# New Game of Thrones show - "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, hbomax-wb-dc\ **Created:** [October 10, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862 "2025-10-10T22:32:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/61 "2026-01-27T18:26:20Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > every time the credits roll my first thought is “NO, MORE!”. It also throws me that the runtime goes on for like 15+ minutes after the end of the show, between the long credits (with different localizations) and the preview after the credits. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/62 "2026-01-27T19:45:29Z")
Well, now we know the tree part of Arlen of Pennytree does not refer to where he is from. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/63 "2026-01-27T20:15:56Z")
He was originally “Arlen of Poundtree” but that was too much on-the-nose. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/64 "2026-01-29T00:40:52Z")
I wouldn’t mind a decent padding out of “Game of Thrones.” But this is just a lame retread of “The Witcher.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/65 "2026-01-29T00:50:17Z")
What is remotely Witcher-like other than the fantasy genre? AFAICT these are about as far apart as any two medieval fantasy stories could be. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/66 "2026-01-29T01:03:42Z")
Yeah, that is a wild comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/67 "2026-01-29T01:08:07Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > But this is just a lame retread of “The Witcher.” I’m only familiar with the stories written by Andrzej Sapkowski, and later adapted to video games and television. What other story called “The Witcher” might there be that resembles this show? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/68 "2026-01-29T02:12:32Z")
It’s exactly like the Witcher, the Witcher was about a smart agile super-human mutant who hunts monster using his warrior skills, magic and potions and this show is about a slow enormous completely human guy who tries to get by as a knight , potato / potatoe right? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/69 "2026-01-29T03:46:45Z")
After 3 episodes, all I got out of it was unconventional hero and annoying sidekick. None of the stakes or drama of GOT. It’s a kids’ show with swears. It feels more like Sorbo’s Hercules than Game of Thrones ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/70 "2026-01-29T04:04:50Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > After 3 episodes, all I got out of it was unconventional hero and annoying sidekick. He didn’t even have a sidekick until the very end of the first episode. And there have only been two episodes. Are you sure you’re watching the same show we’re talking about?! This trope you don’t like describes a large portion of popular fiction. Don Quixote, for example. > [@lissener](#): > > None of the stakes or drama of GOT. Ah, so your problem is you got confused and thought you were watching Game of Thrones, got it. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/71 "2026-01-29T04:31:24Z")
Sorry, you’re right, 2 episodes. And I also made the mistake of trying to justify a personal opinion. At any rate, naming one thing I didn’t like about one work is not a universal absolute. And I don’t think of Cervantes was a reasonable standard of comparison for every new tv series. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/72 "2026-01-29T10:45:27Z")
Okay I think I get it. This is not a plot driven show. We don’t love it because there’s incredible stakes and twists and turns. It’s a character show. I love it because I love watching the characters. Even just sitting around and talking. If you need fast plots then this is not the show for you. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/73 "2026-01-29T14:51:23Z")
The Witcher comparison is still wild, though I understand the complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/74 "2026-01-29T15:07:47Z")
They’re both fantasy from the point of view of the working class. That’s relatively rare, but not unheard of. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/75 "2026-01-29T15:27:37Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > What is remotely Witcher-like other than the fantasy genre? Are you kidding? The similarities go on and on: 1. Dunk got Egg as an apprentice because he saved Egg’s innkeeper stepmom from a Griffon and in exchange Dunk asked the innkeeper to give him the first thing that greets her when she comes home - which was Egg 2. The next episode is going to be all about Dunk collecting alchemical ingredients in order to make powerful but deadly potions to aid him in the tournament 3. Dunk is part of a torrid love triangle between himself and two powerful witches, one with red hair and one with black hair Need I continue? > [@DigitalC](#): > > Yeah, that is a wild comparison. Wild? Are you even watching the same show? The scene where Dunk fights basilisks who keep popping out of a magical portal is shot for shot copied from the second season of The Witcher. > [@lissener](#): > > After 3 episodes, all I got out of it was unconventional hero and annoying sidekick. We all remember Geralt’s annoying sidekick from the Witcher, right? Of course - who could listen to Roach for more than five seconds without getting annoyed? He’s so whinny! > [@Alessan](#): > > They’re both fantasy from the point of view of the working class “Is Geralt of Rivia working class” sounds like exactly the kind of discussion thread that makes me love the Dope 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/76 "2026-01-29T15:39:24Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > “Is Geralt of Rivia working class” sounds like exactly the kind of discussion thread that makes me love the Dope 🤣 Or is “Duncan the Tall” working class. What “work” has he done in this show? He did the work to bury his master, which was a personal choice to make, and then rode his horse to a couple of places. Even a hedge knight isn’t what you’d call “working class” in a feudal society, as he isn’t a peasant or other kind of laborer. When he was a squire you could call him that, arguably, but the show opens on him not as a squire anymore. And in fact, one of the first things you see is what path his life should take. He gives himself three choices… Sell the horses and “eat like a king” for a couple of years, to then become a beggar or bandit when the money runs out, or join the guard at some city, or take a shot at establishing himself as a knight by entering a tournament. He took that last route, which is his attempt to avoid becoming a member of the working class and establish himself among the elite of society. The whole show (so far at least) is his attempt to establish himself that way. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/77 "2026-01-29T15:52:21Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Or is “Duncan the Tall” working class. What “work” has he done in this show? He did the work to bury his master, which was a personal choice to make, and then rode his horse to a couple of places. Even a hedge knight isn’t what you’d call “working class” in a feudal society, as he isn’t a peasant or other kind of laborer. Geralt in many ways is more working class than a hedge knight. Being a Witcher doesn’t really afford him any special status at all, just suspicion - unless someone needs his services. And when they _do_ need his services, it’s quite transactional, and not in a way that establishes patronage one way or another; Geralt is a freelancer, part of the gig economy in a way. (In a way that’s likely anachronistic, when he’s hired by commoners and not nobles - where are all these peasants getting hundreds of coins to pay a Witcher?). > [@Atamasama](#): > > He took that last route, which is his attempt to avoid becoming a member of the working class and establish himself among the elite of society. Yep. A guard would have been “working class”, and obviously if he found a farm to work on as a laborer he’d be “working class”, but he doesn’t want to do those things, he wants to win tournaments and be a knight. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/78 "2026-01-29T16:28:12Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Geralt in many ways is more working class than a hedge knight. Being a Witcher doesn’t really afford him any special status at all, just suspicion - unless someone needs his services. And when they _do_ need his services, it’s quite transactional, and not in a way that establishes patronage one way or another; Geralt is a freelancer, part of the gig economy in a way. (In a way that’s likely anachronistic, when he’s hired by commoners and not nobles - where are all these peasants getting hundreds of coins to pay a Witcher?). First of all, Geralt _is_ a knight - he was knighted by Queen something-or-other for unintentional heroism during the Battle of the Bridge on the Yaruga. He doesn’t like to bring it up, but he’s as much a knight as Dunk. Second of all, Geralt may work for peasants, but he also works for kings and sorcerers, and is just as uncomfortable hanging around the high and mighty as he is slumming in taverns. In a way, Geralt is the quintessential member of the medieval middle class - someone who serves as a bridge between the nobility and the commoners, and can operate in both worlds while belonging in neither. That makes sense, because the most common middle class people of the time, other than perhaps merchants, were guild members, and Geralt is a member in good standing of a small but necessary guild. In short, Geralt outranks Dunk by every measure. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/79 "2026-01-29T16:31:59Z")
Is this thread about _The Witcher_ or _A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms_? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/80 "2026-01-29T16:35:23Z")
We are easily distracted, and honestly as good as this show is there really isn’t that much to talk about yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862.md?page=5)