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Random reaction to HBO’s first season Knight of the Seven Kingdoms It was almost universally positive.
But there’s an ugly element to the show’s praise that has largely flown under the radar.
Late in the six-episode season’s run, a narrative began to take hold on social media that the show was good because it was “not woke” compared to some other recent fantasy and sci-fi shows because it focused on two white male characters, Dunk and Egg (played by Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell), both of whom were portrayed in a very positive and heroic light. One part of the show that did not align with this viewpoint was the casting of Tanzin Crawford as Tansel, a traveling actress from Dorne who enchants Donk, and some on social media complained about the actress’s presence in the show.
talk to Wonderland The Australian actress addressed the issue for the first time.
“It was scary to get into something that people relate to so much, love so much, and have so many opinions about,” Crawford said. “Sure, I’ve received some negativity around race, but at the end of the day, I’m an employee — and I’m following my dreams.”
She added that the author of the epic, George R.R. Martin, assured her that she was exactly what he imagined when he wrote the character in his short novel. Hedge knight.
“[Martin told me] ‘You are exactly what I pictured.’ [for Tanselle]”The beauty of Tanselle in this series is that it’s a softer outlet,” Crawford said. The rest of the show is very masculine, very cruel and brutal. I think she’s confident and has her own little passions and worlds that are completely separate from everyone else. Of course, her story includes Donk [Claffey]but she has her own thing going on.
Tanselle does not appear in the second Dunk and Egg novel; Sworn swordwhich is being developed into a second season of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. But Crawford has a new high-profile gig in the pipeline, having signed on for Netflix’s live-action version of the game Assassin’s Creed.
Meanwhile, Knight of the Seven Kingdoms His series finished its first season, and its finale received the highest viewership ratings of the season last week, garnering 9.5 million viewers during its first few days. The show also increased its viewership nearly every week during the six-episode season. Since its premiere on January 18, the show has averaged 26 million viewers worldwide.

