HBO has another critically acclaimed hit with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, and it deserves every bit of the praise heaped upon it. The immensely satisfying first season wrapped with last night’s finale, dealing with the tragedy of the penultimate episode and setting the stage for the further adventures of Dunk and Egg. House of the Dragon is a solid series, but Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has reminded staunch GoT fans of everything they loved about the original series in the first place.

(Spoilers below, but no major reveals until after the second gallery. We’ll give you a heads up when we get there.)

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms adapts the first novella in the series, The Hedge Knight, and is set 50 years after the events of House of the Dragon. Dunk (Peter Claffey) is a lowly hedge knight who has just buried his aged mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). Ser Arlan was perhaps not the kindest of mentors and often stone drunk, but at least he was hung like the proverbial horse—as viewers discovered in a full-frontal moment that instantly went viral. Lacking any good employment options, Dunk decides to enter a local tournament, since he has inherited Ser Arlan’s sword, shield, and three horses.

En route, he stops at an inn, where a bald-headed child who goes by Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) asks if he can be Dunk’s squire. Dunk refuses at first, but Egg follows him and Dunk reluctantly agrees. He christens himself Ser Duncan the Tall but finds he cannot enter the tournament without a knight or lord to vouch for him—someone who remembered Ser Arlan. Dunk strikes out again and again, until he meets Prince Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), son of King Daeron II and heir to the Iron Throne. Baelor remembers and vouches for Dunk.

As they await their turn at the tournament, Dunk and Egg are drafted into a friendly game of tug-of-war by Ser Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings), aptly known as the “Laughing Storm.” They attend a puppet show starring the Dornish-borne Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford); Egg is enthralled by the showmanship, while Dunk is enamored of Tanselle. And the pair bond further on the first day of the tournament, cheering with excitement at the jousting knights.