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A newly-made knight tries to enter a match to show himself, however winds up having to tackle a extra harmful and private problem. The third TV present set on this planet of George R.R. Martin’s A Music of Ice and Hearth is likeable sufficient, however removed from the must-see standing of Sport of Thrones.
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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms wasn’t precisely what I used to be anticipating. Minutes into episode one, after easy squire Dunk has buried his grasp, he lifts the lifeless knight’s sword to the sky and the acquainted, rousing theme music begins up… just for a fast minimize to point out Dunk loudly relieving himself behind a tree.
It’s as if Martin’s A Music of Ice and Hearth franchise goes down the Marvel route and utilizing wildly totally different codecs for its properties. As a result of if Sport of Thrones was its sweeping Shakespearean drama, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a small-scale, mismatched-buddy comedy. And the one dragon that seems is a puppet.
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The tonal shift from GOT to AKOT7K makes lots of sense. After George R.R. Martin tied himself up within the “Meereenese knot” – when the plot of his A Music of Ice and Hearth saga had develop into so discouragingly sophisticated that he all however deserted it – he moved on to put in writing a sequence of easy prequel novellas, Tales of Dunk and Egg. The primary of those, The Hedge Knight, is the premise for the brand new sequence A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
It’s set on this planet of GOT, however the occasions happen round 90 years earlier (and 100 years after the opposite TV spin-off, Home of the Dragon). As a substitute of GOT’s a number of views, there’s one. And as a substitute of the many-stranded plot, the tempo is leisurely, the scope small and the story contained in a single time and place.
Episode one follows wannabe knight, Dunk, as he buries his grasp, by chance obtains a squire and makes an attempt to enter a match.
The tempo is leisurely, the scope small and the story contained in a single time and place
And that’s about all that occurs. The episode is over 40 minutes lengthy, however the different 5 episodes of season one are nearer to 30. And it proves loads of time to inform this very modest story.
Protagonist Dunk is performed by Irish actor Peter Claffey. He actually has the construct for a personality whose one notable characteristic is his peak (he goes on to title himself Ser Duncan the Tall), and he’s a heat, likeable presence. At 29, he appears considerably older than the teenage Dunk of the novellas, thus altering the dynamic between Dunk and the nine-year-old Egg, which may doubtlessly disappoint current followers.
Nonetheless, the younger Dexter Sol Ansell, who performs would-be squire Egg, is a superb actor, and the 2 construct up a rapport that anchors the present and gives most of its funniest moments.
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The remainder of the comedy errs on the aspect of slapstick, with Dunk repeatedly banging his head on a low doorway and looking out uncomfortably misplaced among the many wealthy, established knights assembled for the match.
On the identical time, although, there’s sufficient of the standard GOT nudity and violence to make it unsuitable for household viewing.
Curiosity does decide up considerably when the sardonic Lyonel Baratheon (magnetically performed by Daniel Ings) seems, a efficiency that’s all of the extra of a standout when a lot of the different supporting characters fail to make a lot of an impression.
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Followers of Sport of Thrones will take pleasure in seeing members of acquainted homes seem, however it is a very totally different world, with totally different guidelines. The harmless, lumbering Dunk wouldn’t make it by way of the primary episode of Sport of Thrones – during which, in case you recall, plucky younger Bran was callously defenestrated – and I discovered myself lacking George R.R. Martin’s ruthless manner with a plot twist, in addition to the present’s glamour, intrigue and magic.
Do you have to watch A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
It’s a gently gratifying present, however not the unmissable occasion TV of its older sibling.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres on Sunday, 18 January, on HBO and HBO Max. Within the UK, the primary episode will drop on Monday, 19 January 2026 on Sky Atlantic or on the streaming service Now. There are six episodes in all they usually’ll be aired weekly.
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