“Motif” sounds too subtle for the sample that emerges throughout the early episodes of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” HBO‘s third and newest “Sport of Thrones” collection. First, a knight’s pressing secretion plops to the bottom behind a tree that gives far too little. Then a swordsman’s god-given saber lets unfastened the canine of wee. Lastly, a horse ignores his grasp’s orders — or maybe misinterprets them as, “Poop! Now! And make it a giant one!”
But for as crass as these designed defecations may be, they’re not with out grander objective. Primarily based on George R.R. Martin’s fan-favorite novellas, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” goals to increase the “Sport of Thrones” franchise by tweaking its tone. The place the unique collection and its spinoff (“Home of the Dragon”) are callous and their characters largely craven, Martin and co-creator Ira Parker’s six-episode season is compassionate and its lead, Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall (Peter Claffey), a category act. His preliminary journey focuses extra on making associates than preventing battles, and the one dragon to be seen is a finely designed puppet.
Whereas “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” stands by itself fairly effectively — as somebody averse to the unique’s misanthropic worldview, even earlier than that disastrous last season, a lighter perspective is simply what the maester ordered — what connects the tales of Dunk to the vaster “Thrones” franchise could also be onerous to identify at first. Positive, the universe is recognizable, what with the nonsensical names, medieval accoutrements, and Ramin Djawadi’s rousing rating (sparingly used, fortunately), however the established scale is markedly, neatly, miniaturized.
Slightly than a sprawling solid of rivals for the Iron Throne, there’s only a knight (Dunk) and his squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), who don’t actually know what to do or the place to go. As a substitute of kings and queens cunningly maneuvering their armies in opposition to their enemies, there’s solely an ox of a person and a bald little boy, neither of whom reveals a clearly superior mind. “GoT’s” hourlong episodes are minimize in half, its pessimistic plotting is reversed, and the large, make-or-break, season-defining battles are pruned to a single jousting event orchestrated by a celebration bro with an antler crown (Daniel Ings, a treasure).
Intentionally dumping so many franchise staples is a artistic alternative for which Parker, Martin, and HBO on the whole needs to be counseled, in addition to constructing a season round mourning the useless by nurturing the dwelling. (Season 1’s perspicuity can’t be overstated.) However, returning to my authentic level, its potty sample suggests deeper parallels between this new good present and its previous naughty predecessors — a motif, if you’ll, that might be sufficient to maintain present followers from, should you’ll pardon my French, shitting a brick.
For starters, “Knight” and “GoT” share a humorousness. Lest we neglect (and imagine me, I’ve tried), Season 7 featured an (in)well-known montage of Samwell Tarly wiping up dung. I’ll let literary students resolve if poop jokes are one in all Martin’s calling playing cards, however for as undermining as every visible gag in “Knights” may be to its buoyant storytelling (to not point out good style), they match franchise expectations. Plus, taking broad comedy (like bathroom humor) and giving it a bootleg edge (aka full-frontal dong photographs) helps “Knight” stay as much as what audiences count on from HBO, as effectively.
Extra importantly (for creative functions anyway), every boorish gag helps the collection’ dominant themes. If “Sport of Thrones” adopted the varied homes of their pursuit of immortal glory, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” follows one man in his pursuit of on a regular basis dignity. Younger Dunk operates with the perfect mix of naïveté and braveness. When he takes up the mantle of his fallen knight, all the previous squire needs is to recollect his mentor, honor his newly sworn oath to the seven kingdoms, and feed himself and his horses (which, given their comparable sizes, calls for a lot of small feasts). Dunk has no larger agenda, no schemes, and no goals, actually. He merely needs to be a very good man, and “Knight” makes clear there’s nothing fallacious with that.
But it surely additionally makes clear being a very good man in a world with too few of them isn’t so simple as it sounds. Dunk is dismissed by his “betters” and mocked by his friends. When he tells the reality, it’s refuted, and when he does the precise factor, a reward is way from assured. And but regardless of our hero’s deference towards these of noble start, “Knight” persistently hammers house that we’re all equal. Whether or not you’re the mom of dragons or a father of daughters, all of us solely get the one life to stay. Everyone bleeds, all people sleeps, and, sure, all people poops.
Whereas establishing that baseline of human price, the collection then proceeds to indicate us precisely why we’re following Dunk in lieu of Westeros’ different knights. You could have seen I used the phrase “hero” within the final paragraph, which can appear misplaced in a “Sport of Thrones” overview. However very similar to Vince Gilligan sought out a hero’s story after so a few years within the “Breaking Dangerous” universe, Martin, Parker, and HBO acknowledge 2026 will not be a time to raise villainous males preventing for energy of their sequestered castles. The age of antiheroes is what acquired us right here, “Sport of Thrones” very a lot included, and it’ll take heroes, a lot of them, to get us again out.
“Sport of Thrones” and “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” nonetheless occupy two sides of the identical coin. The place the previous tried as an example the hazard lurking within the hardened hearts of males by baring witness to their darkest nature, the latter acknowledges these unhealthy males are on the market earlier than steering its horse within the different path. Dunk isn’t unaware of what doing the precise factor might value him. He sees the Lannisters and the Littlefingers of this world, and he’ll confront them when he has to — he simply additionally is aware of higher than to be tempted by their similar sirens. He’s acquired different issues to occupy his time, be it befriending Egg, nourishing his steeds, or discovering a pleasant quiet place to poop.
It’s the little issues, and in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” the little issues add up properly.
Grade: B+
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” premieres Sunday, January 18 at 10 p.m. ET on HBO. New episodes will probably be launched weekly by way of February 22 (Episode 6).
