RECAP: ‘A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms’ Episode 2 — “Hard Salt Beef”

Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) is trying his hardest to live the life of a knight he has idealized. After the death of this Knight, Dunk moves from squire to hedge knight overnight with the hope of proving himself in a tournament. In A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2, “Hard Salt Beef,” we see just why Dunk believes being a knight is much more than the lands you own or the position you hold in a court. 

Opening with a flashback of Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb) and Dunk, we see the small ways that Dunk looked up to his knight as he recounts the past to a Lord of House Tyrell in order to finally find someone to vouch for him so that he can fight in the games. He recounts the death over and over again, hoping that one of the lords remembers Ser Arlan, but no one remembers him. 

To Egg, Dunk’s knight means nothing because no one remembers him. For Dunk, he just wants to make sure that someone will, even if it’s him telling the story again and again. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2 pushes Dunk to reckon with reality.

The first big moment of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2 comes when the Targaryen banners come into the tournament seeking entrance. While the Targaryens don’t belong on the tourney field, the Prince’s sons are missing, and entering the tournament seemed like a chance to find them. But to Dunk, watching the Targaryens and the tournament organizers speak, he’s just waiting for his turn. 

While everyone else has forgotten Ser Arlan of Pennytree, Prince Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel) remembers him. He remembers his losses, he remembers his honor, and it’s the first time that the audience gets to see Ser Arlan from someone else’s perspective. And this is where the core conflict we saw in Episode 1 comes into play. 

For Dunk, knighthood is about honor and chivalry, but as he begins to see how others view the title of “Ser,” he starts to question if being a hedge knight is a valid path. Arlan died on a muddy road after leading a life that may have helped the smallfolk, but never made an impact on the lords or Houses he served. 

That’s where Baelor comes in. A Targaryen prince, he’s the only one who remembers Ser Arlan, and ultimately, he is the man who allows Dunk to enter the tournament. One honorable man in a family that views itself as above, knowing the names of everyone in history. But with that acceptance, Dunk has to also get rid of the last thing that connects him to Ser Arlan, his sigil. 

Because he is not Ser Arlan’s blood, he can not carry his sigil. So, he reaches out to Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford), the actor and painter in the theater troupe that Dunk clearly has a crush on, to paint his shield with his own crest. But in having to come up with his own sigil, he’s also coming to terms with the reality of being a hedge night. 

While Dunk and Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) continue to build their relationship, Ser Duncan the Tall’s insecurities begin to rise. He sells his horse, hoping to win enough to bring her back. He holds Egg high as they watch the jousting tournament begin, and he starts to feel down. 

Ser Duncan’s optimism has been a beacon in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1. Whenever someone forgets Ser Arlan, he carries his memory with him. Where others put title above everything else, Dunk speaks of the smallfolk. But now, in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2, Dunk sees who the knights are. 

The jousting sequence in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2 is extremely well choreographed, taking time to inform the audience who each knight is through their bouts. And then, we see Prince Valarr, Baelor’s son, and the Targaryen sits upon his horse as someone almost terrifying. 

In a story that has mostly been devoid of royalty, the Targaryens appear in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2 and pull Dunk down to Earth. As he watches the joust, he sees his past, Ser Arlan’s death, and how no one cheered for his memory. It all begins to be too much. 

What was once excitement on his face as he carried Egg on his shoulders becomes something somber, and it’s all thanks to Peter Claffey’s performance. As Dunk, Claffey has to be awkward and endearing, but in moments when he is most aware of the world around him, his depth as an actor comes through. There is a sadness to Dunk that we see in this episode, and it’s only relieved by the film’s ending. 

Sure, we get to see that Egg is probably the missing Targaryen. And we know this will be the season’s larger story beat. But it’s the sadness in Dunk’s eyes and his resolution to lead his life for Ser Arlan’s memory that makes A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2 mean something. 

“Hard Salt Beef” is an episode that reminds the audience of the slice-of-life tale that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms sets out to be. It’s consistently comedic and shows an irreverence toward elements of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon that audiences once hoisted high with praise. 

That tongue-in-cheek approach to royalty and their power makes Episode 2 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms mean so much more when it does get serious. Dunk is battling the memory he is keeping alive of the knight who taught him to be an honorable man and the man who died on the side of a muddy road. 

The truth, that Dunk no longer pushes away, is that Ser Arlan whored and drank and had no friends. He was not a champion but was a teacher. Ser Arlan was still a noble man even without the title, and that is the legacy Dunk promises to carry. 

In the final moments of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2, Dunk becomes Ser Duncan the Tall. Not just as he introduces to others, but as someone who has taken hold of what it means to be a knight, and with a promise to keep Ser Arlan’s memory alive, and in some ways write a new one as he succeeds.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2 is the continuation of a new kind of story in Westeros, a smaller one, a unique one, and ultimately a kinder one. With Peter Claffey at the helm, there is no end to how endearing this story is. It’s easy to root for Dunk and cheer for Egg and him as he proves his honor, and hopefully not lose his kindness in the process.

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