A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: Review

Game Of Thrones certainly knew how to peddle its wares.

From political shenanigans to copious amounts of violence and dense lore, it was an essential watch for fans of the genre. But as the years went on, it became more impenetrable to casual viewers.

So it's pleasing to note that A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms is blessed with none of its Game Of Thrones, making it an ultimately more accessible beast to casual viewers - for at least half of the series anyway.

Bathed in a warmer aesthetic and visually lighter than the brooding ways of Westeros, this spin-off from George R R Martin's novella, The Hedge Knight, follows Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey, wonderfully warm and approachable) as he negotiates life after the death of his Knight mentor.

Determined to seize upon the ways of the Knight and honour what he's been taught, as well as champion the innocent, Ser Dunk (as he's affectionally known) tries to enter a local tournament to gain some standing among the community. However, roundly mocked by all for his incompetence and inexperience, he soon finds himself on the outer edges of that world.

Stumbling across the precocious Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) at an inn one night, Ser Dunk finds himself with an unexpected squire on his journey into the echelons of Westeros society.

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms has a tongue-in-cheek approach to its Westeros lore. 

Within the opening moments alone, the chords of the original Game Of Thrones soundtrack begin blasting away only for the cameras to quickly cut to a shot of Ser Dunk relieving himself from behind a tree. 

There's humour scattered throughout the series too. From the banter between Egg and Ser Dunk to the cutscenes of the reality of Dunk's life as a squire, the series does much to build up a sympathetic and warm approach to its lead, ensuring that you're on his side from the beginning. 

And while the show does little to build any decent female characters outside of a few loose stereotypes, its desire to separate itself from the lore of the original series is to be lauded. For the first three episodes, this is a gently warm show about what honour truly means and how hard it is to do the right thing.

But from the end of episode three's cliffhanger, the show falls back into the darkness of its successor (even visually) and leaves you feeling that once again, being part of Westeros is going to be a burden. Fortunately, Claffey has laid much of the tenderness and groundwork to forgive such concerns, and the fact the show is only six parts long also means that it's worth taking the journey to its conclusion.

If anything, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms shows what TV fantasy can do when it follows the more human trappings and failings of its characters. It's a welcome show that, thanks to episodes that are only around 35 minutes long at the most and dealing in elements that seem like they've evolved from A Knights Tale, feels like it's an engaging portrait of what it means to be a decent person.

If its ending hints at more, then this would be cautiously welcome - though given the coming-of-age elements of the first and the warmth of the Mandalorian-style duo's antics can only be deployed once, it would come with a certain degree of caution.

But thankfully, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms represents the very best of what a genre can do when its source reinvents the world around it. With a few nods to future elements kept thankfully to a minimum, this is a highly accessible series that's more than worth taking a gamble on.