‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Ends With a Tease of Adventures to Come

Dunk bids a melancholy farewell to Ashford Meadow in ‘The Morrow.’ We’re still scarred from everything that happened in last week’s “In the Name of the Mother,” but after the horror of battle comes “The Morrow.” Dunk survived against the odds—and while the Targaryens and the realm suffered a huge loss, the Trial of Seven proved what we already knew: the hedge knight was always the most honorable guy on the field. But after all that excitement, what’s next? A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms wraps up its first season with farewells both affectionate and uneasy; depending on how close showrunner Ira Parker sticks to George R.R. Martin’s novellas, it’s likely most of these characters won’t be seen again. Episode six also points us down an intriguing new path for season two, slated to arrive next year. We open with Ser Lyonel Baratheon and a Maester gazing with some concern at a very despondent-looking Dunk, who’s sprawled at the foot of his tree. © Steffan Hill/HBO Lyonel flops beside him. “It’s been a wonderful tournament,” the Laughing Storm muses, clutching his aleskin. “Shame it’s all over.” While the Maester prods at his wounds, Dunk remains expressionless. But we can assume his feelings about the tournament are quite different. Lyonel continues. This is a guy who thrives on danger and debauchery and thinks staying home is boring as hell. He has a tipsy brain flash: maybe Dunk, with whom he remains endlessly fascinated, would like to come with him, be his buddy for hunting and hawking and making merry and whatnot? The Maester interrupts, just as Lyonel is asking Dunk if he’s ever been to Tarth. (A fun little shout-out to the very tall Game of Thrones character Dunk reminds us of the most!) “This man is dying,” the Maester intones, adding that he’s not sure he can save him. “An itchy asshole is beyond your abilities, my friend,” Lyonel replies. “Be gone, witch! Fuck off with you.” To Dunk, he says, “You’re fine. He’s a terrible Maester.” Then he doubles down on his offer. “Come with me to Storm’s End, and I will love you like a brother. If not, fuck you. I’ll hate you like a brother.” Dunk, who is feeling great guilt about everything that’s happened, politely declines, then gets salty when Lyonel dares to disparage the recently departed Baelor Targaryen. © Steffan Hill/HBO “Your prince fought for you against men who were sworn to protect him,” Lyonel snaps back. “He risked nothing. And the gods don’t favor a fraud.” “Then why have they favored me?” Dunk wonders. Before he hobbles off, Lyonel—who mentions “there’s a war coming”—asks Dunk again to consider his offer, telling him, “The caravan departs after the roast.” By “the roast,” the cheeky lord means Baelor’s funeral pyre, which A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms makes very clear by immediately cutting to the grim inferno. Amid all the blondes in attendance, the camera lingers on a very solemn Maekar, his feelings inscrutable. Is he glad? Is he guilty? Is he regretful? When it’s over, Dunk tentatively approaches Baelor’s son, Prince Valarr. We haven’t gotten to see much of Valarr this season, but it’s immediately clear he’s more thoughtful and sensitive than, say, our stabby friend Prince Aerion. Still, he’s not giving Dunk a pass. “He had it in him to be a great king,” the prince says of his father. “Why would the gods take him and leave you?” Dunk knows the feeling. He’s been thinking about that a lot and admits to Valarr, “I’ve wondered the same.” As Dunk is crutching away, we can see the mini-village that’s sprung up around Ashford Meadow is being dismantled. Ser Raymun Fossoway limps up behind him. As they talk, Dunk says that everyone blames him for Baelor’s death. © Steffan Hill/HBO “I don’t,” Raymun protests, and the friends share a hug. Then, Raymun explains that he and his cousin, the odious Ser Steffon, have parted ways. Dunk apologizes, but Raymun’s not bothered by it. “He’s just mad that he lost,” Raymun says, which is absolutely true, and proudly shows off his new personal sigil: a ripe apple, green instead of red. But not all the red is out of Raymun’s life; we see he’s now together with Rowan—the sassy lady of the night we first met hanging around the unhelpful Ser Manfred Dondarrion. We also see that she’s very pregnant, though whether Raymun is really thick enough to think it could be his kid is anyone’s guess. Dunk is figuring out how to react when two men ride up and inform him that Maekar Targaryen would like a word. That sounds ominous, but it really is just a chat he’s looking for. The prince tells Dunk he’s sending the troublesome Aerion to the Free Cities, hoping a change of scenery will change him for the better. (Fat chance.) Then he gets down to it. “Some men will say I meant to kill my brother. The gods know it is a lie, but I will hear the whispers until the day I die.” Dunk says that while Maekar did technically land the fatal blow, “it was for me Prince Baelor died.” Maekar allows there’s some common ground between them. “You will hear them whisper as well.” F