Game of Thrones’ second spin-off show turns away from dragons and prophecies in favour of a grounded piece about duty, honour, and courage. 

Where previous explorations of Westerosi shores have shown brutality, scandal, and violence, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms gives us a light-hearted reintroduction to George R.R. Martin’s world.  

Rather than relying on the fantastic dragon dynasty that the Targaryens built or the existential threat to all living things of the White Walkers, this story feels more grounded in the original tale of Sir Duncan the Tall. Portrayed by Peter Claffey, we witness the struggle of Dunk as he might rise above the death of the knight he squired under to earn his own fame and fortune through glory at a tournament. 

Along the way, Dunk brings on his own squire, Egg, who is far more than he appears (yeah, I know you know, but someone else might not, so shush). Together, they’ll have to play amongst lords as a lowly hedge knight and a squire to prove they are capable of making their luck and their fortune. In a world of ancient houses, Sir Duncan shall stand tallest, should he succeed to not die. 

To The Tourney (Spoilers)

The first episode, A Hedge Knight, opens on Dunk burying his former master, the hedge knight Ser Arlan of Pennytree. With the death of his master, Dunk is left lost in the world. Until he recalls that there is a tournament at Ashford, where there is fame to be won. 

Setting off on his journey, he rests at an inn where he encounters Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), a stableboy who asks to squire for him. Refusing, he continues on his journey to the tournament and, once there, finds it is a world unknown to him. In the presence of lords who have training and proper arms and armour, Dunk appears as a common farmer. 

As one so aptly put it, ‘he looks sad.’

Trouble immediately arises as Dunk has little proof to show that he has been made a knight or that Ser Arlan was in fact real at all. Desperately, he goes searching for help, but finds himself in the company of Ser Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) and, after several tankards of ale, confesses he has little to his name and a lot more to lose than other knights who can actually afford to ransom back lost property. 

Between wondering the tournament grounds for a lord or knight that could identify his former master, he also spends time resting underneath a tree on the outskirts of Ashford. There he encounters Egg again. Respecting the tenacity of the strange young bald boy, he takes him on as his squire. The two fall asleep after witnessing a shooting star which Egg proclaims brings luck to those who see it. 

As they are the only two sleeping not under a pavilion, Dunk asks/notes that the luck is there’s alone. And so the episode closes. 

No Flights, Very Grounded

After a never-ending tirade of dragons taking over the skies of Westeros, burning and devouring and getting brutally killed and causing me to cry over animated magical lizards, this is nice. This is better. 

We’re no longer focussing on gargantuan beasts of myth or lords vying for the power of one ancient house over the other. Dunk is a simpler man with a simpler goal – make his fame, earn his glory, but first…a poo! A very…visual…poo. 

Whether it’s a metaphorical dump on the previous fantasy tone, given Dunk’s dumping follows shortly after the Thrones theme comes then goes with his bowl movements, or just a comic gag. Either way, it sets the tone – we’re moving away from the mystical. This story feels much like a tale grounded in realism. 

The stakes of this story feel as large as they have ever been, only instead of the future of the realm it’s the future of a single man. I felt for Ser Dunk, who overnight has gone from a squire to knight and now a simple man amongst knights with lands and wealth beyond his simple imaginations. 

Scaling down to a more simple story hasn’t taken anything away from the world of Thrones, it’s just focused on elements that went previously unseen. 

No ‘Who’s Who’ Here

What’s great about this spin-off is that, from the beginning, it didn’t feel like a spin-off. Make no mistake, for long-time readers and viewers of the books and show there is a pay-off certainly. But for a newcomer, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms relies on nothing but its witty characters and likeable cast of characters, its eye-catching setting and the promise of uncompromisingly brutal combat. 

Unfortunately, that promise of swords clashing isn’t fulfilled this early, and it almost feels tantalisingly reminiscent. A show about swords and knights and jousts, it’s quite clear that showrunner Dan Romer is using that Thrones reputation to carry it through a rather actionless pilot. For those first dipping their toes into Westeros, even a small fight (be that a flashback or flashforward) might be what’s needed to grab the viewers’ attention. 

An Outsider Looking In 

Going in blind certainly feels more adventurous. Where House of the Dragon only further embellished a period of Westerosi history reminiscent of Targaryens, with Dunk we’re seeing the familiar through a stranger’s eyes. From the way in which he observes a puppet show of a now-extinct dragon to dancing with the head of House Baratheon, it all feels new and exciting. Far away from the halls of King’s Landing, thousands of leagues away from the towering Wall, the burden of carrying the story is easily carried on Dunk’s tall shoulders. 

And while he is mocked for his appearance and his general lack of social connections, these only work to serve the fact that Dunk is so completely disconnected from the squabbles of the Lords and Ladies of the Seven Kingdoms. Kingdoms are not the concern here; this is a knight’s story and it feels exciting to witness it.  

Bringing us into this more humble tale, Peter Claffey is the perfect person to inhabit the role of Dunk. Carrying both the sheer size to be imposing but the acting prowess to seem small in a world of shorter men carrying themselves on family names and generational wealth. 

I had a true sense of Claffey inhabiting this character, who feels so utterly out of place. Whilst we’ve yet to have much of a proper introduction to the other characters, for this show to carry itself for potentially three seasons it certainly needs a good lead. 

Claffey has demonstrated that he’s more than up for that task.

In Summary

The first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms might not be action-packed and filled with promises of grand magical spectacle and deep political intrigue. Instead, it promises a heartfelt story of a former squire overcoming societal expectations of what makes a knight to rise and stand amongst the most respected men in the realm.

This Game of Thrones spinoff might not have the scale/scales (as in scales from a dragon for those of you who are, as they say, stupid) of its predecessor. Yet in its simplicity, it captures a more heart-wrenching and relatable story. Outcasts against the world, Dunk and Egg against the seven kingdoms and their best knights.

9 out of 10.