# New Game of Thrones show - "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, hbomax-wb-dc\ **Created:** [October 10, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862 "2025-10-10T22:32:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/361 "2026-02-26T15:14:57Z")
Maekar is a dick, at least in public. That doesn’t mean he’s cruel. He appears to be a loving and caring father to Egg. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/362 "2026-02-26T15:37:46Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > He was a huge dick the first time they met at the very least. Are you sure you’re not thinking of Ser Arlen? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/363 "2026-02-26T15:49:54Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > He was a huge dick the first time they met at the very least. He was, absolutely. But he seemed to be your typical “lord addressing a scrubby hedge knight” level of being a dick, and not “Nazi movie supervillain who drowns puppies” level like Aerion or Viserys or the other “coin landed tails-up” Targaryens we’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/364 "2026-02-26T16:42:41Z")
He’s not a nice guy, but he’s not a bad guy, either. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/365 "2026-02-26T16:48:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > He’s not a nice guy, but he’s not a bad guy, either What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or was he just born with a heart full of neutrality? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/366 "2026-02-26T19:10:20Z")
I just watched it again and that was clearly a flashback to the day of Arlan’s death. Dude looked rough, there was thunder rumbling, that was the same damn tree. Also, it doesn’t actually clear up anything because we still don’t know if he knighted Dunk or not. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/367 "2026-02-26T19:25:11Z")
I read an interview with showrunner Ira Parker who stated that scene is deliberately left ambiguous, the knighting question unresolved, to make viewers question what the true nature of Knighthood is. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/368 "2026-02-26T19:28:16Z")
Article is linked in this post: > [@New Game of Thrones show - "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/355): > > The show runner, Ira Parker, confirms that the conversation with Ser Arlan was a flashback, not a dream or imagined: [https://collider.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-finale-explained-showrunner-ira-parker-george-rr-martin-filming-season-2/](https://collider.com/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-finale-explained-showrunner-ira-parker-george-rr-martin-filming-season-2/) There’s a moment in the finale flashback when Dunk reveals that he wasn’t knighted by Ser Arlan. Why did you want to make that clear? PARKER: It’s fascinating to me that that’s what you got out of that scene. At that moment, Dunk had never been knight… ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/369 "2026-02-26T23:26:05Z")
You guys are throwing character names around like you were paying attention, and have the Song Of Ice And Fire memorised. I get lost with these names very easily, they suffer the Tolkien all-sound-the-same-to-me syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/370 "2026-02-26T23:33:01Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > You guys are throwing character names around like you were paying attention, and have the Song Of Ice And Fire memorised. I get lost with these names very easily, they suffer the Tolkien all-sound-the-same-to-me syndrome The only name I internalized is that there’s a guy named something like Beesbury whose house is obsessed with bees. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/371 "2026-02-26T23:38:23Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I get lost with these names very easily, they suffer the Tolkien all-sound-the-same-to-me syndrome. I am a _Song of Ice and Fire_ nerd, and I’m really good with character names and place names, until you get to the Targaryens, then forget about it. Their names sound so similar, and there are a lot of folks with the same name in different generations (much like real life kings), and I get lost too. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/372 "2026-02-27T01:08:19Z")
Some of us have been discussing this stories for decades. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/373 "2026-02-27T01:40:37Z")
I’m another ASOIAF nerd and have been reading the books since the 90s. Alleras is Sarella Sand! Frey pie! The Hound is the grave digger! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/374 "2026-02-27T03:11:08Z")
I used to be a big nerd about ASOIAF (forums on [westeros.org](http://westeros.org), first read about Jon being Rhaegar’s son on a geocities page), but my memory is terrible. I know Frey Pie and the Hound being the grave digger, and Alleras rings a bell but no recollection beyond the name. Helps with HOTD because I don’t remember which side wins. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/375 "2026-02-27T10:11:24Z")
Martin doesn’t make it easier by reusing names over and over. I get that is realistic but it doesn’t go easy on the reader. What is helping me keep it somewhat straight is I was reading some stuff about the Targaryen family tree because I have been re-reading Blood & Fire. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/376 "2026-03-01T14:07:49Z")
Given his story - that peasants pounded their pennies into the tree when they were dragged off to fight - have we considered the possibility that Arlan was never actually knighted? ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/377 "2026-03-01T14:27:42Z")
I have NOT read the books, but I could totally see someone like Arlan getting knighted after some battle where he showed his mettle - probably by another hedge/hired knight rather than a noble. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/378 "2026-03-01T14:29:54Z")
Yes. True. But I could also see him picking the armor off of some dead knight and taking his horse, and just deciding he had earned his spurs. Because he had. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/379 "2026-03-01T14:32:38Z")
Fair enough. It appears that GRRM and the show runner(s) are deliberately keeping all that to themselves. I actually like the choice they’ve made since it does focus the story on the question of “what does it _mean_ to be a knight” as opposed to “what does it take to be a knight”. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862/380 "2026-03-01T14:41:15Z")
That’s exactly it. Dunk is a “true knight”, or at least on the way to becoming one, because of his choices and actions, not because of a ceremony. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-game-of-thrones-show-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/1023862.md?page=20)