How Ser Donnel Sets Up Dunk’s Future After A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (& Finally Gets 1 Book Detail Right)

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms sets up Ser Duncan the Tall’s future, thanks to the arrival of one new character. The second episode of the Game of Thrones prequel, titled “Hard Salt Beef,” introduces several members of House Targaryen, including Baelor, Maekar, Valarr, and Aerion. And where the princes go (Baelor, it should be noted, is heir to the Iron Throne), so too there are some members of the Kingsguard. Here, that means Ser Donnel of Duskendale and Ser Roland Crakehall.

Roland is more in line with what one might expect, fitting with several members of the Kingsguard we’ve seen across the shows: there’s an arrogance to him, and as Donnel notes, he looks down upon others. Donnel himself, however, is much kinder. He speaks to Dunk like an equal, and that’s important when considering the hedge knight’s own future beyond A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ story. Warning: Contains mild SPOILERS for Dunk’s future, based on Game of Thrones history.

How Ser Donnel Sets Up Duncan the Tall’s Future After A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms

Ser Donnel tells Dunk a lie, letting him believe that he’s every bit as lowborn as the orphaned street urchin from the slums of Flea Bottom. As Egg later reveals, this isn’t remotely true: his father owns half the crabbing fleets in Westeros, meaning that while Donnel may not be from one of the Great Houses, his family is very wealthy and important. Still, the lie isn’t entirely without merit. It’s done as a kindness to Dunk, but it also highlights to him that, just maybe, a hedge knight from Flea Bottom can amount to something greater.

Dunk ends Episode 2 promising to show them what Ser Arlan’s legacy has wrought, but he’ll go on to much bigger things. Eventually, many years after A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1’s timeline, he actually does become a member of the Kingsguard, fulfilling his greatest dream. Ser Donnel may not have been telling the truth, but it’s at least a nice tease of what’s to come. And he also serves another key reminder to Dunk that there are honorable knights in the Kingsguard, the kind who uphold the traditional values and can be considered true. Again, that’s important for Ser Duncan’s future, as it establishes the kind of knight he can be while serving a king.

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No one would be more surprised and disbelieving than Dunk himself were he to learn of his future, but it may not come as a shock to Game of Thrones viewers. Ser Duncan the Tall was referenced a couple of times in the show: The first was by Old Nan at Winterfell, suggesting she tell the story of him to Bran Stark, as it’s one of his favorites. The second, even more notable reference was from Joffrey in Season 4, as he mocks Jaime Lannister over the Kingsguard’s White Book, which recounts their deeds: “Four pages for Ser Duncan! He must have been quite a man.”

A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Gets The Kingsguard Right

Aside from Ser Donnel offering up some kind words and a sense of honor, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms gets the Kingsguard right in another way: the armor. This is a cleaner look with the seven-pointed star in the center, and more importantly, it’s actually white, which is how it’s described in the books. Game of Thrones opted for gold and House of the Dragon went for silver, but this prequel has the armor most accurate to the source material by far, and without too much decoration, which is how it should be. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is very faithful to the book, and is this another great example of that.

New episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms release Sundays at 10pm ET on HBO and HBO Max.

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