IR TV Review: A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS - EPISODE 4 (“Seven”) [HBO]

After the events of Episode 3 of "A Knight Of Seven Kingdoms", the plight of Sir Dunk should have been a one and done shop but the aspect of living to an aspect of honor and reality becomes more virile in Episode 4 entitled "Seven". Having struck a son of the realm, Dunk is brought forward in from of Egg's uncle: Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen (Bertie Carvel). The way the episode plays out in terms of the penance that needs to be brought takes a turn when Prince Aerion "Brightflame" Targaryen (Finn Bennett) invokes a different approach in order to rectify the situation. What is interesting and great in the context is that even though the town and most of Westeros holds a certain amount of venom toward the Targaryens, it is interesting to see the backlay of certain thoughts underneath with how certain men are treated.

Egg is revealed to be a prince of the realm in the previous episode and the reasoning and back and forth between him and Dunk continues to be the beating heart of the series. As the realization of what the Trial Of Seven means comes to bear, half of the episode is bent on what it means to be a knight. And while a certain part of it can be slightly melodramatic, the action that comes to bear truly begins to feel like "Game Of Thrones" especially in the final moments of the episode (and for good reason). The show in many ways has been trying to be self deprecating of its origins to throw off the tone before building back up to the core of drama that befalls a "Games" spinoff, especially one that has connections to the bigger storyline. Now where the path leads is a split one but this episode shows that origins matter but what shapes them matters even more. A-

By Tim Wassberg