Season Review: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1

Welcome back to the blog readers. I was not as enamored with Game of Thrones (2011-19) as everyone else was, but I did enjoy the series overall. Its prequel spinoff House of the Dragon (2022-) is a different story, however. To me, that show is masterful and a better display of what the world of Westeros can be. Plus, the source material (the novel Fire & Blood) is actually finished, George. Hearing we would be getting another spinoff involving two lesser-known characters in the world of Westeros was going to be interesting since it seemed to be smaller in scale than the other two shows we have gotten. Would this wind up being a worthy addition to the Westeros saga? Stick around to find out.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was created for television by Ira Parker and George R. R. Martin, with Parker serving as showrunner for this first season, based on the novellas Tales of Dunk and Egg by Martin with this first season based specifically on the novella The Hedge Knight. The first season sees direction from Owen Harris and Sarah Adina Smith. The season stars Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell. In the season, a lowly hedge knight enters a tourney to gain a reputation among his fellow knights and meets a young boy willing to squire for him, with their relationship changing the trajectory of Westeros for years to come.

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I have not read the novella on which this season is based, or the series on which this show is based, so I had literally no expectations going into the first episode. Seeing the runtime of each episode gave me pause since that is one of my pet peeves when it comes to streaming television, and it felt like it would be inferior to the other shows because of it. So I went into the first episode with a bit of hesitation, but I left it feeling better than I thought I would. Turns out, I loved this series. The chemistry between Claffey and Ansell was remarkable, as was the performance of Claffey and the development of their relationship.

I want to start this review by talking about the performance of Peter Claffey. This is something that I never thought I would be saying, especially since Claffey did not begin his professional life as an actor. Would you believe me when I tell you that he used to be a rugby player? The 6'5" actor from Portumna, County Galway, Ireland had not appeared in anything extremely notable, and I was a bit nervous to see if he could really bring the tenderness to the role of Ser Duncan the Tall / "Dunk" that is required. And all my fears were quelled in the first episode, because he absolutely brings it. I fell in love with this character and what he represents. To me, it almost feels a bit like Superman (2025) with Duncan, because he is an inherently good character that truly stands up for the innocent and the have-nots. I will be doing something a little different for this season review, in the sense that I do not have a bunch of moments that really stand out to me to prove my point. There is really only one big moment that did it for me, and it was Claffey's speech to all the attendees at the trial of seven, where he called upon other smallfolk to fight alongside him and asking if there were any true knights among them. To me, this highlights Duncan's true good nature and creates a good-willed nature around him. You root for him to do good, and you smile when good happens to him, like I did in the finale. I cannot wait to see this charater (and his supposed lore-accurate long hair) in the second season next year.

I next want to comment on the chemistry between Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell, who plays Aegon "Egg" Targaryen. Again, I have not read any of the Dunk and Egg novellas so I did not have a baseline for what the chemistry between the two would be like. The novellas were not needed, because their chemistry was not only adorable, but it was so fun and genuine. The two actors are able to leverage their strengths to be able to expertly play off of each other and give us a genuine relationship. I truly felt as if we were hanging out with them and getting to live their journeys. As smallfolk, they are relatable and charming, and you can tell that they have been close for a while. All that being said, the show was able to deliver on its main relationship in a way that is real. I cannot wait to see what these two are able to give us next season.

Finally, I want to end this shorter-than-usual season review by talking about some story and the development of the relationship between "Dunk" and "Egg." I really do not think George R. R. Martin decided to make every novel, novella, short story, etc. in his Song of Ice and Fire series have extremely high stakes, like we see in Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon. Henceforth, it was really nice to see a show set in Westeros shrink the scale and give us a more personal and personable story about a lowly hedge knight (or is he, based on the finale) trying to prove himself as a good knight and a good man. Yeah, we may get some bloodline troubles with the fledgling Targaryen dynasty, but it is really kept to a minimum in the face of the main story of the trials and tribulations of one man.

In conclusion, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms carves its own little niche in the world of Westeros and gives us something we have never seen: a true character study. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.