A promising and feel-good start to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

James Cox

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms may just be the Westerosi spin-off we've all been waiting for.

Warning: There are spoilers in this piece if you have not seen the first episode.

House of the Dragon has had its highs and lows, and closely mirrors Game of Thrones.

However, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms looks like it will be something very different. The tone of the first episode was very light. Think of it as The Hobbit compared to The Lord of the Rings.

It is based on George RR Martin novellas and follows hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall (played by Irish former rugby player Peter Claffey) and his squire Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). 

Ser Duncan, who goes by Dunk, initially dismisses Egg, but the young character takes a shine to him and Sol Ansell is a brilliant presence on screen.

Dunk makes his way to Ashford to compete at the tourney, but faces many obstacles along the way, some worsened by his good nature.

Along the way we meet some interesting characters such as Plummer (played by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor of Love/Hate fame) and Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings). 

If the series continues on this trajectory, it will be a great watch.

You can watch A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV, with episode two airing at 3am on Monday, January 26th and available to stream after that.