When Game of Thrones ended in 2019, that didn’t mark the last time fans could visit the worlds created by author George RR Martin. 2022 brought House of the Dragon, a prequel set about 200 years prior to the events of Thrones which is about to launch its third season as I write this in June 2026.

2026 also brought a new extension of the Thrones universe: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This one takes place roughly midway between House and Thrones.

This 2-disc 4K UHD set includes all six episodes from the series’ first season. The ploy synopses come straight from the official website.

The Hedge Knight: “On his journey to the forthcoming tournament in Ashford, Ser Dunk the Tall (Peter Claffey) meets a clever young boy named Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) who offers to be his squire.”

More happens in “Hedge” than that, but the nascent relationship between aspiring knight and junior assistant becomes the most important aspect of the episode. This means most of the show exists to set up characters and situations.

Of course, the fact the series exists in the established Thrones universe means viewers will hear some familiar names and circumstances. Some Thrones characters allude to him but Kingdoms marks his first on-screen appearance.

In any case, “Hedge” offers a moderately engaging launch to the series. While I can’t claim it gets me excited for the next five episodes, it shows reasonable promise.

Hard Salt Beef: “Dunk appeals to various lords in order to gain entrance into the tournament but Egg advises him to hold onto his pride. When the Targaryens arrive at Ashford, Dunk seizes his moment with Prince Baelor (Bertie Carvel).”

Like “Hedge”, “Beef” largely provides an expository episode. It introduces some new characters and works to advance a general narrative thrust.

In this case, the program mainly develops the Dunk/Egg connection as well as Dunk’s growing realization of the potentially perilous circumstance in which he finds himself. Like “Hedge”, “Beef” doesn’t thrill me, but it does enough to keep me occupied.

The Squire: “After Egg attempts to train Dunk's uncooperative horse, Dunk teaches his new squire an important skill. As they take in the tourney's first full day of events, Dunk receives a proposition from the Ashford steward (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) that could help secure his future.”

For most of S1’s first half, I figured the series would lead us to an inevitable climax in which Dunk engages in the jousting tournament. That remains a possibility.

However, “Squire” comes with a pretty major twist that indicates Kingdoms might veer in another direction – or at least follow its arc in a manner I didn’t expect. This creates intrigue as we head into S1’s back half.

Seven: “After landing himself in the Targaryens' crosshairs, Dunk exercises his right to request a trial by combat. But when Aerion (Finn Bennett) insists on a trial of seven instead, Dunk is faced with the daunting task of finding six others to fight alongside him.”

That means we get the Big Old Battle earlier than I thought – well, kind of. No spoilers but “Seven” doesn’t bring the expected climax.

I still assume we’ll find that eventually, but “Seven” mainly deals with anticipation. It builds tension well.

In the Name of the Mother: “Dunk's mettle is put to the test in the brutal trial of seven. Years earlier, Dunk finds himself drawn to the promise of a new future.”

In a twist, much of “Name” looks at an adolescent Dunk (Bamber Todd) as well as his relationship with female teen Rafe (Chloe Lea) and how he ended up with Ser Arlan (Danny Webb). The penultimate episode of S1 feels a little late for flashbacks, but the material adds to our understanding of Dunk.

The last third or so comes back to the present and invests in the climactic tournament as expected. “Name” melds these sides well.

The Morrow: “As Ashford mourns a great loss, Dunk considers his next move and whether to keep Egg as his squire.”

As mentioned, I assumed S1 would feature its Big Old Battle in the final episode. Instead, “Morrow” brings a denouement for this year’s narrative.

That might sound anti-climactic but it works well. “Morrow” wraps up S1’s narrative and points us toward S2 in a positive manner.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms appears in an aspect ratio of 2.00:1 on these 4K UHD Discs. A native 4K production, the Dolby Vision episodes provided excellent picture quality.

Sharpness consistently looked tight and well-defined. Any softness seemed intentional, and the end product maintained a solid level of delineation.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws remained absent.

Colors leaned toward a modern mix of amber and teal, with a push toward green. The 4K reproduced the tones as intended, and HDR gave them a nice boost in intensity.

Blacks looked deep and dark, while shadows demonstrated appealing clarity. HDR added range and impact to whites and contrast. This wound up as a great-looking package of shows.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the series’ Dolby Atmos audio also satisfied. Unsurprisingly, the occasional Big Action Moments fared the best.

These tended to come late in S1 via the Big Action Tournament. Nonetheless, other vivid beats came up along the way and fleshed out the spectrum.

General ambience worked well and music filled the channels in a positive manner. The soundscapes brought useful material.

Audio quality worked nicely, with speech that consistently appeared concise and natural. Music seemed warm and full.

Effects displayed excellent reproduction, with accurate, dynamic tones that brought deep bass as necessary. I felt pleased with the series’ audio.

We get Inside the Episode featurettes for all six shows. These occupy a total of 34 minutes, seven seconds and bring comments from executive producer/show runner Ira Parker, directors Owen Harris and Sarah Adina Smith, and actors Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, Daniel Ings, Bertie Carvel, Sam Spruell, Shaun Thomas and Finn Bennett.

The clips look at where the series fits in the GoT universe, story and characters, cast and performances, and fight scenes. These come with sporadic insights but tend to just regurgitate basics.

On Disc One, Building A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms spans 34 minutes, 58 seconds. It involves Harris, Parker, Claffey, Ansell, Ings, Bennett, Spruell, Smith, author George RR Martin, executive producer Sarah Bradshaw, production designer Tom McCullagh, supervising location manager Naomi Liston, costume designer Lorna Marie Mugan, directors of photography Federico Cesca and Gustav Danielsson, VFX producer Paul Russo, horse master Tom Cox, supervising art director John Merry, puppet designer Mike Kelp, SFX supervisor Mike Dawson, SFX floor supervisor Tom Lloyd, hair and makeup designer Pippa Woods, weapons master Tim Lewis, stunt coordinators Florian Robin and CC Smiff, costume FX supervisor Simon Brindle, 2nd unit director Rob Inch, writer/producer Ti Mikkel, and actors Danny Webb, Shaun Thomas, Tanzyn Crawford, William Houston, Henry Ashton, Edward Ashley, and Oscar Morgan.

Here we look at the source material and its adaptation, story/characters, cast and performances, music, sets and locations, costumes, photography, props and various effects, hair, stunts and action. Despite some of the usual happy talk, "Building" offers a pretty solid overview of S1's production.

Disc Two provides Welcome to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This one lasts four minutes, 15 seconds and features Martin, Parker, Harris, Claffey, Smith, and Ansell.

This one offers a basic series overview. It exists as a promo piece so don't expect much from it.

A Blooper Reel goes for one minute, 39 seconds and presents the usual goofs and giggles. Enjoy it if that works for you.

Three featurettes under A Knight in the Making take up a total of one hour, five minutes, 33 seconds. Across these, we hear from Parker, Ings, Harris, Martin, Webb, Bradshaw, Claffey, Ansell, McCullagh, Lewis, Cox, Bradshaw, Mugan, Danielsson, Thomas, Liston, Russo, Crawford, Kelt, Dawson, Lloyd, Smiff, Robin, Merry, Smith, Cesca, Woods, Bennett, Brindle, Spruell, Houston, Ashton, Ashley, Inch, Mikkel, Morgan, bladesmith Jamie Bell, choreographer Belinda Murphy, prosthetic designer Waldo Mason, and VFX supervisor Arron Roebuck.

The "Making" segments cover the source and the series' path, story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, weapons and costumes, animals and equestrian training, effects, choreography, action and stunts, photography, and hair.

On the positive side, the three "Making" reels give us good information on S1's creation. On the negative side, a considerable chunk of the material - and many of the same soundbites - already appear in "Building", so "Making" turns redundant too often for those who already watched the other program.

Two Character Pieces clips follow. We get “Meet Dunk” (1:28) and “Meet Egg” (1:14).

Claffey and Ansell offer basics about their roles. Expect basic promo fodder and nothing more .

Finally, Ashford Meadow Set Tour goes for two minutes, 17 seconds and involves Ansell as he leads us around various filming spots. It leans toward fluff but we get a decent view of the basics.

After a bit of a slow start, Season One of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms settles into a fairly good groove. The characters and scenarios grow more compelling as they go. The 4K UHDs offer strong picture and audio along with a mix of supplements. I look forward to Season Two.