A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the dragon-free Game of Thrones spinoff we need

Like winter, more Game of Thrones content is coming. HBO recently gave us our first look at its second Game of Thrones spin-off series , A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, as part of a trailer for everything premiering on the channel next year, and there are some key differences that will set this title apart from House of the Dragon , or even the flagship Game of Thrones series that are worth knowing about before settling in with this new story.

There are no dragons

House of the Dragon minus the dragons

Game of Thrones first prequel series, House of the Dragon, features dragons almost weekly. Even if we’d like to see them in action a little bit more. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, on the other hand, won’t feature any of the creatures that helped the Targaryens conquer the Seven Kingdoms.

The new series will take place almost exactly between the original Game of Thrones series and House of the Dragon. The books begin following the hedge knight Duncan the Tall’s story before he enters a tournament in Ashford in 209 AC. That’s 80 years after House of the Dragon and 90 years before Game of Thrones. Part of the cost the Targaryens pay for the civil war they fight in House of the Dragon is the loss of their dragons. While some do survive the Dance of the Dragons, the last Targaryen dragon died in 153 AC.

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There will be plenty of Targaryens

King Daeron II rules, with plenty of heirs

House of the Dragon
 

You might think that without the dragons, the Targaryens may be weaker than ever, but the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms actually begins at one of the high-points for the Targaryen dynasty. King Daeron II is the king in 209 AC. He’s Rhaenyra’s great-great-grandson through her son Aegon (One of her younger children who hasn’t gotten much screen time in House of the Dragons).

Daeron has four sons, the oldest of which, Baelor, is viewed as his clear successor. This means the realm has a little bit of stability since there’s no looming succession crisis. Daeron’s children should also supply plenty of Targaryen’s for the new series as well, as they each have their own gaggles of white-haired children running rampant around Westeros. That includes Aegon the Unlikely, Daenarys’ great-grandfather. He’s the fourth son of King Daeron II’s fourth son. Because he’s so far down the line of succession, he’s eventually allowed to train with The Knight of the Seven Kingdom’s main character:

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Say hello to Ser Duncan the Tall

Westeros’ answer to Jack Reacher

HBO

Ser Duncan the Tall is the titular Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. In the books, he’s described as being an absolute mammoth human being at nearly seven feet-tall. If you’ve seen Amazon’s Jack Reacher series, he’s basically Alan Richson in a full suit of armor. He serves as squire to an old traveling knight named Arlan of Pennytree. Arlan is a Hedge Knight, who makes his living traveling Westeros and competing in tournaments. When Arlan dies, Duncan trades the old man’s horse for a suit of armor and enters a tournament.

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Expect to see a lot of tournament life

A medieval gladiator

HBO

While episodes featuring battles receive all the attention, some of the best episodes in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon have centered around tournaments. Events where all the houses come together to compete in jousts and other games have served as the background for episodes in the first season of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. With the main character’s job being a tournament knight, we should be getting plenty of knightly action in the new series.

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The series will also look at the life of smallfolk

There is life outside the great houses

HBO

While the book, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, features plenty of Targaryens, it also centers around a lowborn character traveling throughout all of Westeros meeting unique people. Occasionally, he’ll stumble into some drama with Targaryens, but Duncan is just as likely to end up fighting a local bully for picking on the wrong person. This should give us an opportunity to see what life is like for the average citizen of Westeros in a way that other Game of Thrones shows haven’t had the chance.

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Big time spoiler alert for the likely end of the series

One of the most mysterious events in Game of Thrones lore will end the series

The tragedy at Summerhall

So, big-time spoiler territory here, but we probably know what will happen at the end of the A Knight of the Seven Kingdom series. Ser Duncan eventually becomes one of the more illustrious members of the King’s Guard as his squire Egg, becomes King Aegon the Unlikely. The two die in one of the more unusual and mysterious events in Game of Thrones lore, the tragedy at Summerhall.

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