A Quick Guide To The First “A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms” Trailer!

Earlier today at New York Comic-Con, HBO dropped the first teaser trailer for their highly-anticipated adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s novella The Hedge Knight, a prequel/spinoff of his main A Song of Ice & Fire series that became the basis for “Game of Thrones”.

As mentioned in earlier reports on this series, the story takes place roughly a century before the main story (and roughly 80 years after the events on “The House of the Dragon”) and, in a major departure from GRRM’s other novels, focuses its POV not on a member of the Westeros aristocracy but on a common hedge knight named Ser Duncan the Tall (“Dunk” for short), who was raised in the mean streets of Flea Bottom (the poorest section of King’s Landing) before being taken in by a kindly knight. Dunk goes on to become a legendary knight in his own right, eventually serving as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

The first season of “A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms” tackles the first novella in GRRM’s The Tales of Dunk & Egg series, The Hedge Knight (there are 3 books in all, and each season of the show will reportedly focus on each one). The first trailer gives us some idea of what to expect, but for those who haven’t read the books (which you should, they’re great!), here’s a quick rundown of everything you need to know!

The trailer opens the same way the book does – with Dunk (Peter Claffey) burying his recently deceased mentor Ser Arlan of Pennytree. Dunk will make the claim throughout the story that Ser Arlan knighted him before he died, but there is some debate as to whether or not that is true. Regardless, Dunk makes it his mission to carry on the honorable legacy of Ser Arlan. Indeed, honor is a major theme in these stories, much as it is in ASOIAF (not so much on "GoT", where honor was treated as some kind of character flaw).

As Dunk makes his way to the Tourney of Ashford Meadow (located in the Reach), he makes the acquaintance of a young boy who goes by the name of “Egg” (Dexter Sol Ansell). In reality – and unbeknownst to Dunk – Egg is a nickname for Aegon, as the boy is actually a member of the royal Targaryen family in disguise. (This is not really a spoiler, as GRRM himself has spoken openly about it.) Dunk agrees to take on Egg as a squire when he goes to the Tourney. The endearing relationship between Dunk and Egg is the central story in these novellas.

The bit in the trailer where Dunk threatens to send dogs after Egg if he robs him is lifted straight out of the book and a good example of the duo’s banter – with Egg being a sassy little critter and Dunk constantly threatening him with physical abuse (it’s fun!).

Then we are introduced to Prince Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett), who is the central antagonist of the story. He is the second son of Prince (later King) Maekar and older brother of Egg. His cruelty will set off the climactic events of this season. Think Joffrey but with a dragon fetish.

And here's a blink-or-you'll-miss-it glimpse of Prince Valarr Targaryen (Oscar Morgan), grandson of King Daeron II and Egg's first cousin. As an heir to the Iron Throne, he is prevented from participating in any truly dangerous tournaments and is relegated to going up against less worthy foes.

Then we get a quick glimpse of Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford), aka Tanselle Too-Tall (“but not too tall for me,” Dunk cheekily muses to himself in the book). She is a puppeteer from Dorne who is at the Tourney to amuse the attendees with her art. Obviously Dunk takes a shine to her. She ends up painting a new shield for Dunk (more on that later), and she is a central figure in the events that lead to the climactic showdown.

As for that shield – we get a peek at it in the trailer: a shooting star over a tree against a sunset background. This will become Ser Duncan’s personal arms, and it has significant meaning to ASOIAF book-readers. In A Feast for Crows, Brienne of Tarth has her shield repainted to match Dunk’s. It is heavily implied in the books that Brienne is a direct descendant of Dunk, and GRRM has pretty much confirmed the theory himself.

This giant dragon puppet is pretty much the only dragons the Targaryens get to see at this point in Westeros history; as we know (or should know at this point), all the dragons were destroyed after the infamous Dance of the Dragons -- the bloody Targ civil war currently playing out on “House of the Dragon”.

And finally, here we get a look at Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings), aka The Laughing Storm, the future lord of Storm’s End. He will end up being an important ally to Dunk. But those familiar with the larger story outside of the published books know that Dunk and Lyonel’s relationship later becomes… complicated.

The rest of the trailer is a mish-mash of melees and jousts – it’s “Game of Thrones” goes to the Renaissance Festival! Only with a lot more blood and, yes, a lot more humor.