Movies & TV A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms A New Day Dawns in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: “The Morrow” What did you think of the season finale? And what comes next? By Tyler Dean | Published on February 23, 2026 Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO It feels like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms just started, but after six weeks we’ve reached the end of the first season. Let’s dive into the finale, starting with the usual explainer for the episode alongside my review of the season as a whole and a brief (non-spoilery) look at what lies ahead for the series and for the wider world of Westeros! The Title The season one finale is entitled “The Morrow.” It refers, of course, to the bit of wisdom that Ser Arlan imparted about not knowing what tomorrow will bring, and therefore not being bogged down with guilt about the past. But it’s also more generally the aftermath of the tourney, dealing with the consequences, loose ends, and choices that spring up in the wake of an climactic event—a fitting title for a quiet and contemplative episode.  Unripe Apples The novella is an origin story for the grim rivalry between the two different Fossoway lines (the Red Apple Fossoways and the Green Apple Fossoways), which is mentioned throughout the original books. Rowan (previously referred to as Red) is an invention of the show, but I love that the writers gave her this little send-off and jumpstarted the Green Apple line with her faked pregnancy and hasty marriage.  It’s also a nice little send-off for Raymun as well. The Tales of Dunk and Egg are picaresque novellas, and each one of them is a self-contained story which usually features an entirely new cast, save for Dunk and Egg themselves. There is room for them to bring back other characters but likely only in flashback (if they stick to the original narratives), so it’s probably the last we will see of Raymun. This episode even managed to fold in an ending for Sweetfoot! In the novella Dunk never gets her back, and by the time of The Sworn Sword there’s a new mount (a mule) to contend with. So this is sort of a perfect trifecta of minor characters that we’ve come to care about getting their due. Maekar’s Mark Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO Sam Spruell gives a standout performance here, painfully acknowledging his grief and guilt at having accidentally killed his brother. After having spent the entire series showing Maekar’s inadequacies and building up Baelor’s goodness, it really hammers home the point that, going forward, it will be Dunk and Maekar who are forever linked—both saddled with the blame for the death of a beloved heir and the decline of House of Targaryen. The one added, non-book scene that feels truly necessary to me in this episode is where Egg goes to Aerion’s sickbed with the intent to kill him. It drives home the necessity of Egg being raised away from court, giving the situation a real sense of urgency, and having Maekar both witness and forgive his youngest son for the attempt is deeply humanizing. But that makes it even more odd that the show changes the original ending. In the novella, Maekar begrudgingly accepts that it is better for Egg to be raised away from court. While I appreciated the fun little stinger at the end, I also feel like it undercuts a little bit of Maekar’s arc. At the close of the novella, he has come around to Dunk’s point of view and we see him improving as a father by choosing to let his son go. It felt a bit like sacrificing character development for a reasonably good gag. The Nine Kingdoms? It’s the first time one of the shows has actually listed off all the regions of Westeros in one fell swoop. I would have to double check but I am actually unsure if anyone has even namechecked “the Crownlands” before, seeing as they are both the smallest region and weren’t mentioned by name by Martin until several books into the series. So why are they called the Seven Kingdoms? Glad you asked! The term refers to the Seven distinct kingdoms that existed at the time Aegon the Conqueror began his conquest:  The Kingdom of the North, ruled by the Starks. The Kingdom of the Mountain and the Vale, ruled by the Arryns (and now called the Vale of Arryn) The Kingdom of the Rock, ruled by the Lannisters The Principality of Dorne, ruled by the Martells The Kingdom of the Storm, ruled by the Durrandons. Orys Baratheon, the rumored half-brother of Aegon the Conqueror, slew the last Durrandon King during the Conquest, married Durrandon’s daughter, took the Durrandon stag as his own, and was granted the right to rule the former kingdom. The Kingdom of the Reach, ruled by the Gardeners. When Mern IX Gardener and his sons were killed during the Conquest, Aegon granted rulership of the Reach to House Tyrell, who had served as stewards to the Gardeners. The Kingdom of the Isles and Rivers, ruled by the Iron Kings, the Hoares. While the Riverlands have a long history and, at times were a kingdom of their own, they were, at the time of the Conquest living under the colonial rule of the Iron Islands. King Harren Hoare was in the process of building his seat of power (Harrenhal) when Aegon destroyed him and melted the castle to slag. He chose Edmyn Tully to rule the Riverlands as Lord Paramount and after securing fealty from the Iron Isles, allowed them to choose their own High Lord. They elected Vickon Greyjoy. The Crownlands were largely already under the control of the Targaryens at the time of the conquest, seeing as that region is mostly arranged along Blackwater Bay where the seat of House Targaryen, Dragonstone, is located.  You’ll note that Aegon never actually conquered all seven kingdoms. Dorne remained unconquered (leading to House Martell’s motto—“Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”) despite numerous attempts over the years to bring it to heel. It was only brought into the Seven Kingdoms 187 years after the conquest in a process started by Baelor I—by wedding Princess Myriah Martell to Baelor’s nephew Daeron (the current king in the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms era), the kingdoms were joined through marriage rather than military action. Dorne has only been a part of Westeros for twenty-two years at the time the events of this show take place. So there we have it. Egg is obviously being a bit of a pedant, but there were at one time Seven Kingdoms. They weren’t reunited until not very long before this show started (so remember that when people call it the Seven Kingdoms in the House of the Dragon era, they’re being aspirational). But there are, in fact, nine distinct regions in the Westerosi empire.  Odds & Ends Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO That soft jazz sting at the opening of the episode is kind of great. I’m a teensy bit leery of how anachronistic it is, but I will admit I laughed out loud. At the beginning of the episode, Lyonel Baratheon swears at his maester saying “The Others fucking geld me.” It’s the first time a Song of Ice and Fire TV show has used the term “Others.” That’s what the White Walkers are called in Martin’s books. Supposedly, the term “White Walker” was invented because, back in 2011, the term “Others” was heavily associated with the TV show Lost and Benioff and Weiss (along with HBO execs) were unsure how much fantasy jargon an audience would tolerate (turns out, quite a lot!). So restoring “Others” to the larger story is one of the many ways this show, in general, and this episode in particular is subtly undoing some of the more arbitrary changes that the original Game of Thrones made to the source text. When Lyonel throws in “ever been to Tarth?” while asking Dunk to join him, showrunner Ira Parker is clearly winking at us by reminding us that Dunk is very likely Brienne of Tarth’s ancestor. It works in context because the Isle of Tarth is a part of the Stormlands and under Baratheon control.  When Lyonel warns “There’s a war coming” it’s a direct echo of one of his descendants, Robert Baratheon, and his own ominous prediction to Ned Stark in the original GoT premiere. In that case, it was a very different characterization of Robert than in the books. Here, it makes more sense that Lyonel is characterized as a bit paranoid and always looking to further his interests through war.  There are some potentially important mourners assembled at Baelor’s funeral. The pink-haired woman of color is likely Prince Valarr’s wife, Kiera of Tyrosh (it’s a subtle nod to the fact that the Tyroshi are known for having wildly dyed hair—it was always a disappointment in the original series that Daario Naharis never had his book-accurate forked blue beard). There are also some folks with the Targaryen platinum hair who go unremarked upon but might be Aerys or Rhaegel— Maekar and Baelor’s brothers. Though perhaps the show wasn’t trying to be so specific—admittedly, it would be a fast turnaround to get from Summerhall to Ashford in just a couple of days. But hey, Littlefinger could basically teleport by the final season of the original series, so anything is possible…  Manfred Dondarrion is also at the funeral. It’s never mentioned in the show but he is Baelor’s in-law seeing as Baelor is married to Jena Dondarrion (who was not present at the funeral).  We get our first close-up shot of Baelor’s son, Valarr. He is described as having a single streak of Targaryen silver in his dark Dornish hair. Odd that they rendered this as a “V” along the back of Oscar Morgan’s head when most artists have depicted Valarr with a silver forelock.  The way Maekar practically spits “What does your tree tell you?” at Dunk brings me back to the point discussed in the recap of episode four: Maekar has a searing contempt for the non-Valyrian religions of Westeros. In the moment, this dismissiveness could read merely as “Dunk is an idiot who doesn’t have any answers,” but there is reason to believe that he harbors suspicion of anyone who uses trees to prognosticate—albeit usually with weirwoods rather than elms. In the novellas and in A Feast for Crows, we never get the full story of why the oak covered in pennies is the way it is, save that it’s clearly what gives the village of Pennytree its name. By expanding the mythology to give Dunk Ser Arlan’s penny and then having him hammer it into the elm that appears on his shield, this episode does a great job of making not only Ser Arlan’s home meaningful, but further solidifying the elm as a thing of importance for Dunk. It’s not just an image that came to mind when he needed an emblem, it’s the way he pays tribute to the man who saved him and made him into a true knight. In doing so, it makes the fact that this show confirms Dunk was never actually knighted feel a lot less like an undercutting of his story.  I love the detail of having the Beesburys entomb their knights in hive coffins. We’re getting more of the Beesbury rebellion in the next season of House of the Dragon; I wonder if they’ll keep this bit of lore in.  The use of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons” over the end credits felt a little less charming than that smooth jazz sting at the start, and the anachronism did take me out of it in the final moments of the season. Still, I like that the song choice supports the show’s focus on the smallfolk and the ways that they shoulder the burden of physical labor.  Looking Ahead Unlike House of the Dragon, which operates on a two-year release cycle, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms plans to have its second season out next year. They’ve already cast Lucy Boynton (as fan favorite character Rohanne Webber), as well as actors Craig Parkinson and Steven Hartley. Parker has said that the second novella, 2003’s The Sworn Sword, is his favorite of the trilogy (an opinion I enthusiastically share). It’s also a season that will present some specific challenges, in terms of adapting the original. While the second novella is its own, self-contained story (as is the case with all three books), it’s one that requires a lot of history and context. Martin wrote elaborate dream sequences and accounts of history which likely need to be adapted into flashbacks. When he wrote the original novella, he had not fully fleshed out the history of the First Blackfyre Rebellion and, as a result, Parker and his writers’ room could reference it as much as they liked without it being central to the tale. That’s not the case in The Sworn Sword, which functions as an elegiac mediation that explores how people handle the postwar era. There’s about as much plot in the contemporary story as there is in The Hedge Knight, but far more backstory being referenced. That will likely require some clever editing and thoughtful pacing. Budget concerns haven’t really been a major issue for the various Westeros-set shows since the first season of Game of Thrones, but this series, which has successfully made a name for itself by adapting a smaller, quieter story, is going to encounter a modicum of greater complexity next season that I hope they can pull off.  Game of Thrones Until the End of Time Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO 2026 is set to be the year with the most Westeros programming ever, both on the air and on the stage. We’ll be seeing the third season of House of the Dragon this summer, and Martin and the RSC are partnering to bring a Mad King-era play to the London stage (which will hopefully be a vast improvement over the recent and underwhelming productions based on Stranger Things and the Harry Potter series). Series about Aegon’s Conquest, Corlys Velaryon’s nine noyages, and Queen Nymeria’s fleet are still in development (though some of them haven’t seen any forward momentum in a while). Then there are the Jon Snow and Arya sequel/spinoff shows (the Jon Snow one was supposedly scrapped, but some reporting indicates it might not be entirely dead). TLDR: it doesn’t look like we’ll be running out of Song of Ice and Fire shows anytime soon.  So given this prospective glut, how does A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms stack up against the rest of the Westeros canon? I’ve been seeing lots of praise for it as the very best of what Westeros has to offer. Certainly, with Martin himself praising the series as well as showrunner Ira Parker, there’s a narrative that holds this new show up as the true heir to the Iron Throne, with House of the Dragon being seen as a betrayal of Martin’s vision. I’d push back against that reading. I think that, while not every change a showrunner makes is for the best (including those made by House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal), hewing closely to the source material is not always to a show’s benefit. In the case of Seven Kingdoms, the series benefits immensely from having more show to fill than there is novella to adapt. It has the luxury of adapting something it can replicate but also add to and embellish, without feeling like either a deviation or a misread. I also think that many of the changes in HotD are for the better and, while it is absolutely possible to take issue with the show for legitimate reasons, one of the ones I hear consistently is that it forces us to empathize too much with both Alicent and Rhaenyra (both of whom are far more villainous in Fire and Blood). That always smacks of more than a little sexism to me.  If I had to compare the two shows (and I very much like them both) I would have to give the edge to House of the Dragon if only because it feels more like what a Game of Thrones show is, in my mind. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is great but, much like its source material, it’s a very different project, with a very different tone, than almost everything else set in Westeros. There are absolutely going to be some folks who prefer it, but A Song of Ice and Fire has always been a tragedy to me, and I love it when the stories set in this world play to its core competencies.  In Conclusion All this is to say that this was a fantastic season of television, even if it dragged a bit at times. I think this last episode especially felt like it had been padded quite a bit. For instance, in the novella, Maekar offers his Egg-related proposal to Dunk and Dunk responds with his counter-offer of taking the boy on the road all in the same scene. Here it was split into at least four different scenes, and that took some of the air out of it a bit. It also seemed odd that Steely Pate never appeared. They had time for Raymun and Sweetfoot to get little codas to their story; I feel like they could have used at least one of those scenes to send off our kindly armorer. It’s especially galling seeing as they cut his best scene and best line from the novella (though, to his credit, Ira Parker did respond to that criticism with the equivalent of an “oh no, you’re right, that should have been in there!”) But other than some pacing issues (which have plagued a lot of ASoIaF shows), it’s a perfectly delightful season of television and a really great entry point for any viewer who was never as interested in the bloodier, crueler tales offered by Martin and HBO. Both Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell were perfect from start to finish and the supporting cast (especially Bertie Carvell and Sam Spruell) were truly delightful. Ira Parker, like Ryan Condal and Bryan Cogman before him, does seem to genuinely love the source material and shares that same expert attention to detail that both rewards diehard fans and enriches the tapestry for more casual viewers. I’m ultimately glad that we’re getting more ASoIaF media than I ever could have hoped for when I was seventeen and picking up the first book. In this long drought between A Dance with Dragons and the forthcoming (maybe) Winds of Winter, I’m gratified that I have so much to revisit and new things to love about my favorite series of books.My only fear going forward is that we will hit a critical mass at some point and, as with the MCU, there will be a quality dip in the name of producing more content. But that day hasn’t come yet, and hopefully we are a long way off from it. But what did you think? Are you satisfied by this first season? Are you excited for the next? Where do you rank it with House of the Dragon and the original Game of Thrones series? Let me know in the comments![end-mark] The post A New Day Dawns in <i>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</i>: “The Morrow” appeared first on Reactor.