This year marks the 15th anniversary of Game of Thrones, one of the biggest hits to ever hit HBO Max.
Understandably, HBO has tried to keep the franchise alive with House of the Dragon and the recently premiered A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
The latter is based upon George R.R. Martin‘s popular Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas.
Watch With Us has seen the first two episodes, and we will now attempt to tackle the burning question that brought you here: Is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms a worthy Game of Thrones spinoff?
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‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Is Well Cast
Casting is everything when it comes to big-budget series. All of the special effects and elaborate sets can’t hide a show’s flaws if the primary actors aren’t up to the challenge of carrying a series. Fortunately for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, former rugby player Peter Claffey embodies Ser Duncan the Tall as an eternal underdog despite his massive height.
Being 6’5 tall certainly helps Claffey appear physically credible, but it’s his portrayal of Dunk’s endearing persona that shows a lot of promise. For someone who has only been a professional actor for four years, it’s very impressive.
Claffey’s costar, Dexter Sol Ansell, is only 11 years old, and yet he has more acting experience than his on-screen mentor. Ansell is also one of the show’s biggest surprises, because this kid has a lot of charisma. It’s hard not to think of him in the same breath as Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams, both of whom had large roles on Game of Thrones as children before breaking out into greater stardom.
The show hasn’t revealed Egg’s secret yet, but Ansell convincingly conveys his true background through his facial reactions. This is something you may notice in episode 2 when Egg suddenly decides he’d rather not be so exposed. Ansell also has a very good rapport with Claffey, which should serve both of them well if this series gets a long run.
Among the rest of the cast, the standout performer is Daniel Ings, who plays Ser Lyonel Baratheon as the Robert Downey Jr. of Westeros. It’s the kind of supporting role that may land Ings some bigger parts in the future, because this show livens up whenever he’s on-screen.
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Is ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ a Comedy or a Drama?
The biggest weakness that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has is that it’s constantly throwing things in it to justify the show’s TV-MA rating. (Last week’s brief glimpse of full-frontal male nudity stuck out in more ways than one!) Aside from those moments, the series feels like it could comfortably live in the PG-13 realm of action. But almost immediately after the opening scene, the show featured Claffey’s character defecating on-screen in graphic fashion. It was meant as a comedic aside, but it definitely felt out of place.
Characters also casually drop F-bombs, which keeps the show’s adult rating firmly in place. There haven’t been any over-the-top violent scenes yet, but there are still some duels to come in the remaining episodes of the season. Still, it honestly feels like this show could have been a gateway for younger viewers to get into Game of Thrones without dealing with adult content. Tonally, it feels out of place in this series. Through two episodes, this show plays more like a comedy than a drama.
The Scale of the Show Is Considerably Smaller Than Game of Thrones
House of the Dragon may not be as beloved as its predecessor, but no one can claim that it doesn’t have a story worthy of the scope of Game of Thrones. If you’re expecting the same kind of grand epic from this series, then you’re going to be disappointed. Dunk and Egg’s story is centered around a jousting tournament, and the only stakes so far center on Dunk’s all-or-nothing bet on himself. If he loses a match in the tournament, he’ll have to give up his armor to the victor, and he won’t be able to pay for its return.
The appeal of this series rests on whether you like Dunk and Egg, and it appears to be more character-driven than the two shows that came before it. It’s a well-made show, and the production values appear to be very high. This series is probably never going to come anywhere close to the popularity of Game of Thrones, but it’s enjoyable so far. We’ll have to see more episodes to determine if it’s worthy to stand alongside the show that spawned it. For now, the jury is still out.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is streaming on HBO Max.
