In the opening moments of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” the third installment in the Game of Thrones TV franchise, a humble hedge knight named Ser Duncan the Tall announces his intention to compete in a jousting tournament. While gripping the sword of his recently deceased mentor, Ser Duncan then stares meaningfully into the distance as the familiar drumbeat of the “Thrones” theme begins to swell on the soundtrack. It’s an inspiring moment … until it smash cuts to Ser Duncan, also known as Dunk, having a catastrophic bowel movement behind a tree. Yes, we are indeed treated to a wide, semi-graphic shot of same. Because this is not TV, it’s HBO.
That sequence is an immediate and, admittedly, pretty gross indication that this “Game of Thrones” prequel, based on George R.R. Martin’s “Dunk and Egg” novellas, marks a departure from its TV predecessors. Set roughly 70 years after the events of “House of the Dragon” and nearly a century before the “Game of Thrones” saga, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” hews closer to a comedy than a work of prestige fantasy drama and consistently makes a point of undercutting any hint at excessive seriousness. When any opportunity arises to make a joke, even a crude one, this series takes it.
Unlike its sweeping siblings and in keeping with the tighter focus of a novella, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” adapted for the screen by Martin and “House of the Dragon” writer and executive producer Ira Parker, is deliberately more modest in scope. Each of the first season’s six episodes (a second season has already been confirmed) are well under an hour in length. Most unfold within a crisp 30 minutes or so, with the longest, Sunday night’s premiere, clocking in at just over 40. The show is not only focused in terms of run time, but in its storytelling, which zeroes in on one key relationship: the one between Dunk (Peter Claffey) and his young squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) that serves as the beating heart that keeps blood flowing to the narrative’s other vital organs.
In “The Hedge Knight,” the first episode and the title of the first “Dunk and Egg” novella that inspires this season, Dunk is on his way to the aforementioned jousting tournament when he first encounters Egg, a slight, bald orphan boy. Egg begs Dunk to let him act as his squire en route to and during the tournament, and he refuses to take no for an answer. In short order, the two become traveling companions who occasionally clash but eventually bond as the impressionable yet savvy Egg attempts to prove himself worthy of his boss, who is prone to unintentionally committing acts of slapstick comedy. (Dunk has a habit of hitting his head on doorways and perpetually heading in the wrong direction, then having to course correct.)
It is crucial that both of these characters come across as compelling and empathetic, and they do, thanks in no small part to the actors who bring them to life. Claffey, a former professional Irish rugby player turned actor, brings a charming and good-natured naiveté to his portrayal of Dunk. Physically, Dunk is a massive brick wall of a human, but Claffey makes sure we can sense the softness behind the massiveness. Sol Ansell, who had small roles in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” and Robert Zemeckis’s film “Here,” is a bundle of vulnerability and still-evolving hypermasculinity whose wide eyes evoke the awe and horror he continues to discover in the ruthless world around him. When Claffey and Sol Ansell are together in the frame, this mountain of a man and tiny grain of salt of a boy look like a comically disproportionate pair of jigsaw puzzle pieces that inexplicably fit.
As much of a left turn as it may be, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” still has a lot in common with its television brethren. It is set in Westeros and, albeit to a lesser extent than “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon,” follows the betrayals and dynamics within key families who either possess or covet the Iron Throne. It features a vast array of characters whose names contain more vowels than should be permissible by law. (Aerion Targaryen? Daeron Targaryen? Are you ki(ae)dding me?) “Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” also is peppered with occasionally violent action sequences that may compel the squeamish to squeeze their eyes shut, another central element in any Game of Thrones series. The penultimate episode is grounded in a battle as intense as anything in the original drama, but it achieves that intensity by drawing the viewer into the intimate terror of the moment rather than allowing the audience to see the breadth of it. At times, we witness the chaos from inside a knight’s helmet, where our perspective is intentionally blinkered. Where “Thrones” went big to make its impact, “Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” just as effectively goes small.
What may resonate most with viewers is the show’s emphasis on the inequities in Westeros society, which rewards privilege and wealth even as it purports to prioritize integrity. To his credit and possible peril, Dunk believes fervently that it is a knight’s duty to stand up for anyone who is being mistreated, no matter the circumstances. Even as it becomes increasingly clear that Dunk is not always the most reliable narrator, his decency is never in doubt. He stands for justice, but “Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” implies that such a stance does not make him a hero. It just makes him a man, one who engages in the same biological functions as the rest of us but deems himself worthy of a higher calling.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (six episodes) premieres Jan. 18 on HBO, with new episodes airing weekly.
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