Articles
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 Ending Explained in Detail: What’s Next for Dunk & Egg
After a trial of seven, shocking deaths, and six weeks of jousts, dancing in tents, and toilet humor, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 has reached its end. This is, factoring in runtimes, the shortest season of any TV series in the Game of Thrones franchise, and yet should also be among the most memorable. The season finale underscores the impact of the series, particularly has it explores the fallout of Baelor Targaryen’s death, reflecting on some of the biggest themes of the show while setting up its future. Warning: SPOILERS from this point on.
Much of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1, Episode 6 centers around Ser Duncan the Tall and Maekar Targaryen, as each men deals with the weight of their role in Baelor’s death. Like the typical finales of the early seasons of Thrones, this is more about cleaning things up and teasing what’s to come than it is seismic events or plot twists, though it does still have a couple of rug-pulls in store: Dunk was never actually knighted by Ser Arlan of Pennytree, and Egg goes off with Dunk without his father’s permission.
As the pair head off for more adventures in the Seven Nine Kingdoms of Westeros, here’s what the future holds, and what the finale meant.
What Happens To Dunk & Egg After A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Season 1
Dunk and Egg plan to head to Dorne following the tourney at Ashford Meadow, and, as the tease of “puppet shows” suggests, they hope to run into Tanselle. She went there after being attacked by Prince Aerion, and given Dunk’s attraction to her, he hopes to find her. Based on what we know from the book, that doesn’t happen, but it’s the kind of change that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms could make, if only for a brief scene.
After Dorne, the pair head to Oldtown where they spend some time with Egg’s other brother, Maester Aemon (yep, from Game of Thrones), who measures how tall Dunk is. Showrunner Ira Parker has previously teased Aemon’s inclusion in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms – in the book, he’s only mentioned and doesn’t directly appear in the present story, but the series could at least have a cameo from him (indeed, a quick gag for it flashing back to him measuring Dunk would be pretty funny).
The story proper for the duo comes from Martin’s second novella, The Sworn Sword. This finds them at a stronghold in the Reach, in the service of an old knight named Ser Eustace Osgrey. There’s a terrible drought affecting the area, which leads to a petty land dispute regarding a local stream, pitting Osgrey against his local rival, Lady Rohanne Webber. Dunk, inevitably, is the one who has to deal with it, and while that sounds like even smaller stakes than Season 1, it’s another story about knighthood that really gets into what life for a hedge knight is like.
How Egg Lying & Running Away From Maekar Again Changes The Book
The finale sees Dunk and Maekar have a back-and-forth about the future of Egg: the prince wants his son to continue squiring for the hedge knight, but at the Targaryen residence of Summerhall. Dunk, having initially had enough of princes, will only take Egg if they can go on the road, living the life of a hedge knight and his squire.
In a beautifully played bit by Sam Spruell, Maekar protests that Egg is his “last son.” While Daeron, Aerion, and Aemon are all still alive, Aegon, the youngest, is now his best hope: Daeron is a drunk, Aerion monstrous, and Aemon a Maester, so it’s Egg who can become a knight and bring honor and renown to Maekar’s line, at the very least.
After that, however, Egg finds Dunk and reveals that his father had sent him to squire for the hedge knight, seemingly having a major change of heart… until, that is, the very last scene, in which Maekar learns that Egg has disappeared on him, and had no idea he’d gone off to join Duncan the Tall.
This plays out quite differently in the book: Maekar doesn’t give an answer to Dunk’s request, but it’s implied that he agreed. In the subsequent novellas, Egg has with him a signet ring of his father’s, which he’s to use if they get into serious trouble. Personally, this is one where I prefer the book’s version, as the humor undercuts the emotional impact a little too much for my liking, but it’s a different path to the same outcome.
The Meaning Of Dunk Not Being Knighted
After a season spent exploring what it means to be a knight comes the real twist in that tale: Dunk was never knighted by Ser Arlan. He lied his way into the tourney, at great consequence; in the book, while it’s not confirmed this is the case, he thinks about wanting something so badly he’d tell a “monstrous lie” to get it, which is generally believed to be about pretending to be a knight. That line very much applies to the TV show as well, but despite that, Dunk is still the truest knight we see.
He’s honorable, chivalrous, and good. What he lacks for skills with a lance or sword, he makes up for in heart and courage. He’ll protect the innocent and weak, even against the most powerful of opponents. In that, regardless of whether some words were spoken or not, Ser Duncan the Tall is absolutely a true knight.
There were a few clues along the way to Dunk not being knighted: we saw flashbacks of everything else he said Arlan did, but never that; his refusal to knight Raymun, saying he shouldn’t, was particularly telling. This, again, is similar in the book, where it had long been theorized, if not made 100% official. Because of that, we also don’t know exactly why Arlan never knighted him, but it’s likely a combination of his death happening quickly, Dunk not being ready, and the old knight not wanting to lose his squire.
A Knight Of The Nine Kingdoms Explained
It’s probably fair to assume that, going forward, the show will not actually be titled A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms, despite what the final title card says. That’s more likely just Ira Parker’s humor, but it is true that there are nine, not seven, kingdoms of Westeros.
The peculiar naming convention is a holdover from the time before Aegon’s Conquest. Originally, Westeros was actually divided into Seven Kingdoms, each ruled by their own monarch. When Aegon became king of a unified Westeros, though he didn’t actual conquer Dorne at the time, he was proclaimed Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and the title has stuck ever since. Aegon changed some of the territories, instead turning them into nine regions.
| Original Seven Kingdoms | New Nine Regions/Territories |
|---|---|
| The North | The North |
| The Vale of Arryn (or The Mountains and the Vale) | The Vale of Arryn |
| The Isles And Rivers | Iron Islands |
| – | The Riverlands |
| The Rock | The Westerlands |
| The Reach | The Reach |
| The Storm | The Stormlands |
| Dorne | Dorne |
| N/A | The Crownlands |
What The Song At The End Of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Season 1 Is
The credits of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1, Episode 6, do something quite remarkable for a Game of Thrones show: play real world music. We’ve heard bands and artists performing their versions of in-universe songs before, such as The National’s “The Rains of Castamere,” The Hold Steady’s “The Bear and the Maiden Fair,” and Florence and the Machine’s “Jenny of Oldstones.” This is different, though, in that it plays the song “16 Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford (originally written by Merle Travis, and covered by Ford in the 1950s).
The song is about a coal miner in Kentucky, and serves as an anthem for the exploited working class. It references the difficult way of life, and struggles in making money. Its use here is to highlight the hard life of a hedge knight, where money can be hard to come by as there’s typically not a reliable, long-term source of income for them, instead having to toil away to get by. That’s the life Dunk, and now Egg, have signed up for.
How Dunk’s “On The Morrow” Speech Comes True
Pretty much everything between Dunk and Maekar in the finale is gold, but among the standouts is Dunk’s “on the morrow” speech, where he talks about whether he could’ve spared a hand and a foot for Baelor’s life. It’s possible, he posits, that there will come a day when the realm has a need of that hand, and that foot, that explains why he was spared. Maekar may dismiss it as “not bloody likely,” but it is true.
As we know from Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire (and some of the additional material), Dunk becomes Ser Duncan the Tall, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He protects the king and the realm, becoming one of Westeros’ most distinguished knights: as Joffrey Baratheon tells us in Thrones, four pages of the Kingsguard’s White Book are dedicated to Dunk’s accomplishments.
In terms of the speech, specifically, it’s particarly apt for the tragedy at Summerhall, a great blaze at the residence that killed several people, and would’ve been so much worse had Dunk not saved their lives. Among those he rescued: a pregnant Rhaella Targaryen, who gave birth to Rhaegar immediately after, and later gave birth to a daughter, Daenerys.
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Finale’s “Tarth” Reference Is Very Deliberate
Early on in the finale, Lyonel Baratheon asks Dunk if he’s ever been to Tarth. The island, which is part of the stormlands, is said to be beautiful, so it’s easy to see why Lyonel would want to take him, but there’s a deeper meaning behind its inclusion in the show. Tarth is, of course, the home of Brienne from Game of Thrones, and she is a descendent of Duncan the Tall.
This was something that was speculated for many years: they’re similar in character and, of course, in height, but more telling was that a shield described as being the same as Dunk’s was at the Tarth home, and later used by Brienne. Martin loosely confirmed it at a convention, saying future books will reveal how she’s related to him. While Dunk isn’t headed there yet, the seed has been planted, presumably for him to go and do some seed planting of his own.
What Happens Next To A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms’ Supporting Characters
Getting a little more into spoiler territory, if you don’t want to know what becomes of certain characters, you may want to skip this section. Because, thanks to the expanded lore of Martin’s world, while we don’t have a huge amount of detail on them, we do know where several end up, including:
Raymun Fossoway
Very little has been written about Raymun himself, but we do know that the green apple Fossoways are fully established as a cadet branch of the house, becoming known as the Fossoways of New Barrel. They do indeed expand the cider business, and make their seat at New Barrel. Rowan isn’t in the book, but it seems likely they’ll be sticking together.
Lyonel Baratheon
Lyonel eventually becomes Lord of Storm’s End and, while he’s initially a supporter of the Iron Throne, he does rebel against King Aegon V Targaryen in 237 AC, almost 30 years after A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1. This is because Lyonel’s daughter was betrothed to the king’s son and heir, Prince Duncan Targaryen, but the prince broke it when he fell in love and married a lowborn woman named Jenny of Oldstones (the one from the song). The Laughing Storm launched a short-lived but still bloody rebellion, but was eventually defeated in a trial by combat by… Dunk.
Maekar Targaryen
Maekar goes back to his residence of Summerhall, though people continue to whisper that he purposefully killed his brother, Baelor. In 221 AC, after various deaths remove multiple other heirs, he becomes King Maekar I Targaryen. He mostly has a peaceful reign, though is killed in battle when dealing with an uprising from House Peake.
Aerion Targaryen
The monstrous prince has a few notable moments after leaving for the Free Cities. He serves in the sellsword company the Second Sons, and later returns to Westeros to fight in the Third Blackfyre Rebellion. Most notable, though, is Aerion’s death in 232 AC: he died from drinking wildfire, believing it would transform him into a dragon.
Daeron Targaryen
Daeron continues to be plagued by his dreams, but is briefly heir to the Iron Throne, with Aemon serving as his Maester for a time. He marries and has a daughter, but eventually dies from a pox.
Valarr Targaryen
Unfortunately, Valarr is not long for this world. He dies in 209 AC, the same year the tourney at Ashford takes place, from what’s known as the Great Spring Sickness, which also kills his brother, Matarys, and King Daeron II Targaryen.
Is A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Season 2 Happening?
Yes, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 2 has already been confirmed by HBO. It was renewed before Season 1 had even premiered and, what’s more, is already in production. It’s expected to release sometime in 2027, and will adapt Martin’s The Sworn Sword. This story sees Dunk and Egg in the service of Ser Eustace Osgrey in the Reach, having to deal with a petty feud. The network also has plans for a third season, which would adapt the third of Martin’s novellas, The Mystery Knight, but it hasn’t yet been officially confirmed.
All six episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 are available to stream on HBO Max.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
