A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is already bucking Game of Thrones' tradition in several big ways.
Unlike its predecessors, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms doesn't feature dragons or scheming for the Iron Throne. As episode 2 reveals, it's also missing another Game of Thrones series staple: an elaborate title sequence.
Where Game of Thrones has its clockwork map, and where House of the Dragon has its Targaryen family tree and historical tapestries, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms simply has a title card. It's just white text on a black background, all without Ramin Djawadi's epic Game of Thrones theme to accompany it. (While A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms occasionally interpolates Djawadi's theme, the show's score is composed by Dan Romer.)
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The difference between opening sequences is starker than Ned, especially since House of the Dragon's titles so clearly ape those of Game of Thrones. So, why the big switch-up for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
For showrunner Ira Parker, the decision stems from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' central character, Ser Duncan "Dunk" the Tall (Peter Claffey).
"All decisions came down to Dunk, trying to channel the type of person he is into every aspect of this show, even the title sequence," showrunner Ira Parker told Entertainment Weekly in an October 2025 story.
He continued: "The title sequences on the original [Game of Thrones] and House of Dragon are big and epic and incredible. Ramin Djawadi's score is orchestral and large and beautiful. That's not really Dunk's M.O. He's plain and he's simple and he's to-the-point. He doesn't have a lot of flash to him."
Dunk's lack of flashiness is central to George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas, upon which A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based. These are not epic tales of Westeros-wide war. Instead, they're ground-level stories about the Seven Kingdoms' smallfolk. With that in mind, a smaller scale requires a smaller title sequence.
The title card also has the added benefit of setting A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms apart from other Westeros-set shows, allowing it to forge its own identity and prove that there's room for stories of all scales in the Seven Kingdoms.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
