Now, left together with his former grasp’s issues, Dunk should determine what to do subsequent. The reply, after all, appears apparent: Develop into the knight he’s all the time needed to be, even when what which means on this nook of Westeros is extra akin to a wandering minstrel than a Kingsguard captain. (One other character describes the idea of a hedge knight as “like a knight, however sadder,” which looks like a fairly truthful evaluation when Dunk’s busy utilizing a little bit of rope rather than a scabbard.)
Like Dunk himself, there’s one thing gratifyingly primary and low-stakes about this premiere, which usually follows our hero as he clumsily tries to enter the lists of a jousting match at Ashford Meadow within the Attain. However simply because he claims to be a knight now doesn’t imply he is aware of how issues work and he spends plenty of time asking random folks for instructions, recommendation, or assist with getting his title on listing to take part within the occasion. Alongside the way in which, he additionally meets a wierd younger boy (Dexter Sol Ansell) with a bald head and a weird behavior of by no means answering a query immediately. Even for individuals who don’t know the lore behind George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg tales, it’s clear that this child is greater than he appears, an intriguing mixture of preternaturally good and unusually ethereal.
Egg isn’t the one attention-grabbing weirdo Dunk comes throughout as a part of this journey. There’s Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas), squire to (and seemingly a a lot better particular person than) his extra jerkish cousin Ser Steffon Fossway (Edward Ashley). Manfred Dondarrion (Daniel Monks) is the son of the person that Dunk’s good Ser Arlan as soon as served, who appears disinclined to honor the bonds of sacrifice. And, after all, there’s Ser Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings), a knight referred to as the Laughing Storm, who will sooner or later develop into Lord of Storm’s Finish. Lyonel is, admittedly, sort of excessive, internet hosting a pre-tournament occasion sporting big antlers on his head, ingesting to some vital extra, and dancing in a method that offers wannabe bullfighter greater than grace. He additionally clearly takes fairly a shine to Dunk, charmed by his honesty, forthrightness, and apparently countless love of meals.
Lyonel’s curiosity in Dunk most likely shouldn’t be as stunning because it initially feels. In any case, it’s just about instantly obvious that Ser Duncan just isn’t like anybody else we’ve come throughout in Westeros earlier than. Large, candy, and greater than a little bit dumb (complimentary), Dunk isn’t a schemer or a hero of future, or perhaps a significantly good knight. What he is, nevertheless, is unfailingly type, usually well mannered, and so unabashedly good it sometimes seems like he stumbled in from another fictional universe completely. The world of Westeros, in any case, is finest recognized for its morally grey characters and grasp manipulators, not its good guys, and positively not the sort of one who takes an untested younger child on as his squire simply because he’s fairly positive that child just isn’t getting sufficient to eat.
“The Seven above gave you tallness, so be tall,” Ser Lyonel tells him in what feels unusually just like the present’s mission assertion. Ser Duncan is tall, however greater than that, he’s true. Primarily a golden retriever given human kind, Dunk is type, honorable, and virtually fully with out guile. Unfamiliar with the technical ins and outs of issues like knighthood and tournaments, he’s extra involved with discovering sufficient coin and meals (this boy has a gap in his leg, as my grandmother would say) to outlive. The very best recommendation anybody can or possible will give him is to easily keep true to who he’s, which is one thing so very completely different from virtually everybody else we’ve met on this universe up to now.
If Thrones and Home of the Dragon have taught us something, it’s that good guys end final. However A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms dares to ask what if the hero of this story is definitely a man who talks to his horses, helps feed children who’re hungry, respects ladies, and simply needs to dwell a lifetime of honor? A man who lives to make the world a greater place as an alternative of getting reduce down in his prime? It’s possibly the franchise’s wildest plot twist but.
