A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms | Television tonight

If you are looking for dragons in the latest Game of Thrones prequel, you’ll have to wait a long time.

Unless you count a pantomime dragon appearing as part of a local performing troupe.

For the 6-part series, A knight of the seven kingdomsthe focus shifts from sprawling dynasties and epic battles to the towering knight Ser Duncan the Tall and his diminutive squire Egg.

Think of a medieval buddy movie, and sometimes even a kind of Westeros western… and it works a treat.

The new series created by Ira Parker and George RR Martin (Stories about Dunk and Egg) is also infused with humor and a light touch Game of Thrones rarely entertained.

Former rugby player and actor Peter Claffey stars as Ser Duncan the Tall, knighted by his dying, irascible father Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb), who mentored him as a young orphan. ‘Dunk’ grew up in debt and is less than impressed that the ruling lords have conveniently forgotten his mentor and doubted his own knighthood credentials.

So ‘Dunk’ has a lot to prove in this Iron Throne country set in between House of the Dragon And Game of Thrones (in case you were wondering).

But every knight needs a squire “and it seems you need one more than most,” the diminutive ‘Egg’ (Dexter Sol Ansell) tells him when the two meet at a local inn.

‘Egg’ looks about ten years old, but has the wisdom of men three times his age… as well as most of the series’ best dialogue. He sticks to ‘Dunk’ and creates a beautiful, mismatched pair that hasn’t been seen since Danny Di Vito became a twin with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Together they ride to the jousting tournaments in Summerhall overseen by Prince Maekar Targaryen (Sam Spruell), to try to establish themselves and score some money. Here, “Dunk” catches the attention of local puppeteer Tanselle (Aussie Tanzyn Crawford), whose affections will put him at odds with the series villain, Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen (Finn Bennett), who has an evil streak on par with the memorable Joffrey Baratheon.

This causes ‘Dunk’ to become involved in a jousting battle with Prince Aerion, which everyone can see later in the series.

With fast learner ‘Egg’ at his side – as the brains of the pair – Duncan will be tested, doubted and buffeted by eclectic moral questions and toilet humor that collide on screen in delightful ways.

“Do great knights live in the hedges and die by a muddy road?” –Ser Duncan

Both leads are quite fantastic in their respective roles. Peter Claffey portrays Duncan as a gentle giant, simple as desired, but with a deep sense of justice and decency that quickly turns him heroic. Dexter Sol Ansell is a breath of fresh air as the agile, loud little tornado of energy who looks monsters in the eye and calls their bluff. Be warned: he will mature quickly as an actor and give this a clear ending as a franchise like the children of Stranger things outgrow their universe.

Game of Thrones fans may need some patience with this experience. Early episodes will invest much more in character relationships than in action scenes, but the signature arguments, twists, fights, and bloodshed will be made all the more delightful or prissy for connecting us emotionally.

Visually, the series also stands alone around Summerhall, and while Irish backdrops provide a verdant backdrop, there is none Thrones‘ shifts from kingdom to kingdom. Musically, there’s even a whistle in the air, reinforcing the Western genres, as if Duncan has driven into town to pick a fight with the local sheriff.

One word of warning: there are accents here that push dialogue a little out of reach. I highly recommend starting with subtitles from scene one and turning them off if you don’t need them, rather than the other way around. I literally went back and started over because I had missed too much.

One or two episodes will also reach the 40-minute mark, but these are largely presented as bite-sized 30-minute character stories, challenging what we’ve come to expect from Fire and Ice sagas. The choices here remind us that there are many ways into this story, which must necessarily evolve to stay one step ahead of the audience.

Joining Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Ser Duncan the Tall and his ever-trusty ‘Egg’ will enter Game of Thrones knight’s Hall of Fame in no time, inseparable and glowing.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres Monday on HBO Max.