Chances are, if you’ve ever asked a friend for a TV show recommendation, you’ve had at least one friend tell you to watch Game of Thrones, an adaptation of the book series by George R.R. Martin. I know I’ve recommended it to all of my friends! The show has been a pinnacle of pop culture since its release in 2011 and, despite its hotly debated ending in 2019, persists in popularity to this day. The show is widely regarded as one of the best series ever–or even the best, depending on who you ask. According to IMDB reviews, Game of Thrones is the thirteenth best TV series and has the eighth best episode in television.
Yet, even with its high praise and persisting popularity, the world of Game of Thrones has struggled to find its niche since the show’s ending in 2019. The ending was received with mixed reviews, especially due to creative differences between the show’s writers and the author of the series. These differing perspectives between the show writers, the author, and even fans have been exacerbated by the fact that the book series itself is unfinished. The last book release was in 2011—the year the first season of the show came out! With so many fan theories, and so few questions answered, fans have been left unfulfilled despite the completion of the TV series.
HBO tried to remedy this unfulfillment with the release of a prequel, House of the Dragon, in 2022. House of the Dragon is set around 200 years before the main series, and follows the dysfunctional dynamics of Targaryen rule—Daenerys’ from Game of Thrones predecessors. Personally, I have loved this prequel. It’s politically complex, and the characters are written so realistically that most of them are unlikable. Still, many have not received it as well as I have. My boyfriend, for example, has only watched the first two episodes, and he has no desire to continue the series despite his Game of Thrones obsession. Many others have felt the same, with TV critic Mike Hale commenting on the spinoff in his New York Times article, saying that it is like Game of Thrones, “but the juice has been squeezed out of it.”
Last year, alongside teasing the third season of House of the Dragon, HBO began teasing a new Game of Thrones spinoff: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The spinoff is based on a novella series written by George R.R. Martin, which is set between the original series and the first prequel. It follows hedge knight Dunk and a young boy named Egg. Honestly, while I get excited over anything related to Game of Thrones, I didn’t have huge expectations for the series. I expected it’d be interesting to meet new characters and see what the world of Westeros was like during the time period in which the novellas are set. The plot seemed mundane, so I truly wasn’t expecting the new series to overtake even House of the Dragon on my list of favorite shows.
With its series premiere releasing early in January, I have now seen five of the six episodes of the first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and it blew my small expectations out of the water. Without giving away too much, the first season follows aspiring knight Dunk and his stalker-turned-squire, Egg. A big aspect of this show is showing viewers what life is like for the non-nobility in Westeros—a perspective we never see in either Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon. While this does make the story more mundane in many ways, in others, it makes it far more interesting. Viewers see a side of Westeros they’ve never gotten the chance to before. For example, in episode two, we learn how difficult it is to even attempt to become a knight when Dunk has to sell his horse in order to afford armor, let alone the hoops he must go through to compete in the knight tournament.
The gritty, poorer perspective we get in this show is, what I feel, makes it so incredible. In Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, viewers are used to political intrigue, betrayal, and more powerful houses exploiting anyone they see fit. Of course, these storylines are entertaining and extremely interesting to follow in their own right, but something about the simplicity of the new series works debatably better than in the other shows. It brings viewers closer to the characters and helps us empathize with them. This makes the plot twists that do come within the show even better than most within the other two series.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is definitely up there on my list of favorite TV shows, and it’s only in the first season! While it hasn’t quite surpassed Game of Thrones for me, it has for some. My boyfriend, a House of the Dragon hater, has hinted that he likes the new spinoff even more than the original series. And the best part? You don’t need to watch the entire original series, or even House of the Dragon, to watch A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms! It can stand alone, and I would highly recommend everyone watch it, even if you have never seen Game of Thrones.