To start, I’d like to thank HBO for bringing more Westeros content to our lives. Game of Thrones is one of my all-time favorite shows, and I quite enjoy House of the Dragon as well. Getting more content between those timelines feels like a beautiful way to tie them together, and I don’t know if you could have picked a more compelling character than Ser Duncan the Tall. But after the confrontation in the puppet theater, things are looking a little uncertain for our hero.
We open with Dunk (Peter Claffey) in the dungeon, and you gotta feel for the guy. He’s just trying to find his way in the world. He tries to take a kid whom he believes to be an orphan under his wing, the way Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb) did with him. Instead, he “kidnaps” a dragon princeling, Aegon (Dexter Sol Ansell), and becomes fodder for a pissy Prince Aerion (Finn Bennett). A knight standing up for honor becoming ego nourishment for a bad, little, rich boy who can’t actually defend himself. I swear, there’s something there, but I just can’t quite put my finger on it…
Egg comes to visit, and it’s clear he’s sorry, but Dunk can’t let him off too easily. You can buy to an extent 
that Egg might not have been certain how things would go, but as a wealthy noble, he had to have understood that if anything were to go wrong, it would not be him being punished. He’s clearly a smart kid, as he would be being educated as a noble child. So it’s clear he can’t be entirely let off the hook; he just wants to do something that matters and find belonging, and he really wants his brother to die. Based on what I’ve seen and now heard, full support. I really appreciate this show continuing to drive home the idea of madness within the Targaryens being a flip of a coin, but also that madness shows up in different ways. Aerion clearly has the strain of nasty, evil douchebag Targaryen. Daeron (Henry Ashton) has the pure madness of visions, but not meanness. And Egg is just Egg. Well, for now…
Dunk goes before the Targaryens to demand his trial by combat. Realistically, even if he’s not as trained as Aerion, it’s his best chance. He’s bigger, stronger, and possibly faster. I mean, we got to watch him absolutely kick his ass in the puppet tent, so I see decent odds in his favor. Until Aerion decides to manipulate the system because that’s what entitled, wealthy people do. He invokes a trial of seven. So instead of 1v1, it’s 7v7 in an all-out slugfest. Inherent problem for Duncan because bro does not even know seven people there.
He seeks out Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas) and starts figuring out what he can do. Raymun’s cousin Ser Steffon Fossoway (Edward Ashley) overhears and vows he will fight for the honor of the innocent harmed. And not only that, he’ll recruit some friends! Not to mention Daeron shows up to apologize. He panicked when asked and was quick to blame anyone but his little brother for running off. But his dreams are revealing things to him about Dunk…and he says his dreams always come true, so fingers crossed on this one…
Duncan needs some gear if he’s going to have any chance in this fight, so he goes to get his shield. Sadly, Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford) and the puppeteering family have fled back to their home in Dorne. Best to escape the wrath of the Dragon, but you have to feel for Dunk not to get to say goodbye. I truly do believe Aerion would have killed her to make a statement, and even if Dunk never sees her again, he saved her life. Protecting the innocent is what a knight is supposed to do, and now he has a beautiful shield to do it with.
It’s a shame some of them seem to have forgotten what honor means. Ser Robyn (William Houston) shows up despite having a broken leg, just to get some justice against Aerion. Love to see it. Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) shows up just for the drama of it, and you will never make me hate the Baratheons. I’m sorry. I know Robert (Mark Addy) sent assassins after Targaryen babies, and that’s really bad, but this family is just a whole vibe. Might die, might get murdered defending this dude who I don’t know, but I might take a Targaryen down with me, and then they’ll write songs of my drunken bravery…You just can’t make me hate them. But Ser Steffon, I’ll hate him forever for trading honor for a lordship. Again, this show is feeling very on the nose…
But it’s rally time, and Duncan has who he has, and it isn’t enough. The call to arms shook me to my core, because we know Dunk doesn’t have the words. The whole show opened with him saying he doesn’t know the right words and that’s who he is. But at his core, he believes in good and doing right by the people of this kingdom and standing true as a knight. And wouldn’t you believe who comes to stand with him…I suppose it’s not new seeing Targaryen against Targaryen, but if Prince Baelor (Bertie Carvel), heir to the Iron Throne, somehow manages to kill his own nephew, I’ll be fairly impressed.
I have to say, this show hooked me right away, and I just cannot wait to see what’s to come. One of my favorite aspects of Game of Thrones was the deep lore drops, and getting to see the myth become reality in front of us is a real treat. I’m a Westeros girlie for life, so as long as HBO keeps the content coming, I’ll be tuning in and humming the theme song in my sleep.
Next Sunday at 10:00 pm ET, the game is on! Fight or die! A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS only on HBO.
