The second prequel to Game of Thrones is officially underway, with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms debuting January 18. In case it wasn’t clear in the premiere, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms doesn’t seem to have the same serious tone or world-ending stakes of the main show or House of the Dragon. Instead, the spinoff is adapting the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, which are smaller-scale stories from the mind of George R.R. Martin.
If you want to stick with HBO’s latest fantasy series, here is everything you need to know before the second episode hits the airwaves:
When does A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms come out?
Like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon and most other major HBO titles, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will release one episode a week. There will only be six episodes in season 1, but the network already renewed the show for season 2 set to premiere in 2027.
Season 1, episode 2 will drop on Sunday, January 25 at 9 p.m. ET. The episode, titled “Hard Salt Beef” is expected to have a runtime around 33 minutes, with the following four episodes also coming in between 31 and 37 minutes.
(Warning: Spoilers for Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon seasons 1 + 2 and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 1 ahead.)
Who will show up in episode 2?
The smaller scope and shorter runtime of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is going to limit how many characters we meet on a week-to-week basis. Dunk already ran into a handful of key players in episode 1, though, and more characters from major houses are guaranteed to appear moving forward. Here is a look at who could be part of the cast for episode 2:
- Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan ‘Dunk’ the Tall
- Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg
- Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel ‘The Laughing Storm’ Baratheon
- Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Plummer
- Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle
- Sam Spruell as Prince Maekar Targaryen
- Finn Bennett as Prince Aerion ‘Brightflame’ Targaryen
- Bertie Carvel as Prince Baelor ‘Breakspear’ Targaryen
- Henry Ashton as Prince Daeron ‘the Drunken’ Targaryen
- Shaun Thomas as Ser Raymun ‘The Reluctant’ Fossoway
- Edward Ashley as Ser Steffon Fossoway
- Daniel Monks as Ser Manfred Dondarrion
- Wade Briggs as Ser Roland Crakehall
- Ross Anderson as Ser Humfrey Hardyng
- Steve Wall as Lord Leo ‘Longthorn’ Tyrell
- Danny Collins as Ser Humphrey Beesbury
- Russell Simpson as Lord Medgar Tully
- Youssef Kerkour as Steely Pate
- Danny Webb as Ser Arlan of Pennytree
What to expect in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 2
In the series premiere, Dunk buried Ser Arlan, who he claimed knighted him before he died. While we didn’t see that happen on screen, Dunk seems to be an innocent and honest man. Dunk decided to head to Ashford for a tournament, stopping at an inn where he ran into a Targaryen lord who claims to have seen him in a dream. Given what we know about Targaryens and dreams from House of the Dragon, that probably doesn’t mean nothing. Egg was also working as a stable boy at the inn, hoping Dunk would take him with him.
Once Dunk got to Ashford – without Egg – Plummer rejected him from the tournament since nobody knew who he was. Ser Manfred Dondarrion, who Ser Arlan fought for years ago, turned Dunk away and refused to vouch for him. Dunk made a connection with Ser Lyonel Baratheon, though, after Ser Steffon Fossoway welcomed him into the lord’s tent. He also caught the eye of a poet, Tanselle, who was putting on a puppet show about dragons in another tent.
Egg followed Dunk to Ashford and offered to squire for him. Dunk reluctantly accepted after failing to ask too many follow-up questions about Egg’s personal history. He also declared himself Ser Duncan the Tall before they saw a shooting star and went to sleep under a tree.
Based on the lookahead to the rest of the season, we will see Dunk fighting in a tourney featuring more run-ins with Targaryens. So far, the show has followed The Hedge Knight novella pretty closely. One of the major changes was how early on Ser Lyonel made an appearance. It is also worth keeping in mind that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is taking place 77 years after House of the Dragon season 2 and 89 years before Game of Thrones season 1.
