A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms may not have been what most Game of Thrones fans wanted, but has managed to grip the community after five episodes. Unfortunately, HBO has decided to make each episode 30-minutes, which feels rather short, especially given what’s been going on with Ser Duncan and Egg.
Spoilers for episode five of A Knight of the Seven KingdomsEpisode five, In the Name of the Mother, finally brought us to the Trial of the Seven, where Dunc and six others faced off against Aerion Targaryen’s six. The trial we’ve all been looking forward to finally kicks off, with Dunc immediately getting stabbed by Aerion’ lance, and then falls face-first into the mud after getting smacked in the head by his morningstar. Just as the tension peaks, the episode suddenly goes into a flashback.
KOTSK Lead Knew The Flashback Would Disappoint Some People
In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, co-creator and showrunner Ira Parker revealed that they decided “very early on” that the Trial of the Seven would begin with a flashback. The flashback showed Dunc’s early life in Fleabottom, meeting Ser Arlan of Pennytree, and eventually becoming his squire. It was a sudden jerk away from the action and chaos of the trial.
“I hate that I’ve had to do a flashback at this point when everybody just wants the battle, but we had to,” said Parker. “But I do think it stands on its own, and I do think it’s fun to see Dunk like that. I do think it adds a lot to the story, and it adds to the ending of episode 5 as well … But, yeah, it’s gonna displease some people.”
The flashback eventually ended with Ser Arlan telling a sick and tired young Dunc to “get up”, which was the main theme of the trial. He was beaten, battered, and stabbed multiple times, but Ser Arlan’s voice in his head and Egg’s voice from the stands urged the hedge knight to not give in.
- Release Date
-
January 18, 2026
- Network
-
HBO
- Showrunner
-
Ira Parker
- Directors
-
Owen Harris
- Writers
-
George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker
