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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

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Photo: Steffan Hill/HBO

“That everyman sensibility sits squarely at the heart of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, HBO’s latest Thrones spinoff, and it’s a big reason the series works as well as it does in its opening season. Its protagonist is Duncan (Peter Claffey), a gentle, hulking oaf trying to make a life for himself as a hedge knight after the death of the man he once squired for. Hedge knights are essentially Westerosi ronin — lordless, itinerant, unglamorous — but to former street urchin Duncan, or “Dunk,” the role still promises honor and purpose.

When we first meet him, he’s riding toward the town of Ashford, where he hopes to enter the tournament that’s drawing various royals into the area. Along the way, he picks up a scrawny, suspiciously bald boy calling himself Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), who soon becomes his squire. The kid’s true identity is kept secret for a good chunk of the season, though you’ll probably figure it out well before the actual reveal.

Created by Martin and Ira Parker, a co-executive producer on House of the Dragon, Seven Kingdoms adapts Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, set roughly a century before the events of Thrones. These stories are often described as Martin’s lighter, more YA-coded take on tales of knights and nobility, with clearer moral contours and lower existential stakes. That’s broadly true, but this is still Martin. Before long, complications, reversals, and petty cruelties begin to accumulate, testing Duncan’s belief in knightly honor. What’s surprising is not that things get rough, but how effectively the show sublimates that darkness within a broader register of warmth and humor.” — Nick Quah, “More Like Game of Bros’

  1. Episode 6 The Morrow
    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season-Finale Recap: Good Knight Like any good epilogue, this episode checks in on the major side characters, showing how they’ve been changed by our hero Dunk.
  2. Episode 5 In the Name of the Mother
    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Recap: Flea Bottom’s Up The flashback serves two purposes: an origin story for Duncan and to underscore the growing instability of the Seven Kingdoms under the Targaryens.
  3. Episode 4 Seven
    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Recap: Oak and Iron Dunk will still be fighting on the jousting grounds. But now it’s not just his livelihood at stake, it’s also his life.
  4. Episode 3 The Squire
    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Recap: The Incredible Egg It’s hard to blend in with the smallfolk when your brother is the most-hated prince in Westeros.
  5. Episode 2 Hard Salt Beef
    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Recap: The Part With the Fish Dunk might have caught a break just as the Targaryen family arrives on the scene, but he’s finding that knighthood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
  6. Episode 1 The Hedge Knight
    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Series-Premiere Recap: Big Ser The latest Game of Thrones spin-off follows a lovable loser who introduces us to a different side of Westeros.
  • encounter The Royal Brat A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is Daniel Ings’s third attempt at a George R.R. Martin adaptation, and he’s not wasting a single shit-eating grin. By Shannon Keating
  • tv review More Like Game of Bros A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reclaims Westeros for the everyman. By Nicholas Quah
  • the road ahead What Does Everyone on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Get Up to Next? Outside of Dunk and Egg, we may never see any of these characters again, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know what their futures hold. By James Grebey

The Latest on 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'

  1. gold rush
    Watch Out, a Dramedy Could Be Coming for Your EmmyA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms just might be the year’s most quietly disruptive nominee, and yes, it has something to do with its genre.
    By Joe Reid
  2. the road ahead
    What Does Everyone on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Get Up to Next?Outside of Dunk and Egg, we may never see any of these characters again, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know what their futures hold.
    By James Grebey
  3. finale thoughts
    Dexter Sol Ansell Has His Own Ideas About Egg’s Future“Everyone has their conspiracies. I’ve been speaking to George, and he hasn’t decided either,” says the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms star.
    By James Grebey
  4. encounter
    The Royal BratA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is Daniel Ings’s third attempt at a George R.R. Martin adaptation, and he’s not wasting a single shit-eating grin.
    By Shannon Keating
  5. chat room
    AKOT7K’s Finn Bennett Understands Aerion Targaryen’s Cruelty“He feels deeply unloved by his family, and I think he sees this as an opportunity.”
    By Derek Lawrence
  6. chat room
    Yes, Tanzyn Crawford Really Is That Tall“I was like, No, please don’t think I’m five-nine,” says the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms star.
    By Ben Rosenstock
  7. who needs dragons?
    Dance, Dunk, Dance!A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms throws a Westeros celebration that doesn’t end in murder, and it is a joyous relief.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  8. tv review
    More Like Game of BrosA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reclaims Westeros for the everyman.
    By Nicholas Quah
  9. 2026 preview
    44 TV Shows We Can’t Wait to See in 2026The small screen’s future looks brighter than ever.
    By James Grebey
  10. coming soon
    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Brings Some Humor to WesterosThe final trailer reminds us that Ser Duncan the Tall is still just Dunk.
    By Alejandra Gularte
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