You thought the opening of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was crude? Showrunner Ira Parker just revealed that the writers’ room had planned a poop scene that would have made the premiere look absolutely tame by comparison. The concept involved a rope breaking, a medieval toilet trench, and what Parker calls “the limit” of how far even this earthy show is willing to go. Parker’s willing to admit it in an interview, though he’s also fully aware that admitting it means everyone’s going to ask about it for the rest of his life.
Quick read:
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Ira Parker reveals cut poop scene involving rope snapping into trench
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Dunk and Egg were supposed to witness medieval latrine disaster
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Parker acknowledges limits to bathroom humor despite earthy show tone
The medieval toilet nightmare that almost was
In the early stages of development, the writing team got deeply philosophical about medieval bathroom logistics. Ira Parker told Polygon, “Very early on in the writer’s room, we were talking about where people [in the medieval era had] to go to the bathroom during a tournament, because they’re all out camping in the middle of nowhere.
Back in the day, trough trenches were dug, in just a big long line, and there were also these things set up — like if you did it in the woods, [there were] ropes attached to trees so you could lean back in sort of a crouch, squatting-ish position over the top of this trench, hopefully going downhill.”
It’s the kind of historical research that makes you appreciate how grounded A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is willing to be. But then they took it one step too far.
Steffan Hill/HBO
Where Parker actually drew the line on bodily humor
The planned scene would have involved Dunk and Egg having a conversation near the latrines when disaster struck. “The plan was to have Dunk and Egg… having a conversation near the public latrines, ‘and somebody’s rope snaps, and they fall into the [trench]. That was too far for us. So there is a limit as to how much poop and fart jokes we will allow in this show.”
Parker delivers this explanation with the tone of someone who’s genuinely proud of exercising restraint. He even adds a punchline to defend the audacity of even considering it: “But [that idea was] funnier than a fart — come on, people!” The showrunner understands that grounding a fantasy epic in reality sometimes means acknowledging bodily functions, but full immersion in a sewage trench crosses into slapstick territory that would betray the show’s tone.
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