HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere introduces Ser Duncan the Tall

The premiere of HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms introduces Ser Duncan the Tall, played by Peter Claffey, in a lighter, more humorous corner of Westeros. The episode adapts George R.R. Martin’s novella The Hedge Knight and is overseen by showrunner Ira Parker, who created the series with Martin.

The episode emphasizes a jaunty, whistling score by Dan Romer and shorter, near-sitcom episodes rather than the sweeping drama of earlier Westeros shows. We meet Dunk burying his mentor Ser Arlan and learn he is a hedge knight with little to his name; he travels to the Ashford tourney hoping for a chance to earn money and prove himself. Along the way he encounters a bustling tourney village, a fire-breathing dragon puppet and a range of nobles and squires, including the tourney master, Ser Manfred Dondarrion, Raymun Fossoway, and the gregarious Ser Lyonel Baratheon, who tells Dunk, "You have no chance." The episode also introduces Egg, the orphan who becomes Dunk’s squire.

Director Owen Harris and writer Ira Parker use montage and character moments to show Dunk’s past and his refusal to perpetuate the violence he endured; despite repeated put-downs he displays empathy and ends the episode smiling. The premiere sets up Dunk’s attempt to enter the Ashford lists and his new partnership with Egg, but his prospects in the tournament and beyond remain uncertain.

Key Topics

Culture, Ser Duncan, Ashford, Hbo, George R.r. Martin, Peter Claffey