The internet has not been kind to the world of A Song of Ice and Fire in recent years. The long wait for new novels has frustrated fans all over the world, as Game of Thrones eventually outpaced the George R. R. Martin books they were adapting and thus told an ending to the story before the creator did. Then that ending got so much criticism from critics and fans alike — in my review of the final season, I wrote that the show limped across the finish line — that it has tarnished the memory of that iconic fantasy series, despite it still being one of the biggest achievements of television entertainment this century. Then there’s the case of House of the Dragon, the spin-off show, which got off to a strong start, but which also threw away a lot of the goodwill due to how unsatisfyingly the second season concluded. Although I knew how popular the Tales of Dunk and Egg stories from George R. R. Martin were to book readers, I didn’t sense a lot of optimism from the TV-only audience when an adaptation of them was announced as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Then I saw the, in some way, quite different new Game of Thrones spin-off (compared to the other shows) a few months ago, and I was delighted. Here was a show that had all the ingredients needed for the kind of storytelling that could revive the brand. It’s one of the best new shows I’ve seen thus far this year.
Showrun by Ira Parker, best known as a writer of a single episode of House of the Dragon, the first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms consists of only 6 episodes, each with a lesser 30-42 minute runtime. It has no recognizable major stars attached to it, but it is spearheaded by relative unknowns in Peter Claffey (Bad Sisters) and, a relative newcomer, Dexter Sol Ansell as Dunk and Egg, respectively. Dunk is the unknown lowborn squire of the forgotten hedge knight Sir Arlan of Pennytree (played by Danny Webb), who, as the show begins, we see has just been laid to rest by his tall and despondent squire. Dunk, however, insists that, before Sir Arlan passed, he was knighted, and so he chooses to travel to a local tourney to enter it, make a name for himself, and possibly find a house to fight for. On his way to the tournament, however, he encounters a bald, small child called ‘Egg,’ who is adamant that he wants to be Dunk’s squire for the tournament. When they get to the tournament, Dunk struggles to find someone who will even acknowledge that he is a knight, due to Sir Arlan not being well-known. As Dunk works hard to become recognized as a knight, he starts seeing that Egg is more than just a mere stable boy, and he gets into trouble when he tries to defend the innocent.
One of the first things that I immediately loved about this show was its irreverent, tongue-in-cheek tone. There’s this great moment in the opening scenes, where we start to hear the classic Game of Thrones theme song, but then instead of launching into some fancy and elaborate title sequence with the aforementioned overused theme, it then zig-zags and plays it for a laugh. Although not a direct comedy, the show has a lot of really effective dry humor that left me really relaxed through the first half of the series. I found myself chuckling and smiling a lot. The characters are really well-designed, and the central actors are perfectly cast, as Claffey really nails that simple but chivalrous and good-hearted thing about Dunk, while Ansell plays his character with a wisdom beyond his years. They’re great together. A lot of good has to be said for the supporting cast as well. Everyone is up for the specific tonal approach, and I would say it even shines brightly when it leans into the more epic Game of Thrones-style scenes of battle or shock. Bertie Carvel is particularly great as Baelor Targaryen, as he plays his character with competency and wisdom that make for a strong support later in the series.
The action is also exceptionally good. Throughout the series, the jousting and tourney scenes shine, but it is particularly impressive in the great penultimate episode, where we see teams line up to fight for two opposing sides. Although this episode perhaps spends a tad too much time in flashback, it all added to the perfectly designed battle scenes that are among some of the franchise’s best. It was every bit as serious, sensational, and emotionally affecting as the best episodes of the original George R. R. Martin adaptation. And the dirty, foggy, muddy, and deliberately overwhelming trial action was incredible (for something similar, action-wise, seek out David Michod’s The King and Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel). It was such a smart and inspired choice to present parts of it from Dunk’s point of view, often seen from inside the helmet. It was as epic and as violent as anyone could’ve asked for.
In classic Game of Thrones style, the main climactic battles happened in the penultimate episode, while the finale was all about the aftermath. But it was a notable aftermath that made strange but interesting decisions, like deliberately featuring anachronistic non-diegetic music, and, slightly humorously (but also in an emotionally affecting way), featuring a visual reference to Furious 7. It was the right note to end on, because what really made this show shine was how it kept what made Game of Thrones great, but it also made decisions that set it apart in exciting and bold ways. Here is a character-focused, somewhat comedic, and refreshingly straightforward narrative (insofar as it doesn’t jump around to many different locations or character groups). In doing so, the show creators made very few missteps and were rightfully celebrated far and wide for getting a lot of people to care about this particular fantasy world again. I am hopeful that it can continue down that path going forward.
– Review written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 