A Graphic Poop Scene Opens 'Game of Thrones' Prequel 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'

This article contains light spoilers for Episode 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

If Game of Thrones fans felt personally attacked by the epic series's lackluster final season, it only makes sense that they would be just as critical of the show's spinoff series. The latest development in the Game of Thrones universe is an adaptation of George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas, which take place after the events of House of the Dragon and before the events of Game of Thrones.

After the first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms dropped on Jan. 19, 2026, on HBO Max, many viewers were perplexed. In the first 19 minutes, the young knight Ser Duncan (Peter Claffey) squats next to a tree and drops a deuce. It certainly was not the grand opening Game of Thrones viewers have become accustomed to.

TikTok user @jaclyn.kully explained her distate of the opening scene. "What I got to see, I was not happy with," she says. "There was dookie on the screen ... It was the most egregious, offensive, unacceptable thing in cinema."

She pulls up an article that says that the poop is real. "That gross poop shot in the premiere is not a fake-up ... That's his butt," she reads.

"I would rather see people being 'unalived' than dookie on the screen," Jaclyn said. "Dookie on the screen? One step too far. You've crossed the line," she concluded.

"If you enjoy the medieval inspirations behind the rest of Game of Thrones, then you also need to be OK with poop jokes," TikTok user Mike Bedard with the account @cinema_singularity argues.

Mike explains that the episode begins with Dunc burying his dead mentor. "We think he's gonna go on this epic quest. The music builds up, and then he defecates behind a tree," he says.

He goes on to note that based on social media reactions, it's clear that not everyone was a fan of this, and many thought it was just a crude joke. "I have news for you. Poop jokes are eternal," Mike states.

He goes on to explain that medieval literature and tales of knights and epic quests are integral to Game of Thrones. He brings up The Canterbury Tales, which are satirical stories about Medieval English society.

The stories, by "the father of English literature," Geoffrey Chaucer, made fun of traditional stories about knights. Mike says that The Canterbury Tales and similar works making fun of knight stories are full of sex jokes, fart jokes, and crude humor.

"If Game of Thrones is the tale of King Arthur ... Then A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is The Canterbury Tales ... this silly other thing that is happening at the same time," Mike argues.

George R.R. Martin told The Hollywood Reporter that the poop scene was "a bit of a surprise."

"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--t.’ But [the showrunner] liked it for whatever reason," he added.

Showrunner Ira Parker said that the scene is not meant to be disrespectful of the original show. He explained that Duncan feels the "call to greatness" and is preparing to do something new, difficult, and scary. He picks up the sword and thinks about it, "But then the reality of doing this, how difficult it is, how scary it is — that turns his guts to water," Ira said.

"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," he explained.

Ira added, "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."