A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Created by: Ira Parker, George R. R. Martin
Based on: Tales of Dunk and Egg by George R. R. Martin (Season 1 adapts the first novella, “The Hedge Knight”)
Cast and characters: Peter Claffey (Ser Duncan the Tall / “Dunk”), Dexter Sol Ansell (Prince Aegon Targaryen / “Egg”), Daniel Ings (Ser Lyonel Baratheon), Shaun Thomas (Raymun Fossoway), Tanzyn Crawford (Tanselle), Danny Webb (Ser Arlan of Pennytree), Henry Ashton (Prince Daeron “The Drunken” Targaryen), Daniel Monks (Ser Manfred Dondarrion)
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg) is a prequel that serves as a bridge between House of the Dragon and the original Game of Thrones series.
The series is set during an era of relative peace under Targaryen rule, following the death of the last dragons but decades before the fall of the dynasty. It follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg, a young Targaryen prince (Aegon V) who is the brother of Maester Aemon (from Game of Thrones) and the great-great-grandfather of Daenerys Targaryen.
* * *
Season 1 – Episode 4
Episode title: Seven
Original release date: February 6, 2026 (HBO)
Episode plot: Egg visits Dunk in his cell. He tells Dunk his real name, Aegon Targaryen, and explains that he lied so he could become a squire after his brother Daeron refused to participate in the tournament. Baelor informs Dunk that Daeron has accused him of kidnapping Egg. Dunk is judged for his actions and requests a trial by combat, but Aerion demands a trial by seven. Baelor clarifies that Dunk must find six knights to fight beside him in a seven-versus-seven joust at dawn. Steffon agrees to fight for Dunk, and Egg notifies him that Daeron, Maekar, and three Kingsguard will fight for Aerion. Daeron apologizes to Dunk and promises to intentionally fall from his horse. He privately tells Dunk about a prophetic dream where he saw Dunk with a dead dragon. Steely Pate informs Dunk that Tanselle has fled Ashford before giving him his shield and armor. As dawn breaks, Egg brings Lyonel, Robyn, Hardyng, and Ser Humfrey Beesbury to fight for Dunk, but Steffon swaps sides after revealing that Aerion promised him a lordship. Lyonel knights Raymun to replace Steffon. Still one knight short, Dunk appeals to the crowd until Baelor rides out to join him.
* * *
Transcript
Note for Students & Writers: This transcript is archived here for educational purposes, critical analysis, and screenwriting study. All rights belong to the original creators.
[rain pattering]
[rat squeaking]
[door unlocking, opening]
[thunder rumbling]
[Egg] Leave the food and go.
[door closes]
[Egg] My uncle says I must beg your forgiveness for deceiving you.
[Dunk] Your uncle?
[Egg] Prince Baelor.
[Dunk] The heir to the Iron Throne.
[Egg] I never meant to lie.
[Dunk] Yeah, but you did. About everything, starting with your name. I’ve not heard of a Prince Egg.
[Egg] Short for Aegon.
[Dunk] Of course. After the Conqueror? How many Aegons have been king?
[Egg] Four. Four Aegons.
[Dunk] So why’d you do it? Was it some jape? Make a fool of the stupid hedge knight?
[Egg] No. I was supposed to squire for Daeron. He’s my older brother. He’s a shit knight, and a drunk. And he didn’t want to enter the lists. He only meant for us to hide in that inn until the tourney was over.
[Dunk] You shaved your head.
[Egg] It was Daeron who shaved it.
[Dunk] Was it Daeron that told me you were a stable boy?
[Egg] I didn’t–
[Dunk] What?
[Egg] I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong.
[Dunk] Of course, you did! That’s why you lied. Dry your eyes.
[Egg] I was just so disappointed when I couldn’t go to the tourney–
[Dunk] Oh, we can’t have the little prince being disappointed now, can we?
[Egg] I just wanted to be somebody’s squire, ser.
[Dunk] You’d have served a donkey, were it squire-less.
[Egg] I’m sorry, ser. Truly am.
[Dunk] It’s just a bit of bad luck we found each other, isn’t it? What will they do with me, Egg?
[Egg] My uncle wants to see you after you’re done eating.
[Dunk] I’m done now, then. I’ve already kicked one prince in the mouth. Don’t mean to keep another one waiting.
[banging]
[thunder rumbling]
[door closes]
[Baelor] Rise. Pour Ser Duncan a cup, Aegon. Try not to spill it on him.
[Dunk] The boy won’t spill, Your Grace.
[liquid pouring]
[Dunk] He’s a good boy. Good squire. And he meant no harm. I know that now.
[Baelor] One need not intend harm to do it. Aegon should have come to me when he saw what his brother was doing to those puppeteers.
[Egg] There was no time, Uncle, I–
[Baelor] Instead, he ran to you, Ser Duncan. That was no kindness.
[Egg] I wish Ser Duncan had killed him.
[Baelor] Aerion is your brother. And the septons say we must love our brothers. Aegon, leave us now.
[Egg] As you will, Your Grace.
[Baelor] How good a knight are you? How skilled at arms?
[Dunk] Sir Arlan taught me sword and shield and how to tilt at rings.
[Baelor] My brother Maekar returned to the castle a few hours ago. He found his son Daeron drunk in an inn a day’s ride to the south.
[Dunk] I know it.
[Baelor] He told my brother that a huge robber knight made off with Aegon. I fear you have been cast as this robber knight, ser.
[Dunk] He’s lying. I left that inn four nights past. Prince Daeron did not pursue his brother’s captor.
[Baelor] Seemingly not.
[thunder rumbling]
[liquid pouring]
[Dunk] What of the girl?
[Baelor] By the time Aerion is done twisting the tale, it will be high treason.
[Dunk] Treason? By puppetry?
[Baelor] The dragon is the sigil of the Royal House. To portray one being slain…
[Dunk] It was surely innocent.
[Baelor] Perhaps, but far from wise, even in peacetime. Aerion calls it a veiled attack on House Targaryen, an incitement to revolt.
[Dunk] Do you believe that, Your Grace?
[Baelor] One truth is beyond dispute. You laid hands upon the Blood of the Dragon.
[Dunk] The girl’s finger was snapped in half!
[Baelor] No matter the cause, it is never wise to strike a king’s grandson.
[Dunk] Would you not have done the same?
[Baelor] I might have. But I’m a prince of the realm, not a hedge knight.
[Dunk] Don’t all knights make the same oath? To protect the innocent?
[thunder rumbling]
[Baelor] Aerion would like your head for what you did to him. He will not have it, but I cannot deny him a trial.
[Dunk sighs]
[Baelor] And with Daeron’s accusation that you kidnaped Egg, the court is unlikely to rule in your favor.
[Dunk] And when I’m found guilty?
[Baelor] The last time a man struck the royal blood, it was decreed he should lose the offending hand. And you kicked him too, did you not?
[Dunk] I did.
[Baelor] You have another choice. Whether it is a better one or a worse, I cannot say. And so, I ask you again, Ser Duncan the Tall, how good a knight are you, truly?
[♪ melancholy music playing]
[loud crunching]
[thud]
[loud crunching continues]
[Dunk] Um, t-trial by combat. That is my right.
[Aerion] I refuse.
[Maekar] You cannot refuse.
[Baelor] Any knight accused of a crime has the right to demand as such. Unless you withdraw your claim?
[Aerion] A trial of seven.
[thunder rumbling]
[Aerion] That is my right, I do believe.
[Maekar] What the fuck is a trial of seven?
[Baelor] It is another form of trial by combat. Ancient. Seldom invoked. It came across the Narrow Sea with the Andals and their seven gods.
[Maekar] Well, if it was the Andals…
[Dunk] I-I’m sorry, Your Grace. The old man was never much for praying. What-what is a trial of seven?
[Baelor] The Andals believed that if seven champions fought, the gods, being thus honored, would be more like to intervene and see the guilty party punished.
[Maekar] Are you cowering behind some 6,000-year-old Andal foolery because you’re afraid to face this hedge knight alone?
[Aerion] No.
[Maekar] Then why? Why not slay the rogue yourself?
[Aerion] Daeron has been wronged as well. Ser Duncan must pay for each one of his crimes against us. Or would we leave a matter of Targaryen honor in doubt?
[Maekar] Do not speak to me of honor, boy. This is fucking nonsense.
[Aerion] Is it? No.
[thud]
[nutshell clattering]
[Baelor] Aerion is within his rights. We have no choice. A trial of seven must be held at dawn.
[Dunk] What does that mean? That I must fight seven men?
[Aerion] Do not play the fool. It must be seven against seven.
[thud]
[Baelor] You must find six other knights to fight beside you.
[Dunk] But I have no one else!
[Aerion] If a cause is just, good men will fight for it. If not, it will be because you are guilty.
[thunder rumbling]
[thud]
[Maekar] Come here.
[thuds]
[grunting]
[Maekar] Idiot!
[Dunk] Can I go now?
[Baelor] Seek your champions, Ser Duncan.
[♪ uneasy music playing]
[thunder rumbling]
[horse whinnying]
[horse neighing]
[horses nickering]
[Dunk] Oh, lads. I’ve mucked it up this time. I think I’m gonna die tomorrow.
[Raymun Fossoway] Dunk! Is that you? You’re alive.
[chuckles]
[thunder rumbling]
[Dunk] Raymun, thank you for watching my–
[Raymun] Are you hungry?
[Dunk] No, not really.
[Raymun] Come on. Whoa! Were you talking to your horses?
[Dunk] Yeah.
That’s fucking mad.
[Raymun] Trial of seven. Duncan, that means battleaxes, morning-stars, and lances of war.
[Dunk] I know what it means.
I apologize. Seems cousin here has milk in his veins.
[Raymun] Oh, fuck off, I just meant–
This is knightly combat, Raymun. As you are no knight, your skin is not at risk.
[horse whinnying in distance]
[Steffon] [sighs] I saw what Aerion did to those puppeteers. All knights vow to protect the innocent. Even hedge knights, I assume. I’m for you.
[Dunk] Thank you, ser. Perhaps you shouldn’t.
[Raymun] It pains me to admit it, but Steffon’s a fine sword.
[Steffon] Why would that pain you?
[Dunk] I don’t doubt that. But the Dragon House will not look kindly on those who oppose them.
[Steffon] Dragon House? Where are their dragons, Ser Duncan? Us Fossoways, we were here long before these others come to our shores. And I’ll warrant we’ll be here long after they are gone. Who else fights with us?
[Dunk] I know no one else.
[Steffon] I’m sure we can find five more good men who wish singers to make them immortal. I do not know why tragedy so oft follows after honorable men. But when I find myself without the answers, the answer is always “more glory.” Lucky for you, I have some friends. Ser Lyonel, Lord Lannister, Ser Otho.
[Dunk] They won’t be happy at being woken.
[Steffon] Then they’ll fight like pestered badgers. You shan’t die under my watch, ser. I promise you that.
[horse whinnying]
[Dunk] Raymun, do you think your cousin can bring the men he speaks of?
[Raymun] I don’t know. You may be wise to run.
[Dunk] Won’t they kill me if I run?
[Raymun] Won’t they kill you anyway?
[Dunk] Maybe the gods figure this is what I deserve.
[Raymun] For doing what you were supposed to do?
[Dunk] For not knowing my place.
[footsteps approaching]
[Egg] Ser.
[Dunk] Egg! What are you doing?
[Egg] I’m your squire, ser. You’ll need someone to arm you.
[Dunk] Does your father know you’ve left the castle?
[Daeron] I hope not. I don’t think I could bear another foot whipping tonight.
[Dunk] You!
[Raymun] No! No, Duncan, no!
[Egg] Stop! Please!
[Dunk] Are you mad coming here? I should drive this through your neck.
[Daeron] I’d sooner you pour me a cup of wine.
[Dunk] Fuck your wine. You lied about me.
[Daeron] Well, I had to say something when my father demanded to know where Egg had gotten to.
[Egg] Please, don’t hurt him.
[Daeron coughing]
[Dunk] He can’t kill me twice.
[Egg] My father’s going to join the seven accusers, ser.
[Dunk] Yeah, of course he will. He must redeem his sons’ honor.
[Daeron] Not that I ever asked to have my honor redeemed. Whoever has it can keep it, so far as I’m concerned.
[Egg] I begged him not to, ser. I begged him.
[Daeron] For what it’s worth, you have little to fear from me, and I’ll do my best to look gallant in the first charge. But after that, perhaps you could strike me a nice blow to the side of the helm. Make it ring. Not too loud.
[Dunk] Is that all you came here to say?
[Egg] My father has commanded the Kingsguard to fight as well.
[Daeron] Only the three that are here.
[Egg] Who do you have, ser?
[Dunk] Raymun’s cousin.
[Egg] I can bring people, ser. Knights. I can.
[Dunk] I’ll be fighting against your family.
[Egg] My father will be well guarded, and you won’t kill Daeron. He told you he’d fall down.
[Daeron chuckles softly]
[Dunk] And Aerion. You’d see him dead?
[Egg] When I was little, Aerion used to come into my bed chamber at night, put his knife in between my legs. He had too many brothers, he’d say. Maybe one night, he’d make me his sister. Then he could marry me.
[Raymun] [snickering] Sorry, that was…
[Daeron] Egg has the truth of it. Aerion can be quite the monster.
[Egg] And he threw my cat in the well, too. He says he didn’t, but he did.
[Daeron] Alright.
[Egg] He thinks he’s a dragon in human form. That’s why he was so wroth at the puppet show.
[Daeron] A pity he wasn’t born a Fossoway. Then he’d think himself an apple and we’d all be a deal safer. [sighs] I must steal back to the castle. Ser Duncan? Private word?
[Daeron sniffling]
[horse nickering]
[Daeron] I dreamed of you.
[Dunk] You said that. At the inn.
[Daeron] Did I? [chuckles] Well, my dreams are not like yours. Mine come true. [chuckles] An impressive talent for an unimpressive man. Another one of life’s little ironies. But I have seen you, ser. And a fire. And a dead dragon. A great beast with wings so large they could cover this meadow. It had fallen on top of you. But you were alive, and the dragon was dead.
[Dunk] Did I kill it?
[Daeron] That I could not say. We were dragon masters once. Hard to believe.
[thunder rumbling]
[Daeron] Now, they’re all gone, but we remain. I don’t care to die today.
[Dunk] [whispering] I don’t care to die either.
[Daeron] It may be that I’ve killed you with my lie. And if so, I’m sorry. I’m doomed to some kind of hell, I know. [chuckles softly] Likely one without wine.
[thunder continues]
[Tanselle] [voice echoing] You are no knight. You are Florian the Fool!
[♪ soft music playing]
[Steely Pate] Ser Duncan. If you are come for your shield, she left it with me.
[thunder rumbling]
[Tanselle’s scream echoing]
[Dunk] Where did she go?
[Steely Pate] They make for Dorne. Well gone is well forgot.
[Dunk] Good.
[thunder rumbling]
[grunting softly]
[Steely Pate] Your rim was old. Cheap steel. Brittle and rusted. I’ve made you a new one. It’s twice as thick. I’ve put some straps on the back. It will be heavier now, but stronger too. The girl did the paint.
[Dunk] The star is fallen. [sniffling] And the sunset heralds night. The shield is all painted up like death. [sniffling]
[Steely Pate] The elm’s alive, man. See how green the leaves are? That’s summer leaves, for certain. You remember the old shield rhyme? “Oak and iron, guard me well.”
[Dunk] Or else I’m dead and doomed to hell.
[Steely Pate] Mm.
[Dunk sniffling]
[thunder rumbling]
[Dunk] [sniffling] How much do you want for… [sniffling] the new rim and all?
[Steely Pate] From you… a copper.
[horse nickering]
[Dunk] Sers… I am in your debt.
The debt is Aerion’s. And we mean to collect it.
[Dunk] I heard your leg was broken.
You heard true. My leg is broken, I cannot walk. But so long as I can sit on a horse, I can fight.
Ser Robyn would die the king’s faithful servant. But when the crown goes against the gods, Ser Robyn goes against the crown.
I always knew you meant trouble.
[Dunk] I cannot thank you enough.
Ah.
[Dunk] Nor Ser Steffon for bringing you.
Who the fuck is Ser Stevron? Your… boy found me.
[Egg grunting]
Hasn’t been a trial of seven for a hundred years. I wasn’t about to miss a chance to bloody up the Kingsguard in their pretty white gowns.
[wind whistling]
[horse whinnying]
[galloping hoofbeats]
[cheering and applause]
[horses continue whinnying]
[Raymun] Six. There are only six.
[Dunk] Is it possible Aerion has not found a seventh to take up his claim?
[Steffon] Raymun! My helm, if you please.
[Dunk] Ser Steffon, what of your friends? We only need one more to make our seven.
I’m afraid you’ll need two more. I fight with Prince Aerion and the accusers.
[Raymun] No, you… you told Ser Duncan to rely on you.
Well, our prince would not have made me a lord elsewise, but for it thwarted Ser Duncan.
[Raymun] You traded your honor for a lordship?
Cousin. I know great men who have traded their honor for far less. It was a bargain well struck. Fetch me my horse.
[Raymun] [spitting] Get him yourself.
[grunts]
[horse neighing]
[Dunk] We are lost.
[Raymun] Knight me. I will take my cousin’s place. Ser Duncan, knight me!
[Dunk] Raymun, I-I shouldn’t.
[Raymun] Without me, you’re only five. You cannot win with five.
[Lyonel] The lad has the truth of it, I’m afraid. Go on, Ser Duncan. Any knight can make a knight.
[horn blowing]
[Lyonel] Go. I shall give Squire Raymun his knighthood.
♪♪
[Lyonel] In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave.
[♪ dramatic music playing]
[Lyonel] In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just. In the name of the Mother… I charge you to protect the young and innocent.
[Lord Ashford] Ser Duncan. We cannot delay any further.
[Aerion] Seems you only have five champions.
[Dunk] Six. Ser Lyonel is knighting Raymun Fossoway. We will fight you six against seven.
[Aerion] I’m afraid it is not permitted.
[Ashford] If you cannot find another knight to join you, ser, then you must be declared guilty of your crimes.
[Dunk] M’lord, I beg a moment, please.
[Lord Ashford] You have it.
[Dunk] M’lords! I know none of you remember Ser Arlan of Pennytree. But I was his squire. We served many of you. Ate at your tables. Slept in your halls. He was a good man. And he taught me how to be a knight. Not just sword and lance, but honor. A knight defends the innocent. That’s-that’s all I did. I was not Ser Arlan’s blood, but I have followed his example. As your sons will follow yours. Who will stand and fight with me?
[horse whinnying]
[♪ uplifting music playing]
[townsperson] The Brute of Bracken!
[farting loudly]
[laughter]
[laughter continues]
[horse neighing]
[crowd chattering]
[laughter and chatter continue]
[Dunk] Has courage deserted the noble houses of Westeros? I will not believe it is so! Are there no true knights among you?!
[loud banging]
[♪ dramatic music playing]
[Baelor] I will take Ser Duncan’s side.
[crowd cheering]
[Maekar] Have you taken leave of your senses? This man attacked my son.
[Baelor] This man protected the innocent. As every true knight must. Let the gods decide if he was right or wrong. Hyah!
[♪ epic music playing]
[horse whinnying]
[♪ epic music continues]
