A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows the wandering adventures of a towering, earnest hedge knight named Ser Duncan the Tall—known simply as Dunk—and his clever, diminutive squire, Egg. Set about a century before the events of Game of Thrones, in an era when the Targaryen dynasty still rules the Iron Throne and dragons linger in living memory, the tale traces their unlikely friendship through tournaments, mishaps, and encounters with nobility, where great destinies and hidden secrets quietly unfold amid the everyday struggles of Westeros’s lesser roads.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Review (S1:E1)

It’s not a long episode, and not a lot happens, but what does could end up going either way. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms lacks the gravitas (at least so far) of either of its progenitor series, and seemingly intentionally so. If you go into it looking for the same raw intensity as the original or House of the Dragon, you’re likely to be disappointed.

Instead of bloody political intrigue and sexual perversion, AKOTSK gives us a hopeful and earnest would-be knight… and diarrhea. I wish the latter were hyperbole. It is not.

As of yet, the narrative ground on which the story stands is uneven and fractious, with moments of poignancy unnecessarily punctuated by Joss Whedon–esque juvenility—albeit with an R-rated flair. There is also a gossamer-thin patina of inchoateness to much of the episode. It’s subtle, but unmistakably present.

In practical terms, this manifests in a series of small but cumulative misalignments. Some key performers don’t quite connect with the material, most notably the young boy who plays Egg. He’s a young actor, and perhaps one day he’ll mature into a strong one, but for now the role seems just slightly beyond his grasp. Even the background performances occasionally feel off, with extras adopting artificial limps or exaggerated physicality that draws attention rather than blending naturally into the world.

Individually, these are minor issues. Taken together, they lend the production an almost Renaissance-fair quality—close to convincing, but not fully inhabited—rather than the grounded authority of a top-tier fantasy series.

However, there is one aspect that could carry the production through to the end. The premise. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a classic tale of an unassuming underdog, and Peter Claffey, who plays our Knight in question, while slow to build momentum, ends the episode with the audience rooting for him. If the show can maintain its current level, it has the potential to be a fun little diversion.

WOKE REPORT

Not Much to Report

• So far, so good. However, I’ve seen some trailers that cast serious doubt on whether this will hold.
• There is some of the same silly diversity spilling over from House of the Dragon, but it’s not as pronounced in this series.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Review (S1:E2-3)

WOKE REPORT

Same DEI Different Day

• The series looks likely to remain rooted in a single locale and time. As such, the same characters that were present in the last installment are in this one, including the peppering of diversity for the sake of diversity.
  • It’s not even close to the level of HotD; it’s hardly noticeable.

I Believe the Children are the Future…Corrupt Them…for Comedy

• The actor who plays Egg is only 11-years-old, but that doesn’t stop the showrunners from subjecting him to not only obscenities, but downright pornographic vulgarity.
  • In one scene, he and Sir Duncan discuss, in some detail, a bawdy tale that’s just been told about a prostitute renowned for sticking her hands up men’s rears to pleasure them.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Review (S1:E4)

WOKE REPORT

Gender/Race=Swap

• Episode 5 is mostly a flashback to Dunk’s youth. Rafe, Dunk’s native Westerosian childhood friend, who is briefly mentioned in the books, is swapped for an ethnically diverse girl who is tougher, faster, and cleverer than Dunk.