A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms earns Game of Thrones' unearned ending

In the final episode of Game of Thrones, Tyrion Lannister asks, “What unites people? Armies? Gold? Flags? Stories,” and concludes, “There’s nothing in the world more powerful than a good story,” arguing that Bran the Broken should rule. That bizarre turn and its aftermath left the finale ranked among the worst season endings, but A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms spends six episodes making the same claim feel earned by threading the importance of stories through its entire opening arc.

Peter Claffey’s Ser Duncan the Tall learns to use narrative as a way forward after the death of his mentor Ser Arlan of Pennytree. With only a few horses and a sword, Dunk sees two paths: banditry and the gallows, or spinning a convincing tale about being Pennytree’s successor to seek glory at tournaments.

got, tyrion lannister, bran, peter claffey, ser duncan, ser arlan, pennytree, dunk, tournaments, stories