The final episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is live and concludes an excellent series so far. However, MeinMMO author Sophia Weiß is quite annoyed with the fans who are criticizing House of the Dragon despite the success of the series.
I absolutely enjoyed A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and did my best to avoid spoilers on social media. However, what I’ve been seeing for the past few weeks truly rattled me:
One wrote, Game of Thrones is gone to allow House of the Dragon to stumble and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to run
(via X.com). It is said that there is no one good to cheer for in House of the Dragon (via X.com). Alternatively, memes are posted that portray the series as stupid (via Threads). Another user also declared a few weeks ago that Dunc’s adventures are better because there are no dragons in them.
Yes, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is an excellent series. But that doesn’t make House of the Dragon bad: The two series are two entirely different types of stories, and it really annoys me when one is belittled because the other is better.
The Hero’s Journey vs. the Greek Tragedy
House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms differ not only in the length of their episodes and the budget but also fundamentally in what exactly these stories are about:
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms consists of six episodes, each about 30 minutes long. Overall, it’s about three full hours of medieval fun, maybe a little more. Essentially, the series is a delightful entertaining bite for the evening that one could binge-watch as well.
Dunc’s adventures are also a classic hero’s journey: The underdog Ser Duncan the Tall and his faithful squire Egg want to participate in a tournament. However, the powerful Targaryen princes accuse Dunc of a wrongdoing and demand a trial of Seven.
On top of that, Dunc has his heart in the right place. He is always kind and polite to his fellow humans. He rushes to the aid of the poor and the weak. That’s precisely why he finds himself in trouble in the first place.
Moreover, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on a novella that has been partially adapted 1:1 for the series.
In contrast, House of the Dragon is based on the historical writings of a fictional maester who records everything after the events surrounding Rhaenyra and Aegon have already happened. So there are no adaptable dialogues, only the rough framework as in a regular history book.
The battle for the iron throne during Rhaenyra’s time tells of the violent loss of power of an almost godlike monarchy: At the beginning, the Targaryens reign unchallenged because they possess the Westeros equivalent of atomic bombs with their dragons. After Aegon’s conquest, no powerful lord stands in their way.
In House of the Dragon, it’s about the decline of this powerful dynasty, which could have been prevented with good communication. Because without spoiling too much: When the Dance of the Dragons is over, there will be no more dragons in Westeros until Daenerys brings her three.
The monarchy is thus on shaky ground – which is why Targaryen princes must even travel to a small tournament in Ashford. They are marketing their government there. Or at least they are supposed to. Then Aerion happens.
Basically, the Targaryens in House of the Dragon tear each other apart in approximately hour-long episodes because they cannot resolve the inheritance issue properly. All of them make mistakes, commit missteps, and have to clean up the mess of others. Here, there are no heroes. There are no villains. There are only people with too much power and ambition. Everything is just a bit more complex.
So, those who compare A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and House of the Dragon position a hero’s journey against a Greek tragedy. I’m not saying that House of the Dragon is better than A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. I am saying that you can’t reasonably compare apples and oranges.
Dunc is the Superman of Westeros
I will be watching each and . Also, I fundamentally think dragons are great and worth supporting.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, on the other hand, once again broke my heart in episode five – it is a Game of Thrones prequel series, so it was to be expected. But the six episodes still gave me the same warm, cozy feeling that James Gunn’s Superman did last summer:
Dunc and Egg are two lovable protagonists who provide a welcome contrast to the harsh Westeros backdrop with their charming personalities. Rhaenyra against Aegon and simply knowing that there will only be losers here, of course, is a much harder pill to swallow by comparison.
The Ashford tourney comes at just the right time for me: When I look at world news, my mood gets worse and worse as I read. A hopeful story with sympathetic heroes and a great cast is exactly what I need to lift my spirits. I really need these positive stories right now, and I’m probably not alone in that.
For House of the Dragon, I’ll sit down with popcorn and am already looking forward to the discussions with my friends. Currently, we are arguing about how much of Otto Hightower’s plan is motivated by the Maesters of the Citadel and their aversion to magic. Or whether he is simply a power-hungry scumbag second son.
All in all, both A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and House of the Dragon are great series. I think one just fits better with what people need right now than the other. And what is needed are empathetic heroes and stories in which the good sometimes triumph. But that shouldn’t devalue the complex stories with demanding characters.
Dunc is indeed the Superman of Westeros: Warm, heartfelt, empathetic.
Book to Series – Adapting is Not Easy
House of the Dragon has it much harder due to the lack of a dedicated book template compared to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. A historical account of events does not aim to tell an exciting and balanced story. Additionally, historical writing is always shaped by the victors of a conflict.
To ensure that a coherent, exciting series emerges nonetheless, the episode writers must deviate from the template. Due to the lack of historically proven
conversations, no dialogues from the book can be brought to the screen. Blaming the creators of the series for not being close enough to the source material is thus not entirely fair.
George R. R. Martin himself also makes waves with his opinion about the series creators: With the showrunner of House of the Dragon, Ryan Condal, the Westeros author has reportedly clashed heavily – due to changes between the book and series (via Hollywood Reporter). Condal simply would not listen to Martin anymore. This is entirely different with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
Ryan Condal himself said Entertainment Weekly in 2025 that he tried to involve Martin in the production of season 2 to the best of his knowledge and belief. They failed because Martin reportedly would not recognize some practical hurdles.
It might not be entirely foolish to refrain from adopting certain elements from Fire & Blood for television. I can’t imagine anyone really wanting to see how the non-existent second son of Aegon and Haelena is torn apart by an angry mob.
Let us perhaps just enjoy both series for what they are: one as a sophisticated drama with complex characters, the other as a comforting hero story with lovable main characters.
In any case, I am looking forward to House of the Dragon Season three. I have already included the first trailer above. The war should really start in this season, and if I get my personal wish fulfilled, we will see a new cool dragon: One of the most dangerous dragons of Westeros did not heed any Targaryen, was a major threat to others of its kind
