A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Recap: The Incredible Egg

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In my review of the first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, I mentioned you don’t need to be familiar with the detailed backstory from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire to enjoy the show, and that’s still the case. However, because of a major reveal in this week’s episode, I wanted to offer some background information about Westeros to help provide context.

When Ser Duncan arrives at Ashford Meadow at the beginning of this story, the people of Westeros are weary of the Targaryen family. The events of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms take place more than 200 years after the Targaryens first came to power, and about 70 years after the brutal civil war shown in House of the Dragon. Robert Baratheon’s successful rebellion, which will finally end Targaryen rule, is still around 80 years in the future – about three generations away.

There’s a clear purpose behind the strong reactions in this week’s “The Squire.” The crowd’s anger – their booing and stone-throwing – after Prince Aerion deliberately injures his opponent’s horse, causing a serious accident, isn’t random. Similarly, the blunt comment from Raymun Fossoway about what a Targaryen should do, and the fortune teller’s grim prediction for Egg – a reign ending in fiery death and ultimately, relief at his passing – are all intentional choices that drive the story forward.

The character known as Egg is actually Aegon Targaryen, a prince! He’s the son of Maekar Targaryen, brother to King Daeron II Targaryen’s Hand, Baelor Targaryen. While he’s quite far down the line to the throne – the fourth son of the fourth son – a prediction suggests Egg may one day become king.

If you weren’t familiar with Martin’s ‘Dunk and Egg’ stories before watching the show, were you surprised to learn Egg’s true identity? I’ll admit, I figured out that the stories were about a young Aegon V Targaryen—disguised as a squire—even before reading ‘The Hedge Knight.’ The author never intended Egg’s identity to be a secret, so I hope those who discovered this through sources like the show’s Wikipedia page still enjoyed the story. Knowing the premise beforehand didn’t ruin ‘The Hedge Knight’ for me, and I hope it doesn’t for you either.

It’s worth noting that knowing about Egg beforehand definitely enhances the first part of this season. There’s a nice irony in how Ser Duncan, a commoner, unknowingly gives orders to a prince – but still treats him well, because Dunk is a genuinely good person. And in the episode “The Squire,” it’s unsettling to see Prince Aegon yell “Kill him!” during Aerion’s joust, essentially wanting his brother to be killed.

The major plot twist feels more impactful in this TV adaptation because the writers have spent time building Egg into a fully realized character. This episode especially shows us his depth – we see him as a complete person, whether he’s grumbling about his usual breakfast or dreaming of a peaceful future with Ser Duncan, perhaps settling on land owned by a kind lord and marrying his second-most beautiful daughter. (Ser Duncan, of course, would get the most beautiful one.)

The beginning of “The Squire” is full of charming scenes of Dunk and Egg simply enjoying each other’s company. We see Dunk making and cooking goose eggs to satisfy his hungry squire, and later patiently teaching him how to sew. There’s also a funny moment where Egg casually asks Dunk if it’s strange that he has black hair growing on his stones, to which Dunk replies, bewildered, “It’s odd you’re telling me.”

The episode begins with a beautiful scene of Egg waking up before dawn to prepare his master’s horse for an upcoming tournament. He speaks kindly to the horse, mentioning his father’s low opinion of their intelligence. The peaceful moment is interrupted by a one-eyed knight, and Egg immediately becomes excited when he recognizes Ser Robyn Rhysling, known throughout Westeros as a bit of a madman. When Ser Robyn dismisses the idea of knowing Ser Duncan, Egg confidently replies, “You will!” – a charming display of youthful confidence.

Dunk is in for a busy day. It starts with the Master of the Games approaching him with a shady deal: Lord Ashford’s youngest son is willing to throw his tournament match, allowing the Ashfords to win a lot of money through bets. (It’s a sign of how desperate some noble families have become.) Dunk, feeling proud, refuses the offer, though he doesn’t completely rule it out for the future.

Dunk is shocked to discover he’s not permitted to compete in the joust, as it’s reserved for knights of noble birth and great reputation. (“So that’s why I’ve been feeling sick all morning,” Dunk complains.) However, he’s even more surprised when Egg asks him to intervene and help Tanselle, a very tall puppeteer, who is being attacked by Aerion.

Tanselle’s amazing performance as a dragon slayer has been seen as an act of treason against the Targaryen family. Despite this, Ser Duncan punches Prince Aerion, knocking out a tooth. When the guards arrive to stop Dunk, Aerion is about to retaliate and break all of his teeth. However, Egg suddenly yells at Aerion to stop, addressing him as “brother.”

And just like that, it’s over! What a surprising finish – I bet it really caught some people off guard. What a shame it’s done, though.

We’ll have to see what all of this means for Duncan and Aegon next week. Things aren’t looking good for them, though. Let’s set aside those worries for now and enjoy a fun, and rather cheeky, episode. This one is particularly playful and lighthearted.

At one point, Egg sings a traditional pub song about the Targaryen family, cleverly changing any offensive language. It goes something like, “Horses died in battle / The battle was the front / Blackfyre wasn’t legitimate / He came from the wrong… country was in danger,” and so on. Later, while at the Baratheon tent, a song about a woman born without thumbs, but skilled at… pleasing men, leads Egg to muse poetically about the anonymous contributions she’s made to the kingdom.

Egg generally has a cheerful outlook on life, but things are different when it comes to his family. There’s a sweet moment this week where Egg, sitting with Ser Duncan on a hill, says he could be happy there. When Dunk points out he is in a pleasant place, Egg quickly clarifies he only meant for a little while, hinting at his complicated home life.

Prince Aegon suspects he won’t be a squire for much longer. Until he’s called back to King’s Landing or Dragonstone, though, he’s determined to enjoy every moment of it.

A Few Clouts in the Ear

The early scenes with Dunk and Egg use clever camera work. Ser Duncan is often shown taking up most of the left side of the screen, making him appear much larger than Prince Aegon, who appears smaller on the right – a visual way to show their different statures and positions.

As someone who figured out Egg is actually Prince Aegon, one of the best parts is noticing all the near misses! This episode had a perfect example – Raymun starts wondering if Prince Maekar went off to find his illegitimate children, and then proceeds to list all the flaws of each one. He mentions a drunk, a vain son, a maester… and then just stops mid-sentence! It was so clever, and now, knowing the truth, it’s even more satisfying to look back on those little moments.

Just so you know, Aerion is the arrogant one. We’ll find out more about the drunk next week. The maester isn’t really featured in the novellas – he’s only mentioned briefly.

As a huge fan of the Targaryen dynasty, I’ve always been curious about where Aegon V fits into the overall history of Westeros. We don’t need to get bogged down in every little detail – the books themselves don’t really focus on it. But when it comes to the timeline of the HBO series, it’s interesting to know that Aegon V is actually Daenerys Targaryen’s great-grandfather! He’s the ancestor of Jaehaerys II, who in turn fathers the infamous ‘Mad King’ Viserys – the very king Robert Baratheon and Jaime Lannister ultimately overthrow. So, for those of us following the show, Egg is a key figure in Daenerys’ lineage.

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2026-02-02 06:55