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.

 There hasn't been a movie or show worth adding to our Role Models list since last October, and even then, it took a biographical movie about people standing up to Nazis to get it, and while, with two episodes left, there's certainly enough time left in the season for things to change, I hope you'll excuse me this one conceit. Sir Duncan the Tall is the hero we both need and deserve.

In the first episode of the season to forego gratuitous vulgarity, Seven's focused storytelling gives audiences one of the most enjoyable episodes of TV in months. All it took was competent direction, a decent story unencumbered by the personal politics of its showrunners, and an earnest and brave underdog. Duncan, played by 6'5" Peter Claffey, isn't the star of the show merely because he is the star. Rather, he is the embodiment of much of what men want to be. He's good because it's right, not out of a sense of guilt or as a middle finger to a cruel society that he holds himself above. He's kind and understanding and slow to anger, but none of this is at the cost of his lethal potential. Instead, he wishes to wield that potential on behalf of those who cannot do so themselves.

It's an insanely simple formula that consistently pleases audiences and sells tickets, but it's not one that modern Hollywood is often willing to entertain.

In an earlier critique of the show, I lamented that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms appeared to be yet another show suffering from too little story artificially stretched across too many episodes, albeit done better than most. However, now that we are approaching the conclusion, and I have the benefit of hindsight, I'm forced to amend that opinion for the simple reason that each episode leaves me wanting more and looking forward to the next one.

I'm left to conclude that the problem isn't the content but the episode length. Were I someone reading this and having not yet watched an episode, I would wait for two weeks and binge them all at once.