A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms upped the ante this week. After the first half of the season was more concerned with humor, dirty jokes, and the bond between Dunk and Egg, the penultimate episode brought us the brutal Trial of Seven.
Warning: there are major spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5 ahead, so turn back now if you’re not up to date!
After Dunk assaulted Prince Aerion and was accused of kidnapping his new squire Egg, he was sentenced to a Trial of Seven. Intimitate, gritty, and violent, the fight between Dunk, Aerion, and the knights who volunteered to fight with them ended in blood and death (RIP Baelor). And, although it was smaller in scale than any of the big Game of Thrones battles we know and love, fans can’t get enough of it.
“The level of grittiness of it is kind of unlike anything we’ve seen in the GoT universe. Not overtly cinematic at all, just personal and visceral,” one fan wrote on Reddit.
“Might’ve one of the best episodes of television I’ve seen in a while, genuinely cinema for Thrones fans and generally just good medieval fantasy,” agreed someone else.
“Good people dying. This is what GOT is all about,” said another. “We are so back.”
“I’m glad I didn’t know what was going to happen because Baelor dying hit me pretty hard,” someone else pointed out. “I was not expecting that at all. Wish it would have showed some of Lyonel fighting the Kingsguard.”
Others loved some of the more subtle elements of the episode. “Love that they show how effective armor is,” another user wrote. “Dunk leaning in to blows to take advantage of his armor so that he can grapple was great.”
The episode was also punctuated by a flashback to Dunk’s childhood, which revealed how he met his late mentor Ser Arlan. “I hate that I’ve had to do a flashback at this point when everybody just wants the battle, but we had to,” showrunner Ira Parker said. “But I do think it stands on its own, and I do think it’s fun to see Dunk like that. I do think it adds a lot to the story, and it adds to the ending of episode 5 as well… But, yeah, it’s gonna displease some people.”
However, fans still seemed to enjoy it. “Loved the episode. I didn’t think that the flashback felt too overbearing,” someone else said. “I think that the episode benefited from the B-plot to allow the fight scene to really pop.”
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is airing weekly on HBO and HBO Max in the US and Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK. Stay up to date with our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms release schedule or, for more, check out our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review.
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