A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is HBO’s second Game of Thrones prequel series, and is based on George R. R. Martin’s novella “Tales of Dunk and Egg”. The series is set about 90 years after the events of House of the Dragon, in a time when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, but there are no more dragons or magic.

Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) is a lowborn hedge knight whose mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb), has just passed away. It’s unclear as to whether or not Ser Arlan officially knighted Dunk before he passed, but either way, Dunk has been living the code of a knight, and presents himself as one. Ser Arlan was like a father to Dunk, and was the one in charge. Now Dunk feels a bit lost as to what to do next. He ultimately decides that he will enter a jousting tournament, and gathers up Ser Arlan’s horses, sword and shield, and heads towards Ashford Meadow. Along the way, he stops off at an inn, where he meets bald 10-year-old stable boy Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), who is eager to serve as Dunk’s squire, though he remarks that Duncan doesn’t really look much like a knight. Dunk denies the boy’s request and heads out on his own. However, when he arrives at Ashford Meadow, he once again finds the relentless young boy, and reluctantly agrees to let he serve as his squire. As Dunk tries to find a knight who will vouch for him in order to enter the tournament, he meets some of the other contestants, some who are more cordial than others, such as Ser Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) and squire Ser Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas). But as Targaryen princes Baelor (Bertie Carvel), Maekar (Sam Spruell) and Aerion (Finn Bennett) arrive, the tone becomes a bit more serious. And as Duk and Egg watch the brutal early jousting matches, Dunk wonders if he signed up for more than he can handle.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has a very different tone from the previous two Game of Thrones series, and the viewer is given a hint of this in the first five minutes, when the series subverts expectations, hinting at that familiar regal theme song before going in a very different direction. The series has a lot of humor, especially in the first half of the season. It also utilizes quick flashback cutaways for comedic effect—not unlike a show like Scrubs. The music is also a lot different, ranging from folksy whistling, to the blues, and even a couple of modern needle drops.

There is amazing chemistry between the characters of Dunk and Egg, thanks in large part to the charming actors behind these roles. These two are so much fun together, and the characters are constantly ribbing on one another. Dunk is this somewhat dimwitted knight with a heart of gold, while Egg is the brains of the duo, and more of the adult at times. Over the course of the season, we see Dunk step up and become more of the confident knight he should be. Meanwhile, early on, we discover Egg is hiding a secret, which could derail this friendship. And in the second half of the season, things take a more serious tone, reminding viewers of just how great a Game of Thrones series can be, with epic drama and action, and a longer-form flashback exploring Dunk’s origins.

The first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is only 6 30-ish minute episodes, and makes for a thoroughly-entertaining evening binge. I hope that the more comical tone of the early episodes doesn’t turn off some Game of Thrones fans. I personally really enjoyed this lighter take in the world of Westeros, looking at the adventures of some lowborn characters, rather than just those fighting over the throne. However, by the end of the season, the series kicks into full gear, bringing back that familiar score, and showing that it is so much more, and can be just as big in scope as the previous shows set in this world.

Warner Bros. has released this first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on 4K UHD, Blu-ray & DVD. We were sent the 4K UHD edition for review, and the presentation is fantastic. The picture looks stunning and flawless, with an excellent level of detail even in the show’s darker sequences. Colors are rich, such as the warm orange glow of firelight, and blacks look amazing&mdas;episode 4 opens with stars in the night sky and at first I thought my TV had turned off and I was looking at dust on the screen. The Atmos audio track provides clear dialogue throughout as well as a rich, fully-immersive viewing experience that puts the viewer right in the middle of the action, whether that be a massive jousting tournament, a puppet show, or the sounds of thunder and rain.

The first season’s 6 episodes are split across 2 discs, which reside on either side of a standard-sized 4K keepcase, along with an insert sheet detailing the contents of the discs, and covered with a slightly-metallic cardboard slipcover. Unfortunately, WB no longer includes digital copies with their TV releases, but the discs do contain nearly 150 minutes of behind-the-scenes bonus material with the cast and crew plus a short gag reel.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (3:28:13)
• All 6 episodes of the first season:
  Disc 1 (1:46:28): “The Hedge Knight”, “Hard Salt Beef”, “The Squire”
  Disc 2 (1:41:45): “Seven”, “In the Name of the Mother”, “The Morrow”
• 2160p / Widescreen 2.00:1
• Dolby Vision / HDR10
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1), French Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish (Castellano) Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish (Latino) Dolby Digital 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital Stereo
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Spanish (​Castellano), Dutch, Chinese, Korean, Spanish (Latino), Czech, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Extras:

• Inside the Episode (34:05)
  The cast and crew discuss the characters and major developments of each episode. Includes interviews with executive producer/showrunner Ira Parker, executive producer/director (eps 101, 102 & 105) Owen Harris, co-executive producer/director (eps 103, 104 & 106) Sarah Adina Smith, and stars Peter Claffey (“Dunk”), Dexter Sol Ansell (“Egg / Aegon Targaryen”), Daniel Ings (“Ser Lyonel Baratheon”), Bertie Carvel (“Baelor Targaryen”), Sam Spruell (“Maekar Targaryen”), Finn Bennett (“Aerion Targaryen”), Edward Ashley (“Ser Steffon Fossoway”) & Shaun Thomas (“Raymun Fossoway”). Play All on each disc, or select from:
  • Episode 1 (5:05)
  • Episode 2 (5:07)
  • Episode 3 (5:19)
  • Episode 4 (6:04)
  • Episode 5 (6:09)
  • Episode 6 (6:21)
• Building A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (34:58)
  The cast and crew discuss how the story came about, finding the right tone for the series, exploring a different layer of Westeros, casting the series, filming in Belfast, the costumes & sets, creating the puppets, the different look of the Targaryens, designing Dunk’s shield and the various armor, the challenge of the horses, creating the fog, shooting the POV of the knight rider, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes, audition, table read & stunt viz footage, concept artwork, and interviews with executive producer/director (eps 101, 102 & 105) Owen Harris, executive producer/writer George R.R. Martin, executive producer/showrunner Ira Parker, executive producer Sarah Bradshaw, production designer om McCullagh, supervising location manager Naomi Liston, costume designer Lorna Marie Mugan, director of photography (eps 101, 102 & 105) Gustav Danielsson, VFX producer Paul Russo, horse master Tom Cox, supervising art director John Merry, puppet designer Mike Kelt, SFX floor supervisor Tom Lloyd, hair and makeup designer Pippa Woods, weapons master Tim Lewis, stunt coordinator C.C. Smiff, costume FX supervisor Simon Brindle, executive producer/director (eps 103, 104 & 106) Sarah Adina Smith, stunt coordinator Florian Robin, 2nd unit director Rob Inch, director of photography (eps 103, 104 & 106) Federico Cesca, and stars Danny Webb (“Ser Arlan of Pennytree”), Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, Daniel Ings, Shaun Thomas, Tanzyn Crawford (“Tanselle”), Finn Bennett, William Houston (“Ser Robyn Rhysling”), Sam Spruell, Henry Ashton (“Daeron Targaryen”), Edward Ashley & Oscar Morgan (“Valarr Targaryen”).
• Welcome to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (Extended) (4:14)
  The cast and crew provide an introduction to the story, characters and world of the series. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer/showrunner Ira Parker, executive producer/director (eps 101, 102 & 105) Owen Harris, executive producer/writer George R.R. Martin, executive producer/director (eps 103, 104 & 106) Sarah Adina Smith, and stars Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell & Finn Bennett.
  
• Blooper Reel (1:39)
  Fun with the cast as they flub lines, make each other laugh, and have fun on set.
  
• A Knight in the Making
  Three extensive Making-Of featurettes covering the six episodes of the first season. Portions of these include repeated footage and interviews from the previous “Building A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” and “Inside the Episode” featurettes. Select from:
  • A Knight in the Making – Episode 1 (16:57)
  • A Knight in the Making – Episodes 2 and 3 (20:49)
  • A Knight in the Making – Episodes 4, 5 and 6 (27:47)

• Character Pieces (2:42)
  The actors talk about getting their roles, and their characters. Play All, or select from:
  • Meet Dunk (1:28)
  • Meet Egg (1:14)
• Ashford Meadow Set Tour with Dexter Sol Ansell (2:17)
  Actor Dexter Sol Ansell gives viewers an energetic a tour of the set.
  

Final Thoughts:

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is not your typical Game of Thrones series, taking on a much more comical tone at times. However, at it’s core, it is still very much the exciting and entertaining fantasy show we all love. Stars Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell are such a delight, and have amazing chemistry with one another. And the season is also filled with many other interesting characters and great actors. Warner Bros’s 4K release looks and sounds amazing, and the discs are filled with some very entertaining behind-the-scenes bonus material (though some of it is repeated). This series is great and I can’t wait for season two! This release comes highly recommended for any Game of Thrones fan, though anyone could easily watch this without having seen either of the other series.