A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms wrapped up its first season last night, and the episode finds Dunk more than a little worse for wear after he and his knights defeated Aerion Targaryen and his followers.
Still feeling guilty about Baelor Targaryen's death (the heir to the Iron Throne died after taking an accidental mace to the head from his own brother, Maekar), Dunk is shocked when Maekar asks that he serve under him and take his son, Egg, as his squire.
He's not interested at first—he's done with Princes—but reconsiders after being visited by the ghost of his mentor Ser Arlan of Pennytree. Deciding to get Egg away from his twisted Targaryen family, they leave as knight and squire, setting off on their own path after Dunk. Honouring Ser Arlan, they nail a penny to a tree before leaving.
The duo discuss potentially travelling to Dorne, while Maekar searches for Egg, suggesting we haven't seen the last of the Targaryens in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
After that scene, the words "A Knight of the Nine Kingdoms" are shown on screen, hinting at a title change for the HBO series heading into Season 2. In an interview with Variety (via SFFGazette.com), showrunner Ira Parker explained, "That’s maybe me getting a little too jokey. People may hate it or crucify me for that, but there’s a bit of a lighter touch to these shows. And I’m going to learn some things."
"People are going to have a reaction to it, and I’m going to have a reaction to it after not seeing it for a few months. Enough of the wonderful creatives that I worked with liked it, too. It came from an honest place. It’s all true. It’s nine kingdoms at that point. We want to make Westeros a fun place to hang out, even when terrible, terrible things are happening and everyone’s sad, just like real life."
Asked if Dunk and Egg do indeed head to Dorne in Season 2, Parker said, "They do go to Dorne. How much of that we cover, I’ll leave up to people to tune in for Season 2. I don’t know if I’m supposed to talk about it yet. For the most part, we’re following the books. So Season 1 was 'The Hedge Knight.' Season 2 is 'The Sworn Sword.' Hopefully, if we get to Season 3 it’ll be 'The Mystery Knight.'"
Confirming that Season 2 will also be six episodes, he revealed that each of them will clock in again between 30 and 60 minutes. The co-showrunner went on to explain that, despite the Maekar tease, the plan is to continue telling this story from Dunk's point of view.
That means the focus will remain on the show's leads rather than telling a side story from Maekar's perspective. Even so, it doesn't sound like we've necessarily seen the last of him.
"The one thing about this show, the nobles, the kings and queens are all terribly interesting," Parker pointed out. "So many times you want to go and write for them, but the truth is that’s not what this show is. There are a lot of shows, within this world and other worlds, that definitely cover that part. And we’re not that. We are bottom-up."
"For better or for worse, that is the storytelling lens that we have set up for this show," he added. "Whether or not somebody will come in and out of Dunk’s world again, I would say probably. Westeros is a — yeah. Yes. That’s all I’ll say. Yes."
A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros...a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg.
Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.
The cast of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is led by Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan "Dunk" the Tall and Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg. Season 1 is now streaming in its entirety on HBO Max.