A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 ending explained: what happens to Dunk and Egg, will there be a season 2, and more | Daily Reports Online
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 6 is out now and, with its arrival, the show’s debut season has come to a close.
Six weeks after the increasingly popular show premiered, fans — including you, I bet — have fallen in love with its underdog pairing of Dunk and Egg. So, HBO would be silly to call time on their Westerosi adventures, right?
What happens to Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 6?
Wracked by guilt over Baelor Targaryen’s death, Dunk declines Lyonel’s offer to join him at Storm’s End. He further infuriates Lyonel by suggesting House Baratheon’s commander-in-chief should show some respect for Baelor’s untimely demise after Lyonel claims the only good Targaryen is a dead one.
Anyway, deeply ashamed of his part in Baelor’s death, Dunk arrives late to the Iron Throne heir’s funeral. There, he exchanges words with Baelor’s first-born son, Valarr, who asks why the Gods let Dunk live instead of Baelor — something Dunk vehemently agrees with.
On the way back to camp, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ titular character runs into one of his new besties, Raymun. Consoling Dunk with some kind words and a long hug, Raymun reveals he’s not only hooked up with local sex worker Rowan, but that she’s now pregnant and the pair plan to marry. As a surprised Dunk tries to process the news, two Targaryen soldiers interrupt them, demanding that Dunk accompany them to meet with Prince Maekar.
After telling Dunk that he’s sending Aerion to the Free Cities in the hope that the excursion will “change him for the better”, Maekar and Dunk’s chat soon becomes a terse one as they discuss their respective roles in Baelor’s death.
But playing the blame game isn’t the reason Maekar has summoned Dunk; in fact, he wants Egg to become Dunk’s official squire. The conditions? The duo takes up residence at Summerhall, Dunk swears fealty to House Targaryen, and he teaches Egg how to squire. Maekar’s master-at-arms will also train Dunk to become an actual knight.
To Maekar and the eavesdropping Egg’s surprise, though, Dunk declines the invitation and departs.
What does Egg do in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ sixth episode?
As Dunk limps away, he crosses paths with Egg. Sitting his young protégé down, Dunk tells Egg he can’t teach him how to squire, presumably because of the bad luck he brings. This makes a disappointed Egg leave.
Upset over Dunk’s decision and quietly seething over Aerion’s decision to request the Trial of Seven that killed Baelor, Egg grabs a fish knife and heads to his older brother’s chamber. There, he plans to murder Aerion, who’s bed-bound and recovering from his injuries received in the aforementioned battle.
Before Egg can commit the act, though, he’s spooked by his father, Maekar, who’s watching over his middle child. Getting up from his chair, Maekar walks over to Egg and silently comforts him: a move that leads Egg to drop the knife.
As the pair stand quietly, they’re interrupted by a guard, who informs Maekar that Dunk requests another audience with him.
How does A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ season 1 finale end?
Meeting Maekar once more, Dunk informs him he’s had a change of heart. The reasons? A memory of Dunk’s deceased mentor, Ser Arlan, telling him “a knight always finishes his story”, and a pivotal conversation with Prince Daeron, Aerion and Egg’s alcoholic older brother, who claims Egg won’t grow up to be a righteous man if his family continues to sink their claws into him.
Dunk reveals he’ll only take on Egg if Maekar agrees to one condition, though. Rather than the pair relocating to Summerhall, Dunk wants Egg to travel the world with him as Dunk did with Ser Arlan.
Unsurprisingly, Maekar rejects the proposal. Lamenting that Egg is “my last son” — a comment that suggests Maekar is well aware of how he’s failed Daeron and Aerion as a father — Maekar leaves.
Dunk returns to his camp outside Ashford Meadow and packs up to leave it for good. Before he does, he gifts Ser Arlan’s white horse, Sweetfoot, to Raymun, who had returned her to Dunk after he’d sold the horse to raise funds for his tournament armor in episode 2.
After the duo part ways, Dunk nails a penny to the tree he’s rested under since he arrived to compete in the tourney. It’s a small but significant gesture, too, as it harks back to the Ser Arlan memory I touched upon earlier, in which Dunk’s mentor tells him the reason behind the ‘Pennytree’ title that hedge knights give themselves.
Dunk prepares to depart with his remaining horses, Thunder and Chestnut, but Egg suddenly appears and tells Dunk that Maekar has permitted him to accompany Dunk. Hooray!
As the duo set off for pastures new, they debate where to go first. The conversation leads to Egg amusingly educating Dunk on the fact that there are nine kingdoms, not seven (remember this for later). The last we see of Dunk and Egg is them riding past a golden wheatfield, with the poignant memory of Ser Arlan temporarily accompanying them on Sweetfoot before he does a 90-degree turn and symbolically heads off in a different direction. You know, because Dunk no longer needs him. I’m not teary-eyed, you are!
Does A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 end differently from The Hedge Knight?
In a way, yes. AKotSK‘s first season has been a near-flawless adaptation of the story depicted in The Hedge Knight, aka the first entry in the ‘Tales of Dunk and Egg’ novella trilogy. However, ‘The Morrow’ does make a subtle, but important, change to The Hedge Knight‘s tale before it ends.
In the source material, Maekar actually agrees with Dunk that Egg needs to experience the outside world, and consents to Egg roaming across Westeros and beyond as Dunk’s squire. That’s different from what happens in ‘The Morrow’, which, as I’ve already discussed, sees Maekar refuse to let Egg travel with Dunk.
Initially, it seems that Maekar has had a change of heart when Egg shows up at Dunk’s camp. In that sense, AKotSK does seem to end the same way The Hedge Knight does.
However, episode 6’s final scene reveals the truth, with Maekar discovering that Egg is missing from the Targaryen caravan that’s leaving Ashford Meadow. Clearly, Egg has not only run away from home but also lied to Dunk about his father letting him journey across the continent with Dunk. I’m sure that’s not going to come back and bite them in the ass at some point…
Does A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 6 have a mid-credits or post-credits scene?
Nope. Once this season’s final end credits sequence has run its course, there are no additional scenes to stick around for.
Has HBO announced A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 yet?
Considering AKotSK season 2 is slated to arrive sometime in 2027, principal photography would need to be underway now — or in the very near future — for it to be ready in time for release next year. Thankfully, while chatting to The A.V. Club, showrunner Ira Parker confirmed the cameras are already rolling, so we’ll definitely see season 2 in 2027.
Will A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 be called A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms?
Of all of this season’s big finale questions, this is the one I’m the least confident about answering.
Why? Because the title card that appears before episode 6’s end credits crawl — you know, the one bearing the words A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms (AKotNK) — can be interpreted in one of two ways.
The first and most obvious is that AKotSK season 2 will be called AKotNK. That could cause confusion among viewers, though, who might expect the show’s next installment to retain its original title, albeit with ‘season 2’ tagged on.
The other option is that A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms is just a humorous nod to the fact that Dunk didn’t know that the Thrones universe comprises nine kingdoms. AKotSK has been the funniest Thrones show by far, so this reference might be a way for Parker to get in one more joke before season 1 ended.
I’m sure one of the Hollywood trades will ask Parker about this in a post-season 1 finale interview, so maybe we’ll know the answer by the time this article goes live. If not, I guess it’ll continue to be an interesting talking point among viewers. Oh, and make writers like me refer to next season as both AKotSK season 2 and A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms until it’s eventually released. I can’t wait…
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And, of course, you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.
