Chaos is a ladder.
HBO’s third show in the “Game of Thrones” world is here after “House of the Dragon.”
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is a departure from the first two. It’s lighter in tone, in episode length (Season 1 is a mere six episodes, most of which are 30 to 40 minutes long) and in scope, as it has just two main characters.
The second spinoff isn’t as good as “GoT” was at its best, but it’s better than it was at its worst. It’s also far superior to the dreary slog of “House of the Dragon.” It’s a jaunt to Westeros that’s not especially deep or epic, but it’s a jolly good time.
Premiering Sunday, Jan. 18 on HBO (10 p.m.), “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is based on George R.R. Martin’s “Tales of Dunk and Egg” novellas. HBO has already renewed it for a second season.
The story is set around a hundred years before the events of “Game of Thrones.” It follows Ser Duncan the Tall, a k a Dunk, (Peter Claffey) a hedge knight, (a nomadic knight with no land or money), and Egg, (Dexter Sol Ansell), a young boy who becomes his squire.
Remember the “Game of Thrones” plot where the Hound (Rory McCann) and Arya (Maisie Williams) traveled around having adventures together? If that had been the whole show, that’s “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” just with more staid main character personalities. Dunk and Egg are more polite and less chaotic than Arya and the Hound.
The show makes it clear that we’re definitely back in Westeros. There are silver-haired Targaryens, violence, bawdy jokes, more full frontal nudity than there really needs to be, references to Baratheons, spooky prophecies. There’s even a callback to a famously emotional “GoT” scene to tug on your heartstrings.
But Dunk is a nobody, which is a nice departure from the other Westeros shows that focus on kings. He’s not rich, he’s not especially smart, he’s not important to anyone. He’s an ordinary man who is just trying to navigate this world.
As a simple and decent man, he’s not as thrilling as a character like Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) or a “love to hate them” character like Cersei (Lena Headey), but he’s an easy protagonist to root for in his own right, the same way the Starks were in “GoT.”
After the muddled “House of the Dragon” tried to make Targaryens sympathetic, it’s also nice to see a Targaryen be evil again, as the antagonist is the sneering Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen (Finn Bennett).
“A Knight” does have its pitfalls – in its attempts to be lighter than the other shows, it has an over-reliance on toilet humor. At times, it feels like it’s proving that 2012 “Saturday Night Live” sketch true (when then-cast member Andy Samberg pretended to be a teen boy who secretly wrote “GoT”). At other points, the show feels like it’s trying to be “Monty Python.”
However, it does nail the tough job of weaving a more humorous tone together with moments of grim violence and gravity.
It’s not quite a comedy, although it’s more of a romp than the other “GoT” shows. It’s not quite a political intrigue show, though there are moments of maneuvering. It’s not an epic battle show, though there is a violent action sequence or two. It walks a fine line and deftly balances several different tones. Aside from some juvenile humor, it all comes together well, into an interesting stew with unlikely ingredients blending together.
If you’re feeling Westeros fatigue, it’s not a must watch. But if you’ve got any energy left in the tank for a return to this world, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is brimming with shaggy charm.
