Diksha Sundriyal
After the action-filled fifth episode, which ends with yet another tragic and untimely death of a beloved character in the history of Westeros, HBO’s ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ slows things down for its finale. Baelor Targaryen’s death has shocked everyone in Ashford, and like many others, Duncan is trying to make sense of the events. The episode opens with him lying under the elm tree, which has been the roof over his head since he arrived in Ashford. Lyonel Baratheon shows up with a Maester to patch him up, but that’s not the only thing he offers to the young knight. He asks Dunk to join him in his journey back to Storm’s End, where he promises to treat him like a brother. Dunk, however, has other things on his mind. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Ashford Mourns the Death of Baelor Targaryen
With the Crown Prince dying for a hedge knight, everyone wonders why the gods took Baelor and not Dunk. Lyonel presents an explanation of his own when he says that Baelor didn’t actually risk anything. He fought the men who were sworn to protect him, so he knew he would come out of the trial alive. It was people like Beesbury, Harding, Raymun, and Lyonel who were actually at the risk of dying, and two of them really did die for him. In that context, Baelor was cheating in the trial, and “gods don’t favor a fraud.” This makes Dunk wonder why the gods favored him and kept him alive. Lyonel doesn’t have an answer to this, nor the patience to continue soothing his guilty soul. So, he makes his offer to Dunk, stating that they will be leaving for Storm’s End soon, and leaves.
Meanwhile, Baelor is cremated, as his brother and their children attend the ceremony. When everyone has left and the ashes are being gathered, Dunk meets Valarr, Baelor’s son, and expresses his condolences. Valarr laments that his father would have been a great king, and once again, wonders why Dunk survived while Baelor died. Despite Dunk’s guilt, the prince doesn’t want to see him any longer than he needs to and tells the knight to leave. Back in the village, Dunk can feel everyone’s piercing gaze, and the same question in their minds: why did their beloved prince have to die for an insignificant hedge knight? Raymun is perhaps the only one who doesn’t blame him. It turns out that he has been kicked out by Steffon for not only participating in the trial for Dunk, but also for being the better knight.
A win against his cousin isn’t the only thing Raymun got from the trial. In the middle of their conversation, Red (from Mandred Dondarrion’s camp in the first episode, and later seen cheering for Dunk from the stands) appears from Raymun’s tent. He introduces her as his wife, Lady Rowan of the Green Apple Fossoways (the green apple being the new sign adopted by Raymun to distinguish from his wormy red apple cousin). She was seemingly impressed by Raymun’s performance on the field, so when the trial ended, she came over to help him with his armor, and they never looked back. Now, she says she is with Raymun’s child (who she believes is a boy), and so, the couple is now married. While Dunk is processing this information, the Targaryen guardsmen tell him that Maekar has summoned him.
Does Maekar Agree to Send Egg With Dunk? Why does He Look for Egg?
Killing his brother in a trial against a hedge knight weighs heavily on Maekar. While Dunk and Aerion’s battle drew them in, it was Maekar who landed the fatal blow to his brother’s head. He knows that this stain will stay with him for the rest of his life, even though he loved his brother and never meant to kill him, just as it will remain with Dunk as well. While the hedge knight feels guilty for Baelor’s death, he wonders if there is a reason he survived. If it weren’t for the trial, he would have lost a hand and a leg, but perhaps, the gods thought it was more important for him to have his hands and legs than the life of a prince. Perhaps, there may be some purpose to his survival after all. As stupid as it sounds to Maekar, this is not what he called Dunk for.
It turns out that Aegon, aka Egg, has made it clear that he will only squire for Dunk. So, Maekar offers a place for Dunk at Summerhall, where he can finish his training (which he desperately lacks despite his time with Ser Arlan), while also training Egg. Dunk, however, refuses the offer and says he is done with princes. Later, however, a conversation with Daeron makes him change his mind, and he returns to Maekar with a counteroffer. He will let Egg squire for him, but they will not stay at Summerhall. Dunk will remain a hedge knight and teach Egg all that he knows while they travel the country. He believes that this will give Egg the education he needs to be a better man, at least better than his brothers. Maekar, however, refuses to send his last son out into the world, sleeping under the stars and eating hard salt beef.
Later, as Dunk is about to get on his horse and leave Ashford for good, Egg shows up in his ragtag clothes. He reveals that his father changed his mind and has sent him to serve as Dunk’s squire. This, however, turns out to be a lie, since later, as the Targaryen caravan leaves Ashford, Maekar is seen looking for Egg. It seems he slipped out, just as he had from the inn. He didn’t want to stay with his brothers anymore, particularly Aerion, and clearly, being with Dunk and learning from him seemed far better than his life at Summerhall. He also knew that Dunk wouldn’t let him tag along without his father’s permission. This had happened previously, and it didn’t turn out so well for the poor knight. So, he lies to him, and off they go, towards their next adventure.
Ser Arlan of Pennytree Parts Ways With Dunk
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ started with Dunk burying Ser Arlan, but he didn’t really leave his master behind. The ghost of Ser Arlan sticks around, becoming Dunk’s saving grace several times. It is Ser Arlan’s name that gets him an introduction to Baelor; it is Ser Arlan’s voice that calls out to him when he is almost killed during the trial. Because his loss is still fresh for Dunk, he relies on his memories, thinking about what Ser Arlan would have done, relying on the things he’d taught Dunk. After refusing Maekar’s proposal of going to Summerhall, Dunk finds Egg sitting outside the room. He tells the young prince that he cannot take him along, and when a dejected Egg leaves, a memory jumps in Dunk’s head.
We see Dunk back on the hill where Ser Arlan died. They sit under the tree, near which the old knight will soon be buried. His condition shows that he is not long for the world. Still, he starts to tell Dunk the story he has already told several times before. Talking about his home, he reveals that when the lords called young men to war, they would hammer a penny on a big oak tree. The penny would be taken down by the men when, if at all, they returned home. Despite the tree being huge, there was no place for anyone to put up a new penny. As Ser Arlan falls silent, Dunk asks him why he was never knighted. He wonders if the old knight feared that, once knighted, Dunk would leave him. As Dunk talks, Ser Arlan falls so silent that it seems he has died.
But a few moments later, he takes a deep breath and finishes his story, saying that this is how it came to be known as Pennytree. It is not revealed whether Dunk was knighted after this, but this scene, once again, highlights Dunk’s hesitation, suggesting that he may not have been knighted at all. In honor of his dead master, Dunk nails a penny to the elm tree he’d camped under, and later, as he and Egg ride away from Ashford, we see Ser Arlan on a white horse following them, before the horse takes a sharp left and ventures away into a field away from the main road. This shows that Ser Arlan’s ghost has now taken his leave, having given Dunk what he needed for his journey ahead. The path has been paved for him, and Ser Arlan doesn’t need to look after him anymore. With Egg by his side, Dunk is not alone in the world anymore. So, Ser Arlan’s task is done, and he takes his leave, for good.
What Happens to Aerion?
After refusing Maekar’s offer to train Egg at Summerhall, Dunk goes to Beesbury and Hardyng’s memorial, where he finds Daeron among the crowd. He chides the prince, asking him to have shame. Because if it weren’t for Daeron’s accusation, Dunk wouldn’t have had to call six knights for the trial. He would most likely have taken Aerion in a trial by combat, and Beesbury, Hardyng, and Baelor would still be alive. Daeron, however, is not there just for drinks. He asks Dunk if he will take Egg as his squire, and then starts talking about how Aerion used to be a sweet little boy who used to like fishing. And look at him now! As if to predict Egg’s future without Dunk, the next scene shifts to him in his room.
Egg notes that his hair is starting to grow out again, which means he will start looking like her brother again soon, which reminds him that his brother is the one behind Baelor’s death and Dunk’s refusal to let Egg squire for him. So, he takes the knife and heads towards his brother’s room. Aerion is on his bed, resting after having taken a considerable beating from Dunk. With each step Egg takes towards him, he becomes more confident about killing him. But then, he realises that his father is in the room as well. So, he drops the knife as tears fall out of his eyes. Maekar understands his anger, so he doesn’t lash out at him, but silently stands next to him with his hands on his young son’s shoulder, the only son who hasn’t been completely spoiled yet.
With all that has happened in Ashford, Maekar knows that his sons, Aerion and Daeron, are the ones to be blamed for the trial and Baelor’s death. Had Aerion not been such a coward, he would have gone for trial by combat. But then, had he not been such an entitled, spoiled brat, he wouldn’t have attacked Tanselle and her crew, and Dunk would have never laid a hand on him. At the end of the day, it is Aerion’s violent nature that has wreaked havoc on their family, so Maekar decides that he should leave Westeros for a while and go to the Free Cities, where, perhaps, he will learn a thing or two. For now, he leaves with his father and brothers, still recuperating from the injuries of the trial.
Read More: What does the Prophecy About Egg Mean in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
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