A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS is an HBO adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas. I absolutely love these low stakes prequels to the A Song of Ice and Fire universe that take place a century or so before the events of the books. The three-released novellas star Ser Duncan the Tall alongside his incredibly intelligent squire, Egg, that manage to grapple with Westeros’ immensely complicated systems of honor, morality, and prestige.
I wasn’t really excited for this adaptation despite the fact they are some of my favorite Westerosi products because not only had Game of Thrones season eight destroyed most of my goodwill to the handling of the franchise. House of the Dragon has also been uneven with the show being fantastic the more they stick to the story and less so the more they deviate from it. I’m not a Martin purist but I also think that there’s a difference between changing for a different medium and mutilating what fans are here to experience.
The premise for the first season is that Dunk is the squire of an aging hedge knight named Arlan of Pennytree. Ser Arlan has died of an infected injury and Dunk decides that he could become a knight instead of just another man’s squire. There’s a nearby tournament and Dunk aims to compete. If this sounds a bit like A Knight’s Tale, you are correct, though it was made two years after The Hedge Knight.
I absolutely loved the depiction of Westeros in the show with its grounded, more intimate tournament divorcing us from the need to travel all across the mechanical map. Nevertheless, we get plenty of indications that regional differences are still a major thing. The Dornish are a hated minority, the Targaryens are still loathed for conquering Westeros centuries later, and the Ashford family looks down on the Riverlanders as savages. I don’t agree with all of these decisions, the Targaryens should be relatively popular at this time period after all, but I agree with most.
The real heart of the story is Dunk and Egg’s relationship as both actors do a fantastic job. Indeed, it’s amazing that Egg’s actor is able to pull off so much inflection in spite of his age. Dunk is a thick headed and uneducated man but a heart gold as well as more insight than he’s given credit for. I’d say a average INT and higher than normal WIS score. Egg is brilliant with a huge amount of education even for his age that makes sense once we know his identity but he’s also someone with no real world practical experience and an eager to acquire it.
The supporting characters are grand with the Laughing Storm, Prince Baelor, Raymun Fossaway, and others that stick in the mind. I am especially fond of Prince Maekar, who is a brutal and harsh man that is, nevertheless, primarily driven by his love of his son. Given so much of the focus of House of the Dragon was on the politics and trying to get to the battle when the politics were the primary appeal, I really enjoyed this laser focus on personalities instead.
The action in the show is almost entirely confined to episode 5 when the Trial of Seven happens. This is a good thing because the build-up is intense and the fighting far more visceral. However, the show goes over the top in depicting wounds that would reasonably have killed most men or at least left them crippled for life. We also could have gotten more jousting, in my opinion. The show is simultaneously too long and too short with the events of the series being probably better for a two and a half hour movie instead of a six episode series that was still very stretched.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this show and think it’s a great adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s best work. Yes, I put The Hedge Knight story even over Game of Thrones itself. Do I have complaints? A few minor ones as mentioned above but they’re nitpicking even by nitpicking standards. This show goes a long way to re-establishing that HBO’s Westeros is the GOAT for fantasy television.
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