A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has truly changed the way I think about stakes on TV (and movies, as it’s essentially a 3-hour movie split into 6 parts).
Whether it’s other Game of Thrones shows or pretty much any drama, the stakes of at least one of the plots are typically quite high. They might impact the entire world or the world of a specific character; either way, they’re high.
Knight takes a different approach. The stakes are simply to compete in a jousting tournament. Not even with the tournament. Just to compete at all.
Of course, each episode provides different goals and motivations, but overall the stakes are very low. Yet the show works brilliant. Why wouldn’t we want to root for this gruff-yet-kind knight? It’s nice to know what he’s hoping for, but that’s enough, especially when everything else works so well (the setting, the supporting characters, the flashbacks, etc).
I wish more intellectual properties had 30-minute slice-of-live shows. In a similar realm are the She-hulk Marvel show, Lower Decks for Star Trek, and arguably The Mandalorian for Star Wars. Perhaps Knight isn’t as revolutionary as I first thought, but I’m really enjoying it, and I look forward to next week’s season finale.
What do you think of the show (or others like it)?
Jamey,
Not yet…my wife is a binge-watcher. So, having finished Game of Thrones in a matter of three weeks last year, followed by House of the Dragon’s two seasons, she aske me if this latest show has finished its season. When I responded “no” she said, “I’ll wait until it’s over.”
Cheers,
Joe
I think season 1 is over now. 🙂