Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
We all know that secrets have a way of coming out, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is no different.
It was clear from the start that Egg was hiding something about his identity, and it had something to do with the Targaryens.
Well, secrets are out on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 Episode 3, and the timing is perfectly handled, along with the reasoning for the secret to come out.
Egg has kept a lot of his story to himself on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1, but it’s clear that he isn’t the innkeeper’s son.
Not only did he tell Dunk that his mom was dead, but he was far too well spoken to be some sort of innkeeper’s stable boy.
The look he had when the Targaryens first turned up made it clear that it had something to do with this house. Yet, he didn’t seem too worried to continue being Dunk’s squire.
We do get to see him as just a boy during this episode, as he tries to figure out how to be Dunk’s squire and control the horse.
He’s in a world of make-believe at times, pretending to pass Dunk the sword and cheering his knight on, and it is the most adorable part of the whole episode.
We also get to see Dunk and Egg spend more time together, as Dunk teaches Egg more of what it means to be a knight.
Things take a bit of a turn when Aerion chooses the knight to face, leading to Aerion purposely stabbing the horse in the neck with his lance to take down the rider.
It’s not a fair fight at all, and it takes away the true meaning of these duels. It’s no wonder the people start to riot, but for Egg, it’s a look at what could happen to his knight should Dunk go up against Aerion — or someone as equally monstrous as him.
Then there’s the prophecy on A Knight of Seven Kingdoms, where Egg is told that he will be king, but one whom people will cheer when he’s killed in fire.
It’s a clear hint of who this boy will grow up to be, but we don’t get confirmation until the end of the episode.
When Dunk lashes out against Aerion to protect Tanselle, he’s naturally arrested by the Kingsguard. And yes, Aerion is ready to kill him.
Egg steps up in this moment. After all, he’s the one who arguably led to Dunk lashing out because he ran to Dunk to help Tanselle.
He likely feels some guilt about how it played out, and he uses this moment to step forward and get everyone to stop.
Aerion immediately recognizes him, and the look of shock on Dunk’s face as he learns that Egg is the youngest Targaryen prince is priceless. Dunk hadn’t even considered this.
In fact, it goes back to the simplicity of the series, because Dunk takes everyone at face value, and he doesn’t ask a lot of questions about them.
It’s not that he doesn’t care; he knows people have their own secrets. He has his own life that he wants to keep to himself, so he respects that other people do too.
Okay, there is a bit of Dunk being completely oblivious to a lot that goes on around him, but I also think he just respects people and their stories.
As we learn who Egg is — he’s going to grow up to become Aegon V. No, this isn’t the Aegon who becomes Daenerys’s father.
Aegon V does perish in a fire in the Game of Thrones story, trying to hatch eggs, because he wants to bring the dragons back.
We see his awe of the dragons at the puppet show, so it’s not surprising that he really wants to bring the real dragons back. This is just another hint.
The prophecy was true, though I will be honest: I don’t remember people cheering when he died. I feel like that was trying to hint that he would be Aegon VI, which doesn’t fit canon.
Either way, Egg’s reveal came at the perfect time, as he saves his knight, who has become a friend to him. He sacrificed his hope of a simple future for a friend’s life, showing us the type of man he will become.
Throughout all this, Ashford’s steward comes to see Dunk to help rig the draw so that Lord Ashford can win enough money after overspending on the tourney.
I don’t think this will be a big problem now that we’re likely to have a trial by combat, and it now does feel like a bit of a pointless plot point considering Egg’s reveal.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms airs on Sundays at 10/9c on HBO and HBO Max.
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