A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Creator: Ira Parker
Cast: Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, Daniel Ings, Shaun Thomas, Tanzyn Crawford, Danny Webb, Henry Ashton, Sam Spruell, Finn Bennett, Bertie Carvel
Rating: ★★★★.5
Minus that final season (which we shall not talk about from hereon), Game of Thrones really set the standard for world-building in the fantasy genre on television. Since then, a Lord of the Rings spinoff, The Wheel of Time, and even House of the Dragon fell short. The mistake all of them made was that in going bigger and grander, they sacrificed what truly makes fantasy click – the characters and their motivations. The Lord of the Rings was never about how grand Mount Doom looked or which Balrog was scarier. It worked because we connected with Frodo. Harry Potter became a fan-favourite not because WB filled it with Oscar winners and spent hundreds of millions on VFX, but because the audience resonated with the original trio.
If there is any fantasy show from recent times that takes these lessons to heart, it’s Ira Parker’s brilliant yet simple A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Set in Westeros, the fictional continent created by George RR Martin in A Song of Ice and Fire books, it is a prequel and a spinoff to Game of Thrones. But beyond the setting, the two shows could not be more different. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has (load the gasp) no dragons, no magic, no politicking, and (almost) no backstabbing. It is a coming-of-age story in a time of peace in Westeros, focussed on just one dumb knight and his sassy 10-year-old companion. But despite these supposed limitations, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is top-tier television, giving the GoT-verse its own Andor.
Based on The Hedge Knight novella by Martin, season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms takes us on a journey with Dunk (Peter Claffey) as he becomes Se Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight with barely any training. Dunk finds a squire in a runaway named Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), who hides his true identity. As Dunk hopes for glory in a tourney, he ends up offending a Targaryen prince while defending a girl he fancies. This means he may have to fight his way out, and the odds are not in his favour.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set a century before Game of Thrones and about eight decades after House of the Dragon season 1. It is after the Dance of the Dragons killed the flying beasts. The Targaryens’ hold over Westeros is slipping and rooted only in their aura. Talks of rebellion are common, and nobility and knighthood are not as ‘noble’ as they were a couple of centuries ago. Ira Parker establishes this setting in barely the first 20 minutes of the first episode, making viewers realise that we are still in Westeros, but instead of courtrooms and small council chambers, this time we will be mingling with the smallfolk.
It is also the show most faithful to the source material. I am one of the firm believers in the notion that Game of Thrones worked largely because how intricately George RR Martin had mapped out that world and the conflict. It fell off when the creators veered off from that path. The same can be said for House of the Dragon (you all remember season 2, don’t you?) A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is so faithful to The Hegde Knight that some scenes feel 100% lifted from the book, as if the illustrations have come to life. The dialogue is accurate, the characters seem real, and the integrity and soul of the story have been captured perfectly.
But just because the show is book-accurate does not mean that it is only for book readers or GoT fans. Any casual viewer, not familiar with the world of Game of Thrones, is just as likely to be engaged in the story as someone who knows Westeros. That freshness is why I compared it with Andor. Just like that show left behind all the talk of Force and intergalactic battles to be a heist film, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms discards all the high-fantasy elements to be a buddy cop story of two youngsters. If anything, the show proves that Westeros is a great buffet of genres.
The performances are earnest, with both Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell earnest in their portrayals. They make Dunk and Egg endearing in a way only they could, firmly rooting the story in their narratives and making the viewer truly care for them. In true Game of Thrones fashion, the show introduces several memorable characters. In Baelor Targaryen, Bertie Cavel gives us the most likeable Targaryen since Daenerys (again, no talk of season 8) or Daemon (what season 2 of HoTD?). He oozes charisma and a sense of righteousness that we have not seen since Ned Stark in this world. And then there is Lyonel Baratheon. Daniel Ings brings such raw charm and passion to the Laughing Storm that is reminiscent of Oberyn Martell.
You would notice I am guilty of throwing Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon references in this review. That is more my own preference (or failing, maybe) than a comment on the show. Because A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms functions without any hangover of the two shows. It proves that a good fantasy show merely needs setting and world-building, not expensive VFX, expansive battles, and fire-breathing dragons. Because in the end, all we care about are the characters.