A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 has made quite an impression on Game of Thrones viewers and has quickly won over both show and book fans.
Fans have had nothing but praise for the adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas, with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms serving as a faithful adaptation of Martin’s work. While there have been changes made along the way, they’ve been done with careful consideration and with Martin’s blessing. This has resulted in a true masterpiece which has brought The Hedge Knight to life in a way that feels as though the characters have been plucked right from the pages of the book.
Given how well-received the show has been, it’s not surprising in any way that the show’s fifth episode managed to achieve a rare feat that has helped A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms achieve something no episode of House of the Dragon has pulled off thus far.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5, “In the Name of the Mother,” brought about the trial of seven and delivered the most intense episode of the entire season. The episode concluded with one of the most heartbreaking deaths in the franchise’s history, a death that ranks among the most shocking and devastating moments in the entire Game of Thrones franchise. Episode 5 was a flawless episode, and the fans quickly showered the episode with rave reviews.
After its initial broadcast, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5 earned a perfect 10/10 score on IMDb – a rare feat for any show. As is often the case, as additional reviews came through, that number dipped slightly and eventually leveled out at 9.8/10 which put the episode in an elite crowd.
With its 9.8 rating, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5 now ranks as one of the highest-rated episodes of any Game of Thrones series. In fact, it’s landed in the Top 5 highest-rated episodes in the franchise’s history, a feat that not a single House of the Dragon episode has managed to achieve across its first two seasons.
Although there have been some amazing episodes of House of the Dragon, not a single episode in the show’s first two seasons managed to break into the Top 10 highest-rated list of Game of Thrones franchise episodes, let alone break into the Top 5. In fact, no episode of House of the Dragon has ever even cleared the 9.5/10 mark on the rating scale with the highest-rated House of the Dragon episode coming in at 9.4/10 with the fourth episode of season 2, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” ranking as the highest-rated episode of the show.
Not only has A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms managed to deliver one of the highest-rated episodes for a Game of Thrones show, but even the show’s lowest-rated episode (Episode 1 with a score of 8.2/10) is points ahead of the lowest-rated episode of House of the Dragon (Episode S2E6 with a score of 6.3/10).
Given the criticism House of the Dragon has faced, it’s not surprising that the show hasn’t managed to churn out an episode which has broken through to become one of the top-rated episodes of the franchise. It’s also unsurprising that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has managed to achieve this historic moment given how faithful the show has been to the source material.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5 now ranks among an elite batch of Game of Thrones episodes which includes “Battle of the Bastards” (9.9/10), “The Winds of Winter” (9.9/10), “The Rains of Castamere” (9.9/10), and “Hardhome” (9.8/10).
We’ll see if House of the Dragon is able to break through to the Top 5 with season 3, but for now A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms gets bragging rights in being able to say it’s delivered one of the highest-rated episodes in the history of the franchise.
New episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max. Keep reading Winter is Coming and tune in for our weekly podcast, Take the Black, to follow along with our coverage all season long.