HBO’s 6-Part Fantasy Masterpiece Keeps Getting Better

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HBO’s latest fantasy series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is receiving widespread praise and proving to be a major success. HBO has established itself as a leading provider of high-quality television, delivering popular shows across various genres, including fantasy, drama, and comedy. The network’s most significant foray into fantasy began with Game of Thrones, which has already spawned the successful spin-off House of the Dragon. House of the Dragon will return for another season this summer, with a final season planned for 2028.

HBO recently launched A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a compelling story focusing on two ordinary people within the world of Westeros, and it’s consistently getting better. Viewers on IMDb are showing their increasing enthusiasm, with the show’s rating steadily rising each week. It began with a solid 8.2 for the first episode and has climbed to an impressive 9.7 for Episode 4, demonstrating its growing popularity over its six-episode run.

  • Episode 1, “The Hedge Knight” – 8.2
  • Episode 2, “Hard Salt Beef” – 8.3
  • Episode 3, “The Squire” – 9.1
  • Episode 4, “Seven” – 9.7

Notably, “Seven” received a higher rating than any episode of House of the Dragon to date. The show’s highest-rated episode, scoring a 9.4, was Season 2, Episode 4, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” which featured the large-scale dragon battles the series had been building towards.

Despite being a newer show, the fourth episode of the 2026 fantasy spin-off has earned a spot among the top 10 highest-rated episodes in the entire Game of Thrones franchise on IMDb. This is remarkable considering the franchise includes 94 episodes total, spanning three spin-offs and 15 years, and even surpasses the ratings of Episode 5 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

This ranks “Seven” among iconic Game of Thrones moments like the Red Wedding, the Battle of the Bastards, Joffrey’s death, and the fight between The Mountain and Oberyn Martell, all beloved by fans.

  • Game of Thrones – S3 E9: “The Rains of Castamere”
  • Game of Thrones – S6 E9: “Battle of the Bastards”
  • Game of Thrones – S6 E10: “The Winds of Winter”
  • Game of Thrones – S5 E8: “Hardhome”
  • Game of Thrones – S2 E9: “Blackwater”
  • Game of Thrones – S4 E2: “The Lion and the Rose”
  • Game of Thrones – S4 E8: “The Mountain and the Viper”
  • Game of Thrones – S4 E10: “The Children”
  • Game of Thrones – S4 E6: “The Laws of Gods and Men”
  • A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms – S1 E4: “Seven”

I’m so excited for the next episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms! They’re coming out on February 15th and 22nd, exclusively on HBO and HBO Max. I can’t wait to see more of Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall and Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg – they’re fantastic!

Find out why A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ release plan may be flawed.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Is the Start of a Longer Journey

Unlike previous shows like House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, which followed many characters and complex political plots, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms focuses on the journey of just two characters within the world of Westeros. It’s a very different approach to storytelling than anything George R.R. Martin’s created before in the Seven Kingdoms.

I’ve seen some fans complain that the new episodes aren’t as long as usual – they’re around 30 to 40 minutes instead of a full hour. But honestly, with the total runtime being over three and a half hours, I think it’s plenty of time to cover The Hedge Knight story. After all, the original story is pretty short – only about 85 pages!

Good news for fans! A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has been renewed for a second season and production began in December. Because this series is more focused and less expansive than House of the Dragon, it’s aiming to release a new season every year, with the next one expected in 2027.

There’s a good chance A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms could become a much longer series than just the three initial novellas. George R.R. Martin has already shared the key plot points for twelve more stories following Dunk and Egg’s adventures. If the show continues to be successful on HBO, fans might be able to enjoy this new series for many years to come.

The new series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, started strong, attracting 6.7 million viewers and becoming one of the top three launches on HBO Max (according to Variety). However, these numbers are lower than those for Season 2 of House of the Dragon, which had 7.8 million viewers – a significant drop from the nearly 10 million who watched the first episode in 2022.

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2026-02-11 00:35