A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Is A Significant Departure From The GoT Franchise In One Key Way

Spoilers for "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" episode 1 and the "Game of Thrones" universe ahead.

The "Game of Thrones" universe abides by "Valar Morghulis," its literal translation being "all men must die." And while this does signify the inevitability of death, "Game of Thrones" itself still racked up a ridiculous body count (6000+ deaths!), underlining the gruesome nature of life in Westeros. Indeed, brutal deaths also define the bloody legacy of the Targaryen clan, even within the more contained sociopolitical scope of the prequel "House of the Dragon."

Both series established their grim tones by including at least one major death during their premiere episodes. On "Game of Thrones," the sudden death of Jon Arryn (John Standing) puts Ned Stark (Sean Bean) in a unique position to become Hand of the King (thus setting the epic events of the show in motion). "House of the Dragon" likewise opens with the tragic death of Targaryen Queen Aemma Arryn (Siân Brooke), which pushes King Viserys (Paddy Considine) to make decisions that forever alter Westerosi history.

In contrast, the latest "Game of Thrones" prequel, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," starts out pleasantly upbeat and even hopeful. Admittedly, someone still dies in the series premiere, as we see soon-to-be hedge knight Dunk (Peter Claffey) mourning his mentor, Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). It's, of course, quite sad, as Dunk will now have to navigate the world on his own and fight in a literal tourney to be considered a knight. But Ser Arlan passed away from old age; he wasn't the victim of a Red Wedding-style ambush, nor was he the casualty of ruthless in-fighting or war. The show doesn't linger on his demise, either, and swiftly moves on to Dunk's hijinks and run-in with Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell).

While Dunk and Egg's adventures are sure to be full of conflict, the stakes are significantly lower; after all, their story doesn't concern royal politicking or events with kingdom-wide implications (although royalty is involved to an extent). The series premiere for "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" reflects this limited scope, making room for lots of levity and pleasant connections in a cruel world. For example, Ser Steffon Fossoway (Edward Ashley) mocks Dunk for refusing his demands to informally fight him, yet his squire/cousin, Raymun (Shaun Thomas), is nice enough to take him to Ser Lyonel Baratheon's (Daniel Ings) banquet for supper.

Speaking of Ser Lyonel, he initially pokes fun at Dunk, but all of his threats are in jest, and the two even engage in a playfully enthusiastic dance. While Lyonel doesn't exactly have any pearls of wisdom to offer Dunk, he is decent enough to be honest with him about his prospects before the tourney. Then, when Manfred Dondarrion (Daniel Monks) rudely refuses to vouch for Dunk, he runs into Egg again, who promptly demands to be his squire. This segment is really sweet, as Dunk's attempts to appear strict hide his innate compassion. He's happy to look after Egg, as he finds affinity in the fact that the child is an orphan like him.

And though the series premiere ends with Dunk not having anyone to vouch for him, we see Egg glimpse a shooting star at night, which he considers lucky. Dunk seems hopeful, too, interpreting it as a sign from the universe that it will help him achieve his goals in the episodes to come.

New episodes of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" drop every Sunday on HBO.