RECAP: ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Episode 6 — “The Morrow”

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms came to a head in the last episode as Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) emerged from the Trial of the Seven successful, the next in line for the Iron Throne. Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel) has died, Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett) is greatly wounded, but justice was served. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6, “The Marrow,” is the season finale and aims to capture emotion and hope rather than the new political landscape that has erupted in the wake of Baelor’s death. 

That said, “The Marrow” is led by Dunk’s survivor’s guilt. The primary question in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6 isn’t the same as it has been the rest of the series. Previously, the series was about Dunk having his view of knights knocked from a pedestal and reckoning with the fact that those you thought fought for justice, fight for themselves. 

It’s been a compelling story so far. But what we see in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6 is what happens when you make it to the other side of dishonor, when a good man dies for you. The way Dunk and the rest of the world see this exchange of life (Baelor for Dunk) is lopsided. But here, it starts with Dunk, sitting with a thousand-yard stare under a tree, face swollen and purple. 

The main theme of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6 is guilt. 

As he sits, Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) offers him a future with him. If he wants it, Dunk will have a place in Baratheon’s army and by his side. Moved by Dunk, the exchange is the most honest that we’ve seen from Baratheon. “The only good dragon is a dead dragon,” he says as he belittles Baelor’s death. 

But to Dunk, it doesn’t matter if he was a dragon; it matters that Baelor died for him. Up until this point, we have viewed Baelor through Dunk’s eyes. To him, Baelor vouched for him as the only person who remembered Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). Baelor sided with him over his blood. And ultimately, Baelor, like Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), saw Dunk as more than a knight. In their eyes, Dunk is a truly good man. 

Dunk sits under the tree, nearly lifeless, and it’s here where Lyonel Baratheon’s personal code of honor emerges. He exclaims that he fought for Dunk, Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas), the Humfrys, and then he says that Baelor fought men sworn to protect him. Baratheon highlights that ultimately, the men who stood to lose everything fought for Dunk, and that was different than the Crown Prince, who should have been protected from it all but was killed by his own family. 

As you expect, Dunk doesn’t necessarily agree with Baratheon’s assessment, but he doesn’t disagree either. Instead, he holds it in, knowing that a life is a life regardless of what is on the line. Dunk saw the compassion that Baelor had, the honor he vocalized when his brother Maekar Targaryen would rather uphold his son’s royal tantrum. 

Baratheon says that the gods don’t like frauds, which leads Dunk to ask why he survived for the first time. And here, he has no answer, and neither does Baratheon. Regret and fortune guide A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6, and in the small moments of reflection, we see Dunk grow into his responsibility, even if he’s uncertain. 

Dunk’s guilt leads him to Baelor’s funeral, where he finds more. That’s the theme of the episode, for sure. Baelor’s son, Valarr Targaryen (Oscar Morgan), is sitting alone. As the two talk, Valarr gives one of the saddest moments of the series, pointing out that plenty of sons have died in their father’s armor, but not many fathers must have died in their sons. 

It’s a comment that carries a lot of weight and paints a different portrait of Baelor than the one we saw from Lyonel Baratheon. Baelor came to the Ashford tournament grounds with no intention to fight, and Valarr was supposed to. As we saw in Episode 5, Baelor’s death is largely due to the tightness of his helm, and now, we know why. 

Valarr’s regret is moving, and Oscar Morgan delivers a powerful performance. It’s a small moment, but it also shapes how Dunk views the Targaryens as a whole. To Valarr, his father would have been a great king, the greatest since Aegon the Dragon, and as someone watching this series and having knowledge of what is going to come to Westeros, it’s hard to disagree with him. And that leads us to the second time that Dunk’s survival is questioned, this time from Valarr. Here, all Dunk says is that he’s wondered the same. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6 isn’t all about Dunk questioning his survival. Even when he points to it again as he meets with Raymun, here he has support. He hugs Ser Raymun Fossoway tightly, and it’s clear how alone Dunk has been during his healing. 

From Baelor’s son and brother to Dunk, guilt and regret permeate everything in this season finale.

Known for his levity at this point, Raymun continues in that vein. He has a wife now, one of the women that Dunk saw on his first day of camp, clearly pregnant with a child that Raymun is both too dumb and too kind to think isn’t his. You can see the nod on Dunk’s face, but he says nothing about it, letting his friend have joy, which is later reciprocated when he buys back Dunk’s horse, only to be told to keep her as a gift for his new life. 

The kindness that Raymun Fossoway continuously offers Dunk is pure, and it makes their friendship so engrossing, even in its simplicity. It’s only natural that Dunk reflects it. They care for each other beyond the tournament, and their friendship matters as much to Dunk as anything else we see. 

The rest of the episode, however, is all about Egg. Aegon Targaryen, the fourth son of the fourth son, is also his father, Maekar Targaryen’s (Sam Spruell) last chance to build a legacy that isn’t a drunk or cruel one. But now, it is time for Egg to become a squire, and as you can expect, Dunk is his only choice. 

This leads Maekar to propose to Dunk. He will come to Summerhall to train Egg, while the King’s Guard, in turn, teaches Dunk what he has left to learn. It’s a moment that offers Dunk exactly what he wanted when he made it to Ashford. Only now, Dunk is through with princes. 

But this isn’t all that we learn from Maekar. We also learn that he’s sending Aerion to the Free Cities to learn some discipline and change, and more importantly, Maekar is clearly racked with guilt. He swung the mace that killed his brother, and now any time that something bad happens in the kingdom, they will remember Baelor, say “it could have been different,” and then remember that Maekar killed him. 

Dunk’s response to this is to absolve Maekar in a way, taking the fault for the death and the future woes of Westeros, where they’ll also remember the hedge knight and blame him, too. What follows is more of Dunk’s uncertainty and guilt as he explains that he has been thinking about whether there was any way Baelor could have been spared. 

Peter Claffey’s Dunk oscillates between uncertainty and the knight that he now knows he is. 

Here, we learn the inspiration for the episode’s name, “The Morrow.” Calling back to Ser Arlan, Dunk explains that he is looking to tomorrow, and to a time when his needing his foot or his hand will justify the realm losing Baelor. Maekar, expectedly, replies that there won’t be. But that isn’t important.

What is important is that Dunk answers the question with purpose. While he still doesn’t understand why he was spared, in his response to Maekar, he assures Maekar that there will be a time when the sacrifice is justified despite his guilt. It’s a moment where Dunk begins to seem like himself again, more hopeful, and more like the Ser Duncan the Tall who leaves anyone he meets changed.  

Still, though, he won’t let Egg squire for him. Having heard the conversation, Egg is disappointed in Dunk and lets him know. To Egg, it’s clear that he doesn’t want to be taught by his family, lest he become them. If he can’t squire for Dunk, Egg also won’t have protection from his brothers. 

What follows the initial offer is brief soul searching as everyone on the tournament grounds packs up to leave. As Dunk attends the wake for Ser Humfrey Beesbury (Danny Collins) and Ser Humfrey Hardyng (Ross Anderson), who fought alongside him in the Trial of the Seven, he runs into Prince Daeron Targaryen (Henry Ashton). The sight angers Dunk, but when he confronts the prince, he’s met with a conversation about Egg. 

While Dunk continues to refuse Egg as his squire, Daeron warns him of his choice. As awful as the Targaryens are, Daeron has consistently had Egg’s interest at heart, mostly. When he says that his younger brother wasn’t always a monster, Dunk responds that Egg is a good kid. But Aerion was the little brother in question instead. 

The moment is once again, deliberately simple. Daeron doesn’t plead with Dunk to take his brother to squire. He explains that the Aerion that Dunk knows was created that way, and that Egg will be too. It’s not so much a threat as presenting Dunk with the alternative. He can take the boy in, teach him as Ser Arlan taught him, or he can leave Egg with his brothers. 

“The Morrow” is the perfect episode of television because of how important every choice has been this entire season.

Beautifully edited, the sequence that follows showcases the pull to give in to violence, but also the fear Egg lives in when with his brother Aerion, even when he’s lying motionless in bed recovering from his wounds. With the fear of staying with the Targaryens in tow, Egg takes a knife and walks into Aerion’s room. 

The intent is clear, but Egg isn’t showing the traditional cold approach that Targaryens show. Instead, he’s scared, and it’s clear, but made clearer when Maekar appears and stays his hand. It’s a moment when Maekar realizes what has pushed his son to Dunk, and Egg realizes this is who he wants to be now. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6 brilliantly captures the ramifications of choosing to mentor the next generation. It adds weight to the series’ core focus, and Dunk’s stature rises. A man from Flea Bottom standing tall in his honor and kindness, and that’s what Egg needs. And that’s why the realm needs a good man. 

As the audience clues in, so does Dunk, and we see him change his mind about taking Egg to squire. The most important element of this choice is that Dunk’s choice to take Egg is one made on his own terms. The young prince will sleep in hedges, serve lords when he can, but he will live in poverty. He will be, by all counts, considered the smallfolk despite his lineage. 

By rebuking Summerhall, Dunk highlights the importance of saving Egg from the entirety of the Targaryen influence. He wants to make a good man, a good knight, not a cruel ruler who hurts others. And this is the only way. Maekar, of course, rejects this offer, assured that his son won’t be a pauper instead of a prince. But the way that Sam Spruell performs the moment is somber. 

Maekar is assured in his decision, but the elements of sadness and understanding what that means aren’t absent. Instead, Maekar almost seems regretful in the same moment that he upholds Targaryen sovereignty. The self-awareness of each character and how they respond to the people and world around them help shape A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6 into something special. 

Every choice in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has a consequence, positive and negative. And because the series is such a small slice of life instead of some large overarching struggle for power and control of the Iron Throne, everything can wrap up. The deliberate simplicity in the series speaks volumes. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6’s small scale makes it one of the best pieces of fantasy storytelling on TV.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6 is one short story within one man’s life, and as such, we get closer to growth and acceptance. After thinking back to his last moments with Ser Arlan, Dunk prepares to leave, hammering a penny into the tree as homage to his teacher. 

When Dunk prepares to leave, Egg appears, hopping over a small wall in plainclothes, with no sign of royalty on him, his white stubble shaved smooth. Egg is going to squire, and he is going to see the world through Dunk’s eyes. Only Dunk doesn’t know that Maekar didn’t have a change of heart; he doesn’t know. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6 ends with a focus on the future. As Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg ride their horses through a field, we see Ser Arlan behind them, as he turns left and allows them to continue forward without him. Ser Duncan the Tall is now the teacher, the good man protecting a child when he needs it. It’s closure for the story, which ensures that the series doesn’t feel incomplete. But it’s also a promise that more is to come. 

As a finale, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6 is the perfect end to a perfect season. There is hope and clarity, and choices that push our characters toward good but never sidestep the complexity of emotion. We will get more of them, that we know, and with all my heart I want to see them grow together. This is a rare series that has arrived on television right when we needed it, and more importantly, reminded me why I love fantasy and why George R.R. Martin’s world is so beloved. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 is streaming now on HBO Max. 

Previous Episode |