A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Shocking Death Explained by Creator & Stars

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1, Episode 5, “In the Name of the Mother,” has the show’s most shocking moment yet. The Game of Thrones prequel has largely differed from its franchise predecessors, but the events of the fifth episode take a turn towards the kind of epic feel fans are accustomed to. This installment features the trial of seven, in which Ser Duncan the Tall and six other men face off against a team led by his accusers, Princes Aerion and Daeron Targaryen (though the focus is much more on the former of those two). Warning: SPOILERS from this point on.

As you might expect, with this still being Westeros, not everyone makes it out alive. Initially, it seems as though the deaths are going to be fairly minor, as it’s revealed that the two Ser Humfreys, Bessbury and Hardyng, were killed in the battle. But then Baelor Targaryen takes off his helm and learns that his head was caved in by his brother Maekar’s mace, before falling down dead. Showrunner Ira Parker explained the importance of Baelor taking part in the trial of seven, and how this death compares to Ned Stark in Game of Thrones Season 1, telling EW:

“I would say Ned Stark was a little bit more naive than somebody like Baelor Targaryen was. It’s not that Baelor doesn’t understand what could happen to him. In my mind, he’s doing this because it’s always been said about him that he is this person, from the time that he was the hammer and the anvil.” [The hammer and the anvil refers to Baelor and Maekar’s tactics during the Battle of the Redgrass Field, the end conflict of the Blackfyre Rebellion.]

“At so young in his life, he became this war hero, this savior of the kingdom and the realm. Because of his nature, everybody’s telling him how honorable he is and how he’s gonna make the greatest king that Westeros has ever had since the Conqueror. And then finally a moment comes for him to actually put up when his honor is tested in truth. Virtue untested is no virtue at all.”

Actor Bertie Carvel also discussed the comparison between Baelor’s death and that of Ned to EW, acknowledging that while there are differences because of how the “Stark family defines itself,” compared to House Targaryen, “there’s a correspondence there.”

Did Maekar Mean To Kill Baelor? What Actor Sam Spruell Thinks

Just as shocking as Baelor’s death is who killed him: his own brother, Maekar, who hit him in the back of the head with his mace, in what turned out to be a fatal blow. In the book, Maekar says that he had no intention of killing Baelor, though he knows people will claim he did regardless. In the same interview as above, actor Sam Spruell revealed that was something they wanted to play around with a little bit, saying:

“We did slightly different versions of culpability, I guess; whether it was accident or whether he meant to kill his brother. I think that was really exciting for me to experiment with and to discuss with not only Ira, but Sarah [Adina Smith, director of episode 6]. There is that kind of deep, deep desire to be number one in Maekar that might be realized by the death of his brother. So all the guilt or all the sadness or all the grief he feels is kind of bracketed by this realization that this means he’s next in line to the throne.”

It’s worth clarifying that in the books, Baelor’s death does not make Maekar heir to the Iron Throne. Ahead of him in line are Baelor’s sons, Valarr (who has appeared in the show), and Matarys, as well as Baelor and Maekar’s other brothers, Aerys and Rhaegal (both of whom have been mentioned in the TV series). Still, thanks to various deaths over the years, Maekar does eventually become king, around 12 years after the events of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1.

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Even aside from how it impacts the line of succession, this is a game-changing death for the show. It’s the kind of moment that elevates it to a whole other level, one that rivals Game of Thrones at its very best. It’s a reminder of just how cruel a world Westeros is, and that no one is truly safe. And for Dunk, it must be taken as a lesson to go forward with: that he has to continue to embody the virtues he already exhibited, the same ones that led to Baelor taking part in the trial of seven anyway, because that’s how he can still serve him and honor his legacy, which can allow Baelor a throughline into A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 2.

The Season 1 finale of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms releases Sunday, February 22nd at 10 pm ET on HBO and HBO Max.

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