I have never hated the opening scene of a tv show more than I do this show. No one, I mean NO ONE, should ever have to see THAT on their screen. Thankfully, A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS, a prequel/spin-off of HBO’s critically acclaimed hit GAME OF THRONES, gets a bit better after the opening “crap.”
I’ve only read a couple of the George R.R. Martin books in the A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE universe, and I wasn’t familiar with this story, which is an adaptation of the 3 novellas that fall under the TALES OF DUNK AND EGG series. Dunk is Ser Duncan the Tall, the hedge knight from the episode’s title, and Egg his squire, both of whom we meet early in the show’s pilot. I’ve been told by those who are huge fans of the books that everyone is eagerly awaiting the 6th novel of the series, THE WINDS OF WINTER, which has yet to be released. This has frustrated long-time fans, as the last novel came out almost 15 years ago. Since then, Martin has written a series of shorter books and novellas, including the book that HBO’S HOUSE OF THE DRAGON is based on. And, of course, Martin has been deeply involved in all 3 TV shows inspired by his work. Martin himself is 77 years old, so there’s a bit of consensus among some fans just to enjoy the books, novels, and shows we have in case THE WINDS OF WINTER is never published.
Ok, now that I’ve got you all caught up on the books & shows, let’s jump in. A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS takes place about a hundred years before GAME OF THRONES and a hundred years after HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. Dunk (Peter Claffey) is our protagonist and is likable but kind of boring. He seems brave, but not particularly bright, with his most obvious knight’s trait being his tall height. Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), while just a young child, has a mysterious air about him. A boy whose eagerness to travel with Dunk shows he hasn’t found his place yet in the world.
The best character in the pilot, by far, is Ser Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings), presumably an ancestor of Robert Baratheon, the king of the seven kingdoms at the start of GAME OF THRONES. Unfortunately, it seems he may only be a minor character moving forward, but I hope this is not the case. His boisterous charm and kindness toward others set him apart from most of his descendants that we got to know during GOT’s run.
The biggest tragedy of THE HEDGE KNIGHT is that it’s all set up without much more. More of a prologue than a strong opening episode, it only serves to introduce us to each character, making sure we know that Dunk is tall and that Egg is a child, and that’s about it. When GAME OF THRONES opened with a beheading almost 15 years ago, viewers knew that a lot of violence and serious drama were coming. A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS opens with that thing I hated, and then not much more happens. I’ll give it another try because I really loved GOT and do love HOTD, but it needs to pull me in sooner than later.
A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS airs Sunday nights on HBO and streams at the same time on HBO Max.
