"I have seen you, Ser. And a fire. And a dead dragon. A great beast with wings so large they could cover this meadow. It had fallen on top of you. But you were alive, and the dragon was dead."
~ Prince Daeron Targaryen, 209 AC
Episode 5 of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms dealt us a crushing blow, quite literally, at the end of the brutal melee between Ser Duncan The Tall (Peter Claffey) and his six companions, and the cruel Prince Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett) and his chosen knights.
Prithee, my lords and ladies -- beware spoilers!
Last week, I titled my review of Episode 4 "In The Name Of The Father" so I was a little amused when the title of this week's episode ended up being "In The Name Of The Mother." Of course, these are both references to the oath spoken to knights as they are dubbed. I used that headline last week because of Baelor's grand entrance. Prince Baelor (Bertie Carvel) is a father, after all, and in many ways also a father to the realm itself and its people. A good prince who would have made a good king, had he not been slain by his own brother, Maekar (Sam Spruell) on the muddy field of Ashford Meadow.
The tragedy here is one with ripple effects Westeros will feel for generations. Had Baelor become king, the line of succession would have been forever changed. His son would have become king after him, and young Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) would likely never have sat the Iron Throne. His son, Aerys, becomes King Aerys II, also known as The Mad King, who executed Ned Stark's father and brother, and whose son, Rhaegar allegedly kidnapped Ned's sister, Lyanna, the twin events that precipitated Robert Baratheon's rebellion and the toppling of the Targaryen dynasty.
Had Baelor not fought for Dunk, the events of Game Of Thrones would have never happened. Aerys would never have been born, or Rhaegar, and so neither would Egg's great-grandson, Jon Snow.
Of course, before we get to Baelor's tragic death, this episode veers off into a long flashback, giving us a young Dunk and his childhood friend, Rafe (Chloe Lea), who we see picking over the bodies at a battle. Dunk is knocked down on the battlefield after an intense initial charge, and when the screen fades to black, it fades back to another battlefield, many years earlier.
This has become a deeply controversial addition to the story. The flashbacks throughout the series have been departures from the source material, and this one - wedged between the battle scene everyone has been waiting for - was 20 minutes long (not 25 as many people are claiming, but just shy of 20).
I understand why people are upset by this, why they wanted more of the fight, but I disagree, at least to an extent. The flashback, while not in George R.R. Martin's novellas, gives us part of Dunk's story that we've never explored. It makes sense for a TV show that's (hopefully) going to run for more than three seasons, the number of novellas Martin has actually written at this point, to go further into Dunk's backstory.
Rafe is murdered by a corrupt City Watch guard named Alester (Edward Davis) and Dunk would have been killed, too, had a drunken Ser Arlan not appeared to uphold his oath to protect the innocent. Ser Arlan, for all his flaws, shows his mettle here. We get a glimpse of how Dunk grew into the man he is now, so driven to uphold his own oaths.
The boy follows Ser Arlan, leaving King's Landing like he and Rafe had planned, and listens as he sings Dothraki songs and dances drunkenly by the fire. This suggests that the old knight spent time with the Dothraki; perhaps even got those three fine steeds from them. Curiouser and curiouser.
Finally, when Dunk collapses behind Ser Arlan on the trail, the old knight spots him (or at least acknowledges his existence) and goes over to the boy. "Get up!" he says.
And Dunk opens his eyes, back on the muddy battlefield, roused just in time to rejoin the fight. What follows is brutal, ugly and exhausting. As gritty as Game Of Thrones and House Of The Dragon are, the fights are often a bit glamorous, a bit Hollywood. Not so, here.
At one point, it looks very much as though Aerion has gotten the upper hand. Dunk is sprawled out, unblinking on the ground, apparently dead. Egg, echoing Ser Arlan's words, shouts “Get up! Get up, Ser! Get up!”
Dunk blinks and struggles to his feet, and though he is not nearly as well-trained as his opponent, he is much bigger and stronger, and he’s fighting for his life. Aerion yields, and the day is won for our Hedge Knight. He’s taken aside by Raymun (Shaun Thomas) and the armorer, Steely Pate (Youssef Kerkour). When Baelor shows up, Dunk kneels before him and swears his fealty. “I will have need of good men,” the prince replies. Then he staggers.
Something is wrong. He asks for help removing his helm, mentioning that his brother had struck him with his mace. When the helm is removed, the awful truth is revealed. Baelor’s skull is a bloody wreckage. Maekar must have swung very hard.
It’s a great battle scene and a tragic ending, but I will add my voice to those wishing it had been more. I understand why it was seen almost entirely through Dunk’s perspective, keeping the combat focused on his clash with Aerion, and leaving only scraps and glances at other combatants. We see Maekar fighting off both his brother and Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) and get a great moment with Raymun taking out his anger on his cousin, Steffon (Edward Ashley) but we do not see Baelor taking on the three knights of the Kingsguard. We do not see Ser Humfrey Beesbury (Danny Collins) or Ser Humfrey Hardyng (Ross Anderson) fight and die on the field. Or Ser Robyn Rhysling, the mad one-eyed knight in combat.
More of the fight would have been great to see. More of the tourney would have been great as well, earlier in the season. I think we needed an episode devoted to the jousting, fleshing out characters like the two Ser Humfreys, who we then would have cared more about come the battle.
Still, this was a brilliant episode. I rewatched all four previous episodes yesterday before watching this one, and liked them even more the second time around. The costumes are so extraordinary. The armor, the livery, the colorful cloaks and caparisons. I love everything about this show, from the gorgeous music to the extroardinary cinematography to the excellent casting. I don't even think the episodes are too short; though this one was; we needed one more to really get into the tourney.
It's a shame that this has become such a controversial episode; while I think everyone has a right to their opinion; I do think too much is being made of the flashback. It was a good flashback; only too long in the sense that battle scenes were too short. A brilliant episode all around with some of best Medieval combat put to film. Wanting more of a good thing is as much praise as it is criticism.
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Read my past reviews of A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms below:
- It's also interesting that Tanselle Too-Tall's (Tanzyn Crawford) puppet show was something of a prophecy. It was the inciting event for the battle that followed but also foretold the death of a dragon much like Daeron's dream. Such a tragedy.
- Egg despite not taking part in the combat really shines in every scene. What marvelous casting.
- It would have been nice to see Dunk fighting as a kid because his early Flea Bottom brawls certainly informed his later fighting style.
- I'll add more scattered thoughts if I have any.