By: Kelly Kearney
We are halfway through the season and the story charges forward with high-stakes action and enough Easter eggs to reward longtime Thrones fans for embarking on this little Hedge Knight side-quest. Much of “The Squire” unfolds through Egg’s perspective — a notable shift from the earlier, Duncan-led story, which showcases a high-energy jousting match, combined with a scrappy money-making scheme, one deeply shameful prince, and a jaw-dropping royal reveal that shakes up the Kingdom of Westeros. What began as a roadside adventure, turns into something far bigger than either knight or squire expected.
Lesson One: How to be a Squire
We open in the early morning hours with Dunk (Peter Claffey) and Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). The big man is still asleep, so Egg takes the horse out for a trot but the stubborn old iron beast won’t budge. First, Egg tries brute force, but his nine-year-old body is smaller than his ego, and the horse doesn’t move an inch. Next he tries shaming the animal, recalling what his father used to say about how little brains horses have. When that fails, Egg changes tactics and tries compassion. Maybe horses are smart enough to know they don’t want to be ordered around by men. In that way, Egg sees they have something in common, and that admission pleases the animal enough it shakes its head as if in agreement. Realizing the horse is just as important to Dunk’s success in the tournament as his skill with a sword, Egg tries to get him to gallop. All he gets in return is a steaming pile of dung. Things are not looking good for Ser Duncan the Tall’s debut at Ashford Meadows, but at least his squire is learning the ropes of his trade.
Eventually, Thunder the horse seems to grasp that his fate is tied to Dunk’s. A loss in the matches means being sold off, and a losing horse doesn’t have much of a future in the world of knights. So, Thunder runs — and listens, as Egg begins training the animal while sneaking in a little jousting fun for himself. After all, he’s still a kid. His hero worship of Dunk, mixed with his love of the game, has him conquering imaginary foes in the woods while Thunder circles him in laps.
During a rest, Egg and Thunder are approached by a one-eyed knight who demands to know if the horse was stolen. Egg wouldn’t exactly say stolen — more like borrowed. As the knight approaches, Thunder panics, but when Egg gently steadies the horse as the man begins to wonder who this strange, hairless boy is.
He asks why Egg has no hair, and in a perfect display of bravery mixed with sarcasm, Egg shoots back by asking why the knight only has one eye. In a flashback, we see the knight lose it in a brutal joust — a blow that took half his vision, but not the half that can tell this boy is no ordinary squire. In fact, we see Egg in the crowd of that joust, so he already knows how the Knight lost his sight, he is just twisting the sword, to get a reaction out of him. This boy is not easily frightened, and retains knowledge that goes beyond the ordinary squire of a hedge knight. He even knows the knight’s name: Ser Robyn Rhysling (William Houston) — the maddest knight in the Seven Kingdoms. Rhysling notes how small Egg is for a squire, but Egg proudly replies, “Ser Duncan the Tall is large enough for the both of us.” Rhysling hasn’t heard of this knight, but Egg promises he will.
Lesson Two: Getting Comfortable With Your Knight
Back at camp, Dunk is in his feelings about Egg leaving without telling him. A paternal bond is already forming, even if Dunk tries to ignore it. While sewing a patch, he learns Egg has been training in the fields beyond the hedges — which explains why the horse looks bedraggled. He tells the hungry boy he can have salt beef for breakfast after he brushes the horse. When Egg seems less than thrilled about another salt beef meal, Dunk snaps and threatens to feed the boy a fist instead. He immediately regrets it and softens, taking over the chore and offering to teach Egg how to sew. Together they sew the patch and brush the horse, getting comfortable enough with each other that the conversation lands on puberty. Egg asks Dunk about the changes in his body — specifically, how normal it is to grow hair on his stones, and all Dunk can think is how the only abnormal part is him asking about it.
Later, we see Egg perched in a tree, whittling wood and singing a song about Prince Maekar, the disputed Targaryen legitimacy, and the Blackfyre Rebellion— conflicts and lineage that will eventually lead the world to Jon Snow. Dunk interrupts, ordering him to fetch his armor as he plans to join the lists at Ashford today. Egg points out that Dunk doesn’t even have a shield, and that today’s races are for riders of high birth or renowned bloodlines. Dunk is neither, so he can’t enter. Outraged, he questions why he’s been vomiting all morning for nothing and Egg with his trademark sarcasm, hops down from the tree and agrees — it’s a real mystery. Dunk’s digestive system seems directly tied to his emotional state. Nerves, sorrow, all have him running to the bushes for some projectile bodily fluids. It’s a running joke with this character that fans of the books will recognize.
After saving a goose’s life and buying some eggs for breakfast, Dunk runs into Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford), who tells him his shield will be ready soon. Once he has a shield he can enter into the tournament and prove himself as the knight he hopes to be. There’s a definite spark between Tanselle and Dunk but romance is on the back burner as the hedge knight remains singularly focused on the joust, and a meal to give him the strength to win.
Back at camp, Egg cooks the eggs, and the two share their first hearty meal that doesn’t involve salt beef. Then it’s off to the tournament, where they stand along the sidelines watching the opening matches — Humfrey Hardying (Ross Anderson) versus Humfrey Beesbury (Danny Collins) — followed by Lord Ashford’s (Paul Hunter) younger son, Androw, facing a highborn knight who carries a golden chalice on his banner.
After some more back-and-forth about salt beef — a meal and a topic they can’t seem to escape, Dunk and Egg step away from the lists and climb a hill overlooking the grounds. There, they daydream about their future as knights: the roads they’ll travel, the adventures they’ll have, the honor they’ll win, and the beautiful women they might one day marry. Maybe not a princess, but perhaps the second daughter of a noble house. For an orphaned squire, Egg’s dreams seem wildly out of reach… though that assumption won’t age well by the end of the episode’s biggest reveal.
Lesson 3: Not All “Honorable” Knights Are Honorable
Enter Plummer Stefford (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) who approaches a well-fed Dunk with a proposition to join Lord Ashford’s quiet scheme to win back some of the money he overspent hosting the tournament. The idea tempts Dunk for a moment — until he realizes the knight unhorsed by Androw earlier was likely offered the same deal. “I do not want what I have not earned,” he tells Plummer. But the fix is in, as Plummer explains the scheme of thrown matches. The plan is to make Ser Androw — Ashford’s son — look more skilled than he truly is. His opponents will take staged falls, convincing the crowd he’s unbeatable. The bets will grow in support of Androw as confidence in his winning rises. The final money-making move would see Ser Androw face the unknown hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall. The crowd would bet against Dunk and then Androw would fall to Dunk’s spear while Lord Ashford collected a fortune. Except Dunk refuses to play along. He won’t gamble his future for a rich lord’s lighter purse. He’ll fight, but he’ll fight honestly. This theme of honor is reinforced by the immediate contrast with Prince Aerion Targaryen, a man famous for lacking the very thing Dunk stands for.
Dressed head to toe in dragon armor, Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen (Finn Bennett) rides in on spectacle alone. During this era, the Targaryens have no living dragons — so image is all he has and right away we can tell he is insecure about it. Even Baelor Targaryen greets him with a tired, knowing look. Exhausted by his brother Maekar’s failure of an offspring. From the pomp and royal circumstance, the episode draws a line between the honorable hedge knight and the dishonorable silver-headed Prince.
Once in the ring, Aerion chooses to face Humfrey Hardying — already bruised and exhausted from an earlier match. He wants an easy win, but his insecurity outweighs his skill. Instead of jousting fairly, Aerion drives his lance into Hardying’s horse, killing the animal and sending the knight crashing down. It’s not victory — it’s butchery, and even Prince Baelor (Bertie Carvel) looks disgusted, though not surprised. The smallfolk, however, are stunned. This wasn’t sport, it was cruelty for ego’s sake and they are angry. To show their dissatisfaction, they hurl rocks at the prince, and storm the field forcing him to flee for safety. Not only has he shamed the tournament — he’s shamed House Targaryen, and his uncle Baelor can hardly look at him. Add to his growing list of haters is Humfrey, who now must burn and yearn for revenge. Egg, who can’t stomach when the horse has to be killed as it screams in agony, knows Aerion is weak. Dunk escorts the young squire away, and reminds him that things like this can happen in the sport of jousting. Egg, holding back tears, knows this wasn’t an accident, Aerion cheated and Egg is already thinking about what that means for Duncan and his future at Ashford. As his squire, Duncan reminds Egg to stay proud and not fall apart if a similar fate falls upon him, or worse, he doesn’t make it out of the ring alive. From the look on the boy’s face, Egg isn’t ready to consider that. “That’s enough of the tournament for the day,” Dunk says, and the two head to one of the tents for food, as a post-tournament party is kicking off.
Lesson 4: Princes Can be Squires and Squires Can Be Kings
It’s another riotous night in Lyonel Baratheon’s (Daniel Ings) tent as Dunk and Egg watch the royal belt out a bawdy song about “Alys Three-Fingers.” The tawdry lyrics instantly capture Egg’s attention, and he peppers Dunk with questions that are decidedly not for children. Egg wonders if Alys was a real woman, and Dunk figures she probably was — though Alys likely wasn’t her real name. It is just a convenient one for a disfigured woman remembered for pleasing men with an extra finger. Egg realizes something sad in that: she was memorable enough to earn a song, but not enough for anyone to remember her real name.
But the question beneath his curiosity isn’t about Alys at all, it’s about legacy.“Maybe it’s not her name that matters,” Dunk offers. “It’s her story that abides.” Still, Egg seems to be wondering if anyone will ever sing songs about him and about his life, his deeds, or his future? Will they use his true name, or will history smooth him into something easier, safer, more convenient?
When they leave the tent, their talk shifts to family. Dunk asks if Egg ever knew his father and the boy gives a vague answer: “Not really.” Dunk admits his own father was hanged for stealing from a shop in Flea Bottom. He learned it from cooks he used to sell rats to — people who’d known the man. Dunk might’ve even seen his father’s body swinging, he isn’t sure, but what he is sure of is that if his father had been as tall as him, he would have made a terrible thief.
As he speaks about his past, they pass Plummer, who gives Dunk a knowing look — still assuming he’ll agree to throw his match. Dunk answers with a look of his own and keeps walking. It’s a silent refusal that his honor isn’t for sale.
Next they encounter a fortune teller (Jenna Boyd) who sees greatness in Dunk’s future. She predicts wealth beyond a Lannister, earned through a lifetime of success. Dunk laughs it off and asks her to read Egg instead. When she looks at the smiling boy, she nearly loses her breath. She predicts the squire will one day be king, and die in a hot fire, worms eating what remains of him. Worse still: all who know him will be glad when he’s gone. Egg stands frozen, shocked by the woman’s prophecy. We’ll learn later how frighteningly possible that future is, but Dunk laughs off her fortunes as fantasy.
Then they run into Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas), who invites Dunk for fresh cider in his tent. Egg, uneasy around Fossoway, says he’ll go watch a puppet show where Tanselle is performing. Fossoway watches the boy leave with a flicker of recognition he can’t quite place.
Over cider, Fossoway and Dunk talk about Aerion stabbing the horse and whether or not it was an accident. Dunk can’t believe a prince would act so dishonorably and Fossoway laughs bitterly at his naivety. To him, the Targaryens are tyrants — conquerors who burned lands and enslaved his people. “Every pale-haired rat’s been madder than the last,” he rants. Of course, he stabbed the horse on purpose, that squire of his was right.
While Dunk drinks and Fossoway lists Maekar’s sons — the “misbegotten” princes who pulled Maekar from the match — we cut to Egg at the puppet show. Tanselle, dressed as a knight, fights a fiery dragon, as history is told as entertainment. The boisterous crowd grows silent when Aerion arrives to watch his family’s legacy mocked. After the dragon falls on stage, Tanselle freezes when she locks eyes with the fair-haired prince.
Back in the cider tent, Fossoway is just about to mention the youngest Targaryen rat when Egg bursts in, panicked– Aerion is attacking Tanselle. Dunk runs to her aid to find Aerion’s men burning the puppet set, as the prince holds Tanselle down and breaks her finger. Those are the hands that made the dragons dance and painted Duncan’s sigil for the tournament. When she screams, Dunk snaps. He punches Aerion square in the face, and when the prince draws his steel, Dunk kicks him in the head, knocking him down again. The King’s Guards swarm the hedge knight, and it takes four of them to restrain him.
The Prince is bloody furious, why would a hedge knight throw away his future for a “traitor’s whore?” A dragon, even in a play, never loses, and to say they would is treason. Dunk looks at the sobbing Tanselle, then back at the prince, eyes blazing. For loosening one of Aerion’s teeth, the prince orders his guards to smash all of Dunk’s. They force his jaw onto the edge of the stage, ready to stomp the back of his head, when the voice of a child breaks through the crowd ordering the guards to “get off of him!”
Dunk, face-down, realizes it’s Egg and begs him to stay quiet or he will be next. But those guards wouldn’t dare touch him. Egg calls the guards by name and commands them to stop, shocking everyone in the room, but especially Duncan, when the guards release him. Who is his squire and what power does he have that he can order the King’s Guard around?
Aerion turns to the boy and demands to know why he shaved his head, familiarity dripping from every word fallen from his bloody lips. Egg stands tall for a nine-year-old and looks at Aerion with disgust, admitting, “I didn’t want to look like you, my brother.” Silence falls at Ashford Meadows. The boy called Egg is Aegon Targaryen — son of Prince Maekar, brother to the monster who nearly killed his hedge knight, and squire who one day could be King.