Critic reviews for HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, seemingly provide hope for a solid show.
The series currently has an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s what some reviewers are saying about the show providing “an old-fashioned, chivalric moral compass” that indicate the show might actually be good.
Here’s some of the 40 reviewers are saying about the show:
John Nugent at Empire Magazine wrote, “Like its heroes, it keeps an old-fashioned, chivalric moral compass: a series simply sworn to protect the innocent.”
Meghan O’Keefe at Decider reviewed, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a charming new addition to the Game of Thrones franchise that will woo you back to Westeros. It’s a story that doesn’t need the pyrotechnics of dragon fire because it has plenty of human heart, soul, and heroism.”
Molly Edwards at Games Radar stated, “Swapping kingdom-shaking battles for grounded character drama, this latest installment in the ever-expanding Game of Thrones universe is also a moving, resonant exploration of what it truly means to be a knight.”
Jordan Williams at ScreenRant reviewed, “Energizing the franchise, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms maintains its focus on the often overlooked smallfolk, behaviorally unconventional lords, humble livelihoods, and occasionally repulsive aspects of the lives of those born outside nobility.”
Ed Power at Daily Telegraph wrote, “The gently amiable show otherwise avoids the gimmicky surprises and shock deaths that ultimately turned Thrones into a slog.”
Chase Hutchinson at Seattle Times posted, “It’s got plenty more cheeky and cleverly self-effacing gags, but it also brings a sincere, shattering sense of compassion for the ordinary characters who are stumbling through the chaos of the story.”
Dais Johnston at Inverse praised, “A small-scale story that brings to mind tales of medieval chivalry and Arthurian legends, with enough heart to feed Daenerys for weeks.”
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ first season is based off of George R.R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight novella, which is the first of three novellas that are collected in Tales of Dunk and Egg albeit it appears to have been renamed to align with the title of this new series.
Series co-creator Ira Parker also made clear how the show is distinct from the original Game of Thrones series as well as House of the Dragon telling Entertainment Weekly that it won’t feature dragons or magic and that it takes place 50 years after the death of the last dragon, which he describes as “a sort of gnarled thing that it couldn’t even fly. If you can’t fly, what are you really? They’re just a fancy lizard.”
Additionally, he shared, “Nobody’s thinking about magic.”
In contrast he described it, “This could basically be 14th century Britain. This is hard nose, grind it out, gritty, medieval knights, cold with a really light, hopeful touch. It’s a wonderful place to be,”
He added. “We are ground up in this series, we are starting right at the bottom. We’re not with the lords and ladies, the kings and queens.”
Furthermore, he noted that he set out “to find a totally different version of this world that everybody seems to know so well was very, very appealing.”
He elaborated, “The fact that we live in this world, though, where magic once existed is very interesting to me. This is the ground and the grass that has seen dragons and dragon fire before. So everything is just like how the world is, but a little stranger, a little different.”
The series will also be more of a character study as it follows around Ser Dunk and a young boy named Egg, who wants to be his squire. Parker shared, “All decisions came down to Dunk, trying to channel the type of person he is into every aspect of this show, even the title sequence.”
It debuts on HBO Max on January 18th.
NEXT: 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' Defender Makes Asinine Comparison With Luke Skywalker
Knights... Chivalry, a Christian creation. But let's do EVERYTHING to remove Jesus Christ and create a story that could ONLY exist in Christendom... just without Christ!
Someone please make a joyful low budget show about the birth of Chivalry and Knights and chastity and virtue they represented to the World, concerning honor, honor to women, honor that never ever ever ever ever existed before.
Don't care.
If the Mountain that Writes can't be arsed to finish the story for the fans who made him millions of dollars, F HIM. F Neil Gaiman too, that perv. GURRM may not be our bitch, but we're not his bitch either.
Watching this show, buying any merch crap, supporting this asshat in any way makes you his bitch.
Don't be a bitch.