By: Kelly Kearney
After last week’s brutal episode, where Dunk survived the Trial of Seven and forced Prince Aerion to withdraw his accusations, Ser Duncan the Tall is now left with nothing but fear and doubt. Doubt in his new title and if he is worthy of it. Fear of the consequences his presence brings to others. It’s a fact that is impossible to ignore as the death of Prince Baelor has shaken the realm, as well as the brother who delivered the fatal blow. When the series began Dunk was on a quest to prove he was worthy of the title of knight and now it ends with Ser Duncan questioning that title while carrying survivor’s guilt heavier than the sword he swung in Ashford Meadows.
Bad Luck Follows Dunk
Is that soft jazz in Westeros? You bet your salt beef it is. We open to the dulcet sounds of happier times, even if Duncan (Peter Claffey) isn’t feeling them. Alongside Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings)–doing his best to lift the battered knight’s spirits, Duncan receives grim news from the maester (Paul Murphy): his wounds could still prove mortal. At that Debbie Downer news, Lyonel orders the “witch” away, proposing a happier plan for the Hedge Knight, who isn’t sure of his next move. Duncan should join him on the road to Storm’s End. Lyonel promises to “love you like a brother… or hate you like one,” depending on how their adventure pans out, but either way, it will be filled with women and battles and all the things a knight should look forward to.
It’s too bad Dunk can’t think about any of that. His mind is fixed on the pain and death he believes he brought to the kingdom, and to the men who chose to stand and subsequently fall beside him. He thinks of himself as having bad luck, but Lyonel refuses to hear another word of that sort of talk. The gods don’t favor frauds, and neither did Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel). Those men fought and died for Dunk because they believed in him, and Lyonel still does. Besides, there is a war looming on the not-so-distant horizon, and together, they could be a force to reckon with. Baratheon sees a champion but the quiet, beaten-down Dunk can’t acknowledge what he gained at Ashford Meadow–the respect, camaraderie, and brotherhood. He can only see what the others lost.
A Prince Laid to Rest
Cut to a funeral pyre surrounded by fair-haired Targaryens where the Prince of Dragonstone is laid to rest. As the Ashford Septon (LJ Bennion) recites Baelor’s many titles, his brother Maekar (Sam Spruell) stands stoic, knowing the mace that killed him was his own. Now he is next in line for the throne, but that crown weighs heavy on his head as he says goodbye to a man who would’ve made a better King than he. His succession is a privilege that comes with scars — the same ones etched across his face after the trial. Those which remind him he struck down the realm’s protector while standing beside a son he can barely stomach. Every whisper across the realm will remind him of what was lost.
Cut to Baelor’s son, Prince Valarr (Oscar Morgan), who sits smoke-side of the pyre when Duncan approaches to offer his condolences. Valarr can’t help but ask why the gods would take Baelor, who many said was fit to be as great a king as Aegon the Dragon, and leave a simple Hedge Knight behind. Dunk has been asking himself the same question: what makes him worth saving?
Ashford Aftermath
After the burial, Duncan returns to Ashford Meadow as the tourney grounds are dismantled. He reunites with Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas), and the two injured knights embrace. Both lost much in the trial but they also gained respect. The townsfolk now call Dunk “Ser,” even if the title feels hollow, and Raymun found love, which so often partnered with fame. He tells Duncan his traitorous cousin Steffon abandoned him, taking their grand pavilion and leaving only a small tent and their family sigil– a battered green apple shield.
Their reunion is interrupted when his lover Red (Rowan Robinson), radiant and smug, steps out of Raymun’s modest shelter, lavishing Ser Fossoway with kisses. Raymun jokes that they’ll soon be making little green-apple Fossoways and Duncan forces a smile through his cringe. Red, who once flirtatiously bullied Dunk, has shifted her tone now that he is the talk of the town. It seems the mouthy maiden of every man’s bedroom has chosen the security of marriage as an escape from poverty and her line of work. Duncan offers his blessing, though for him it feels like watching a chapter close. Raymun is a true friend, and there is no room for Dunk in this new family life.
A Princely Offer
The levity fades when the Kingsguard arrive to summon Duncan to the castle. Prince Maekar wishes to see him. Raymun fears the worst and bravely tries to refuse on Dunk’s behalf, but Ser Duncan is a knight of honor, he cannot ignore a prince’s command. He says his goodbyes as though they may be his last and follows the guards, staggering on a crutch towards his fate.
Once in Maekar’s chambers, the prince reveals Aerion (Finn Bennett) is being sent east to the Free Cities. Distance may do him good, and it will certainly spare the family any further shame. Not only did the God’s not favor him, his injuries are so extensive, he will never be the same.
Aerion isn’t the only one whose life changed on that field. Maekar confesses that neither he nor Duncan will ever outlive the whispers about Baelor’s death. Though his heart held no intent to kill his brother, perception is reality, and the people of the realm will blame them both. Every hardship they face will resurrect Baelor’s memory, and with it, the people will curse Maekar and the Hedge Knight. The Prince wonders why his mace killed Baelor, while God protected Duncan with every deadly blow? Dunk admits he’s wondered the same, and the only answer he has is based on a story Ser Arlan (Danny Webb) told him about “the morrow.” Perhaps one day, the realm might need him.
Maekar has an idea of how his service could be useful. His youngest son, Aegon A.K.A. Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) wishes to serve Duncan as his squire, and he is refusing to serve any other knight.The Prince proposes that Duncan take the boy to Summerhall where he can finish his own training, and then shape Egg into a worthy man. It’s an honor most knights would fall to their knees for but Dunk declines.“I think I’m done with princes,” he says — though what he truly means is he fears his bad luck will harm the boy he cares for.
Outside the chambers, Egg overheard everything and pain flickered across his face. Duncan runs into him and tries to explain himself, but it falls on deaf ears. Egg is hurt and as he walks away with tears in his eyes he questions whether the brave knight he admired truly exists.
A Penny in the Tree
Stewing in his shame, Duncan recalls a story Ser Arlan of Pennytree told him. In a Flashback the dying Ser Arlan talks about a tradition knights and soldiers have before heading off to war. With the handle of a soldier’s knife they embed a penny into a tree–some trees are more metal than bark. If they returned they removed the penny and the significance of the story confuses Duncan. He asks the man why he never knighted him, wondering if he refused in fear Duncan would leave him. He asks with the naivety of a young boy and the only response he gets is Arlan’s final breath. It seemed like the knight was about to tell him the answer he desperately wanted to know. Now that silence has Duncan crying lost in himself, questioning who he was meant to be. The sound of his tears brings Ser Arlan back for a moment to say a true knight always finishes his story, That was the point of the penny in the tree, and his teacher and father-figure’s final words.
Brothers and Fathers
Back in the present, while Duncan drinks away his blues with Raymun and Red, he spots Prince Daeron (Henry Ashton) in the crowd. Duncan can’t believe he has the nerve to show his face, since the smoke from his uncle’s pyre still hangs in the air. His accusations started this mess,so he should feel ashamed, Duncan accuses. The Prince tries to calm the knight claiming he is only there to plead Egg’s case. He wants his brother to squire for the Hedge Knight. He also wants Duncan to know his other brother, Aerion, wasn’t always monstrous, even if what remains of him now is barely a man. Mourning who he once was does require a drink.
Meanwhile, Egg is back at the castle mourning the life he could have had as a squire. He stares at his silver stubble growing through his shaven head, and it is a reminder of who he is and the family ties he can’t seem to cut. Driven by anger and fear, he sneaks into Aerion’s chamber with a blade, intending to end his abusive brother’s life once and for all. He blames him for the loss of Baelor and Duncan, and he will not risk the chance of some medical miracle bringing Aerion back to torment him. He doesn’t get far since Maekar is there in the room too and he knows what Egg is up to. No words are spoken as the prince embraces his youngest son who starts to cry. Both lost something in that arena, and at this moment, they have only each other. Their heartfelt moment is interrupted by the guards announcing Duncan has requested an audience.The Hedge Knight agrees to take Egg as his squire — but not to Summerhall. He will train him as he was trained by Ser Arlan; on the road, under the stars, and among the common folk.
As much as Maekar wants to grant his youngest son his wish, he cannot agree to Duncan’s terms. Aegon has the blood of the dragon running through his veins. Princes do not sleep in ditches and dine on salt beef. Dunk can’t help but point out how Maekar has two other sons who were raised in privilege, and look how they turned out. The truth stings, but Egg is Maekar’s last son. His path may lead to the throne, so he must protect him.
It’s not quite a yes and certainly sounds like a no, so Dunk leaves to pack, prepared to ride alone once more.
Nine Kingdoms
While preparing his horses Chestnut and Thunder, Raymun seeks him out and brings him a parting gift: Fossoway bought Sweetfoot, Dunk’s beloved horse he traded for his armor. Duncan is thrilled to see Sweetfoot and shocked by Fossoway’s generosity. Raymun thought he might need a familiar ride to Storm’s End, but Duncan isn’t so sure. He changes the subject by asking Raymun what is next for him and learns Fossoway is hanging up his sword to run the family’s cider business. He plans to build a life with Red on the orchard–no more tourneys, no more rivalries, he is a family man now. Duncan smiles at that and then gives Sweetfoot back to Raymun, where the horse can live peacefully among the apple orchards. Protecting what he loves means keeping it far from the bad luck he believes he carries–that includes Egg, Sweetfoot, and his friends Raymun and Lyonel.
After their farewell, Dunk hammers a penny into a tree–a sign his business there is not done…or is it? Egg is right behind him, having fled the castle again to convince Dunk to take him as his squire and he’s not taking no for an answer. Dunk must see a bit of himself in the boy. He made himself indispensable to Ser Arlan until the man taught him everything he knew. Now Egg is seeking a similar purpose, as well as a father figure who looks beyond his royal lineage.
Duncan finally relents and agrees to allow Egg to become his squire. He even gives the boy his own horse– Chestnut, along with a promise of nights under the sky, days filled with learning, and at least one meal of salt beef per day.
As knight and squire ride off, Dunk wonders which way to head in the Seven Kingdoms. Egg corrects him: nine kingdoms. Nine? Since when? They argue, laugh, and settle on the Red Mountains, where Egg has heard puppet shows are popular. Perhaps Tamzin is there, alive and grateful because Duncan stood against a prince to save her life. As the two ride off across the hills of Westeros, the credits roll, and then, a title card proving Egg right pops up on the screen. Prince Maekar of the Nine Kingdoms and his sons set off for a ride beyond the castle gates. There is just one problem: where is Aegon? Missing again, that precocious little Prince.His father is livid as the boy could be anywhere in all nine kingdoms. His best bet is to check the roadside ditches for a squire and a Hedge Knight–the perfect upbringing for the future King.