Chris Connor reviews the first episode of HBO’s new Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms…
George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire reached a whole new audience with Game of Thrones, and despite a less-than-positive response to the finale, has maintained a sizable crowd with the prequel series House of the Dragon. The latest small-screen take on Martin’s work is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the first season of which adapts his 1998 novella The Hedge Knight. With a second season already in development, the powers that be are clearly optimistic that this series will also find a wide audience, and it’s not hard to see why.
We begin with Ser Duncan (Dunk), a lowly hedge knight travelling the wilds on his way to a jousting tournament in Ashford. On his travels, he encounters the mysterious boy Egg, with the two forming an unlikely alliance. Ser Duncan is perhaps not the sharpest of knights and struggles to be taken seriously by others, hoping ultimately to prove himself worthy of the loyalty placed in him by his mentor Ser Arlan of Pennytree.
While both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon have been overly focused on conflicts that affect the future of the Seven Kingdoms, the smaller, intimate storytelling here is refreshing. Fans of The Dunk & Egg novellas will be delighted that the spirit and humour has translated to the screen. Outside of the central novels, this is some of the best-loved material in the entire literary series.
Even off just under 40 minutes of television, it’s easy to picture this becoming a firm fan favourite, being more character-driven and less rushed. The Hedge Knight that this takes its premise from is incredibly self-contained, and the first episode brings it to life incredibly faithfully, which should reassure fans given departures in the two prior series in the universe.
It may be relatively slight, but “The Hedge Knight” is a winning start for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, with Peter Claffey’s Ser Duncan the Tall and Dexter Sol Ansell’s Egg wonderfully capturing the spirit of the characters in the novellas. It promises to be a different kind of adventure in Westeros, but perhaps one the series needed more than ever, bringing plenty of energy, heart and adventure to what has at times become a creaky franchise.
Chris Connor
