Does Dunk die during the trial of seven? (Read only if you want spoilers)

While shows like Stranger Things enjoyed hyping up deaths that ultimately never happened, the Game of Thrones shows have never been afraid of killing characters off, and we’re not just talking about side characters. 

Over the course of Game of Thrones’ eight-season run and House of the Dragon’s first two seasons, we’ve watched countless main and leading characters perish — often in shocking and gruesome manners. Needless to say, because of this history, the moment the trial of seven was announced, fear immediately began to form among fans. 

As A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 4 came to a close, the stages were set for an epic showdown in the fifth episode. We’re expecting the trial of seven will be the most intense episode of the show yet, and we know from The Hedge Knight that not every character will make it out of the trial alive. There is one character fans don’t need to worry about though.

Dunk does not die in the trial of seven in The Hedge Knight

While there are deaths in the trial of seven that unfolds in The Hedge Knight, it should come as little surprise that Dunk is not one of them. Dunk takes quite a beating during the battle and this is something that we expect will occur within the show as well leading to some questions about his fate, but fans don’t need to worry about Dunk dying in the trial of seven. 

It’s an understandable question that fans of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms who have not read the books might have, but Dunk has quite a journey still ahead of him. Both Dunk and Egg are the central characters not only of George R.R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight, which serves as the inspiration for season 1, but of the entire Dunk and Egg series. This currently includes two additional novellas The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight, and Martin has already hinted that he would love to write some additional novellas about the pair as well. 

Game of Thrones as a franchise is known for unexpected and shocking deaths, and there have been many instances in which characters have been killed off in the shows but remain alive in Martin’s books. For this reason, fans have come to question the fates of characters in the shows even if they don’t die in the source material. This is very understandable and likely why some fans would question Dunk’s fate. 

Fortunately, Ira Parker has worked incredibly hard to make sure A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is as accurate to the source materials as possible. While he’s made some minor changes, he’s done a fantastic job of adapting The Hedge Knight and that commitment to the source material has paid off. 

Knowing Dunk does not die over the course of the Dunk and Egg novellas, fans shouldn’t have to worry about either character dying in the show. That’s not to say they won’t end up in some dangerous situations, but Dunk and Egg are two characters fans can allow themselves to grow attached to without the fear of them meeting an untimely death in the show.