With 5 episodes released, I keep getting wronged by A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and I have never been so happy about being wrong!
Why I Keep Getting Wronged By A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
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Let's be honest. Game of Thrones turned out to be a disappointment, and House of the Dragon is a bit slow in its pacing. Naturally, I wasn't too excited when A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was announced.
Having read a brief history of Dunk and Egg and their adventures across Westeros, I thought it would be another politically charged drama series with courts and royals clamouring around the Iron Throne like a pack of wildlings near The Wall.
Much to my surprise, I couldn't even see the Iron Throne from the beginning till episode 5 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. With brilliant cinematography, an iconic soundtrack, a weird combination of adrenaline and quiet moments, and the humble (and saddening) Dunk, I decided that I was wrong about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and why I'm so happy to be wrong about it.
What I Got Wrong About A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
The first episode mentioned the Tourney at Ashford Meadow, and I was very excited to see the Tourney take place. Since it was right at the beginning of the series, I hoped that the meandering and aimlessness would lessen, and we could head straight for the Tourney.
Although it took a little bit of time to set up the relationship dynamic between Dunk and Egg (which was necessary), every episode would mention the tourney, but we didn't see it happen until episode 5.
Through every episode, there was a surge of adrenaline when Dunk would try to make people remember Ser Arlan of Pennytree or would see Tanselle doing her puppetry. Moments of joy were often compared to the grim outlook of Game of Thrones. However, the tease was too much since the series hadn't dipped its toes into the goriness and the violence that was prevelant in King's Landing during the reign of the Targaryens (and later as well).
When episode 5 came, we finally saw what Dunk is capable of. With a surge of rush, Dunk's horse rallied on, and Aerion hit Dunk in the face with a lance. Although falling to the ground, it immediately cut to a flashback sequence involving Dunk and his former lover Rafe (when they were kids).
It... was a bummer, until the story started developing and the emotions started surging. I was invested in Dunk and Rafe's life, and why Rafe wasn't present with Dunk anymore. That is when I saw a familiar scene creeping in.
The sudden death of Rafe, the introduction of Ser Arlan, and the Knight of Pennytree urging Dunk to get up. The moment I started loving the flashback sequences, it immediately cut to the Tourney sequence, making me feel even more alive.
Creators George R.R. Martin and Ira Parker have beautifully paced the world of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and with the release of Episode 5, I finally realized that I was wrong about the series and that it deserved all the fame and love in the world.
With that being said, I wasn't completely wrong about the HBO show, though.
What I Got Right About A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Throughout Episode 5, I was waiting for the moment we would see Maekar Targaryen strike his brother on the back of his helm with a mace (although it was visible, it was in the background of a scene). Unfortunately, it was revealed right at the end that Baelor's skull was already cracked, and the episode instead entirely focused on Dunk, his life with Ser Arlan, and his fight with Aerion Targaryen.
With the death of Baelor Targaryen (which we had predicted here), it felt a bit... incomplete. There wasn't enough time spent with the character, neither on-screen nor off-screen, for the audience to really understand the dynamic between Dunk and Baelor Targaryen.
From his initial introduction and vouching for Dunk at the Tourney till the moment he collapsed in Dunk's arms, there wasn't simply enough screentime for Baelor to be fully developed as a human being. The Targaryen prince (and Hand of the King) felt more like a two-dimensional good guy rather than a fully-fleshed out character.
Although I'm not complaining (since the creators did all they could to squeeze a hefty story into 6 episodes), I do feel that less focus on Dunk and Egg could have given characters like Baelor, Maekar, and Daeron (The Dreamer) enough screentime for us to actually care about them.
There's still one more episode to go in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (place your bets here), but unless the entire episode is dedicated to Baelor and the tourney, I do feel right about this particular point in my stance.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is streaming on HBO Max (USA).
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