A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Star Drops Huge Bombshell That Completely Changes Game of Thrones Canon

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ star Dexter Sol Ansell just dropped a major reveal about Ser Duncan the Tall and Aegon “Egg” Targaryen that not even book readers saw coming. Because the characters are in three novellas written by George R.R. Martin, as well as being mentioned a few times in A Song of Ice and Fire (and subsequently Game of Thrones), alongside supplementary material, there was a good idea of what happens to them and where they end up, even if not everything had been fleshed out. But now that’s all been thrown out the window. Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Dunk and Egg’s fates.

Decades after A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Egg, through a confluence of events and various deaths, becomes King Aegon V Targaryen. Dunk becomes a member of his Kingsguard, eventually rising to the position of Lord Commander. Previously, it had been established that both of the characters die in what’s known as the Tragedy at Summerhall, an event that takes place in 259 AC – that’s 50 years after the time of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1.

This was already a major mystery in Game of Thrones lore, as we never learn much about exactly what happened, but it’s generally accepted that Egg was trying to hatch a dragon’s egg, wildfire was involved, and the inferno it caused killed most people there, including King Aegon V Targaryen, Ser Duncan the Tall, Prince Duncan Targaryen (Egg’s eldest son), and Maester Corso. However, speaking with Decider, Ansell revealed:

“I do know a bit about when Egg’s trying to make dragons in the Summerhall, and there’s a huge fire. But we know from George [R.R. Martin] Dunk survives, but we don’t know if Egg survives yet.”

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While he’s saying this, co-star Peter Claffey noticeably tries to interject, saying “We don’t know if that is exactly what…” and jokingly making a hand gesture to cut it off, clearly highlighting that the young star, bless him, has revealed something he probably shouldn’t have.

What Dunk & Egg’s Possible Survival Means For Game Of Thrones

It is possible that Dunk and Egg’s fates are not confirmed either way simply because Martin has not finished writing the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas. Three have been published so far, but the author has plans for up to a dozen of them, charting their entire lives. Given he tends not to plan too much out in advance as a writer, this might simply be one possible idea he’s been considering, and that he mentioned it to the actors, more as a “well, we don’t know what happens” rather than a concrete “this is exactly the case” type of deal.

Still, even the possibility that Dunk survived, and that Egg might too, is quite shocking. It’s long been accepted that both died there, and there is not even a hint of their survival in A Song of Ice and Fire. And yet, for Dunk at least, it does feel plausible. One of the other things we know (or thought we knew) about the tragedy is that he saved the life of Princess Rhaella Targaryen, who then gave birth to Rhaegar Targaryen, and it might be that he actually escaped the blaze with her. Still, that only opens up more questions than answers.

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Assuming Ser Duncan does survive, then what happens to him? It means he chooses to leave the Kingsguard behind (and he’s Lord Commander at that point), though that’s understandable if Egg dies: he might feel like he had failed in his duty to protect the king, and simply went off to live a quiet life somewhere.

One of the interesting tidbits in lore is that Brienne of Tarth is related to Dunk. She has his shield, and Martin had previously said a descendant of his would appear in the books, so it was theorized that this was Brienne, as the shield was the only real clue to go on. At a convention in 2016 [via The Wertzone], the author was asked if we’ll ever learn how Brienne descends from Duncan, and responded: “Eventually. All will be revealed in time.”

Perhaps, then, Dunk goes off to live out his days in Tarth, with a quieter way of life that’s more like the one he was used to before joining the Kingsguard, which then wouldn’t impact Game of Thrones too much, really, other than explaining the Brienne connection more clearly. Or perhaps one of A Song of Ice and Fire’s many mysterious characters is secretly Dunk, though, given he’d be over 100 years old by that point, it does seem unlikely. Still, that won’t stop the theories, such as Ser Duncan being Coldhands, which are already appearing on Reddit.

The idea of Egg surviving is even more shocking, given that he was king. His son Jaehaerys takes the Iron Throne after Summerhall, but this would mean that he wasn’t supposed to, because his father was still alive. While Egg surviving in secret could be seen as an abdication, he’d at least have a claim if he ever were to return, though like Dunk, he’d be pretty old by that point, if he even lived long enough to that time period. He could have gone off somewhere with Dunk – if not Tarth, since he was a Targaryen king and might stand out a bit more, then maybe Essos. With the Targaryen dynasty over, but multiple characters looking to restart it, could he be revealed and get involved in the story?

In truth, it seems far-fetched. Dunk surviving is one thing, but Egg surviving and living in secret, in a story where there are already multiple secret Targaryens, is more of a stretch. And, interestingly, this would add to the fortune teller’s prophecy in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. She told Egg he’d die in a fire, but didn’t say the same to Dunk. Similarly, Daeron Targaryen’s dream is one that we thought we knew the answer to, because it points to another Targaryen death. But it could have a double meaning, and be a sign that Egg dies, and Dunk survives. Now we just need Martin to write another 9-10 books and confirm all of this.

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

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