Ryan Kirksey
The following recap contains spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms S1E5, “In the Name of the Mother” (written by Aziza Barnes & Annie Julia Wyman and Ira Parker, and directed by Owen Harris). Spoilers also may include plot points from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.
Anyone who has consumed Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has their list of favorite characters from the George R.R. Martin properties. It’s natural. With such a sprawling timeline of characters across multiple lands and houses, and with so many rage-inducing villains inherent to the stories, it’s common to pair our favorite characters against those villains.
I have talked to several people over the last four weeks, and especially after Episode 4, who have told me that Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen (Bertie Carvel) rapidly ascended their list of the best Thrones characters, despite only being in parts of four episodes so far.
The embodiment of what it means to be regal, noble, and just in this crooked fantasy world, Baelor Targaryen breaks the chain of a long line of dishonorable Targaryen characters and stands up for what “every true knight should,” even when it means lining up for battle on the opposite side of his family’s banner. His place among the best characters in this world seems well-deserved even after such a short period of time.
This is what makes the final moments of Episode 5 so heartbreaking. In addition to the long-term ramifications that Baelor’s death will have on Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms (more on that below), the world lost a powerful man who seemed to care only about doing what is right, and not what is expected. In Game of Thrones, those men and women are few and far between.
Episode 5 begins with the side of the accused and the side of the accuser preparing to begin the Trial of the Seven. Baelor gives them the slightly obvious “Be vigilant, don’t die” speech while Ser Duncan (Peter Claffey) and newly-knighted Ser Rayman Fossway (Shaun Thomas) vomit up some pre-joust nerves. Ser Humfrey Hardyng (Ross Anderson) has a nice laugh at this (“Green fuckin’ boys!”), and we are off to our starting positions.
Egg’s (Dexter Sol Anell) training he gave to Dunk’s warhorse the day before takes a minute to kick in, but eventually Dunk is squarely in the fight, and by that I mean taking a joust straight to the abdomen and a mace to the face by the hands of his accuser, Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett).
That blow knocks Dunk to the ground and also back into his past, where the episode spends the next 19 minutes. In this extended flashback, we see Dunk as a young boy (Bamber Todd) in Flea Bottom at King’s Landing with his friend Rafe (Chloe Lea). In the George R.R. Martin novellas, Rafe is a male character, as are the two referenced characters, Ferret and Pudding. None of these characters show up until the third book, The Mystery Knight, so this is an adaptive choice away from the books. But it does its job in helping us understand the place where Dunk came from and how he came to be in Ser Arlan of Pennytree’s (Danny Webb) service.
In Flea Bottom, Dunk and Rafe are nothing more than poor orphans, stealing valuable gold and materials from knights and nobles who died in the First Blackfyre Rebellion (196 AC). They are pawning these items to try to earn enough money to leave Flea Bottom for good and head for the Free Cities.
Dunk is somewhat reluctant to leave (“What if this is the best there is?”), but he really is holding onto a small glimmer of hope that his mother—presumed dead—will come back for him. And Dunk can’t be found if he isn’t in Flea Bottom. Rafe convinces him that the adventures that await them outside King’s Landing are far better than where they are, but the fare out of the city has gone up, and less-than-honorable members of the Kingsguard frequently show up to steal the coins in their purse.
When Rafe refuses and fights back, one of the guards slits her throat. Noticing what has happened, a drunk Ser Arlan bursts onto the scene, kills the two men responsible for Rafe’s death, and runs away. Dunk sleeps beside her body that night, but realizes the next morning he has no one left in his life and decides to spend his time following Ser Arlan around.
After days of following Arlan through the countryside and the forests, Dunk is hungry, sick, tired, and appears on the verge of giving up until Arlan approaches him and shouts, “Get up!”
That memory of how Ser Arlan saved Dunk and took him on his squire brings it all back to the Trial of Seven and inspires Dunk to get up off the ground and face Aerion one-on-one. Over the next several minutes, the two duel in an immensely bloody and gruesome match before Aerion eventually gains the upper hand, and Dunk collapses under the weight of his many injuries.
Egg’s many echoes of Ser Arlan (“Get up, ser! Get up!”) help lift Dunk back to his feet just as Aerion is about to declare victory over the accused. Dunk attacks with what little strength he has left, landing on top of Aerion and violently beating him until Aerion whispers that he will yield. Dunk forces Aerion to announce to the crowd that he withdraws the accusation, and the accused are declared the victors.
As Raymun and Steely Pate (Youssef Kerkour) attend to Dunk’s wounds, Baelor arrives to offer advice in the treatment plan and ask Raymun for assistance in removing his helmet. The headgear appears stuck, it would seem, after Baelor’s brother, Maekar, gave him a blow to the back of his head with his mace.
After they finally get the helmet removed, the extent of Baelor’s wound is revealed. The back of his head has been smashed in, and he is only able to stand for a few more seconds before he collapses into Dunk’s arms and dies.
The Crown Prince, the Hand of the King, and the Heir to the Iron Throne is gone, which will have long-term and powerful ripple effects across the kingdom. Baelor’s death means his line is no longer in succession to the throne, and that right will pass to the next-oldest male son of King Daeron II. That change in lineage will eventually lead to Prince Maekar taking the throne and his children (Aerion, Daeron III, Aemon, and Aegon V, or Egg) being in line behind him.
How this comes to pass and what happens in the decades between this Dunk and Egg story and the beginning of the Game of Thrones is best saved for a later date, but suffice it to say that Prince Baelor’s chivalrous act and self-sacrifice have just changed the course of Westorosi history, and charted a path that will lead directly to the vicious Game of Thrones we are all too familiar with.
