“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is an absolute triumph

The success of Game of Thrones—last season which divided nonetheless, it naturally inspired HBO to come back for more. Dragon House has arrived in 2022, a prequel about warring royals modeled so closely on Thrones that it uses the same theme song. But A Knight of the Seven Kingdomspremiering on January 18, is cut from a different cloth. A rougher, smellier fabric. It’s an approach that fits perfectly with the source material, George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novels– and that makes for a wonderfully entertaining TV show that explores Westeros from a whole new perspective.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms—co-created by Ira Parker and Martin, and showrun by Parker—takes place between the events of Dragon House And Game of Thronesthemselves separated by some 200 years. The new show therefore takes place generations after the Dance of Dragons but generations before the Mother of Dragons. The Targaryens are still in power at this point, which doesn’t worry us at all. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ protagonist…until it suddenly becomes his biggest problem.

When we first meet Dunk (Peter Claffey), he is burying his recently deceased master, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms takes place far from the castles we’ve seen in previous Westeros shows. Instead, he shows us how people who weren’t born with fancy titles get by on a daily basis, including hedge knights and their squires. It is a life of rain, mud and sleep under the trees; deal with buzzing flies and unpleasant food; and possessing little more than your horse, your sword, and the clothes you wear.

Being a knight gives a man a certain status, but there are limits to this. As Dunk – “Ser Duncan the Great” is the clearly descriptive name he chooses for himself – is led to understand again and again, a dirt-poor hedge knight is the lowest rung on the ladder. This is made clear when he travels to Ashford Meadows, intending to compete in a tournament where the other competitors include high-born lords and princes. He has almost no money, and it’s a place where loyalty tends to be tied to who pays the highest price.

As A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms explores over the course of its six episodes (which io9 was able to view for review), being a knight – sworn to “protect the innocent” – and being an honorable man are not always the same thing. In fact, as Ser Dunk unwittingly discovers, there is often a deep divide between the two. Worse yet, the most powerful people can sometimes be the most despicable of all, a timeless lesson that Dunk learns the hardest way possible.

Deciding to enter the tournament at Ashford Meadows is literally Dunk’s first move after Ser Arlen’s death. And he doesn’t stay alone for long; although he resists the idea, he’s exhausted by a little bald weirdo 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 short stories, take a close look A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will reveal Egg’s secret before the story reveals it.

And this narrative is compressed, especially compared to the sprawling narratives of Game of Thrones And Dragon House. Although there are flashbacks to add important details – since Martin’s stories rely heavily on Dunk’s internal dialogue, this frees the series from the need for voiceovers –A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms essentially takes place over a few days in a single location.

But the stakes remain colossal. It is a question of life and death, both in the ring, where men compete knowing the considerable risks, and in the rowdy camp that arises around the tournament. There, Duncan sees what an angry, impulsive, brawling Targaryen prince is capable of, bolstered by the confidence that comes from being above the law simply because of who his family is.

Dragon House fans are familiar with this characteristic Targaryen trait, but you don’t need to have seen this show or even Game of Thrones enjoy A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Previous knowledge of Westeros is a bonus, since you’ll recognize some names and have a working knowledge of the kingdom and its tumultuous history. But with Dunk – an unconventional and immediately likeable protagonist – as the entry point, the perspective here is much more immediate and intimate.

This extends to the supporting characters, who enter the story naturally as part of the hustle and bustle of the tournament and make an immediate impression, thanks to the series’ constant blend of clever writing and wonderful performances. Claffey and Ansell make a fantastic duo, but the actors who fill out the rest of the cast are also memorable, whether they’re playing shady bad guys, shady guys just trying to get ahead, or shady good guys. The latter group includes Daniel Ings as the raspy, terrifying but 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 current events.

Touching and full of deep thoughts on personal integrity? Yes. Horrible violence? Indeed, a lot. But also, saucy humor and fart jokes? You better believe it. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is confident enough to accept all of the above. It’s as self-contained as any Martin-adapted Westeros work could ever be, with an almost anthological format set by the Dunk and egg novels. (This first season is based entirely on his first story, “The Hedge Knight.”) And even though it’s set in a world that Martin fans already know and love, it has its own flavor.

An example which illustrates this quite well: if the most recurring musical signal is a whistling motif which underlines the Western side of the story, it also involves this famous Game of Thrones theme in two important places.

One of them is an incredibly heroic, goosebump-inducing 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 series takes its characters and situations seriously, but it doesn’t take himself too seriously, and that makes all the difference.

It would be easy to complain about that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is too short, because we would like to spend more time with Dunk and Egg. But six episodes is actually pretty perfect, just as the show itself ends up being. Thanks to the Seven, a season two is already on the way.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres January 18 on HBO and HBO Max, with new episodes rolling out weekly.

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