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Episode 3 got me feeling like damn Game of Thrones really knows how to pull you back in just when you start getting comfy with the lighter tone, episode three of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms just went full on you and I did not see that ending coming at all even though I should have because this is Westeros and nobody gets to be happy for too long. The whole thing with Duncan stepping up to defend Tanselle at the puppet show and then Egg revealing himself as a Targaryen prince put both of them in serious danger, like I knew Egg was hiding something big but watching him get grabbed by the situation with his own brother Aerion was crazy because you could see the fear in his face when he realized there is no running away from this anymore. The way Aerion treated that whole situation like he owned everyone there and could do whatever he wanted was such classic Targaryen bullshit, killing that horse on purpose during the joust was messed up and you could feel how wrong that was for everyone watching it happen, you could feel the buildup to that final scene where Duncan throws down to protect Tanselle and Egg jumps in to stop his psycho brother from beating the crap out of both of them. What gets me is how much this changes everything for Duncan because now he is tied up with royalty and probably about to get his ass kicked by Targaryen guards or worse, thrown into some trial by combat situation that could end with him dead, the actors in this show continue to be really good and the chemistry between Duncan and Egg feels real like they actually care about each other which makes you worry about what is gonna happen next.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27497448/
- Platform: HBO MAX
This episode really starts off chill with Egg training Thunder the horse and getting it prepare for his first joust at the Ashford tourney, Egg is learning all the stuff a squire needs to know like bringing weapons and sewing patches on clothes which he is terrible at because he never had to do that kind of work before as a royal kid. The whole opening section with Egg talking to Thunder and trying to get the horse to listen to him was sweet, he mentions how his father told him horses are dumb and only understand pain but Egg thinks horses are smarter than that and deserve respect, which is another hint at how different he is from the rest of his family, specially his brothers who treat everyone and everything like garbage. Ser Robyn Rhysling shows up looking like some crazy one eyed knight asking if Egg stole the horse but Egg stands his ground, Robyn turns out to be this fighter who talks about himself in the third person saying he is a vessel for the warrior, its weird but also kind of badass how confident he is despite looking like a mess with no shoes and that eye patch. Duncan teaches Egg how to sew and compliments him when he does a good job which is a nice moment between them showing how Duncan sees Egg as more than just some random kid, Egg sings this funny song about the Blackfyre Rebellion which is full of dirty jokes but also tells the story of how Prince Baelor and Prince Maekar who is Eggs father defeated the rebels at the Battle of Redgrass Field, its another clue that Egg knows way too much about Targaryen history for a regular kid from Flea Bottom. The tournament starts and they watch Ser Humfrey Hardyng fight Ser Humfrey Beesbury in what everyone calls the Battle of the Humfreys, then Ser Andro Ashford fights some other knight with a chalice on his shield, Duncan is getting nervous about his own match because he still does not have his shield ready and he knows only knights of high birth can fight on the first day so he has to wait. Plummer the steward shows up trying to bribe Duncan into throwing his match against Ser Andro so Lord Ashford can make money off the bets, Duncan refuses because he does not want a victory he did not earn which shows he has way more honor than most of these other knights, its a good scene that sets up how Duncan is different from everyone else at this tourney, this shows how Duncan is a man of his word and honor for not accepting.
The joust between Prince Aerion and Ser Humfrey Hardyng is where everything goes to shit and the tone of the whole episode changes completely, Aerion shows up in this fancy armor with flames all over it and his shield has a three headed dragon in red orange and yellow, he looks like he is trying way too hard to make everyone scared of him because the Targaryens do not have dragons anymore so they rely on looking intimidating with their outfits. Before the match starts Aerion rides up to his cousin Valarr and says he will not embarrass him today which is already a dick move because it implies Valarr is weak compared to him, Prince Baelor is sitting in the stands looking worried because he knows Aerion is about to do something fucked up and sure enough he does. During the joust Aerion deliberately aims his lance at Ser Humfreys horse instead of Ser Humfrey himself and kills the animal by stabbing it through the neck, the horse goes down hard and Ser Humfrey gets thrown off and his leg gets completely shattered, you can hear it break and can imagine how bad it is when you fall fully suited armor and a horse falls on top of your leg, the crowd goes silent because they cannot believe what they just saw. Aerion did it on purpose to win the match in the most dishonorable way possible and also to send a message that he can do whatever he wants because he is a prince, someone in the crowd throws something at Aerions helmet maybe a rock or a piece of shit and it snaps his visor shut which is pretty funny but also dangerous because now the crowd is pissed off at the royal family. The whole scene is rough and the show does not hold back on showing the violence, you see the horse bleeding out and some guy has to come put it down with a weapon which is heartbreaking, Ser Humfrey is screaming in pain from his broken leg and his whole career as a knight is basically over now, Duncan and Egg both look horrified by what happened and Egg says it was not an accident Aerion went for the horse on purpose. Raymun Fossoway tells Duncan later that Aerion is a vicious fighter who only acts nice when his father Prince Maekar is watching but goes full psycho when no one important is around, he also goes on about how Targaryens are incestuous aliens who burned the kingdom and enslaved people and the only honorable thing they can do is finish on their wives tits which is harsh but also shows how much the regular people hate the royal family now that the dragons are gone. The whole conversation makes Duncan realize that this tourney is not about honor or chivalry at all, its just rich people playing games while the common people suffer and die for their entertainment.
Duncan and Egg end up at the puppet show tent where Tanselle is performing, she does a show about Serwyn and the dragon where the knight stabs the dragon in the neck just like how Aerion stabbed the horse earlier, its a callback that pisses off Aerion who is drunk and horseless after Lord Ashford made him give away his mount as punishment for killing Ser Humfreys horse. Aerion walks into the puppet tent after the show and starts attacking Tanselle, he grabs her and breaks her fingers one by one because he is mad about the puppet show making fun of him and dragons losing, its cruel and unnecessary and shows what kind of person Aerion really is, he does not care about hurting people specially women and commoners because he thinks his royal blood makes him untouchable. Duncan hears whats happening and rushes in to stop Aerion, he sees Tanselles father Tansyl dead on the ground and Aerion breaking her hand, Duncan goes into a rage and tackles Aerion to the ground kicking him in the face and loosening one of his teeth, Aerion tries to pull his sword but Duncan is faster and beats the shit out of him in front of his guards. Aerion asks why Duncan threw his life away for some girl who is not worth it but Duncan does not care, he did what he thought was right even though it means he just assaulted a prince which is basically a death sentence in Westeros, Aerion says the dragon never loses and threatens to break all of Duncans teeth for loosening one of his, the guards surround Duncan and it looks like they are about to kill him right there in the tent. Egg runs in and tells the guards to stop, he calls them by name and orders them to release Duncan, Aerion recognizes Eggs voice and asks what happened to his hair, Egg says I cut it off brother I did not want to look like you. Everyone freezes because they just realized Egg is Prince Aegon Targaryen the fourth son of Prince Maekar, the episode ends on that reveal with everyone looking shocked, its a great cliffhanger because now Duncan is in even more trouble for attacking a prince while being the squire to another prince, and Egg just blew his cover which means he has to go back to his shitty royal life.
This episode works so well because it builds up the friendship between Duncan and Egg while also showing how dangerous Westeros really is, the lighter tone from the first two episodes is completely gone by the end and you realize this is still Game of Thrones where bad things happen to good people all the time. The whole thing with Aerion killing the horse was shocking because the show spent time making you care about Thunder and how Egg was training him, so when Aerions horse dies it hits harder because you know how much losing an animal like that would hurt, Duncan loves horses as much as he loves people maybe even more so seeing one get killed for no reason other than Aerions ego was probably the breaking point for him. The stuff with the fortune teller earlier in the episode was creepy, she tells Duncan he will be rich and successful but she tells Egg he will be king and die in hot fire and worms will eat his ashes and everyone who knows him will be happy when he dies, its a dark prophecy for a little kid to hear and you can tell it freaks Egg out even though Duncan laughs it off as a joke. All the scenes with Raymun Fossoway talking about how much people hate the Targaryens were important because it shows the political situation in Westeros right now, the royal family is hanging on by a thread and if they keep doing stuff like killing horses and hurting commoners eventually there will be another rebellion, Raymuns line about them being incestuous aliens was funny but also true, without dragons the Targaryens are just weird looking foreigners who married their own siblings for generations and now expect everyone to bow down to them. I really liked the scenes with Egg talking about wanting to live a simple life with horses and cows, it shows he is not like the rest of his family, he does not want power or glory he just wants to be left alone to do his own thing, but the episode ends with him losing that dream because now everyone knows who he really is and he has to deal with the consequences of being a prince.
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