{"id":2252269,"date":"2026-01-27T05:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2252269"},"modified":"2026-01-27T05:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:12:15","slug":"is-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-worth-watching-the-reviews-are-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/is-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-worth-watching-the-reviews-are-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Is \u2018A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms\u2019 Worth Watching? The Reviews Are In"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"mb-6\">\n<div class=\"flex\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"mr-3\" href=\"https:\/\/manofmany.com\/author\/deanblake\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"aspect-square mt-1\" style=\"width:45px;height:45px\"><\/figure>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"font-bold mb-4 lg:mb-5\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" class=\"lucide lucide-clock3 inline-block mr-1 mb-0.5\"><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"12\" r=\"10\"\/><polyline points=\"12 6 12 12 16.5 12\"\/><\/svg> Readtime: <!-- -->5 min<\/p>\n<div class=\"mom-border border-y-2 py-3 mt-4 [&amp;_p]:!leading-normal [&amp;_*]:text-xs [&amp;_*]:!tracking-normal [&amp;_*]:!text-black dark:[&amp;_*]:!text-white [&amp;_p]:!text-left\">\n<p><span style=\"color:#000;text-align:center;font-weight:normal;font-size:12px;line-height:14px;letter-spacing:.5px\">Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#000;text-decoration:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/manofmany.com\/affiliate-policy\"><strong>Learn more.<\/strong><\/a> For more information on how we test products, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#000000;text-decoration:none\" href=\"https:\/\/manofmany.com\/how-we-test\"><strong>click here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Game of Thrones<\/em> spin-off <em>A Knight of Seven Kingdoms\u2019<\/em> first episode has launched to positive reviews<\/li>\n<li>Critics have praised the show\u2019s smaller-scale, as well as its strong and interesting characters<\/li>\n<li>However, audiences are split by a more humorous, lighthearted tone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>George R.R. Martin\u2019s <em>Game of Thrones<\/em> universe is back with a vengeance, with HBO\u2019s latest adaptation of the notoriously-slow world-builder\u2019s tale, <em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/manofmany.com\/entertainment\/movies-tv\/game-of-thrones-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms\">A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<\/a><\/em>, bringing a much smaller-scale adventure to our screens. And, after the polarising end of the series proper, as well as the sometimes middling <em>House of the Dragon<\/em> spin-off, the new show really needed to be good.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, critics are largely in agreement: <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<\/em> might just be the best piece of <em>Game of Thrones<\/em> content we\u2019ve seen in years. Audiences, though, are a bit harder to please.<\/p>\n<p>IMDb has it sitting pretty at <strong>8.3 stars<\/strong> after more than 11,000 reviews, while Rotten Tomatoes considers the show fresh with a <strong>95% score<\/strong> from its critics\u2014though, the wider \u2018popcornmeter\u2019, which is open to all audiences, sits at just 69%. Over on Metacritic, the story is largely similar, with a <strong>metascore of 74<\/strong> and a slightly lower user score of 6.6.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-do-the-critics-like\"><strong>What Do The Critics Like?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As you can tell by the aggregated review scores above, critics are largely pretty positive about the start of this new show. Compared to the often bombastic and sprawling mainline series that came before it, <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<\/em> is a \u201csurprisingly heartfelt, light, and fun\u201d tale of a knight and his squire, according to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gamesradar.com\/entertainment\/fantasy-shows\/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>GamesRadar<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>That bond, between lead characters Dunk and Egg (played excellently by Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell respectively) is a central standout across the critical consensus. While the show is still early in its first season, the relationship between the two is already taking form, providing a compelling and human core to the series for audiences to latch onto.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"comp-further-reading mom-border border-2 pb-3 pt-6 lg:pt-6 lg:pb-3 px-6 mb-4 lg:mb-7 lg:mx-5\">\n<h3 class=\"comp-further-reading__title\"><i>Further Reading<\/i><\/h3>\n<\/aside>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/tv\/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IGN<\/a><\/em> notes \u201cthe wonderful brotherly bond between Dunk and Egg gives the fantasy-free <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<\/em> a great sense of charm, keeping the viewer engaged in where this underdog duo\u2019s travels take them next.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another positive take on the show is the fact that, after a series of much darker takes on Westeros, <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<\/em> is quite a bit lighter \u2014 and more than willing to be outright funny. That more humorous tone helps to set the show apart from <em>Game of Thrones<\/em> and <em>House of the Dragon<\/em> which delve much deeper into political machinations and mankind\u2019s place in a world of dragons and beasts.<\/p>\n<p>Here, though, it\u2019s just about a man, his mysterious squire, and a quest to clear his name.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe result is something I\u2019d begun to doubt was even possible: a smaller, smarter, funnier and more charming glimpse into (Martin\u2019s) bigger-is-better realm,\u201d wrote <em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-reviews\/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-review-hbo-game-of-thrones-1236468525\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Hollywood Reporter.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-where-is-opinion-divided\"><strong>Where is Opinion Divided?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In saying that, the show\u2019s purposeful focus on a smaller-scale story has been criticised as being slower and less exciting than what came before. We\u2019re still early in the series\u2019 life, but some critics have already noted the show is starting off sluggish \u2014 and with only six episodes in this first season, it\u2019s unclear how much ground the first season will cover.<\/p>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/collider.com\/tag\/tv-show\/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Collider<\/a><\/em> noted that while lovers of the original book series may enjoy how accurate this tale is to the source material, more casual fans might come away with more questions than answers. Others were confused about why we\u2019re following Dunk in the first place: he\u2019s not a central, kingdom-defining hero here, and his tale seems not to have any impact on the broader story of the existential threat of the White Walkers explored during the main series.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt makes little effort to justify its own existence,\u201d <em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/tv\/reviews\/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-review-hbo-game-of-thrones-b2902981.html\">The Independent<\/a> <\/em>said, calling the first episode refreshing, if ultimately a little frustrating.<\/p>\n<p>As for the lower audience scores, the show\u2019s opening scene has put many fans of the series off from the jump. While the show kicks off with Dunk burying his former master Ser Arlan of Pennytree in what is a melancholy moment for the would-be knight, it immediately jump cuts to our hero behind a tree taking a dump.<\/p>\n<p>The emotional whiplash was purposeful, showrunner Ira Parker told <em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/reviews\/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-review-game-of-thrones-prequel-1236621563\/\">Variety<\/a><\/em>, aiming to show that Dunk is not a chivalrous hero, but the impact has soured many on the series from the first 5 minutes. Those who\u2019ve watched further have started to enjoy Dunk\u2019s character, but the shift in tone signalled a move away from <em>Game of Thrones<\/em>\u2019 much-heralded high fantasy storytelling toward something a bit more questionable, and not everyone is along for the ride.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re interested in checking the series out, you can <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/manofmany.com\/entertainment\/movies-tv\/game-of-thrones-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms\">read our explainer here<\/a>, and jump into <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<\/em> exclusively through <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/manofmany.com\/entertainment\/movies-tv\/whats-new-on-max\">HBO Max<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source manofmany.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Readtime: 5 min Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here. Game of Thrones spin-off A Knight of Seven Kingdoms\u2019 first episode has launched to positive reviews Critics have praised [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2252270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[373765,330562,309839,23808],"class_list":["post-2252269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms","tag-game-of-thrones","tag-hbo-max","tag-streaming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Is-\u2018A-Knight-of-the-Seven-Kingdoms-Worth-Watching-The.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2252269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2252269"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2252269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2252271,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2252269\/revisions\/2252271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2252270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2252269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2252269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2252269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}