Though Game of Thrones ended only two years ago, it feels like it's been ages since HBO aired the eighth and final season. The conclusion to the saga of the Starks, Lannisters and Targaryens disappointed so many loyal viewers that the series seemed to evaporate from pop culture almost immediately. What was once appointment television with a wide fan base is now fodder for memes, which poses a challenge for planned spinoffs. A Naomi Watts-led The Long Night series was scrapped in favor of the Targaryen-centric House of the Dragon, and the GoT franchise's future seems to be on unsteady footing. However, the news of another Thrones-related project, Tales of Dunk and Egg, is a welcome surprise.
Tales of Dunk and Egg is based on G.R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg stories. They have since been collected and published as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but first written as three separate novellas: The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight. Set approximately 90 years prior to the events of Game of Thrones, they feature characters with ancestral ties to Westeros's powerful, ruling families, and they take place among their familiar strongholds. Book readers champion them, and what sets them apart from the A Song of Fire and Ice novels, or their prequel, Fire and Blood, is their tone.
If Tales of Dunk and Egg is anything like its source material, it'll be considerably more jovial, episodic and lower-stakes than its counterparts. All three novellas center on Ser Duncan the Tall, or Dunk, and his traveling companion, Egg, who is quickly revealed to be Aegon V Targaryen. Ser Duncan is a Flea Bottom commoner who becomes a true Knight's squire, then seizes the opportunity to assume his identity when it presents itself. He encounters an eager bald-headed boy who wishes to join him. Circumstances force Dunk to invent a name and coat of arms, but he enters a tournament and eventually discovers that his awkward new companion is actually the Prince.
From there, Dunk and Egg get up to plenty of trouble, some of it serious but most of it quaint by Westeros standards. That the Dunk and Egg stories are so modest in scale, focused in their point of view and linear in their storytelling, makes them unique in Martin's body of Westeros-set work. It's not a perfect parallel, but there's a real chance for Tales of Dunk and Egg to be HBO's answer to The Mandalorian. A warrior — neither good nor bad, but one the audience is rooting for — takes it upon himself to care for a child while on the road. That Tales of Dunk and Egg will be a step back from the epicenter of the franchise, while also exploring characters and lure that have fans have been hoping to see, means there's less room for error and more room for creativity (including Mandalorian-style meaningful fan service).
Dunk and Egg are beloved book characters, and savvy Game of Thrones readers and watchers may have caught reference to them before. Egg is the great-great-great grandfather of Jon Snow, and it's been all but confirmed that Ser Brienne of Tarth is related to Dunk, though exactly how hasn't been revealed. However, as was previously the case, it's not entirely clear if Martin is finished with the Dunk and Egg stories. He's spoken about writing more installments and was against the idea of bringing the duo to the small screen.
With its charming heroes, their fun exploits and without so much crown envy, incest and genocide, Tales of Dunk and Egg might be the perfect palate cleanser for the Game of Thrones fan who'd prefer to forget Season 8.