We're told he struggled, but we never actually see him struggle. We're told he deals with assassins and poison, and that his fiancee has been watching over him (with a perverse sense of protectiveness/ownership), but we never see it. We never see how leaders of the knights infiltrating and genuinely converting affects the military. So much plot was just left rotting on the counter.
It feels like they skipped all the interesting points of plot development (growth, intrigue, family dynamics), to get to the power fantasy, and what's left feels like the Cliff's Notes of a Ciaphas Cain novel mixed with the least interesting parts of Danberu Nan Kilo Moteru. At least DNKM had good fitness advice.