As a woman who got used to seeing violence and gratuitous nudity on screen for Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, the opening scenes of this episode were eye-opening, to say the least. I became dismayed with seeing that, so I looked away. The season premiere saw Dunk having a bowel movement. In the second episode, we saw full frontal male nudity. I shudder to think what the third episode’s opening scene will be!
While I point out that the opening scene could cheekily be linked to Ser Arlan, “Hard Salt Beef” really refers to the type of food and class people belong to – and if you’re eating hard salt beef, it means that you are not royalty nor are you born into a great house. You are a peasant, a knight, or something in between. You don’t get the fancy food; you take what you can get and understand that, as a lowly knight, your life is about survival and making the right connections.
Ah, the introduction of House Targaryen is welcomed. Baelor is the Hand of the King, serving his old father, King Daeron II. Baelor is articulate, smart, and pragmatic. He is the heir to the Iron Throne. Then there’s Maekar: old, angry, disillusioned, and curt. I suppose if you were widowed, one son has a sense of major entitlement, and the other two are missing, you’d be ornery too. Aerion is already a jerk, with major attitude and a really condescending way of speaking to people. Dunk finds this out while standing near the stables. We all know Aerion is going to be big trouble in the worst way possible.
Seeing as how many knights are there for the tournament, let’s discuss exactly what takes place. In what looks like the first elimination round to discern who stays and who goes (either to the Maester for healing or in the ground, six feet under) – knights in fancy armor sitting atop horses joust each other – the rows are carefully fenced off, and you see two knights square off in each of these sections. Not to mention that this premier event is held at night. That hampers your vision and forces you to really pay attention. It’s violent, it’s scary, and you get that visceral point of view when lances strike, shields splinter, and men are reared off their horses. It doesn’t end well for many of the men, but this is a medieval society, and part of the tourneys is to see who’s strong and who’s weak.
While Dunk and Egg are watching the tourney, we see Egg become uncomfortable, as he is sitting on top of Dunk’s shoulders. He is in clear view of House Targaryen. This sends off a vibe – and once Egg is down on the ground, he takes off, with the intent of looking after the horses. Did we all get the hint at Egg being really scared – especially since he was in direct sight of House Targaryen? And that bit about how he likes to fish? Little Egg also has quite the vocabulary, especially when it comes to cussing. Egg knows a lot more than we think, and I’m sure there will be more hints as the episodes progress. As for our hero, Dunk watched these highborn lords fight, crash, get injured, and see the expensive armor. And any knight entering a tournament needs to have good-quality armor. If you have cheap armor, you are risking your life. We all know that Dunk cannot afford expensive armor. It’s got to be sad and frustrating because he’s just trying to understand the social norms and trying to make the right connections so he can stay, joust and advance (and hopefully without any grievous injuries).
You must feel sorry for Dunk. He’s trying his best to adapt to a world without Ser Arlan, and when we see him introducing himself to a few of the lords of great houses, only to be rejected or ignored by these men, you sense his growing disquiet and frustration. His sheer disappointment in not being able to get high-quality armor only adds to his sense of anxiety. Lastly, having to encounter and choose your words carefully in front of that ingrate Maekar must have been emotionally taxing. It’s like he just can’t catch a break.
Two highlights of the episode are when Dunk watched the puppet show, but we all know that it’s the puppet storyteller who has him enchanted. Who could blame him? Tanselle is lovely. Then there is the lighthearted tug-of-war game where Lyonel implores Dunk to help him. I guess that when you have all those men at an encampment, where you must pass the time between jousts and seeing who’d signed up, a little bit of fun is nice to see.
Yet, we know that Dunk isn’t going to experience a moment’s peace. We know that Aerion Targaryen will show his true nature, and with it, Dunk is about to find out what it means to face off against an enemy. Next week, we will see something at the tourney go towards Dunk’s favor.
