In Martin’s “The Hedge Knight,” Dunk offers to take Egg under his wing while traveling across the realm.
Egg’s father, Maekar, is offended by the very suggestion. Egg is a crown prince, after all; he can’t wander around Westeros, bald and vulnerable, trailing after a hedge knight he met less than a week ago. After Dunk delivers his final pitch, Maekar takes a long pause, then walks away without saying a word.
In the next scene, Egg suddenly materializes and says that he’s gotten his father’s blessing to squire for Dunk.
The novella is told from Dunk’s perspective, so the reader is left to speculate about why Maekar changed his mind.
In the show, however, it’s made explicit that Egg lied. He defied his father’s wishes, choosing to follow Dunk rather than return with his family to their comfy royal life.
“He’s failed with his eldest two sons. Aegon is his last chance to create a legacy that is fit for the throne,” Sam Spruell, who plays Maekar, said of the change. “[Egg] leaving is a kind of rejection of that.”
Parker also said it was a natural extension of Maekar’s character. Thus far, Maekar has proven incapable of raising his children, but he’s still a prideful man who can’t bear to cede control.
“I actually do think he really does love his children. I do think he cares about them, even though he’s not able to raise them well, he still wants to,” Parker said of Maekar. “The idea of letting Egg go off with someone else just felt like too much for me. It felt like he could reasonably say no in this moment, even though he knows it would be better for Egg.”
Spoilers ahead for “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” season one, episode six, “The Morrow,” and the book “The World of Ice & Fire.”
HBO’s “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” stuck the landing on Sunday after a highly praised first season.
The prequel show, which was meticulously adapted from George R. R. Martin’s “Tales of Dunk and Egg” series, managed to toe the line between faithfully bringing Martin’s characters to the screen and adding a few new twists.
That was especially true of the season one finale, “The Morrow,” which features several key scenes that don’t exist in Martin’s original novella “The Hedge Knight” — two of which have major implications for the show’s plucky duo and their many adventures to come.
Dunk’s flashback scene implies that he’s lying about his knighthood
Peter Claffey as Dunk and Danny Webb as Ser Arlan in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
Steffan Hill/HBO
“The Morrow” includes a flashback to Dunk’s recent past, when he was a squire for Ser Arlan of Pennytree.
As Arlan is propped against a tree, pale and babbling and apparently dying, Dunk asks, “Why did you never knight me? Did you think I’d leave you? I wouldn’t have. Or was it something else?” He doesn’t get an answer.
The scene is filmed in the same place as the season opener — on the hillside where Dunk buries Arlan’s body.
Book readers have long suspected that Dunk is lying about his knighthood. He tells people that Arlan knighted him just before he died, with “only a robin, up in a thorn tree” to bear witness. When Dunk tries to enter the jousting tournament at Ashford Meadow, he’s told to find a lord or another knight to vouch for him, but no one can verify his claim. Hardly anyone even remembers that Arlan existed.
Privately, Dunk struggles with his identity and how he presents himself to the world. In “The Hedge Knight,” after it’s revealed that Egg is a Targaryen prince in disguise, Dunk is shocked and embarrassed for having been deceived, but he also feels a twinge of compassion and solidarity: “He knew what it was like to want something so badly that you would tell a monstrous lie just to get near it.”
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” showrunner Ira Parker told Business Insider that he wanted the scene to be up for interpretation.
“A lot of the exposition around whether or not Dunk was knighted is internal thoughts in his head. And we get pretty, pretty close to him coming out and just saying it. It’s just like, what else could he be thinking of? What else could he mean by this?” Parker explained. “But it’s not said in black and white.”
Peter Claffey as Dunk in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
Steffan Hill/HBO
Throughout season one, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” drops subtle hints that Dunk was only ever a squire — that he’s lying to give himself a fighting chance at a better future. When he meets Egg in the premiere, the boy tells him plainly, “You don’t look to be a knight.” In episode four, Dunk hesitates when Raymun Fossoway asks to be knighted so he can fight in Dunk’s Trial of Seven.
“Go on, Ser Duncan,” Lyonel Baratheon urges. “Any knight can make a knight.”
Still, Dunk doesn’t draw his sword to fulfill the request. Is that because he doesn’t want his friend to die in a dangerous trial by combat? Or because he doesn’t know the words to recite if he never heard them himself? (“In the name of the warrior, I charge you to be brave. In the name of the father, I charge you to be just,” etc.) It’s also possible that Dunk doesn’t want to risk Raymun’s honor with a knighting ceremony by a fake knight.
During his loaded pause, Lyonel gives Dunk a searching look, but these questions remain unasked.
Parker said he made sure to preserve the ambiguity surrounding Dunk’s knighthood, which is “100% the way George would like it.”
In the finale’s flashback scene, just when it seems like Arlan is gone forever, he startles awake. We never actually watch the old man die, so it’s still possible that he knighted Dunk offscreen.
“It is just as wide open as it ever was,” Parker said. “So that was very important to maintain, but also — it’s just fun. And I know fans of the book are going to be thinking about that question, so we’re just trying to enjoy ourselves as much as possible with it. And it’s a little bit of a tease.”
The irony, of course, is that Dunk is a truer knight than most, even if he never took the sacred vows. He’s brave and just, and he risks his own life to protect the innocent — quite unlike the dishonesty and bloodthirst of his Trial of Seven opponents. These characters ask us to consider what real honor looks like in a place like Westeros, and to question the substance of titles like “ser,” “lord,” and even “prince.”
In turn, Egg lies about getting his father’s blessing to travel with Dunk
Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
Steffan Hill/HBO
After the Trial of Seven is over, Egg’s father, Maekar, asks Dunk to pledge himself to House Targaryen and return with their family to Summerhall. He says that Egg has grown fond of Dunk and wishes to serve as his squire.
Dunk offers instead to bring Egg on his travels. He believes that growing up among smallfolk rather than servants will help Egg learn compassion and humility.
Naturally, Maekar says no. He’s not about to let his youngest son, the latest in a long line of royal Aegons, wander around Westeros with only a hedge knight to protect him. “Princes are not made for sleeping in ditches and eating hard salt beef,” he tells Dunk in the book.
Dunk counters that Egg’s older brothers, who are known as Daeron the Drunken and Aerion the Monstrous, never slept beneath the stars or ate less-than-perfect food. Maekar leaves without saying another word.
Then, as Dunk is readying his horses to leave Ashford, Egg suddenly reappears.
“My lord father says I am to serve you,” Egg says, and they ride off together, heading south toward Dorne.
Why and when does Maekar have a change of heart? In the book, it remains a mystery, but the show offers a plainer explanation: He didn’t.
Sam Spruell as Maekar and Peter Claffey as Dunk in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
Steffan Hill/HBO
The final scene of the episode shows Maekar riding away from Ashford with the rest of the Targaryens. When he realizes Egg is nowhere to be seen, he begins panicking and shouting for his son.
Parker said he created the scene because it makes sense for the character of Egg. “[The story] started by him sneaking off and getting into trouble. And of course, he just goes and he does the same thing, because we all make the same mistakes over and over and over again, and then we die.”
As for Maekar, the added scene reflects his stubbornness as a father and his pride as a Targaryen.
“He’s just a curmudgeon, and probably a shitty father, but I actually do think he really does love his children. I do think he cares about them, even though he’s not able to raise them well, he still wants to,” Parker said of Maekar. “The idea of letting Egg go off with someone else just felt like too much for me. It felt like he could reasonably say no in this moment, even though he knows it would be better for Egg.”
Although the show’s version of events doesn’t directly contradict the book, it does add a troubling wrinkle to Egg’s family lore. Maekar eventually becomes king of Westeros, and he may not take kindly to Dunk’s absconding with his heir. He may even misinterpret the event as a treasonous kidnapping.
“We’ll never be in Maekar’s POV, but this will rear its head at some point,” Parker hinted for future seasons. “Many ways were discussed about how to deal with this. Hopefully, people like the way we’ve chosen.”
The second season of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” adapted from Martin’s “The Sworn Sword,” is slated for a 2027 release.
Spoilers ahead for “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” season one, episode five, “In the Name of the Mother,” and the book “The World of Ice & Fire.”
HBO’s newest “Game of Thrones” prequel, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” centers on Dunk, a lovable hero distinguished by his tall frame, raw strength, and unshakeable moral code.
For fans of the original series, that description may sound awfully familiar — and that’s no accident.
A blink-and-you-miss-it detail from episode five, “In the Name of the Mother,” draws a subtle throughline between Dunk and another prominent knight from Westerosi history: Brienne of Tarth, who appears a century later in the “Game of Thrones” timeline.
In a flashback scene, a young Dunk is shown walking down the kingsroad with his childhood friend, Rafe, returning to their home in King’s Landing. This route runs for thousands of miles across Westeros, easing travel to and from the capital.
Bamber Todd and Chloe Lea as young Dunk and Rafe in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
Steffan Hill/HBO
In “Game of Thrones,” Jaime Lannister sends Brienne in the opposite direction, away from King’s Landing, on a quest to find and protect Sansa Stark. He also assigns Podrick Payne to serve as her squire. In season five, episode five, “First of His Name,” the duo travels down the same wooded path that Dunk and Rafe had trodden before.
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” showrunner Ira Parker confirmed to Business Insider that he intentionally included this parallel. Both scenes were filmed in the same location in Ireland.
“It’s the exact same road in Belfast, same trees and everything,” Parker said. “There’s no attention drawn to it, but anyone who’s a deep, deep fan of the show, hopefully, will pick up on that.”
Parker said he liked the idea of distant relatives crossing paths generations apart.
Author George R. R. Martin, who’s also credited as an executive producer on “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” confirmed in 2016 at a sci-fi and fantasy convention that Brienne is Dunk’s descendant.
Daniel Portman as Podrick and Gwendoline Christie as Brienne in “Game of Thrones.”
Helen Sloan/HBO
Martin’s “Tales of Dunk and Egg” trilogy doesn’t cover this chapter in Dunk’s life; in the last installment that was published, “The Mystery Knight,” he’s only about 19 or 20 years old. But it sounds like, at some point during his travels, Dunk coupled up with a lady of House Tarth in the stormlands — and left a souvenir or two in his wake. In “A Feast for Crows,” the fourth book in Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, Brienne recalls seeing a shield with Dunk’s personal sigil in her father’s armory.
Dunk and Brienne follow similar character arcs
In season one of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” as in the novella it’s based on, “The Hedge Knight,” the running joke is that no one knows who Dunk is.
He grew up as an orphan in Flea Bottom, the poorest area of King’s Landing, before he became a squire for Ser Arlan of Pennytree, a sloppy hedge knight. The two would roam Westeros, taking work where they could find it and offering help when it was needed, but they rarely left an impression on the lords and ladies of the realm.
Bamber Todd as young Dunk and Danny Webb as Ser Arlan in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
Steffan Hill/HBO
As a result, Dunk struggles to be taken seriously after Arlan’s death. He has no status, no money, and no one to vouch for him. Hardly anyone even believes he’s a real knight. He begins introducing himself with a slightly more impressive name: Ser Duncan the Tall.
However, fans of Martin’s source material know that Dunk’s anonymity doesn’t last for very long. Thanks to the fictional history book, “The World of Ice & Fire,” we know that his young squire, Egg, grows up to become King Aegon V Targaryen.
After their many adventures together, King Aegon recruits Dunk to be Lord Commander of the Kingsguard — the highest honor for a knight in Westeros. (This also means Dunk swore an oath not to marry or father children, which makes Brienne’s lineage even more of a mystery.)
Dunk was so good at his job that he’s still famous a century later. In season four of “Game of Thrones,” Dunk’s name appears in the Book of Brothers, a written history of the Kingsguard.
“Ser Duncan the Tall. Four pages for Ser Duncan,” Joffrey Baratheon notes while flipping through the pages. “He must have been quite a man.”
“So they say,” Jaime replies.
Peter Claffey as Dunk and Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
Steffan Hill/HBO
Indeed, Dunk’s rise through the ranks closely resembles Brienne’s.
Like Dunk, Brienne is motivated by honor and loyalty, and she’s known for her tremendous height and strength. Although she’s not low-born, Brienne still struggles to earn respect as a warrior. Fighting is considered unnatural for a lady, and technically, women aren’t allowed to be knighted in Westeros, so Brienne is often met with ridicule and violence.
Still, she manages to overcome this unjust class system by making friends with the right people. Defying convention, Brienne is knighted by Jaime in season eight of “Game of Thrones,” in an episode titled “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” She finishes the series as the very first Lady Commander of the Kingsguard.
In her final scene, Brienne writes in the very same book that features four pages about her ancestor. Odds are, by the end of her service to King Bran, she’ll end up with just as many or more.
