There haven’t been many television finales as disastrous as that of Game of Thrones, as “The Iron Throne” was such a disappointment that it seemingly invalidated all the investment that viewers had staked in the George R.R. Martinadaptation over the course of eight seasons. Although House of the Dragonwas a more well-planned adaptation of another Martin series that benefited from having an ending set in advance, it was far from perfect. It was hard to follow House of the Dragonfor those who didn’t already have a foundational knowledge of the history, mythology, and topography of Westeros, and the series earned a new layer of controversy when Martin himself spoke out against its inaccuracies. It may have seemed like the world of Westeros would be reserved for only a niche group of fans going forward, but A Knight of the Seven Kingdomswas an old-fashioned adventure story that explored a side of the universe that wasn’t dominated by magic, bloodlines, and prophecies.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms may share a title with the best episode of Game of Thrones’ final season, but it is set around 90 years before the beginning of the original show, and is set far away from King’s Landing. The series tells the story of Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), a lowborn hedge knight who had previously squired for Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). Duncan, or “Dunk” as he is affectionately known as, has the ambition of competing in a tournament in Ashford, where he finds an unexpected squire of his own in the young boy Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). The tournament itself is a center point in which various powerful families, cunning knights, and ruthless charlatans vie for victory in inhumane ways, but Dunk’s goal is to win by honorable means. Although the notion of an old-fashioned hero determined to do good in the world might feel like a generic premise, it feels like a breath of fresh air when compared to the cynicism of Game of Thronesand House of the Dragon.
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Is a More Grounded Take on Westeros
Both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are quite epic in scope, which makes sense because they are set over several years of time and involve a massive ensemble of characters. However, that style is a byproduct of the specific stories being told, and not an aesthetic that all franchise shows should ascribe to. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a more grounded series that does not feature any magic or allusions to the broader political strife, as it takes place on the edge of history, where commonfolk are forced to defend themselves. It’s a reminder that Martin’s worldbuilding wasn’t just brilliant because of the destinies and prophecies that he foretold, but because he created unique pockets of society that took an interesting new spin on the concept of medieval times. Although there are a fair number of Easter Eggs that allude to events in the wider franchise, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a great option for those burnt out by Game of Thrones, and those who’ve never entered Westeros before.
Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz Which Lord of the Rings Character Are You? One Quiz · Ten Questions · Your Fate Revealed
The road goes ever on. From the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Ten questions stand between you and the truth of who you are. Answer honestly — the One Ring has a way of revealing what we most want to hide.
💍Frodo
🌿Samwise
👑Aragorn
🔥Gandalf
🏹Legolas
⚒️Gimli
👁️Sauron
🪨Gollum
01
You are handed a responsibility that could destroy you. What do you do? The weight of the world falls on unlikely shoulders.
02
Your closest companion is heading into terrible danger. You: True loyalty is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis.
03
Enormous power is within your reach. Your instinct is: Power corrupts — but only those who reach for it.
04
What does “home” mean to you? Where we long to return reveals who we truly are.
05
When a battle is upon you, your approach is: War reveals what we are made of — whether we like it or not.
06
Someone comes to you for advice in their darkest hour. You: Wisdom is not knowing all the answers — it’s knowing which questions to ask.
07
How do you see yourself, honestly? Self-knowledge is the most dangerous kind.
08
Which of these best describes your relationship with the natural world? Middle-earth speaks to those who know how to listen.
09
You encounter a wretched, pitiable creature who has done terrible things. You: How we treat the fallen reveals the height of our character.
10
When the quest is over and the songs are sung, what do you hope they say about you? In the end, we are all just stories.
The Fellowship Has Spoken Your Place in Middle-earth
The scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people.
💍 Frodo
🌿 Samwise
👑 Aragorn
🔥 Gandalf
🏹 Legolas
⚒️ Gimli
👁️ Sauron
🪨 Gollum
You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don’t have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is.
You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you’d do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one.
You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you.
You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late.
Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them.
You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don’t do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything.
You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you’re not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct.
You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time.
The universe of Westeros is so vast that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms makes a smart choice in limiting its story to a select location in which the tournament is held. It makes for a clever piece of commentary because it shows how contested a seemingly ”honorable” competition is. Even if it is framed as being an equalizing opportunity that anyone can participate in, the most powerful families have a sway over circumstances that help to tilt the event in their favor. It’s a great way for Dunk to be an underdog, as he has to be a hero who fights against systematic oppression and understands knighthood better than those who were born into it.
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Has a Compelling Hero’s Journey
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms benefits from being a classic two-hander about characters who seek not to be defined by their class. Dunk has to prove that chivalry is not reserved for those who came from nobility, and some clever twists reveal that Egg is also trying to ensure that he does not go down the same dark path as his family. The chemistry between the two is so charming and surprisingly funny that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is able to bide its time without feeling like it lacks inertia. There’s so much development done in the first three episodes that the fourth episode, “Seven,” offers an all-time great battle scene. It’s followed up by the heartbreaking flashback episode “In the Name of the Mother,” which makes Dunk’s transition to knighthood even more admirable when considering the tragic nature of his origin.
It’s the lowest score for a Game of Thrones series since the flagship show’s disastrous final season.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is proof of how great shows can be economical; with six half-hour episodes, the first season of the show is able to tell a complete story filled with surprises and revelations, and resolves itself in a way where a Season 2 is more than warranted. What’s lost in the cultural evaluation of Game of Thrones is that it was the characters that audiences fell in love with more than anything else, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a reminder of how that is still the case.
