Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms’ Daniel Ings Wanted To ‘Inject Some Chaos’ Into Lyonel Barathon, And He’s Already A Fan-Favorite

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Be warned: this article contains spoilers for the first two episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is now streaming on HBO Max.

Okay, so this new Game of Thrones prequel is definitely leaning into comedy way more than House of the Dragon, and episode two of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms doubled down on that. While the adventures of Dunk and Egg are providing plenty of laughs, I think the real standout so far is Lyonel Baratheon – or as everyone’s quickly calling him, the Laughing Storm! Actor Daniel Ings recently talked about how he specifically wanted to bring a sense of playful chaos to the role, even before his character became the instant fan favorite he is now, and it totally works. He’s absolutely killing it at the Ashford Tourney!

I immediately liked the dynamic between Lyonel and Dunk when they first met at Ashford. I knew they’d be great together on screen, especially after seeing their funny, drunken conversation while Dunk wore Lyonel’s antlers in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Lyonel really won me over in the second episode when he got Dunk (and a less enthusiastic Egg) to participate in a tug-of-war, complete with clever trash talk. And despite all the fun the night before, he still managed to perform well in the joust! It’s a truly charming pairing.

Before the release of AKOTSK, the actor formerly on The Gold discussed with TopMob and other media how he approached playing Lyonel, aiming to create his own interpretation while remaining true to the character as written by George R.R. Martin. Ings explained:

As a fan of the books this show is based on, I was really impressed with how our showrunner, Ira Parker, brought everything to life. He did so much of the heavy lifting in adapting the source material and really fleshed out the characters. And working with Peter Claffey was a joy! He’s a lot like his character, Dunk – genuinely sweet, funny, and just a good person to be around. It made it really easy to play scenes with him; I could easily picture myself just hanging out with a fun, likeable guy.

So far in the series, Lyonel seems focused on having fun and enjoying himself, and Dunk has been delivering that at Ashford, whether intentionally or not. Daniel Ings praised working with Peter Claffey, who plays Dunk. It’s still unknown how much screen time Dunk and young Dexter Sol Ansell (Egg) will share. Egg has been following Dunk closely since Dunk took him in, and it looks like Dunk will inevitably get involved in whatever trouble Lyonel gets into whenever they cross paths.

This is good news for fans who quickly liked the character. Ings then explained how he approached portraying “the Laughing Storm,” as the character is known in the original story. He continued by saying:

I was really excited to play the Laughing Storm because the role promised a lot of fun. I aimed to create a character who would bring some playful chaos and a lively spirit to the world of Westeros. It was a collaborative process; Ira [the showrunner] was very open to improvisation and expanding the scenes. Director Owen Harris, Ira, and even Peter [the character’s counterpart] were all incredibly supportive and encouraging, which made the whole experience really easy and enjoyable.

Similar to what happened in House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms quickly showed the common people becoming less cheerful after the Targaryens arrived at the tournament. This seems especially true for Aerion, who so far is the closest the show has come to portraying a character like Daemon Targaryen. However, Lyonel continued to enjoy himself, which isn’t surprising for a knight who thrives on playful chaos at such events.

Daniel Ings’ point about improvisation got me thinking about how much of Lyonel’s dialogue during the tug-of-war scene was made up on the spot. I rewatched it twice – once to focus on the action itself, especially little Egg’s struggle, and again just to listen to all of the Laughing Storm’s hilariously drunken commentary.

And I’m definitely not alone in becoming a fan! Here’s a glimpse of what viewers are saying about Lyonel Baratheon on X (slightly edited for readability):

  • “Found family in that Lyonel found them and decided they’re his family now.” – @binarysvnrise
  • “Lyonel Baratheon, it seems I’ve grown quite fond of you.” – @Mayham_H
  • “Lyonel Baratheon, you’ve charmed me.” – @rhaenyrism
  • “Credit to Daniel Ings for playing Lyonel Baratheon as charismatically as he’s meant to be. I absolutely love this house.” – @Argel899
  • “I can’t believe I’m about to say this but Lyonel Baratheon… you have my heart.” – @livieprqts
  • “Lyonel Baratheon single handedly restoring Baratheon PR.” – @nedstcnnis

As a huge fan of both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, I’ve started to think the Baratheons really need a makeover in terms of public image! It’s endlessly entertaining to picture how Stannis from GOT and Lyonel from HOTD would react to each other, considering their personalities. And the preview for the next episode definitely shows Lyonel still has plenty of scheming up his sleeve!

You can watch new episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on Sundays at 10 p.m. Eastern time on HBO and HBO Max. Even though the first season has only six episodes and is already halfway over, there’s good news: a second season has already been confirmed. HBO renewed the show – which many fans consider the funniest in the Game of Thrones universe – months before it even began airing, to highlight its fresh approach to the franchise.

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2026-01-27 07:40