A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Review: A Smaller, Rougher Westeros
HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows hedge knight Ser Duncan and squire Egg across six episodes, blending humor, brutal combat and intimate storytelling.
Overview
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms centers on Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his squire Egg over six HBO episodes, adapting George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas.
The series adopts a lighter, often bawdy tone and intimate focus, combining crude humor, pastoral visuals, and occasional gore instead of the franchise's usual sprawling political battles.
Set roughly a century before Game of Thrones, Dunk travels to Ashford Meadow for a tourney, confronting nobles and Targaryen princes while proving his knighthood and worth.
Created and showrun by Ira Parker with input from George R.R. Martin, the production features strong supporting performances and high production values across concise six-episode arcs.
Critics are divided: some hail its charm, chemistry, and intimate storytelling; others call it filler, criticizing weak plot, crude jokes, and streaming-era short season structure.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the series enthusiastically, employing loaded praise like "absolute triumph" and "wonderfully entertaining," privileging creators' pedigree and performances while minimizing dissent. Editorial choices—rich descriptive language, selective emphasis on accessibility and emotional beats, and omission of critical perspectives—produce a promotional, celebratory narrative rather than balanced critique.
Sources (3)
FAQ
The first season adapts George R.R. Martin's novella 'The Hedge Knight,' published in 1998.
Ser Duncan the Tall is a hedge knight who becomes a legendary Kingsguard member, and Egg is his squire who later becomes King Aegon V Targaryen.
The series premieres on HBO and HBO Max on January 18, with six episodes in the first season.
George R.R. Martin has outlined 10 to 12 additional unpublished novellas covering Dunk and Egg's full lives, shared with showrunner Ira Parker for potential future seasons.
It features a lighter, bawdy tone with crude humor, pastoral visuals, intimate storytelling, and brutal combat, focusing on small folk rather than sprawling political battles.
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