make a series out of it. The dude is a member of the Kingsguard and you're nowhere near that timeline (at least not in the first two novellas, which take place 3 years apart when Dunc is like.....16-20?)

[Ihavewaffles]

It would definitely need to be fleshed out if you wanted to make a series out of it. The dude is a member of the Kingsguard and you're nowhere near that timeline (at least not in the first two novellas, which take place 3 years apart when Dunc is like.....16-20?)

GRRM wanted to do lots more duncan books, we'll probably only get stuff from what already exists.

[BloodyAngel12]

GRRM wanted to do lots more duncan books, we'll probably only get stuff from what already exists.

The next one is to be called "The She-Wolves of Winterfell" if he ever writes it / releases it.

[sophiaalex4]

I think it is one of the best seasons i have ever watched

[Ihavewaffles]

Updated with "Alt Shift X" new video on part three of the story, some interesting theories n suspicions, always interesting videos..

[Th3Scourge]

So is this actually based on written source material? Seasons 6-8 of GoT was so terrible I don't think I have any interest in watching something that isn't straight from the horses mouth

[Ihavewaffles]

So is this actually based on written source material?

Yes, not even D&D could screw this up (while I dislike them, I have to admit they are damn awesome at adapting works that have already been done...I honestly blame lardass for spending his years eating donuts n never finishing his books...

[Wermys]

Based on material already written. Not complete however but should be enough for a few seasons. And the events are a lot smaller so should be cheaper to produce. It should be a good series to watch. More excited however for House of the Dragon.

[tromage2]

After the last two seasons of GoT my expectations are very low on this one.