‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ is ‘Game of Thrones’ and Medieval Fantasy at its Very Best

“Are there no true knights among you?”

- Sir Duncan the Tall, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, episode 5, HBO, 2026

House of the Dragon has been a particularly divisive spin-off to Game of Thrones, a show so tied to a specific time and moment for fantasy television that its taken on so much cultural precedence, it has almost become a genre of its own. Taking place centuries before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon follows a particularly tumultuous time for the Targaryen dynasty, and, I have found, is either loved or hated by audiences.

I can understand why House of the Dragon is nowhere near as popular as the show that preceded it – it’s heavier, tense, and in many places, quite slow. Some people may think its slightly anticlimactic, and there are no big moments that are as memorable as The Battle of Blackwater or the Red Wedding, as of yet. It also requires much more of its audience, as there are so many family connections and similar names in House of the Dragon it can almost feel like navigating a maze trying to follow along.

On the other hand, House of the Dragon has created such intense dynamics between characters and their motivations, alongside deeply involved political intrigue, that once you get invested, I find the slowness of the show to allow for those character moments and moments of action, when they do happen, to really shine.

However, a lot of people were particularly split on season two, and though I still enjoyed it I understand that people who are huge fans of the books may be frustrated. The news of George R. R. Martin’s ‘feud’ with the showrunner and his subsequent removal of his involvement, I feel less than optimistic about the show going forward. If the creator of the entire world you’re working on has issues with the direction you’re taking, why would you not open up that dialogue rather than cutting it out altogether?

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, premiering on the 19th of January, created and produced by Ira Parker, in close collaboration with George R. R. Martin, has reignited my excitement for stories from Westeros. It gives us a little reprieve from the heaviness of House of the Dragon, comprising of only six episodes of roughly 35 minutes each – it’s certainly more palatable. Even though I would recommend having an established understanding of Westeros and Game of Thrones, I don’t think its necessarily needed to watch and enjoy the show, though many easter eggs and references would be lost.

I think what is so perfect about the show is its ability to balance humour and light-heartedness with its more tender, serious moments, and nail-biting action sequences. Audiences and Thrones fans are still being delivered the raw, brutal depiction of conflict that we have come to expect, and the emotional points of the story make the impact that they should, but it’s also inherently funny. It doesn’t take itself as seriously as something like House of the Dragon, and still manages to be excellent fantasy television. I think it’s the closest thing we’ll ever get to a Game of Thrones comedy.

I also love the fact that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows a hedge knight: a boy from Fleabottom who is so far removed from the realm’s royalty in his thinking and behaviour. It feels like we’re stepping back and getting to look at a different part of the Westeros we know entirely; of course, we still get more than enough Targaryen madness to tide us over before House of the Dragon season three.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms adapts George R. R. Martin’s short story ‘The Hedge Knight’ and we follow a squire whose knight, Sir Arlan of Pennytree, has died. The squire, Sir Duncan the Tall, as he dubs himself, now wants to prove himself as a hedge knight at a tourney where many knights of the Seven Kingdoms are competing in the jousts. On his way to the tourney Sir Dunc picks up a small boy who calls himself Egg, who begs to be allowed to come to the tourney with him and serve as his squire. As the season unfolds, it seems like Egg may give Dunc more trouble than he bargained for…

It’s the dynamic between these two characters, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) and Sir Duncan (Peter Claffey) that makes this show work so well. The humour that laces their back and forths is brilliant, but the show also explores the dependency of a knight on their squire, and how the relationship becomes almost parental, building a deeper bond between the two. They have to trust each other implicitly, and the way in which Egg tries his very hardest to be a true, dependable squire is heartwarming, coupled with the way that Dunc takes care of him whilst relying on him too.

I think what is so special about this show is how it feels like such a return to classic medieval fantasy. It evokes a feeling of Lord of the Rings, Narnia – the fact that I’m actually struggling to think of any more classic, epic fantasy films is quite depressing. It feels like something I’ve seen before, and felt before, but not in the sense of it being unoriginal. It feels nostalgic and, dare I say, cosy.

I’ve seen quite a few video essays and thoughts online that fantasy film and television is dying.

Well. I would show those people A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

The art is not what is dying. It’s studios succumbing to what they think is going to be popular and make them money that means so few are betting on high fantasy shows; they cost a lot of money to make. Even in the case of House of the Dragon, I recently found out that they were planning on making another two episodes of the second season, but eventually they were cut completely because it would’ve meant spending too much on just one season of television. This means the season was abruptly cut short – a sacrifice that a lot of high fantasy shows have had to make to their quality and longevity.

It’s almost hard to believe now that a show like Game of Thrones was seven seasons long, and had so much money pumped into it. But it’s only because it was so immensely popular that HBO kept making it, and spending on it. The hunger for fantasy media is not dying – Game of Thrones is a testament to that – it’s the chances being taken on these kinds of scripts that are lessening, because they’re risky. You only have to look at Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time or The Rings of Power, both adapting from well-loved fantasy books, to show that with the wrong writers and not enough funding, high fantasy adaptations can easily be received badly. I think it’s no great claim that neither of these shows are particularly popular.

For a show like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to come onto the scene now, when there’s a big, and largely negative, conversation about the future of fantasy media, gives me hope that studios and showrunners can see that it pays off to take chances on projects like these. I think it’s easier for spin-offs, because the audience is already there, but I would love to see original stories get the same treatment.

Ira Parker has said that he envisions at least another twelve seasons for the show, leaving decades in between production of certain chunks of the story so that Dunc and Egg don’t have to be recast. Whether or not this is possible, or comes to fruition, I just hope that the show manages to keep its charming, rough and ready persona. It’s made me excited about the future of epic fantasy on our screens again.