Does A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Confirm A Major Fan-Theory? It's Complicated

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" season 1 finale. Steer clear or get a clout in the ear.

Thus far, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" has emerged from (relative) anonymity to become one of the best shows set in the "Game of Thrones" universe to date. Much of that is due to the work of actors Peter Claffey as our eponymous hedge knight and Dexter Sol Ansell as his loyal squire/secret Targaryen prince Egg. But the lion's share of credit has to go to co-creators Ira Parker and George R.R. Martin, the latter of whom wrote the three novellas that this spin-off is based on. Though a much more straightforward task compared to what "Game of Thrones" showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss faced with "A Song of Ice and Fire," adapting "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" posed a certain challenge that's been the subject of intense fan scrutiny and theories for years.

Of the many charming quirks to be found in Martin's "The Hedge Knight" novella, one in particular is hidden in plain sight. Readers are meant to treat it as a given that what Dunk claims about Ser Arlan of Pennytree (portrayed by Danny Webb in flashbacks in the series) is actually true: that he knighted Dunk on his deathbed. A closer look, however, raises some serious questions. If Dunk isn't actually the knight he purports to be, then his insistence on honor and duty and protecting the innocent comes tinged with irony. Should his defining trait be built on a lie, does that undercut all his good intentions?

After laying breadcrumbs throughout the season, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" finally seems to address this head-on ... right before leaving it as ambiguous as ever.

Dunk was onto something when he angrily asked the nobles of Westeros whether there were any true knights among themselves — he just might have been asking the wrong person. The idea of a major protagonist ultimately becoming an unreliable narrator is as reliable a "Martinism" as it gets. Both George R.R. Martin's "Dunk and Egg" novellas and "A Song of Ice and Fire" are filled with characters who say (or think) one thing while doing another entirely. At first blush, Dunk doesn't appear to fit into the same category of underhanded trickery. But the possibility of our (maybe) fraudulent hedge knight embodying honor better than any actual knights in Westeros makes plenty of sense in retrospect.

After all, the steadily-mounting evidence was becoming too much to ignore. For one thing, the premiere implies that there's some funny business afoot. While everyone was too distracted by the classic "Game of Thrones" musical cue subverted by that gross-out defecation scene, we may have missed one of the biggest tells of all. Remember, Dunk looks up at the tree while, uh, relieving himself and sees a robin in the branches. Later on, he tells the suspicious steward Plummer (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) that the only witness to his knighting was a robin in a tree. That's certainly one way to suggest that Dunk's story is full of you-know-what. Later on, prior to his Trial of Seven, he hesitates to knight his friend Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas) — perhaps because he never said the oath himself? Hmm.

The notion of our honorable and honest Ser Duncan the Tall lying about the most important thing of all is a classic "Game of Thrones" twist.

After several episodes playing coy, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" finally calls attention to the mystery of Dunk's knighthood. Halfway through the season 1 finale, titled "The Morrow," a thoroughly battered and traumatized Dunk turns down the opportunity to train Egg under the careful eye of the Targaryens. Upon breaking the news to his eavesdropping squire, our bald-headed princeling responds, "Maybe you're not the knight I thought you were." This cutting remark hits home and triggers a flashback that's nowhere to be found in George R.R. Martin's source material. In this added scene, Dunk remembers sitting with Ser Arlan at the same tree he was buried under and tearfully asking his master why he never knighted him. Dunk gets no response, leading him to believe that Ser Arlan has passed away right then and there ... and seemingly confirming this fan-theory in the process. However, moments later, he abruptly wakes up, allowing this mystery to linger just a little bit longer.

While this choice may drive certain fans up a wall, it's the ideal way to hang a lampshade on one of the biggest unanswered questions of all without stepping on Martin's toes (besides the one that a certain "Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" actor accidentally spoiled, that is). The author has stated that he intends to write more novellas in this series, and perhaps he may even address Dunk's knighthood somewhere down the line. Either way, the truth of whether or not Dunk is actually a knight isn't the point. What matters is how he lives up to this ideal through his actions.

The first season of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is now streaming on HBO Max.