The latest Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, has arrived – and the opening scene makes it clear that this is quite a different take on Westeros.
Now, the following will contain mild spoilers for the premiere, so turn back now if you haven't watched the episode yet. If you're still reading, then you'll know that the show begins with Ser Dunk the Tall burying his former master Ser Arlan of Pennytree, then pondering what to do next.
As he does, that rousing, familiar Game of Thrones theme tune kicks in… and is promptly interrupted by Dunk explosively emptying his bowels behind a tree.
"It was written in the script very early on as the hero theme. We tried a bunch of different versions, and the one that felt the most iconic was the major theme," showrunner Ira Parker told Variety of the scene. "Because we were not going with an opening title sequence, it felt right to give everybody a little bit of a taste of it to launch into our show. It comes out of how Dunk is feeling in that moment, going from hero to the opposite of hero, as so many of us do sometimes."
The moment is undeniably a tonal shift from what we might usually expect in Westeros, which has some fans unsure. "Overall I thought it was amazing. Loved Lyonel Baratheon such a fun character. Did a good job of getting into the story quick. My only critique was the build up to the GOT theme and then Dunk shitting which was funny but took away the hype I was feeling. I wish it had maybe one small action scene to show Dunk's prowess but I am sure that will come," said one fan of the premiere on Reddit.
"Good first ep! Wasn't sure in first 5 min, not the biggest fan of the short cutaway gags or the shit joke, but Dunk is great and loved his interactions with Lyonell," said another.
"The scene with the Laughing Storm was great and I was pleased with the episode as a whole. The shitting caught me off guard though. I have high hopes for this series," said someone else.
"Apart from the shitting joke, I really loved this as a premiere. I love the vibes. Was able to watch it with my father without being too embarrassed, lol," was another person's thoughts.
"Dunk having the runs at the start was not needed," said another fan, echoed by another fan: "Great start! Love Dunk and the costumes and how the show looks. Only issue was the cut away gags (Mainly just that one)"
"Despite the existence of s8, GoT theme music did not deserve "THAT" kind of transition," shared another fan.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms continues weekly on HBO in the US and Sky/NOW in the UK. You can keep up to date with our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms release schedule, or see our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review for our spoiler-free verdict on the whole show.
