A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms picks up in earnest this week, with Dunk getting into a confrontation with Prince Aerion Targaryen — and learning a pretty huge truth about his squire, Egg. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 Episode 3 is named "The Squire" for a reason, as it further endears us to Dunk's new companion just before delivering a bombshell.
FULL SPOILERS ahead for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 Episode 3.
The episode's big twist, of course, is that Egg is actually a Targaryen. It's a revelation the Game of Thrones spinoff hints at multiple times during this chapter alone. It doesn't reveal this, however, until Prince Aerion is on the verge of killing Dunk. Egg steps in to save the hedge knight from torture and death. And to Dunk's surprise, both Aerion and the Kingsguard acknowledge the boy's authority.
Those familiar with George R.R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novellas know that Egg is a nickname for Aegon Targaryen, the youngest son of Maekar Targaryen. This makes Egg and Prince Aerion brothers, though the two are far from fond of each other. We'll learn more about Egg's connection to the other Targaryens in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 4. In the meantime, viewers might be wondering how he's connected to the Targaryens from the other Game of Thrones shows, including Rhaenyra and Daenerys.
How Egg is related to Rhaenyra Targaryen
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set about 78 years after House of the Dragon, which explains the complete lack of dragons in the spinoff. The Targaryens remain in control of the Seven Kingdoms, but they've lost a lot of power since House of the Dragon's Targaryen civil war. By this point of the timeline, they've also lost the creatures that made them so fearsome, a development that stems directly from HOTD's conflict.
Obviously, then, Egg is a few generations removed from Rhaenyra Targaryen — five of them, to be exact. Rhaenyra is Egg's great-great-great grandmother, with her son, Viserys II, giving rise to the branch that Egg comes from. Viserys II fathers Aegon IV, whose son is king when A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms opens: Daeron II.
Despite sitting on the Iron Throne, Daeron II doesn't actually appear in the Game of Thrones spinoff or the novella it's based on. However, two of his sons play prominent roles in Dunk's story. One is Egg's father, Maekar I, who won't be happy when he learns the hedge knight assaulted Aerion.
And as Rhaenyra and Daenerys are related, Egg is obviously related to Game of Thrones' dragon queen as well. In fact, he shares blood with a few Game of Thrones characters, making for some interesting overlap between series.
How Egg is related to Daenerys Targaryen
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms takes place around 89 years prior to Game of Thrones, but Egg is slightly closer on the family tree to Daenerys than he is to Rhaenyra. He's the Mother of Dragons' great grandfather, meaning the two characters are only three generations separated.
It's odd to think about Ser Duncan the Tall's young squire being anyone's father, much less their great grandfather. However, Egg eventually has five children, including Dany's grandfather, Jaehaerys II. From there, Jaehaerys II has just two kids, — one of whom is the Mad King, Aerys II.
And that brings us to Daenerys and Viserys, both of whom are the Mad King's children (and tragically, live up to the legacy). It's cool that Game of Thrones fans can draw a line from Rhaenyra to Egg, and then from Egg to Daenerys. Dany isn't the only familiar face from Game of Thrones that Egg is connected to, either.
Egg is connected to two other Game of Thrones characters
As you can probably surmise from Egg's connection to Daenerys, he's also related to Jon Snow. Since Dany and Jon's father, Rhaegar, are siblings, Egg is Rhaegar's great grandfather as well. That makes Jon his great-great grandson.
More interesting is the fact that one of Egg's own siblings appears in Game of Thrones — even though it takes place so long after A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Aemon Targaryen, the kindly maester at Castle Black, is Egg's older brother. As he lives past 100 years old, he's one of the few characters who could realistically appear in both series. He's not in "The Hedge Knight," though, so it's probably best not to get our hopes up.