The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the new series Game of Thrones, appeared on HBO Max and it is something very special
“Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”, the new HBO series based on the “A Song of Ice and Fire” universe by the American writer George RR Martin, has been officially launched, and the first reviews show that it is an original production for a “Game of Thrones” series.
In the nearly seven years since the controversial end of “Game of Thrones,” one of the most popular series in HBO history, American television has worked on several series to succeed it, only to have them later canceled or put on hiatus.
So far, only one has materialized and set a viewership record for HBO when it debuted in August 2022: House of the Dragon. Six months later, American television officially confirmed a third series based on the writings of RR Martin: “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”.
“A century before the events of 'Game of Thrones', two unlikely heroes roamed Westeros… a young, naïve but brave knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. In an age where the Targaryen dynasty still occupies the Iron Throne and the memories of the last dragon have not yet been forgotten, great destinies, powerful adversaries and dangerous adventures await these unlikely and incomparable friends,” HBO noted at the time respectively in the official description per series.
It officially debuted on HBO on January 18 and also appeared streaming on the HBO Max platform on January 19, with a delay due to the time zone difference from the US. So what is it all about?
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What is the new series “Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” about
“The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” was created together by RR Martin, who is involved to a greater or lesser extent in all HBO productions based on his fantasy novels, and Ira Parker, the coordinator of the “House of the Dragon” series, which, as a parenthesis, has the story set 170 years before the events of the original “Game of Thrones” series.
So the story of “The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” lies as a timeline between the two, in a relatively peaceful time when the Targaryens still ruled, but the dragons were long gone. As indicated by the official description published by HBO, it revolves around the adventures of a knight errant named Ser Duncan (“Dunk”) the Tall (played by actor Peter Claffey) and his young bald squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell).
Based on the beloved “Tales of Dunk and Egg” short stories from Martin's wider “A Song of Ice and Fire” universe, the first season of the new series will follow Dunk over the course of six episodes.
When his mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb)—the knight under whom Dunk grew up as a squire—chills to death en route to a jousting tournament before he has a chance to formally ennoble his humble apprentice, Dunk sees an opportunity to improve his place in life.
He will travel to Ashford Meadow, a rural gathering place located in the region of Westeros known as the Reach, and pass himself off as a true knight in order to compete in the tournament. Along the way, he meets the cunning and clever Egg and takes him on as his squire, leading to an unlikely friendship between the two.
A special “Game of Thrones” series
As Time magazine and others point out, “Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is intended as a lighter story than its predecessors and will focus mainly on the lives of the “common people” of Westeros rather than the ruling elite.
“It doesn't have dragons or big battles,” RR Martin said in an interview with THR days before the series premiered. “It has a field, lots of tents and some horses,” he explained. “At the end of the day, we're 'Game of Thrones' without all that stuff,” Ira Parker also pointed out.
“We have one of the ingredients — two unusual characters, like Arya and the Hound or Brienne and Podrick — who are put together and have conversations. I hope that [a făcut ‘Game of Thrones’ să funcționeze]. To me, that was a big part of what it meant,” added the American filmmaker.
Those who have read Martin's short stories on which “The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is based will probably recognize that season 1 follows closely the story of “The Hedge Night”, the first part of the series by the American author. Season 2, which has already been greenlit, will be adapted from the second short story, “The Sworn Sword.”
“The big problem is that I've only written three short stories and I've got a lot more Dunk and Egg stories in my goddamn head,” George RR Martin told THR , referring to the direction the series is headed. “I have to put them on paper,” he added.
What film critics write about the new series “Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
On the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rate of 87% from film critics who were able to see it in the preview for the press, while on Metacritic, which makes a weighted average, it has a score of 75 / 100. But on the much more popular IMDb, viewers who have already managed to see it on TV in the US give it an average score of 9.2 / 10, above that of “Dragon House” and on a par with that of the original Game of Thrones series.
It must be said, however, that the number of reviews on IMDb for “The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is still very low compared to the site's usual one.
Some of the film critics' reviews shed more light on the series and how it differs from the previous two productions, even more so than RR Martin and Ira Parker's comments.
“'Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' aims to expand the 'Game of Thrones' franchise by adjusting the tone. If the original series and its spin-off ('House of the Dragon') are merciless and their characters mostly cowards, the six-episode season created by Martin and co-creator Ira Parker is full of compassion, and its protagonist, Ser Duncan the Tall, is a true gentleman. His first adventure is more focused on making his friends rather than fighting battles, and the only dragon that appears is a finely crafted doll,” writes IndieWire.
“The 'Game of Thrones' franchise has borne fruit again like a rich oak. Where else is it to go? A jarring opening, with a lumbering squire defecating behind a tree, gives us a clue. Chronologically, 'Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' sits between the colossal original and its courtly-tinged precursor, 'House of the Dragon.' Tonally, however, it's in a world entirely apart”, writes The Guardian.
“That bastard finally gets a name: Dunk. Contrary to expectations, Dunk is a knight. More precisely, a 'hedge knight'—a knight errant, of a lower order, whose members cannot afford to provide for themselves and are forced to sleep under trees. 'Any knight can be made a knight,' we are reminded, by the simple act of ennoblement. This absence of strict filters has led to a a class system in which noblemen despise their brothers of humble origin. They are knights in name only. Of course, there is nothing fair about it,” the British publication continues.
Slate magazine has one of the more interesting takeaways, noting that this is “a 'Game of Thrones' series that everyone can enjoy, even those who weren't convinced by its predecessors.”
A negative review instead comes from USA Today, which puns on the word “gross” (which can mean both “big” and “gross”, depending on the context) and notes that the new series is “a huge HBO miscalculation. With the emphasis on gross” – a reference to the scene also noted by The Guardian and several other no-shows.
As with the vast majority of HBO productions, a new episode of The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms comes out every week. On HBO Max they appear every Monday.
