The third episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is out now on HBO Max, and it came with a major shake-up for a lovable team of Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). "The Squire" gave us plenty of time with Dunk and Egg before the big reveal that Egg is, in fact, a young Targaryen prince, who's true name is Aegon.
Looking back on the first three episodes of the series, there lots of little bits of foreshadowing sprinkled throughout. With Egg's identity out in the open at last, the genius ways the series has set up this big twist are now much easier to see. But one of the most ominous teases about Egg's identity came right in this same episode, when he and Dunk crossed paths with a wandering fortune teller at the Ashford market. While she gives Dunk a fairly mundane fortune, her words for Egg are laden with secret meaning.
"You shall be king, and die in hot fire and worms will feed upon your ashes. And all who know you shall rejoice in your dying," she tells Egg, to his horror. Dunk thinks it's a funny joke, but if you've read George R.R. Martin's The World of Ice and Fire or are familiar with the lore of Westeros in general, you might know that there's a bit more to this prophecy than meets the eye. And if not, well, prepare to have your heart shattered.
To discuss it, we have to get into MAJOR SPOILERS for Dunk and Egg's future. However, what we'll be going over takes places long after George R.R. Martin's currently published Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, so it won't spoil much for HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms series.
What is the meaning of Egg's prophecy in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
While we know now that Egg is a Targaryen, there's another layer to his identity that's a topic of much discussion among diehard fans of Martin's work. Just as the fortune teller's prophecy says, Egg will one day grow up to become king of the Seven Kingdoms, where he'll be dubbed Aegon V Targaryen — or "Aegon the Unlikely," on account of how far down the line of succession he was as a boy.
When Egg does become king, he makes Ser Duncan the Tall the Lord Commander of his Kingsguard. Eagle-eyed Game of Thrones viewers might recall that Joffrey once taunted his father Jaime Lannister about how many pages Ser Duncan has in the White Book that records the lives of Kingsguard knights. He serves as Egg's champion, and still gets up to quite a few adventures and duels as he brings his former squire's will to those who would oppose him.
Unfortunately, the rest of the fortune teller's prophecy will come true as well. Egg does indeed die in a fire after he becomes king, during an event known as the Tragedy at Summerhall. And while we saw that the Targaryens are already falling from favor in this episode, by the time of the Summerhall tragedy their standing will be much worse among the great houses of Westeros.
What is the Tragedy at Summerhall?
Aegon's reign as king is a long one, with much drama and bloodshed as he deals with various rebellions throughout the Seven Kingdoms, and the defiance of his own five children. But as Aegon grows older, his dreams turn ever more toward bringing dragons back to Westeros. This leads him to gather all of his close family members together at the castle of Summerhall, where he hopes to mark the birth of his first great-grandson by hatching a dragon's egg for the first time in decades.
Many of the details of the Tragedy at Summerhall are shrouded in mystery, but The World of Ice and Fire does provide a few clues. Egg had spent years accumulating knowledge about the way dragons were hatched, and that seemingly led Egg to gather pyromancers, wildfire, and seven dragon eggs at Summerhall for his big attempt to return dragons to the world.
Unfortunately, the blaze gets out of control. Aegon dies in the fire, along with most of the Targaryen family. However, his stalwart Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall, manages to get some to safety before he joins his king in death. Among them are Jaehaerys Targaryen, Egg's second son and the heir to the Iron Throne, his children Aerys and Rhaella (who are married), and Aerys and Rhaella's newborn child, Egg's great-grandson...none other than Rhaegar Targaryen, Daenerys Targaryen's older brother and the future father of Jon Snow.
Yes, Egg is the grandfather of the Mad King. And the Tragedy at Summerhall is one of the keystone experiences that shapes Aerys into the paranoid, monstrous man he'll become by the time he sits the Iron Throne.
Why will people "rejoice" at the death of Aegon V Targaryen?
As for the final part of the fortune teller's prophecy, that "all who know you shall rejoice at your dying," The World of Ice and Fire provides some context, while A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms fills in the rest. Because of Aegon's travels around the Seven Kingdoms as the squire to a hedge knight, he is often looked down on by the nobility of Westeros after he becomes king. Matters are exacerbated by the fact that he tries to push through many progressive policies to benefit the smallfolk, which the lords obviously do not like very much. Throw in the fact that almost all of Egg's children break betrothals to other great houses once they come of age, and it's easy to see why he wasn't the most popular with the nobility.
But what of the smallfolk? Martin writes that they loved Egg, because for once there was a Targaryen king who actually seemed to care about them, and understood their plight better for having lived among them as a youth. Nonetheless, House Targaryen itself is far from its grand roots by this point in Westerosi history. We saw that in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 3, when the crowd tries to rush Aerion, and Raymun Fossoway rants about the Seven Kingdoms' need to throw off its Targaryen oppressors. By the time of Egg's death, we're only two generations away from the dragon lords losing the Iron Throne to Robert Baratheon. So regardless of whatever kindnesses he may have done for the smallfolk during his reign, the damage to House Targaryen's reputation has long since been done.
Ultimately, all of this is deep lore that I don't expect A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms to ever get remotely close to — though it sounds like George R.R. Martin and Ira Parker have discussed the possibility, so never say never. But for the foreseeable future, this tragic future for Dunk and Egg remains a fascinating story that adds extra layers to HBO's show, but will presumably not come to pass until long after the series has ended.
New episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere Sunday nights on HBO and HBO Max. We're covering the show extensively here at the site, so check back for more!