‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Episode 1 Review - Meet Ser Duncan the Tall

Oh great—another Game of Thrones prequel. This is the kind of cynicism one brings into A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Created by George R. R. Martin and Ira Parker, the series follows two very ordinary-sounding names: Ser Dunk and Egg, his squire. Yet Seven Kingdoms, in its opening stretch, quickly distinguishes itself from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon through its tongue-in-cheek humor.

In Dunk, we get a sort of unreliable narrator. For instance, while burying his dead master, Ser Arlan of Pennytree, Dunk eulogizes him by saying that Arlan only hit him when he deserved it. A quick series of shots, however, suggests that either Dunk is lying—or that he was severely incompetent. Later, when Dunk claims that Arlan truly wanted him to become a knight, another flashback hints that this, too, might be a lie. So the question one asks while watching the premiere is this: Did Dunk kill his master? He might have finally gotten fed up with the abuse. I suspect Arlan stood as an obstacle between Dunk and his dreams, leaving the latter with... no other choice. Call him Dunk the Desperate.

If I am only almost confident about these theories (keyword: almost), it's because Peter Claffey imbues Dunk with an appealing innocence. If anything he says in Episode 1 is a lie, it's a lie wrapped in the tone of truth and delivered with conviction. Given his height, Dunk aptly names himself Ser Dunk the Tall by the episode's end, yet for most of the episode, he slouches and talks to his horses like a lonely loser. He's also exceedingly meek—it feels as though a gentle wind could knock him down. When a steward tells him he can't be registered for the tourney, Dunk accepts it. When he's told that Ser Manfred Dondarrion is asleep, he quietly steps back.

And yet, Dunk is determined in his own gentle way. He refuses to give up. He doesn't so much assert himself as nervously hope for the best outcome.

Some characters—like the steward and a courtesan—recognize Dunk's softness and respond with kindness. Others, like Ser Lyonel Baratheon, see him as a curious anomaly that amuses them. It's no wonder, then, that the one person who befriends him is another softie: Raymun, Ser Steffon Fossoway's squire and cousin. And Egg? Egg knows how to roast people—or at least how to roast Dunk.

When Dunk announces himself as Ser Duncan the Tall, Egg replies that he's never heard of a name like that.

"Do you know every knight in the Seven Kingdoms, then?" Dunk fires back.

"The good ones," Egg calmly responds.

The show, too, knows how to crack a mean joke. As soon as the iconic Game of Thrones theme begins, we sit up, expecting a title sequence akin to those in GOT and HOTD. Seven Kingdoms, however, quite literally shits on those expectations. It's the creators' way of announcing that things will be different here.

Okay. I'm hooked. Give me what you've got.

Final Score- [6/10]