Game of Thrones is back, but not quite like you’ve seen it before. Ever since the show ended in 2019, HBO has been looking to expand its franchise with other tales from Westeros history. That led us to House of the Dragon, as well as a couple of efforts that didn’t end up on our screens (The Long Night prequel, Jon Snow’s spinoff). So far, HOTD has been the only expansion, but that all changes with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which not only expands the franchise in terms of how many shows it has, but also just what those TV shows can be.
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If you’ve watched both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, you probably have an idea of what to expect from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. So, first of all, throw all of those preconceived notions out the window. Based on George R.R. Martin’s The Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas – there are three in total, and Season 1 adapts the first, called The Hedge Knight – A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows Ser Duncan the Tall, aka Dunk, the eponymous knight, and his squire, a young, bald boy named Egg. Created by Ira Parker alongside Martin, the six-episode series is something different, but that’s a very good thing.
Rating: 4.5/5
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Seeing a different side to the Game of Thrones franchise | Not all of the humor lands, and it occasionally distracts from the drama |
| The entire cast is brilliant | Some of the key supporting players could’ve been fleshed out more |
| You’ll immediately love Dunk & Egg | |
| The show is funny, full of heart, and has a couple of great action scenes | |
| It’s superb on a technical level, and looks fantastic |
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Shows A Different Side Of Westeros
Unlike the A Song of Ice and Fire books, which are epic fantasy tomes, The Tales of Dunk and Egg are lighter, breezier fare. They’re much shorter, and nowhere near as densely packed with characters and plot. The same is true for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms compared to Game of Thrones: this runs for only six episodes, which are around 35 minutes in length, and there’s more humor than there is sex and violence. It also explores a different side of Westeros: not just geographically, but in terms of who it follows. While the noble houses are present, the focus is on the hedge knight.
Where House of the Dragon follows the Game of Thrones playbook (and does it very well), this makes A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms feel truly refreshing. It’s a lived-in world, and the other shows do help add to that, but the shift in focus makes it all the more fascinating to watch, and it’s nice to have a story where the stakes are a little smaller than the fate of the entire realm.
That said, it should be noted that while this is lighter fare, that doesn’t mean it isn’t weighty. There are still sequences of real pathos, and it finds room to explore some of the franchise’s core themes – honor, goodness, the human heart in conflict with itself – but in unique ways. Similarly, what action it does have is exciting, including one thrilling sequence that fully throws you into the muddy, ugly chaos of it all. It may not have dragons, nor King’s Landing political machinations, but it makes everything that happens in the narrative feel just as important.
This is, effectively, to Game of Thrones what Andor was to Star Wars (though they’re not remotely similar shows): focusing on the people underneath the surface, shining a light on those lesser-seen stories and people, in a way that makes the whole world feel bigger and richer.
Dunk & Egg Are Already Two Of Game Of Thrones’ Best Main Characters
Although the series went with the name A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, it could very easily have been titled The Tales of Dunk and Egg. That might not have worked as well in terms of branding, but it gets to the core of this story. Unlike the ensembles of the other shows, Dunk and Egg are very clearly the two main characters here, and it’s on the back of their developing relationship that this show soars the highest.
While we’ve had a few riffs on Lone Wolf & Cub in major genre franchises in the past few years, this excels at it. Dunk and Egg come to both need and want to be together, learning from one another, and thanks to the brilliant chemistry between Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell, they give the series so much humor, charm, and most importantly, heart.
Claffey is wonderful as Dunk: he brings an incredible physicality to the role, which sometimes lends itself to comedy, but also nails the emotion of the character too. Underpinning the story is the question of what it truly means to be a knight, and the actor explores that beautifully across the series. Anell is every bit as good: he’s funny and spirited in a way that recalls Maisie Williams’ Arya Stark in the early seasons of Game of Thrones. But, again, there’s some poignancy here, and a few small beats he plays with a soulful expression that instantly makes you understand and feel for him.
The rest of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ cast is very good too, of course. The clear standout is Daniel Ings as Lyonel Baratheon, who is destined to be the fan-favorite and steals most of the scenes he’s in, bringing an exuberent energy to the character. I also came to really enjoy Sam Spruell as Prince Maekar Targaryen, who starts off a little stoic and stern, but you imbues him with a sense of humanity that becomes moving towards the end. Finn Bennett is also worth calling out for joining the ranks of the franchise’s utterly detestable villains, in this case Aerion Targaryen, and that’s a testament to his performance.
Not Everything In A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Lands (But It Comes Close)
As much as I enjoyed the series – and it was a lot – it isn’t perfect. It’d be the rare show to be without fault, of course, and any issues are more minor in the grand scheme of things, but they exist nonetheless. The first of these is the humor: for the most part, this was well done, but there was, especially in the back half of the season, the odd occasion where it was overdone. A couple of these moments felt unnecessary, and actually undercut the drama for me, where it would’ve been stronger without them.
There are also some supporting characters I’d have liked to have seen fleshed out a little more. The show does a wonderful job turning some characters from the book into bigger parts, and it was likely always going to be a struggle to do that with everyone. But while I think Bertie Carvel and Tanzyn Crawford are superb as Baelor Targaryen and Tanselle in what we get, I was left wanting even more of them, given how pivotal their characters are to the story.
Final Thoughts On A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms
Ultimately, just like I adored the novellas, I loved this show. It’s wonderful getting to step back into Westeros, and to explore a different side to it. Seeing Dunk and Egg brought to life in this way is a joy, and the cast, Parker, and everyone else involved deserve enormous credit for pulling it off. There’s expansion here, which was necessary, but it all feels true to the books and the characters, and I’m relieved they stuck to that tone rather than trying to make it too epic to fit with the rest of the franchise.
George R.R. Martin has said he has ideas for 10-12 Dunk and Egg stories in total. Well, if he writes them, and HBO wants to adapt them for TV, then sign me up to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms for the next decade or more.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms begins on Sunday, 18th January at 10pm ET on HBO and HBO Max.
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Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan -
Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme
