Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 finale!
All good things – even tourneys – must come to an end. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the latest spin-off in the Game of Thrones universe, wraps up its inaugural season with its trademark humor and heart. Season 1, Episode 6, “The Morrow,” chronicles the aftermath of the trial of seven, which saw Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall square off against Prince Aerion Targaryen in a bid to clear his name. Even though Dunk rose victorious (and with a few too many stab wounds), beloved Prince Baelor Targaryen died shortly after the trial, thereby bringing Prince Daeron Targaryen’s dragon dream to fruition.
The season finale cleverly incorporates the series’ thematic crux by giving Dunk agency and the strength to stand tall as his own person, extricating himself from the ghost of his former mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree. It’s also proof positive that shows don’t need nonstop action to create compelling TV, especially when they have strong source material like George R.R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight as a springboard.
The Aftermath of the Trial of Seven
Victory never tasted so bittersweet for poor Dunk. Sure, he overpowers Aerion and manages to keep his hand and foot, but he hobbles away from the trial of seven with numerous injuries and a dead dragon. Baelor dying in his arms really stays with our titular hedge knight. Ser Lyonel Baratheon’s maester examines Dunk’s wounds as he sits propped against an elm tree. The “witch,” as Lyonel hilariously calls him, claims Dunk is on his deathbed. After shooing the maester away, Lyonel offers Dunk a place at Storm’s End as his companion. Dunk politely declines the offer, insisting he’s poison to everyone he comes into contact with. Side note: the quick cut to Baelor’s funeral pyre after Lyonel mentions that his caravan will depart “after the roast” is laugh-out-loud funny. It’s the best line in the episode.
Later, Dunk watches Baelor’s funeral from afar before addressing his son, Prince Valarr Targaryen. Valarr wonders why the gods would take his father and spare Dunk. Dunk finds himself contemplating the same thing. Then, Dunk reunites with the newly christened Ser Raymun Fossoway, who founded the House Fossoway branch of Cider Hall, tied the knot, and may be expecting his first child. Our little green apple has certainly kept busy.
Prince Maekar Targaryen, who delivered the lethal blow to Baelor’s head during the trial of seven, calls Dunk into his quarters to chat about taking Prince Aegon “Egg” Targaryen on as a squire. Egg eavesdrops on their conversation as Dunk closes yet another door to his future. Aerion convalesces in the aftermath of the trial, and even though he’s bound for the Free Cities, Egg tries to stab him in his sleep. To be fair, he’s not called “Aerion the Monstrous” for nothing.
Dunk Struggles to Map Out His Future in the Wake of the Tourney
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood for Ser Duncan the Tall, but he’s unsure whether to choose one or forge a third road off the beaten path. On the one hand, there’s Lyonel’s generous offer. Who wouldn’t want to spend their days partying with The Laughing Storm in Westeros’ version of the PNW? On the other hand, though, Maekar’s offer is also quite appealing. Dunk can swear fealty to Maekar and train Egg as his squire at Summerhall, a Targaryen pleasure castle, while Maekar’s own man-at-arms will complete Dunk’s knightly training. Who wouldn’t want a place to call home with reliable meals, tuition-free education, and zero rent?
However, Dunk cannot ignore his gut. He would rather go his own way than continue to live under someone else’s thumb. It all ties into A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ theme of identity. Dunk is coming of age here just as much as Egg. Initially, he wants to push everyone away. He believes those closest to him either leave or die. He’s unlucky like that. Of course, the lengthy flashback scene to Dunk’s adolescence in Flea Bottom in episode five tells us so much about Dunk’s trauma and how it’s intrinsically linked to his view of himself.
A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms and His Squire
Ultimately, it’s Daeron, of all people, who persuades Dunk to squire Egg. Daeron admits that Aerion wasn’t always a horrible person. He reflects on whether what the maesters say is true – if the “seeds of madness” are sewn in the womb or if one is shaped by one’s environment and experiences. If it’s the latter, perhaps there’s still time to put Egg on the right path before he takes a hard left into Aerion Land. So much of the show focuses on Dunk’s relationship with Arlan and how the “old man” made Dunk the knight he is today. Dunk sees an opportunity to guide Egg so that he doesn’t become an Aerion or a Daeron.
After that, Dunk accepts Maekar’s offer but with a few stipulations. Dunk and Egg won’t stay at Summerhall. Instead, Dunk will take Egg on the road. Egg can train out in the real world as Dunk did with Arlan. Maekar objects to this, reminding Dunk that Egg is a prince. A Targ would never deign to slum it up with the plebs. However, Dunk refuses to compromise here. We never see Maekar accept or reject Dunk’s proposal; the prince merely remarks that Egg is his “last son.”
Before parting ways, Dunk gives Raymun Sweetfoot. Raymun plans to expand his cider business with his father. Egg reunites with Dunk. Apparently, Maekar is cool with them traveling Westeros together. As they leave Ashford, our dynamic duo discusses their next destination. They decide to go to Dorne before Egg remarks that he hears “they have good puppet shows.” It’s also here that Egg schools Dunk on the realm at large, declaring that there are nine kingdoms (the Crownlands, the Westerlands, the Stormlands, the Riverlands, the Iron Islands, the North, the Reach, the Vale of Arryn, and Dorne), not seven. As they ride away, the specter of Arlan trots off across a field, representing Dunk moving forward and healing from his grief.
Then, in a fun button, Maekar realizes Egg is missing as the Targaryen host departs Ashford. As it turns out, Maekar didn’t give Egg permission to leave with Dunk. It’s Home Alone but in Westeros, and Maekar is Catherine O’Hara (RIP).
How ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Ending Differs From the Book
Quite a bit of “The Morrow” isn’t in The Hedge Knight. In fact, after the trial, there are only a few pages left of the novella, and it’s narratively straightforward. Of course, as has been the case for this series, the actual dialogue is verbatim from page to screen. Lyonel’s offer isn’t in The Hedge Knight, but to be fair, his presence was expanded upon significantly in the show. He’s a minor character in the novella.
The scenes with Raymun in the Season 1 finale also aren’t in the source material, nor is the flashback to Arlan regaling Dunk with the origin story of the Pennytree in his home region of the Riverlands, and the scene with Daeron. Timeline-wise, the Targaryen host seemingly leaves before Dunk and Egg in the novella, whereas the show reverses this. Egg doesn’t try to kill a slumbering Aerion. That said, these additions elevate the source material and flesh out our nuanced characters.
The Real Meaning Behind ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’
Dunk struggles to step out of the long shadow cast by Arlan. Grief is a complicated beast. It often muddies the waters when it comes to hindsight. Upon arriving at Ashford, Dunk tirelessly endeavors to make someone remember Arlan. Audiences watch Dunk shower his late mentor with compliments, juxtaposed with flashbacks of Arlan acting the opposite of gallant. It speaks to how our perception of our loved ones can become clouded when they’re gone.
Additionally, Arlan wasn’t the nicest to Dunk. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms sees Dunk reckon with Arlan’s mistreatment of him while choosing to break the chains of “generational trauma,” as it were, when he takes on Egg to squire. As mentioned above, this series is a clever meditation on whether we’re born inherently good or bad, or if our experiences inform our moral compass. What truly makes a knight?
Despite the many threats to “clout” Egg in the ear, Dunk decides to treat his young squire with kindness. This grief over losing a messy parental figure like Arlan is compounded by Dunk’s belief that he doesn’t deserve companionship. After losing his parents, Rafe, Arlan, and Baelor, Dunk isolates himself. However, he finds purpose in shaping Egg as a human, reaching outside himself for something bigger to redirect his path.
When he chooses to be his own person, only then does Dunk shrug off the ghost of Arlan, who rides away from our hedge knight and squire in the end. Now, Dunk is no longer regarded as Ser Arlan of Pennytree’s squire. He is Ser Duncan the Tall – a man separate from Arlan, now a mentor himself to a prince. His journey is his alone.
- Release Date
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January 18, 2026
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Ira Parker
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Peter Claffey
Ser Duncan ‘Dunk’ the Tall
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