59 Primetime Emmys and 44 million average viewers later, the legacy of HBO’s Game of Thrones has been somewhat spoiled over the past few years. What began as a hugely successful show that faithfully and concisely adapted a true giant of fantasy literature ultimately became an example of what happens when a show loses sight of its true strengths.
Game of Thrones‘ final season is widely regarded as one of television’s great failures—a rushed conclusion that either wrapped up loose threads in the least satisfying ways possible or left them hanging altogether. The finale left a foul taste in fans’ mouths, and the show has been forced to reckon with this spoiled legacy ever since.
Thankfully, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is finally here to rebuild the show’s reputation with a smaller-scale, more character-driven narrative inspired by George R.R. Martin’s short story of the same name. The show’s pilot episode premiered on HBO on January 18, with five more to follow over the coming weeks.
What Happens In A ‘Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’?
Set roughly 100 years before the events of Game of Thrones, HBO’s latest spinoff centers around a new character named Ser Dunk the Tall (Peter Claffey), who enters a prolific tourney in order to prove himself as a knight following the death of his mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). During his journey, Dunk takes a young boy named Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) under his wing, and soon realizes he’s harboring a crucial secret.
The first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms opens with Dunk holding a makeshift funeral for his old friend Ser Arlan before heading to Ashford for the tourney, making a quick detour to an isolated tavern along the way. It’s here where Dunk first meets Egg, who offers to squire for the inexperienced knight but is promptly shut down.
Once Dunk arrives in Ashford and signs up for the games, he encounters a series of knights and lords whose names may be familiar to Game of Thrones fans: Ser Steffon of House Fossoway, Ser Manfred of House Dondarrion, and Ser Lyonel of House Baratheon – the great-grandfather of Mark Addy‘s King Robert Baratheon. As Dunk settles down for the night, he encounters Egg once more, and agrees to let the young boy squire for him.
HBO
A Funnier, More Lighthearted Successor To ‘Game of Thrones’
Where Game of Thrones was praised for its dense worldbuilding and high stakes, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms takes a much less dramatic approach to its story. This isn’t a tale of warring families or brutal warfare; Dunk isn’t the mythic hero of Game of Thrones legend, nor is he anybody of particular importance. The spinoff’s pilot revels in these low stakes, using Dunk’s clueless curiosity as a source of comedy above all else.
From the half-hearted funeral that opens the episode to the jolly dance sequence that closes it, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ pilot feels unburdened by the weight of legacy and drama that ultimately caused Game of Thrones to trip over itself. This is a strong, self-contained tale that values its characters above the overarching history of Westeros—just like the story it’s based upon.
A Compelling Genesis For Dunk & Egg
While it’s yet to be seen how well the rest of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms gets the central themes of this story across, one thing that’s immediately clear from this pilot episode is that Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell fundamentally understand the dynamic between Dunk & Egg. Their fraternal relationship is the beating heart of this tale, and it’s that focused, concise storytelling that really makes the pilot episode shine.
Ultimately, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a fierce step in the right direction for the Game of Thrones franchise. It proves that this world is dense enough to sustain multiple interconnected shows, but unlike spinoffs like House of the Dragon, it doesn’t demand a wide knowledge of this universe to truly enjoy. It’s certainly not Game of Thrones, but that’s because it’s not trying to be.
