There’s been an interesting trend in television over the last couple of years where the penultimate episode of a season is an extended flashback. Usually that episode also serves as a means to convey key information about the present-day story to the audience – think the penultimate episode of Paradise’s first season. And sometimes, as in the case of Paradise, the episode is very good – perhaps even the best of the season overall. But there’s always a lingering question to me – how would the rest of the season have played out had the audience been privy to that information from the jump. Here, with the penultimate episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, we don’t necessarily learn any information that helps us to better understand the action that has come before. Rather, what we learn is precisely what we’ve already known: Dunk was a survivor from his youth, but he’s also someone who is used to being led by someone else. Which means this new Dunk, now devoid of a knight to serve, has to be his own man for the first time in his life. And while that doesn’t necessarily change what we’ve seen of Dunk thus far, it’s an important piece of information to tuck away for next season.
Of course, the main story in the present is the melee, which is as brutal as one might expect it to be. One of the things all of the Westerosi shows have made clear is just how viscerally violent this particular world can be. And we don’t get any sweeping crane shots or crazy CGI creatures in this fight. No, it’s down and dirty, grappling in the mud, fists flying once the lances and swords are knocked away. And yes, Dunk comes out technically victorious, but the price is dear. He loses two of his sworn swords, Sers Beesbury and Hardyng, during the initial charge. And then, in the aftermath, Ser Baelor is revealed to have suffered a mortal head wound – likely from Maekar, his brother – and he dies in Dunk’s arms moments after Dunk pledges himself to the Hand of the King. And the prophetic dream spoken to Dunk has come to pass: A dragon died on top of him.
In this world, winning isn’t so much a matter of coming out victorious in a battle. It’s really about not leaving anyone who can seek vengeance for what you did to win. And Dunk has now lost his highest born supporter, wounded more than the pride of a truly sociopathic Targaryen, and put himself on the map of the Westeros elite through winning a type of battle that hasn’t been seen in generations. While I doubt any of the noble houses will seek to supplant him in any way, with Baelor dead, the Targaryen line of succession changes. Which means that Maekar and his sons are a step closer to the throne – albeit still pretty far off. But still, Dunk’s closest powerful Targaryen ally is dead, and Aerion isn’t likely to forget this particular embarrassment soon.
But, perhaps the most important part of this battle is that Egg was there to witness it. That he was able to watch just how the various knights fought. Who was noble in battle. Who was not. And to see Dunk take his brother to task (once he remembered just who had the massive size advantage in the hand-to-hand portion of the fight). Everything that Egg has seen is building him into the man he will become – what type of king he will be. Remember that Varys quote from last week – “Every time a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin and the realm holds its breath”? Well, just who Egg is going to become will be determined just as much by who he sees as heroes. If he were to idolize someone like Aerion, well, that wouldn’t bode particularly well for the realm. But to see him look up to Baelor, who fought on the side of right and gave his life to stand by Dunk, and to Dunk himself, well, that tells us that little Egg is at least on the right path at the moment. And should he get to squire for Dunk for real, well, I suspect he’ll learn far more at his side than he would in King’s Landing, dodging two of his brothers and trying to stay alive.
We’ve nearly reached the end of this particular chapter in the journey of Dunk and Egg with the season finale set to air next week. But what a lovely little tale it’s been. I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to care all that much about this story – I have to admit I’m a bit Westeros-ed out – but it’s been an utter delight. Taking a step back from the large set pieces and the complex storytelling to explore a less epic story, even if it does involve Targaryens, has been a really lovely diversion. Seeing how individuals can grow into characters who can help shape the larger world is something that has been missing in the more sweeping epic stories of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, so I’m excited to see just what happens in the season finale.
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