Written by Ira Parker
Directed by Owen Harris
Egg (to Dunk): "Every knight needs a squire and you look like you need one more than most."
We go a year without a Game Of Thrones prequel show to enjoy and 2026 we get two of them. While the third season of House Of The Dragon won't air on HBO until the summer, this somewhat lighter show finally made it's modest debut.
Based on George R.R. Martin's Tales Of Dunk And Egg series, this opened with Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) burying his master, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb) while also claiming three horses as well. Oh and he really wanted to be a Knight.
That's pretty much the premise of this opening episode. Dunk was determined to get into a tourney and that meant encountering several characters along the way. The most important character being Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). Every knight needs a squire after all.
Egg's determination to become Dunk's squire, I'll admit it's admirable. He didn't give up until Dunk agreed and considering how nearly every other character was more dismissive of Dunk, I can see why the latter relented and agreed. Already on this episode, the dynamic between Dunk and Egg seemed spot on.
As for the rest of the characters, there was Plummer (Tom Vaughn-Lawlor). He thought of Dunk as a farmer but pointed him to Ser Manfred Dondarrion (Daniel Monks). The latter wouldn't vouch for him but that didn't seem to deter Dunk.
There's some better scenes with Dunk's interactions with Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford) but his scenes with Ser Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) were also a highlight in this opening episode. Lyonel seemed a little similar to a certain character who made it out of the main show alive. I'll let you guess which one.
- There was no title sequence for this episode and it's the longest one we'll get in this series. The rest will be shorter.
- We were also introduced to Ser Steffon Fosdoway (Edward Ashley) and his cousin Raymun (Shaun Thomas).
- I definitely could've done without seeing Dunk actually doing his business so graphically tbh. I'm guessing the flashbacks to his younger self and Ser Arlan will be a weekly thing.
- Dunk earned his nickname because of Tanselle and her friend. We also got a dragon puppet show.
- Peter Claffey is a Galway man. It's nice to see someone from my county in this franchise.
- Chronology: 209 AC. It's after the events of House Of The Dragon and before the events of Game Of Thrones.
The Hedge Knight made for a decent opening episode. It's definitely a lighter show compared to what's come before and the comedic scenes definitely feel broader as well. It's not as strong as either of the first episodes of the shows but there's potential here.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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