Game of Thrones used to be my favorite television show of all time, but the ending kind of soured my opinion. House of the Dragon came out strong as a prequel, but the showrunners ended up dropping the ball in Season 2. Now we have another spin-off called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is set roughly halfway between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones. It’s actually a very different kind of series than either of them.

It definitely looks and feels like a show set within the Westerosi universe. The Seven Kingdoms have changed a lot since the Dance of the Dragons. All the flying, fire-breathing monsters are dead. And while you don’t really get to see it directly, there was another civil war. This time between House Targaryen and a legitimized bastard line that called themselves the Blackfyres.

It’s pretty neat to see the Seven Kingdoms still ruled by House Targaryen. The royal family probably has more members at this time than even during House of the Dragon.

But the story isn’t about a Targaryen king or queen. It focuses on a simple knight. Ser Duncan the Tall is a newly knighted warrior with no lord to serve. He was taken in by an older knight, as Duncan had been a peasant from Flea Bottom before becoming a squire.

Ser Duncan the Tall begins wandering around Westeros and decides to join a tourney to win some money. He ends up with a squire, somewhat against Duncan’s will, named Egg, and the strange boy quickly grows on him.

We soon learn there are villains in this new series, but in a much different way than in Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon. There are no wars to win or crowns to claim. Instead, there are cruel people who wish to harm the innocent, and Ser Duncan is pledged to stand against them.

I won’t spoil most of the story, but it seems the entire fandom nearly unanimously agrees that Prince Baelor Targaryen was the standout GOAT of the season. As someone put it, he has the political savvy of Tywin Lannister with the honor of Ned Stark.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is one of my favorite shows to premiere in the last few years. It’s a refreshing take on the HBO franchise. It surprisingly has just six episodes, some of which don’t even reach 40 minutes. Luckily, it seems they understand it makes more sense to release one season per year instead of dragging it out every two years like House of the Dragon has been doing. I’m really looking forward to what comes next.