A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms just made a major reveal with episode 3, “The Squire.” Whether you knew the identity of a certain someone ahead of time or not, the major moment at the end of the episode is tense, exciting, and satisfying as Dunk finally learns the truth. It’s the best episode of the season so far, getting into the real meat of the story.
Between the big identity reveal, Dunk receiving an interesting offer, and Dunk beating up Prince Aerion Targaryen, there are likely many small details you missed on the first watch of episode 3. One of those small—but important—moments comes just minutes before Dunk’s confrontation with Aerion, when Raymun Fossoway subtly mentions Aerion’s brother, Aemon.
The other Targaryen brother, Maester Aemon
If you haven’t read the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas or aren’t very familiar with the book side of the Game of Thrones franchise, you might not realize that one of Maekar Targaryen’s sons is Aemon, who goes on to become a maester of the Night’s Watch—the very same we know from Game of Thrones.
In a later scene in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 3, Dunk and Raymun chat alone over pints, in which Raymun gossips about the state of House Targaryen. Mainly, the state of Maekar’s kids, which also includes Aerion, Daeron, and Aemond—along with daughters Rhae and Daella, who are not mentioned.
As Raymun goes through each son to Dunk, bad-mouthing them, he describes the third as “so useless” that “they were going to ship him off to the Citadel to make a maester of him.” Though he doesn’t explicitly name this son as Aemon, of course, we know that’s who he’s talking about.
We shouldn’t expect to see Aemon in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1, but it’s possible he could appear later on in the show. It’d certainly be a fun nod to include for Game of Thrones fans.
As it turns out, of course, Aemon does end up getting sent to the Citadel, where he studies to become a maester. Years and years later, he becomes an important person in Jon Snow’s life when Jon arrives at Castle Black, and the show makes a big deal out of Jon learning Aemon’s identity as a Targaryen. But what Jon doesn’t know at the time is that they’re related.
Maester Aemon becomes a trusted confidant for Jon Snow until his death, as someone who is both honorable and wise.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 takes place nearly a century before Game of Thrones—about 89 years to be exact—and Maester Aemon is 102 years old when he dies. Given the years between the two stories, it’s not surprising there aren’t many characters alive in both, but it’s fun to at least have a few.
New episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max. Keep reading Winter is Coming and tune in for our weekly podcast, Take the Black, to follow along with our coverage all season long.