Game of Thrones may have ended its main series run back in 2019, but HBO is still hard at work making multiple spin-offs based in the world of Westeros. Besides House of the Dragon, an adaptation based on the novellas A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is also in the works—and what’s interesting is, the plot will focus on the ancestor of a major Thrones player.
Exploring Brienne of Tarth's Lineage
Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) is supposed to be a play on the classic knight-in-shining-armor archetype crossed with the damsel-in-distress trope. While technically Westerosi royalty, Brienne is neither conventionally damsel-like nor in distress. Instead, she is a noble knight, and a capable fighter who can even go toe-to-toe with Sandor Clegane a.k.a. The Hound.
Brienne is often noted for her massive height, but the books also go out of the way to explain how "ugly" she is, sometimes even mockingly dubbing her "Brienne the Beauty".
When we are introduced to her, she is a knight under the service of Renly Baratheon, but by the end of the series, she has become a member of the Small Council of King Bran the Broken.
Ser Duncan the Tall and Brienne the Beauty
So how is Brienne connected to the upcoming spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms? As it turns out, the lead of AKOTSK, Ser Duncan the Tall, is actually Brienne’s ancestor.
According to Vanity Fair, George R.R. Martin confirmed to a crowd of fans back in 2016 that Brienne is in fact the descendant of Ser Duncan, one of the most notable knights of the kingsguard. Besides inheriting Duncan’s height, it seems like she also got his skills when it comes swinging a sword.
Brienne and Dunc's precise connection isn’t stated in the books, but as long as Martin says so, fans should consider that as good as canon. Plus, there are a lot of chances for the spin-off show to connect those dots to Brienne.
Maybe she can even be used as a narrative device to tell the story? After all, she also ended up in the kingsguard that Ser Duncan used to serve in.
A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms
For now, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is still undergoing production at HBO, and they just dropped the first photo of Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan:
The cast will also include Dexter Sol Ansell as Aegon “Egg” Targaryen.
The show is based on a series of novellas from George R.R. Martin telling the story of “Dunk and Egg”—Ser Duncan, one of the most celebrated knights in the kingdom, and his squire who would grow to be ruler of Westeros, Aegon V Targaryen.
There are three novellas in the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms series: The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight. Some also consider this series to be a bit more wholesome compared to the incestuous and bloody tales of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.
No release date has been set for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but with production currently ongoing, fans can expect a series release later in 2025 or perhaps early 2026.
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