A Knight Of The Seven Kindoms
Simple and told with passion. A story to root for. But why does it work so well?
Photo by Steffan Hill - © Steffan Hill 2024
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Remember when all anyone who watched television could talk about was which House from The Song of Ice & Fire they liked? Unless you were living under a rock, you knew what GOT stood for. Its rule as "THE" show had so much power that many people born during its glory till this day unwillingly bear the name Khaleesi or Snow. The show's power, much like the Targaryens, feels now like it was forever ago. We all know how disappointing the last season of GOT was for a lot of people, including myself. Having recently rewatched it in its entirety, I am still very much on the edge about it, with a bit of a salty wound every time I think about how the show fumbled towards its end. House Of Dragon aimed to hopefully capture the same lightning that made GOT what it was, using the same method and bottle. It had all the ingredients when it started. The big houses, amazing castles, multiple complex character plots, and a story about a historical turning point for the famed house Targaryen. While its numbers are still somewhat impressive given its IP power, it is clear that Season 2 failed to live up to the potential that Season 1 left for the series. Ultimately, House Of Dragon failed to attract me. Primarily lack of investment in care for characters, pacing, and overall execution of episodes. Especially in Season 2, which makes episodes feel like they are filled with extended filler scenes. Something is not right; the magic just isn't there. That is not to disregard the amount of tremendous work needed to pull off a show of this magnitude. But it doesn't radiate to me the same passion or seduce my curiosity to keep watching for the sake of the plot or characters that I had when I watched Game of Thrones for the first time. Yet here comes A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms (AKTSK for the sake of it). Much like its protagonist, it is a show that many perhaps now tired fans of the franchise would have disregarded.
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When it was announced, you would have found me among them. Yet here let me repent for my initial indifference. After finishing the 6 episodes, I can confidently say: I feel it again, the passion, the care, my engagement, it's there. But what changed? In its simplest of terms: Perspective. What makes George R.R. Martin's work so captivating is the world he built. Besides the fantasy, it's the nuances of human nature and how power can corrupt that made people so in love with it. But perhaps lately we have spent too much time behind scheming castle walls and on glorious battlefields with dragons that we grew bored of always looking up. Perhaps it was time to look down to stories of the common people that these already known to us Houses and nobility rule over. The people who make up the majority of the world.
That brings us to Duncan the Tall. Dunc serves as the perfect lens for the viewer to take in the commonality of Westeros. He captured my interest, to be fully honest, within the first couple of scenes. He is no lord, not a bastard with a hidden future, not even a respected knight or fighter. Just a hedge knight, a simple man following where the road takes him. From a character's perspective, Dunc has this green, almost clay-like, silent yet immediately sympathetic personality. That slowly ramps up as his character develops through the narrative progression, which includes well-utilized flashbacks. His struggle is not on a grand scale; it presents viewers not with atypical problems of trying to conquer kingdoms or become king or queen. It stems down to the smallest of problems of the common people, such as not having enough coins to buy some eggs in one scene. The nobility is still present, of course, but the perspective is told through Duncan and how he navigates, learns, and refuses to be corrupted by this already known to us Game of Thrones. In this bridging between common and power, I give my full respect to Dexter Sol Ansell for his performance as Egg. Ultimately, it is through Egg that Duncan ends up being dragged into the events that unfold, but the chemistry between the characters is what makes the heavier beats of the story work. The two need each other to grow, and the development of their bond makes it impossible not to root for them. A stark contrast to House of Dragon, where the depressing nature of the story and character development for its sake made me not a fan. That is not to say AKTSK is an entirely feel-good story; it still has the elements that made this IP what it is. It manages, however, to mix the darker notions with those of optimism, hardship, and how values are seen by different classes. There is no need for dragons when the elements of human nature are so perfectly portrayed that they steal the show.​
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I tip my hat to Episode 5 in particular. Absolute Cinema! The superb technical choices used to show the Trail of the Seven can be a whole separate article. I felt as if I was fully with Dunc on the battlefield and every coming shot had me more on the edge of my seat. If you like a medieval fight scene with amazing cuts, choreography, and great storytelling, this is a must-watch. As a matter of fact, it has been so well rated online that it caused a review war between the Breaking Bad Fans and GOT fans over whether this episode deserves the mighty 10/10 on IMDb, says enough. Overall, this show is a breath of fresh air that the franchise needed, it seems, given the response of the fans. This shows that a change of perspective on how a story is told within an already established universe can make for new and exciting projects from these IPs that we love.
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