A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Season 1

61

I’m not really big on swords and shit. I mean, I’ve watched all the Game of Thrones shows so far, but it’s not generally my genre. The whole fantasy thing. And, sure, I’ve enjoyed most of Game of Thrones, but the seriousness and weirdly similarly-named kings and princes and whatnot have left me, at times, confused and generally bored with dragon fire and plotting. I honestly think I just don’t like dragons. They’re just mindless, fire-breathing lizards. Why is that interesting? But along comes this tale set in the same world that is, in essence, actually worlds apart. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a tale that even us not-so-into-fantasy people can get into. A small tale of a small kid. And a large man. Who come together in what can only be described as a buddy comedy-drama with swords and stuff. But with the heart that most of these other GoT series like the currently running House of the Dragon are missing.

Think about what you enjoyed about these stories. John Snow. Right? These people who we can root for to some extent. These pure-hearted heroes with whom we’re made familiar and have a compelling reason to care about where they end up. And, yes, I get that characters like Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen in HotD are complex and compromised and, in a lot of ways, dangerous, but because of these twists and turns in their character, they are used as mechanisms to push forward the ebb and flow of the military and familial shifts of power. They are not purely characters, but cogs in a larger universal story. And, frankly, any characters outside of a John Snow or the occasional Brienne of Tarth, we’ve had very few of these types of pure characters for characters’ sake in these series. Until we have these micro-stories of Duncan (Peter Claffey) and Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), which live in this world and in and amongst the kings and princes of the realm, but strip away the complexity of the larger narrative to focus on the life of a pure character.

And, yes, some of this clarity and focus may be a matter of not having to serve a huge ensemble spread out across the land, but the obvious care put into the development of Dunk and his burgeoning relationship with Egg is obvious and endearing in a way none of these other tales can possibly be. It feels like there have been other fantasy series that have tried this “smaller story” thing, like Willow and Rings of Power that have, to my mind, failed the test to bring these more personal, emotionally engaging stories to the small screen. Granted, I’m not really a huge The Lord of the Rings person, so perhaps I didn’t go in with the attachment these fan-service series meant to convey. And Willow is just goofy and not something anyone was looking for. The thing is, I enjoyed Game of Thrones as much as the next normal guy. I wouldn’t call myself a “fan” per se, but I watched it all and definitely had a bunch of fun along the way. It kind of killed a lot of its good will that last season, but it was a monoculture phenomenon I was happy to be involved with. The nice thing is, you don’t really have to have watched any of the previous GoT content to enjoy A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. I mean it’s helpful for background, but even if you have watched it all, you need not be a fan of it. Maybe the constant nudity and incest and extreme violence — or even the involvement of too-dark CGI dragons — turned you off. Perhaps the constant maneuvering from land to land between armies and similarly-named people and the constant lore bored you or confused you to the point you ended up not caring. Well, you can still tune into this series and be dazzled by it. And, yes, there are still prostitutes. And drinking. And some violence. But it’s all couched in a sweet story about a knight just trying to be a good and honorable person. Not the kind of altruism and non-cynical take the other series could imagine.

The key to the series is our star, Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall. Played by Peter Claffey, who is, indeed, pretty tall. Though not like thaaaat tall. They use some funky angles and whatnot to put him in the 6’11” range that he’s supposed to inhabit in the novels, but he certainly appears large. I’d seen Claffey in Bad Sisters, where he plays a small role in season one, but then returns as a totally different, more prominent, character in season two. Clearly the show’s producers liked him enough in his limited showing to re-cast him and bring him back. Funny in a series that has very few men, and they repeat on this 6’5″ former rugby playing ginger who definitely sticks out as he towers over his love interest, 5’1″ Eve Hewson. Point being, the dude is charismatic and seems like a perfect casting choice to play Dunk. His size, his Irish accent and something about his actual gingerness gives him an air of innocence in a world where we’re not used to that kind of thing. A giant, lumbering virgin sleeping in hedges and dumb enough to think that he can just show up to a jousting event with royalty in attendance and get in on the action to win his glory. His acting style and demeanor is just a perfect mixture of aw-shucks and desperate earnestness that the character demands. Partnered with him is the absolutely minuscule Dexter Sol Ansell. A tiny Caillou-looking kid who fills in all the worldliness that Dunk is missing. Apparently Dexter is eleven, which I assume is around the age Egg is supposed to be, but he does an amazing job of line reads that don’t make him seem like one of those unrealistic adult-children, but still comes off as wise and perfectly matched with Claffey’s vibe.

Without spoiling anything, I will say that the six half-hour episodes in season one pack in a lot of story. But somehow the show’s writers make you feel and understand Dunk and why he might be compelled to take on Egg as his diminutive squire. The main action mostly takes place around the aforementioned jousting tournament, so we have a pretty limited view into this world. Which I imagine is partially a budget-related call and also helps us to hone in on Dunk’s big moments. You know, where Dunk becomes the knight he so wants to be. The tone of the show is also something that is admirable. There is humor and levity, as well as emotion. It takes its characters seriously, but doesn’t take itself as a show as seriously as the other GoT series have. It lets up on us as viewers and provides supporting characters that have unique and separate personalities that are both propulsive and entertaining. It’s an impressive thing, making each character — regardless of screen time — important and distinctive. It’s just a really well constructed show that would be good in any genre. But, don’t worry, dorks, there are still swords and shields and blood. No CGI dragons, though. Sorry.