Diksha Sundriyal
Things get tense with the Trial of Seven in the penultimate episode of HBO’s ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.’ At the end of the previous episode, he succeeded in securing six knights ready to fight by his side against Aerion’s team. One of the knights who answered the call is Lyonel Baratheon. The Laughing Storm comes to Dunk’s rescue on the behest of Egg, who shows quick thinking in reaching out to all the right people. While Lyonel is known for being a fierce warrior who never shies away from a good fight, he is nowhere to be seen at the end of the fifth episode, which may raise a few alarms about what happened to him. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Lyonel Baratheon Lives to See Another Day
While ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ may have a lighter tone, it is still in the ‘Game of Thrones‘ universe, and the fifth episode reminds the audience of this with a shocking death at the end of the episode. What’s curious is that the episode focuses on the trial of seven, but it restricts itself to Dunk’s perspective, so we have no idea what is going on with the other knights. We see Lyonel Baratheon race around on his horse, once or twice, but it happens in the blink of an eye, so it is difficult to ascertain how he is faring. One time, he passes by at the right time, saving Dunk from being killed and giving him a chance to keep fighting.
At the end of the episode, Raymun updates Dunk about the fates of other knights, revealing that Lyonel is not amongst the dead. According to George R.R. Martin’s ‘The Hedge Knight,’ Lyonel fought alongside Prince Baelor against Prince Maekar. At the beginning of the episode, Baelor revealed that he would fight the Kingsguards, who are obligated not to hurt someone of royal blood. Lyonel, too, had expressed his desire to fight the Kingsguards and get the opportunity to bloody their white gowns. However, things turned out rather differently on the battlefield.
It seems that the Kingsguards were engaged with other knights, while Prince Baelor and Lyonel fought Maekar, who proved himself to be a capable warrior. In the fight, he ends up hitting Baelor in the back of his head with a mace so badly that Baelor’s head is smashed in, and he dies when the helmet is taken off his head. Meanwhile, Lyonel survives the ordeal, and though he may have sustained some injuries, none of them are fatal enough to claim his life. We are sure to see him in the finale, where he might shed more light on what actually happened during the joust.
Dunk and Lyonel Will Cross Paths Again
Lyonel Baratheon survives the Trial of Seven, and here, his and Dunk’s paths go in different directions. According to the books, Egg continues to be Dunk’s squire, and they travel the country together. However, this doesn’t mean that Lyonel is never seen again. According to the oracle’s prophecy about Egg, he does end up becoming the king and has a loyal supporter in Lyonel, who becomes the Lord of Storm’s End. As an effort to establish goodwill with different houses of Westeros, Egg betroths his children to different houses. His eldest, Duncan the Small, is promised to Lyonel’s daughter, which would have further strengthened the ties between the two houses.
However, Prince Duncan falls in love with a commoner named Jenny of Oldstones, and Lyonel takes it as a direct insult to his house. He renounces his loyalty to the king, declares himself the Storm King, and stages a rebellion that makes things difficult for Egg, who already has a lot on his plate. Fortunately, Lyonel’s rebellion is short-lived, thanks to Ser Duncan, who fights and defeats Lyonel in a trial by battle. To further patch things up, Egg offers the hand of his youngest daughter, Princess Rhaelle Targaryen, to the Baratheon heir, Ormund, which eases Lyonel’s anger and brings him back into the fold as a dependable ally.
Of course, this isn’t the last time a Baratheon rebels against a Targaryen king. Somewhere down the line, Lyonel’s descendant, Robert Baratheon, divides the country in the fight against the Mad King, Aerys II, and wins, changing the course of history. One could say that Prince Duncan’s refusal to marry Lyonel’s daughter is one of the crucial events that pave the path for the events of ‘Game of Thrones.’ For now, all those events are in the distant future, and Lyonel remains a great friend to Dunk and Egg.
Read More: Is Daeron a Dreamer? What Does His Dream of Dunk Mean?
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