When we look back on the best moments in fantasy television for 2026, one that stands out Ser Duncan the Tall's speech to the lords of Westeros before his trial in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. While the show has many highlights, including the trial of seven itself, there's a certain magic to actor Peter Claffey delivering on this moment, which is ripped straight from the pages of George R.R. Martin's novella "The Hedge Knight."
Since the show released, we've heard no shortage of behind-the-scenes stories from cast and crew about this scene, making it clear that it was something truly special to watch on set. Now we've heard from another: Finn Bennett, who played Dunk's nemesis Aerion Targaryen.
While Aerion may have had it out for Dunk, Bennett couldn't help being swept away by Claffey's performance, which saw him actually riding a horse around the tourney ground while he shouted his challenge to those in attendance, including the iconic line "Are there are no true knights among you?"
Watching Peter Claffey's AKOTSK speech is one of Finn Bennett's favorite career moments
The scene came up during a recent interview Bennett did on the YouTube show Backseat Blitz, where interviewer Nicole L. Galinson asks celebrities fan questions while in the backseat of various vehicles. Since Bennett is most well-known for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, it's fitting that his interview took place on a horse, with Galinson riding behind him. I kind of love how it just reinforced how comfortable the actors from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms had to get on horseback for the show.
Galinson asked Bennett if there was any one scene from his career which has stayed with him. "Yeah, it's not necessarily a scene about me. My god, it was such a good scene," he said.
The scene in question? That moment in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 4 when Peter Claffey gives his big speech before the trial of seven, where Dunk desperately tries to convince another warrior to join his side so that he isn't forced to forfeit to Aerion by default.
"I remember watching Peter Claffey in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms give speeches to the houses, the noble houses of Westeros, getting them to fight for him and his cause," Bennett recalled. "And I'm like somewhere in the back of shot being all surly and being like, 'Oh, what a loser.' And it was such a rousing speech. And I remember just being like, 'I'd fight for that guy any day.'"
Can A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 top Dunk's speech?
Bennett has plenty of notable moments of his own in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, as well as in his various other projects like Backrooms, Prisoner, and Eye for an Eye, so it's cool that the one that comes to mind for him out of all those career highlights is still Claffey's speech on the set of AKOTSK. It really does have the feel of a singular moment that will probably stand the test of time.
It does raise an interesting question about the show's future, however. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 set an exceptionally high bar, in large part because the story it adapted is excellent and the show executed on it perfectly. But Martin's next two novellas, "The Sworn Sword" and "The Mystery Knight," don't have any moments that truly top Dunk's trial of seven. It's going to be interesting watching A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 to find out how the series will tackle this unusual conundrum. Showrunner Ira Parker has said it will be "smaller" in scope than season 1, which sounds just right for the source material but might risk disappointing audiences.
We shall see! In the meantime, if you want to relive this epic moment from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, all six episodes of its first season are available to stream on HBO Max. Season 2 is slated to premiere in the first half of 2027.
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