The success of Game of Thrones—divisive last season notwithstanding—naturally inspired HBO to go back for more. House of the Dragon arrived in 2022, a prequel about warring royals patterned so closely after Thrones that it uses the same theme song. But A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which premieres January 18, is cut from a different cloth. A rougher, stinkier cloth. It’s an approach that perfectly suits the source material, George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas—and it makes for a wonderfully entertaining TV show that explores Westeros from an entirely new point of view.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms—co-created by Ira Parker and Martin, and showrun by Parker—takes place between the events of House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, which are themselves separated by 200-odd years. The new show, therefore, takes place generations after the Dance of the Dragons but generations before the Mother of Dragons. The Targaryens are still very much in power at this point, something that’s of zero concern to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ protagonist… until it suddenly becomes his biggest problem.
When we first meet Dunk (Peter Claffey), he’s burying his master, the very recently deceased Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms takes place far away from the castles we’ve seen in the previous Westeros shows. Instead, it shows us how people not born with fancy titles get by on the day-to-day—including hedge knights and their squires. It is a life of rain, mud, and sleeping under trees; dealing with buzzing flies and unpalatable food; and not owning much more than your horse, your sword, and the clothes on your back.
Being a knight gives a man a certain status, but there are limits to that. As Dunk—“Ser Duncan the Tall” is the plainly descriptive name he chooses for himself—is made to understand again and again, a dirt-poor hedge knight is the lowest rung of the ladder. That’s brought into clear focus when he ambles to Ashford Meadows, intent on entering a tournament where the other competitors include highborn lords and princes. He’s got close to no money, and this is a place where loyalty tends to be intertwined with whoever’s paying the highest price.
As A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms explores over its six episodes (all of which io9 was able to view for review), being a knight—sworn by oath to “protect the innocent”—and being an honorable man are not always the same thing. In fact, as the unintentionally blundering Ser Dunk discovers, there’s often a deep divide between the two. Even worse, the people with the most power can sometimes be the most despicable of them all, a timeless lesson that Dunk learns in the hardest way possible.
Deciding to check out the tourney at Ashford Meadows is literally Dunk’s first move after Ser Arlen’s passing. And he’s not on his own for long; though he resists the idea, he’s worn down by a bald-headed little oddball named Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) who really, really wants to be his squire. No spoilers here, but even if you haven’t read Martin’s novellas, close viewing of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will reveal Egg’s secret before the narrative comes right out with it.
And that narrative is a compressed one, especially compared to the sprawling likes of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. Though there are flashbacks to add important details—since Martin’s stories rely heavily on Dunk’s internal dialogue, this frees the show from needing any voice-over—A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms basically takes place over a couple of days in a single location.
But the stakes are still sky-high. They’re life or death both in the jousting ring, where men compete knowing the considerable risks, and also in the rowdy camp that springs up around the tourney. There, Duncan sees firsthand what an angry, impulsive, bratty Targaryen prince is capable of—bolstered by the confidence that comes with being above the law simply because of who his family is.
House of the Dragon fans are well familiar with that signature Targaryen trait, but you don’t need to have seen that show or even Game of Thrones to enjoy A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Previous Westeros know-how is a bonus, since you’ll recognize certain names and have a working familiarity with the kingdom and its tumultuous history. But with Dunk—an unconventional, immediately likable protagonist—as its entry point, the perspective here is much more immediate and intimate.
That extends to the supporting characters, who enter the story naturally as part of the bustle of the tournament and make an immediate impression, thanks to the show’s consistent blend of clever writing and wonderful performances. Claffey and Ansell are a fantastic leading pair, but the character actors who fill the rest of the cast are also memorable, whether they’re playing sleazy villains, sleazy guys just trying to get ahead, or sleazy good guys. That latter group includes Daniel Ings as the raucous, terrifying yet endearing Ser Lyonel Baratheon, as well as Webb’s craggy old Ser Arlen; the more we learn about Dunk’s time with him, the more it becomes a surprisingly touching backbone to present-day events.
Touching and full of deep ruminations on personal integrity? Yes. Gruesome violence? Indeed, lots of it. But also, bawdy humor and fart jokes? You better believe it. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is confident enough to embrace all of the above. It’s as self-contained as any Martin-adapted Westeros work could ever be, with an almost anthology format set down by the Dunk and Egg novellas. (This first season draws entirely from his first story, “The Hedge Knight.”) And while it takes place in a world Martin fans already know and love, it’s got its own flavor.
One example that illustrates this quite well: while its most recurring musical cue is a whistling motif that underlines the story’s Western feel, it also brings in that famous Game of Thrones theme in two important places.
One is a stunningly heroic, goosebumps-raising moment. The other is a cheeky-as-hell invocation—followed by the show’s first display of ridiculously crude humor, a tactic used sparingly but effectively throughout the series. This show takes its characters and situations seriously, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that makes all the difference.
It’d be easy to complain that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is too short, because we’d love to spend more time hanging out with Dunk and Egg. But six episodes is actually pretty perfect—much like the show itself ends up being. Thank the Seven there’s already a season two on the way.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres January 18 on HBO and HBO Max, with a weekly rollout of new episodes.
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