TV Review: ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Season 1

The cast for the show includes Peter Claffey (‘Small Things Like These’), Dexter Sol Ansell (‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’), Daniel Ings (‘The Gentlemen’), Finn Bennett (‘Warfare’) and Bertie Carvel (‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’).

Related Article: Return to Westeros? Warner Bros. Has a ‘Game of Thrones’ Movie in Early Development

Initial Thoughts

Daniel Ings in ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.’ Photo: Steffan Hill/HBO.

With ‘Game of Thrones’ wrapping up in a roar of dragon’s flame back in 2019, we all knew HBO wouldn’t want to let such a cash cow fade into history. So, naturally, a host of spin-offs were thrust into development. Only two have so far emerged –– ‘House of the Dragon,’ which returns for a third season this year, and now ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.’

Adapted from creator George R.R. Martin’s series of prequel novellas featuring hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall (AKA Dunk), and his squire, Egg, the new series is a very different prospect from both of the previous shows, since it dives more into the lives of those who exist in the shadow of the highborn, who must navigate a changing Westeros roughly a century before the events of ‘Thrones’ itself.

Script and Direction

Tanzyn Crawford in ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.’ Photo: Steffan Hill/HBO.

Co-created by Martin and head writer Ira Parker (a veteran of ‘House of the Dragon’), Dunk and Egg’s adventures on screen represent a welcome change from what has gone before, while still feeling like it exists in the same universe.

It’s also a lot less sprawling and more focused than either of what has gone before, not to mention funnier.

Directors Owen Harris and Sarah Adina Smith, meanwhile, keep it feeling authentically grubby, staging the later action moments authentically.

Cast and Performances

Finn Bennett in ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.’ Photo: Steffan Hill/HBO.

This is the sort of story that only works if the central pair complement each other, and fortunately, Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell bring their characters to life in truly engaging fashion, leaping them from the page to the screen with ease.

Around them, the likes of Daniel Ings and Finn Bennett are superb as a friend and an enemy to our heroes respectively.

Final Thoughts

Peter Claffey in ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.’ Photo: Steffan Hill/HBO.

If you were always tempted to watch ‘Game of Thrones,’ but couldn’t see yourself committing to its complex, interwoven stories, ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ could be just the intro you’re looking for.

Funny, occasionally filthy but always entertaining, this is just the shot in the arm the franchise needed.

‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Season 1 receives 82 out of 100.

Sam Spruell in ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.’ Photo: Steffan Hill/HBO.

What’s the plot of ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Season 1?

A century before GOT, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his squire, Egg, wandered through Westeros while the Targaryen dynasty ruled the Iron Throne, and dragons were still remembered.

Great destinies and enemies await the incomparable friends.

Who stars in ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Season 1?

• Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall
• Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg
• Finn Bennett as Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen
• Bertie Carvel as Prince Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen
• Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle
• Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon
• Sam Spruell as Prince Maekar Targaryen

Bertie Carvel in ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.’ Photo: Steffan Hill/HBO.

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