A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has cranked up the drama with Episode 4, “Seven,” which dropped two days early because of the Super Bowl this weekend. After the tense ending of Episode 3, seeing not only Dunk beat up Prince Aerion but also Egg reveal himself as Prince Aegon, Dunk is in deep trouble. Aerion wants Dunk’s head for what he did to him, but he’s not going to go down without a fight.
In Episode 4, Dunk meets with Prince Baelor, who informs him that he’s going to have the chance to live if he truly is a good knight. Dunk decides to exercise his right to demand a trial by combat, fighting against Aerion for his freedom. However, a surprise twist is thrown his way when Aerion decides he doesn’t want to do a traditional trial by combat, instead opting for a trial of seven.
Dunk’s not the only one confused by this decision. And while Aerion’s father Maekar suggests he’s too afraid to fight Dunk by himself, Aerion denies this and is firm in his choice. He explains that he wants justice, not just for himself, but for Daeron, too—who had lied to his father and said Dunk is a robber who stole Egg. So what even is a trial of seven? Baelor breaks it down pretty well.
Trial of seven origins and rules
Originating from the Andals, this form of trial by combat traveled across the narrow sea to Westeros, seeing two groups of seven fighters face off in order to determine the accused’s fate. As Baelor explains it in the episode: “The Andals believed that if seven champions fought, the gods, being thus honored, would be more like to intervene and see the guilty party punished.”
So, in Dunk’s case, he, along with six other knights, will have to fight against another group of seven to determine whether he is declared innocent or guilty. If the opposing side is defeated or yields, then Dunk will be allowed to walk free. But if the opposite happens, well, it’s not going to be good for Dunk.
You might think this is a silly response to what Dunk did, but at the end of the day, he is a hedge knight, and Aerion is a prince. Even Maekar doesn’t agree with this route, dubbing it “f**king nonsense,” but that’s likely only because he doesn’t want Aerion or anyone in his family to get hurt.
If you’re a big Game of Thrones fan but haven’t heard of a trial by seven, that’s understandable. Neither Dunk nor Maekar (the latter being the case in the show, at least) knew what it was. This form of trial by combat does not happen throughout the original show—though it’s speculated it could happen in the books—and has only been documented once before Dunk’s trial, in 42 AC.
Of course, this puts Dunk in an unimaginable situation, seeing as he just became a knight himself and doesn’t even really know six other knights. Fortunately, people show up for him in a big way, including Baelor himself, who shocks everyone at the end of the episode by deciding to fight for Dunk’s cause.
Dunk’s trial of seven will go down next week, which marks the penultimate episode of the season, titled “In the Name of the Mother.” With Baelor on his side, Dunk definitely has more of an advantage than we initially believed. But will it be enough?
Episode 5 will premiere at its usual Sunday night time of 10:00 p.m. ET, on both HBO and HBO Max, next week on February 15. It’s one you definitely don’t want to miss.
Keep up with our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms coverage here at Winter is Coming, and don’t forget to tune in for our weekly podcast, Take the Black, on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.