George R.R. Martin Just Confirmed A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Won’t Repeat the Game of Thrones Mistake

Remember how those last couple seasons of Game of Thrones went off the rails? HBO is clearly trying to avoid that with its next trip to Westeros. The new spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, just dropped a behind-the-scenes clip on X, and it features George R.R. Martin looking genuinely stunned on set. That alone is a promising sign for anyone worried about another detour into chaos.

Martin walked onto the set and basically time-traveled

The official @GameOfThrones account on X posted a clip of Martin touring the production. He did not play it cool.

"Holy sh*t, I've just gone back in time. You walk onto the set, looks like I've walked right into my book."

Fans read that as: this one is sticking to the source. And that tracks, because Season 1 adapts Martin's novella The Hedge Knight straight up, not just the general vibes.

So what is The Hedge Knight?

It's a prequel set during the Targaryen dynasty, long before the Starks and Lannisters started breaking the map. The story follows Ser Duncan the Tall, a so-called hedge knight — which is Westeros-speak for a knight with no land, no titles, and no lord backing him. Think ronin with a dented helm. In the series, he's played by Peter Calffey.

After his master dies, Duncan heads to a tourney at Ashford Meadow looking for food, coin, and maybe a little reputation. On the road, he meets a bald kid named Egg and takes him on as his squire. From there, things escalate fast and Duncan ends up in a genuine life-or-death mess.

The heart of the story is simple and timeless: what makes someone a true knight? Dunk doesn't have pedigree, but he does have a spine, and the tale keeps putting him up against the kind of nobles who confuse birthright with honor. It's about protecting the vulnerable, not polishing the family crest.

Also worth noting: HBO has already ordered Season 2. That's confidence.

About that Game of Thrones ending

Quick context on why people are skittish. It's easy to pin the final-season problems solely on Martin, because The Winds of Winter still isn't done. But what really happened was a pileup of bad timing and big obligations. Martin did hand over a rough roadmap for where the story was headed once the show ran out of books after Season 5. Without fully finished source material to lean on, the showrunners had to build massive endgame arcs on an outline. Then, before Season 8, they landed a Star Wars development deal with Disney, which put a clock on everything. The last season got rushed, and you know the rest.

GoT refresher, for context

• Series: Game of Thrones
• Seasons: 8
• Creators: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
• Major cast: Emilia Clarke, Sophie Turner, Kit Harington, Peter Dinklage, Pedro Pascal
• IMDb score: 9.2/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 89% critics | 85% audience

Release dates and where to watch

Game of Thrones is streaming on HBO Max in the US. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres January 18, 2026, on HBO Max (US).

What do you think actually sank Game of Thrones at the end: missing books, the rush to the finish line, or both? Tell me below.