‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Ending Explained – Double Or Nothing

George R. R. Martin himself has said that the death of Baelor Targaryen is one of the most significant moments in Westerosi history, one of those key hinge points that fundamentally alter everything. You can’t quibble with the idea, really. By all accounts, Baelor was an uncharacteristically decent dude, for a Targaryen, and that would have doubtlessly been a good thing. But now Baelor is dead. The ending of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms isn’t really about this; it’s about the humble, well-meaning hedge knight who is potentially going to be blamed for it. But it’s worth thinking about.

And Baelor definitely is dead. There’s no real doubt about that. Dunk isn’t far off, either, but his life is far less significant, at least on paper, so he has a bit of imposter syndrome attending Baelor’s funeral. Given we’ve had all the big, messy action this show is going to give us, Episode 6, “The Morrow”, is almost entirely about Dunk figuring out what he’s going to do next in light of all this, and the lack of bloodletting notwithstanding, it’s about as characterful, oddly emotional, and deeply satisfying as the rest of the show has been.

The Aftermath

With the fighting all said and done, Dunk is on death’s door and has very limited options. Raymun is doing better, having not only survived but also married a woman named Lady Rowan, who is apparently with child (his, I guess, conceived in the celebration of victory, though it’s probably worth pointing out that she’s a working girl. But go off). To make matters worse for Dunk, Maekar wants to see him.

Maekar isn’t feeling great about having accidentally killed his brother, and he was evidently unhappy with Aerion kick-starting the chain of events that led to it, since he is being sent off to the Free Cities in short order. Dunk doesn’t have many options in the meantime. Lyonel invited him to Storm’s End, and Maekar invites him to Summerhall, where he can train Egg and finish his own tutelage under Maekar’s master-at-arms. But he turns the offer down. He’s still smarting from Egg’s deception, broken up about Baelor, and probably having a serious think about whether all this knight business is worth it after all.

Of course, Egg is listening to the rejection from nearby and is upset by it, which is pretty understandable.

Dunk’s Proposition

There’s an air of predictability to this finale, granted, because there isn’t a great deal of doubt about whether or not Dunk will ultimately decide to take Egg on as his squire. But the way we get there is sweet, paying off Dunk’s relationship with Ser Arlan in a meaningful way by having his memory remind Dunk that a knight always finishes his story. And Dunk’s story is intertwined with Egg’s, one way or another.

It isn’t difficult for the audience to see that these two need each other. Daeron knows it’s a better fate for Egg, too, and deep down, so does Maekar, who has to console Egg when he interrupts him while he’s debating whether to stab Aerion to death at his bedside. Egg, whose silver hair is beginning to creep in now, is desperate to be away from his family and to be for Dunk what he once was to Ser Arlan.

Eventually, Dunk accepts. But he doesn’t accept the deal proposed to him by Maekar. He won’t take Egg to squire at Summerhall, but he will take him to squire on the road, where he can learn about the real world in real time. Maekar isn’t keen on this idea, since he isn’t keen on the idea of him living like or being perceived as a peasant, so just like Dunk turned him down earlier, Maekar turns him down in turn.

Needs Must

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6 flirts with the idea of not going ahead with the happy reunion, but not for long. The ending relies on the joy of Dunk and Egg hitting the road together, following a couple of lovely moments preceding it. In the first, Raymun buys Sweetfoot as a departing gift for Dunk, but Dunk allows him to keep her and take him to his orchard, from which he runs a cider business.

Dunk also nails a penny to a tree, an old custom of men going to war that Ser Arlan told him about, which is a nice tribute to the late knight. Fittingly, this is also when Egg turns up. Apparently, Maekar has said that he’s to serve Dunk on the road after all. Chestnut is now his horse, and Dunk sits astride Thunder. In a lovely touch, as they ride away, we see the memory of Arlan riding Sweetfoot off in another direction.

Of course, the season concludes with Maekar panicking, looking for Egg, who didn’t have his permission to leave after all.