What is the story about?
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has finally released. An adaptation of the Tales of Dunk and Egg series of novellas by George RR Martin, it stars Peter
Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall (Dunk) and Dexter Sol Ansell as his squire Aegon Targaryen (Egg). Interestingly the series and tomes occupy a unique position in the sprawling timeline of Westeros. It is firmly placed between the political intensity of House of the Dragon and the epic scale of Game of Thrones. While all three stories are rooted in the same world, their placement in history, tone, and narrative focus are vastly different.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Chronology
Chronologically, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set around 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones and roughly a century after House of the Dragon. House of the Dragon takes place during the height of Targaryen power, focusing on the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons (around 172 years before Daenerys Targaryen’s birth). Dragons dominate the skies, the Iron Throne is firmly in Targaryen hands, and the realm’s greatest threat comes from within the royal family itself.
However, by the time A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms commences, the Targaryens still rule Westeros, but their dominance has faded. Dragons are gone or nearly extinct, and the magical awe that once surrounded the dynasty has diminished. This transitional period is crucial: the royal house still commands respect, but the seeds of decline are already visible. In contrast to House of the Dragon’s court intrigue and large-scale warfare, this era feels quieter, more grounded, and closer to the lives of ordinary people.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
The series itself follows Ser Duncan the Tall (Dunk), a humble hedge knight, and his squire Egg, who is secretly Prince Aegon Targaryen - later to become King Aegon V. Rather than focusing on kings, queens, and sweeping battles, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms explores Westeros from the road level. Tournaments, village disputes, and personal codes of honour become central.
Thematically, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms acts as a moral and emotional midpoint. House of the Dragon shows how power and ambition can destroy even the strongest dynasty. Game of Thrones presents the aftermath: a realm where Targaryen rule has ended, dragons are legends, and noble ideals are often crushed by brutality and survival. Dunk’s story, however, focuses on chivalry, compassion, and the meaning of knighthood, even as those ideals are beginning to erode.
It shows a Westeros hanging precariously between morality and decay.
This placement also enriches Game of Thrones retrospectively. Through Egg’s journey from squire to king, audiences gain insight into how the Targaryens attempted reform and why those efforts ultimately failed. The social inequalities, resentment among noble houses, and fragile loyalties seen in Dunk and Egg’s time directly foreshadow the conflicts that later explode in Game of Thrones.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms serves as the human bridge between two grand eras, connecting the dragon-fuelled chaos of House of the Dragon with the grim political realism of Game of Thrones.
