A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Season 1 Finale Features The Strangest Music Choice In The GoT Franchise

In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave. In the name of the Father, I charge you to stay away if you haven't watched the "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" season 1 finale. There are spoilers ahead.

At its core, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is clearly based in the same unforgiving, cruel fantasy setting as "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon." As we've seen in those series, it's a world where the smallfolk are merely pawns in the highborn's games, so much so that it feels impossible for anyone to make a name for themself unless they're part of an ancient bloodline.

All the same, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" tends to feel vastly different from its predecessors. On top of having a big sense of humor, it focuses on the common people of Westeros in a way that "Game of Thrones" never did. Songs are also a major aspect of this particular George R.R. Martin adaptation, as characters sing everything from propaganda tunes about infamous rebellions to folktales involving women with unusual finger counts.

Even the season 1 finale ends with a song ... although it might just represent the most baffling creative choice this show has made since it included that pooping scene in the "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" series premiere. Indeed, the episode's closing credits are accompanied by the sound of Merle Travis' "Sixteen Tons," a song from the 1940s about a coal miner. But while it's an incredibly bizarre thing for this weird little show to do, it simultaneously feels like the next logical step in a trend that began with "Game of Thrones."

Music is a huge part of George R.R. Martin's Westeros, which "Game of Thrones" had some fun with. After introducing "The Rains of Castamere" in season 2, the show had several real-world musicians either appear and/or cover Martin's songs at some point. Everyone from Coldplay to The National, Sigur Rós, and The Hold Steady got involved, and even Florence + the Machine covered the "Game of Thrones" tune "Jenny of Oldstone" — a song connected to Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) on "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," no less.

Notably, however, artists only covered in-universe songs on "Game of Thrones," which is why it's so odd to hear "Sixteen Tons" on "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." What the heck is a clearly American folksong doing in Westeros? And yet, there's something thematically fitting about the show's use of the tune. Merle Travis' song is about coal miners living deeply in debt to their employers and having their entire life revolve around them. So, by including this song, the series draws a line between real-world blue-collar workers like coal miners and the fictional hedge knights of Westeros.

Again, it makes sense. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is all about the challenges of making a name for yourself in a setting where the only thing that matters is your heritage. It's a world where knights are forced to serve lords that can't be bothered to remember their names yet own everything from their reputations to their very future. Like the coal miners in "Sixteen Tons," the knights of Westeros owe their very souls to someone else.

"A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" season 1 is now streaming in its entirety on HBO Max.