Spoilers

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

“In the Name of the Mother”

We started off with a few fleeting moments of a brutal battle, but Duncan takes a lance to his side and a blow to his head, sending him into an unconscious state and us into a flashback to Dunk as a kid.

At first, I did not want to go into the past and leave the Trial of Seven, but it did not take long before I was engaged with the story they were telling in the flashback. We met young Dunk and a girl named Rafe, stealing from a nearly dead knight whose horse had fallen on him. We learn that they are thieves, surviving by their wits. Dunk had been deserted by his mother, either from choice or by death.

I assumed that Rafe was going to meet with some kind of horrible fate since we have not mentioned her before, and, sure enough, she has her throat slashed by a crooked guard who had stolen the silver that they had “earned.” Rafe snuck the knife from the guard’s scabbard and it cost her her life.

This was where we see how Dunk meets Ser Arlan of Pennytree, who saved Dunk from the same fate as Rafe. Dunk is injured in the scrum and follows Arlan. Arlan ends up helping Dunk.

Then, the flashbacks were over as suddenly as they began, and we were right back to the Trial of Seven, where Ser Duncan fought his way through what seemed to be multiple horrific blows to force Aerion to rescind the charges and thus win the Trial of Seven.

When Baelor came into the tent to see Duncan, I knew what was going to happen. I had been spoiled about  Baelor’s death last week thanks to a Wikipedia page I was using for research. The head wound was brutal and I have no idea what will happen to Duncan in the finale.

The battle between them was brutal and hard to watch at times but unbelievably choreographed and full of emotion.

There is one more episode of the show and I am sure it will deal with the fallout of the Trial of Seven. I have really enjoyed this series so far. I hope it hits the landing.