Egg’s awake keeping watch over a sleeping Dunk as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode three begins. He whinnies like a horse and then grabs Dunk’s sword, walking further into the forest with Dunk’s horse, Thunder. Egg’s taken it upon himself to train the horse for the upcoming joust.
(The following is a recap of season one, episode three, and there are spoilers.)
Egg’s father told him that horses are dumb, but Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) disagrees. He warns Thunder that they’re the only things standing between Dunk and a loss in the tourney. Egg screams for the horse to run but Thunder ignores him. But Egg’s persistent, and after a few more screams, he’s got the horse running up and down the field.
As Thunder practices, Egg also practices how he’ll hand Dunk his lance.
A man with an eye patch approaches Egg in the forest, believing he stole the horse. They exchange insults, and Egg finally realizes he’s talking to the maddest knight in the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Robyn Rhysling (William Houston). Robin lost his eye in a joust.
Egg returns to camp and Dunk (Peter Claffey) is awake and sewing a patch. Dunk promises salt beef for breakfast after he takes care of brushing Thunder. Dunk tries to be gruff with his little squire, but he doesn’t have a mean bone in him. He teaches Egg how to sew and then they work together on brushing Thunder.
Egg wonders if it’s odd that he’s got black hair growing on his “stones.” Dunk thinks it’s weird that he’s bringing it up.
Egg sings a song about the lords and knights of the seven kingdoms. Unfortunately, the song’s cut short when Dunk asks Egg to gather his armor. He’s determined to enter the list today, but Egg—who knows much more about knights than Dunk—lets the hedge knight know only knights of high birth and renown can enter the list on the first day of the tourney. Dunk is, obviously, neither.
Dunk embarrasses himself again when Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford) passes by and all he can do is ask her if she likes goose eggs. He and Egg return to camp to cook breakfast before taking spots in the front row of the tourney. They laugh and cheer on the competitors while imitating the way each other speaks.
A short while later, Egg reveals he could be happy in a place like this. But first he’d need to lead a great campaign for his lord, of course. His lord would honor him with a parcel of land and the hand of the second most beautiful daughter. “Second” because Dunk would have married the first.
Egg dreams of a simple life. Dunk gives him a hard time about arriving in camp in the back of a farmer’s wagon, and Egg refuses to talk about it. Dunk compliments him, calling him a good worker. Egg wants to stay as his squire and Dunk reminds him that if he loses, he won’t even be a real knight. But if he wins, Egg can stay on.
Plummer (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), the master of the games, has a private chat with Dunk away from the tourney. He’s got a special favor to ask: Lord Ashford has overspent on the pageant and hard times are coming. Plummer offers to have Lord Ashford’s son, Sir Androw, throw the match. The few who bet on Dunk would make a tidy sum, and that would help with the bills.
Dunk doesn’t want to cheat. But Plummer reminds him he’ll get Ashford’s armor, horse, and a payment if he wins. Plummer will need his answer tomorrow and reminds Dunk not to let his pride get to him.
The tourney’s about to begin and Maekar’s son, Prince Aerion ‘Brightflame’ Targaryen (Finn Bennett), is announced. The crowd cheers. Aerion selects Ser Humfrey Hardyng (Ross Anderson) as his opponent. They square off and Egg cheers, “Kill him! Kill him.” Nothing happens on the first pass, but on the second Aerion spears Ser Humfrey horse. The horse falls and crushes Ser Humfrey’s leg.
Prince Aerion smiles, but the crowd isn’t happy. They storm over the barricades to try and attack Aerion. The Kingsguard hold them off as Ser Humfrey’s horse is put out of his misery.
Egg tells Dunk it wasn’t a mishap as they head to a tent where Ser Lyonel ‘The Laughing Storm’ Baratheon (Daniel Ings) is singing a bawdy song about Alice with three fingers. Dunk and Egg decide there probably was an Alice who shoved her fingers up men’s bums. They have a philosophical discussion about Alice, which probably wasn’t her name, and about the point of her life. Egg decides it’s a song about honor. Dunk isn’t that deep, but he doesn’t disagree.
Dunk and Egg continue to bond, chatting about their fathers. Egg says he didn’t really know his father, and Dunk confesses his own father was probably hanged. He was told his father was a thief.
A seer stops them and asks to tell them their fortune. She tells Dunk he’ll have great success and be richer than a Lannister. She tells Egg he’ll be king and die in a hot fire. “And all who know you shall rejoice in your dying,” she adds.
Dunk laughs, but Egg is stunned.
Ser Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas) invites them to his tent for cider, and Egg suggests that he’ll head to the puppet show and get Dunk’s shield instead. Dunk wonders if he and Ser Androw would be considered well matched. Talk turns to Aerion’s joust with Ser Humfrey, and Raymun is certain Egg was right. Aerion killed the horse on purpose. Raymun hates the Targaryens, calling them incestuous aliens. They’re all mad and the best thing they can do for the realm is not procreate.
Egg watches the play and seems thrilled that it’s about a dragon. But trouble arrives when Aerion enters the tent, just as the dragon is slain on stage. The crowd falls silent, all eyes on Prince Aerion.
Raymun and Dunk continue to have a good time, and Raymun reveals that Prince Maekar Targaryen has left to find his two missing sons. Rumors have it they’re dead, but Raymun thinks Daeron is just somewhere drunk. As Raymun describes the sons as useless, Egg rushes in calling for Dunk’s help.
Prince Aerion claims the slaying of the dragon was a personal attack on him, and he and the Kingsguard trash the stage. Aerion breaks Tanselle’s fingers and Dunk reacts immediately, punching Aerion in the face and then kicking him in the head when Aerion’s men hold him.
Dunk attacked without thinking, and Aerion asks why he would throw his life away for a whore. The dragon is never supposed to lose, which means Tanselle is a traitor.
Because Dunk loosened his tooth, Aerion orders all of Dunk’s teeth to be broken out. Dunk’s seconds away from having the punishment administered when Egg calls out for them to stop. Dunk is worried they’ll hurt his young squire and tells Egg to be quiet. But Egg orders the guards holding Dunk to let him go, commanding them by name.
Prince Aerion glares at Egg and wonders why he’s bald. Egg replies, “I cut it off, brother. I didn’t want to look like you.”
Egg is the youngest of Maekar’s sons, Aegon! (The exclamation point is for anyone who’s shocked by the news and hasn’t read George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas.)
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