A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms (Season 1)

Season 1 Details

Show Runner: Ira Parker

Episode Count: 6

Cast: Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, Finn Bennett, Daniel Ings, Sam Spruell, Bertie Carvel

Synopsis

A hedge Knight by the name of Sir Duncan seeks to prove himself at a tourney amongst royalty, but events soon test his vowels of knighthood.

My Review

A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms is a perfect addition to the Game of Thrones universe, smaller in scale but just as mighty in quality! As a big fan of the Novellas, seeing this story come to life on screen left me with nothing but a smile on my face throughout the entire six episodes. The casting was sublime, in fact, I couldn’t imagine a single character being played by anyone else and I hope it teaches studios that going for lesser known actors can pay huge dividends! Dunk and Egg’s dynamic is electric and the chemistry between the two actors is the lifeblood of the show, making the smaller moments of conversation just as impressive as the large set pieces!

Ira Parker has shown that being faithful to the source material and working closely with George RR Martin is the recipe for creating amazing television. At first I was hesitant of the short episode format across six episodes and thought it would have been better as a film, but the weekly release worked perfectly to build excitement and anticipation and I was happy to be proven wrong. Despite averaging between 30 and 40 minutes, the show never felt rushed and the pacing was just right, balancing plot progression with contextual flashbacks to really build up Duncan as a character.

We then had the cinematography, Parker has not been shy when revealing that he had a much smaller budget compared to the other shows, yet it looked perfect! The foggy battle might have been a cost saving tactic, but I personally thought it set the tone perfectly and made for beautiful television. The camera transitions to bring that battle to life were super creative and it truly revealed the messiness of battle, no glamorous, over-choreographed action, but brutal and filthy clashes! I must also mention the musical score, which underpinned the themes perfectly and I fear it will be such an underrated aspect of the show. I mean who thought to put jazz in episode 6, but boy did that work nicely!

I could talk about this show all the way until season 2, I loved every minute of it and I actually only have one single criticism and that’s the fact they changed the ending from the Novella. Maekar didn’t give Dunk and Egg his blessing and their boon, they might incorporate that into season 2 but for me it’s a vital moment for Maekar’s arc. But everything else was simply perfect, Game of thrones is my favourite show, it’s my favourite genre and I love exploring more of this universe, it meets all of my personal preferences and that is reflected in my rating. I’d watch this noble knight and his cheeky squire for the next 15 years! 

My Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Thanks for reading.

Film Review Club