The Future of Dunk and Egg

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is about Dunk  and Egg. The humble knight and his young squire have adventures in Westeros. The show is based on  books by George R. R. Martin. Season 1 is based on Book 1, The Hedge Knight. Season 2 is Book 2,  The Sworn Sword. And Season 3 will be Book 3, The Mystery Knight. But the story of Dunk and  Egg doesn’t end there. We know more about Dunk and Egg’s lives from the book The World of Ice and  Fire. And from comments by author George Martin.

[00:00:30]Spoiler warning. Dunk and Egg travel all over Westeros, from Dorne to the Wall, and to cities in the  east. They meet the Starks of Winterfell. They fight wars against the Blackfyres. Egg becomes  King of Westeros. And Dunk joins his Kingsguard.

[00:00:48]Egg gets married and has kids. And his kids all  have messy love lives. Dunk fights against Lyonel Baratheon. Egg knights a young Barristan  Selmy, and a young Tywin Lannister becomes Egg’s cupbearer. Dunk and Egg have mysterious  connections with the Lannister family. The story of Dunk and Egg ends at the tragedy of Summerhall. George Martin hasn’t yet written these stories in detail. He wants to write ten or twelve more  Dunk and Egg books, to tell their whole life stories. George has plans and outlines for  these books. And George shared his plans with the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner,  Ira Parker. Ira wants to make twelve seasons of the TV show, based on George’s plans. So what are George’s plans, what happens in Dunk and Egg’s lives, and what adventures  will we see in future books and seasons?

[00:01:44]Dunk was born in about the year one  ninety-two. That’s a hundred years before Game of Thrones. And sixty  years after House of the Dragon.

[00:01:53]Dunk was an orphan, on the  streets of King’s Landing.

[00:01:57]In one ninety-six, there was a war called the  First Blackfyre Rebellion. Daemon Blackfyre rebelled against his half-brother King Daeron.  The Blackfyres were defeated – with the help of Prince Baelor, Prince Maekar, and Bloodraven.  But some Blackfyres survived, and they went east with Bittersteel, to plot more rebellions. Dunk became a squire for a hedge knight named Arlan. Arlan taught Dunk the moral  values of a knight – honour, justice, protecting the innocent. For ten years, Arlan  and Dunk served lords and armies across Westeros.

[00:02:34]Then the first book, The Hedge Knight,  begins. Arlan dies. And Dunk enters a tournament, as Ser Duncan the Tall. Dunk  hits Prince Aerion Targaryen to protect Tanselle. Dunk wins a trial by combat. Prince  Baelor dies. And Dunk takes Egg as his squire.

[00:02:50]Egg is an adventurous nine-year-old boy. And  Egg is Prince Aegon Targaryen, son of Prince Maekar. In their travels, Egg hides his Targaryen  identity, and enjoys freedom from royal life.

[00:03:05]Book 2 is The Sworn Sword, and it’s set about two  years after The Hedge Knight. But Dunk and Egg had more adventures in between these two books. Dunk  and Egg went south to Dorne. They journeyed over mountains and crossed deep deserts. Their horse  Chestnut died – and Dunk dug a grave for the horse in the sand. Dunk had an incident with “mad, sad  Lady Vaith”. Lady Vaith was probably the ex-lover of King Aegon the Fourth. Dunk accidentally upset  Vaith, and Vaith almost had Dunk and Egg killed.

[00:03:40]Dunk and Egg went downriver to Planky Town,  then took a ship to Oldtown. Along the way, they were attacked by ironborn.  Dunk fought them and almost died.

[00:03:51]In Oldtown, Dunk and Egg visited Egg’s brother  Aemon. Aemon was about twelve years old at the time, studying to be a maester. Dunk  Egg and Aemon drank “fearsomely strong cider” together. And Aemon gave a mule  to Dunk and Egg, who they named Maester.

[00:04:08]In these travels, Dunk and Egg slept in  “stables, inns, and ditches”. They met priests, whores and mummers. And they saw  lots of puppet shows, because Dunk hopes to reunite with the puppeteer Tanselle. The books only briefly mention these adventures, they don’t tell the full story. So George  said he might write a book about this Dornish adventure. The series might jump around in  time, non-chronologically. Ira Parker hinted that Season 2 of the TV show might include  the Dorne adventure, maybe as flashbacks.

[00:04:46]While Dunk and Egg were in Dorne, there was a  plague in Westeros. The plague killed King Daeron, and his grandson Valarr. Daeron’s heir Baelor had  died in Dunk’s trial. So Daeron’s second son Aerys became king. Aerys was a weak king, who faced  rebellions. His Hand of the King was Bloodraven.

[00:05:08]In The Sworn Sword, Dunk and Egg serve a knight  named Eustace Osgrey. Eustace is in conflict with Lady Rohanne Webber. Dunk ends the conflict with a  trial by combat. And Dunk has a brief romance with Rohanne. So that’ll be Season 2 of the TV show. Book 3 is The Mystery Knight, set one year later. So Dunk is now about twenty years old,  in the books. And Egg is eleven. Dunk and Egg go to a tournament, and they discover a rebel  conspiracy. Daemon Blackfyre the Second tries to start a new rebellion, with the help  of Lord Gormon Peake. Dunk and Egg help stop the rebellion, and Daemon is arrested by  Bloodraven. We also see a young Walder Frey, and a troupe of toilet dwarfs. The plan is to  adapt this story as Season 3 of the show, in 2028.

[00:06:01]So those are the three published books, which will  be the first three seasons of the show. But what are the future stories of Dunk and Egg? In The Mystery Knight, Dunk says he and Egg will go north to Winterfell. Because the  north is under attack by Lord Dagon Greyjoy.

[00:06:20]Lord Beron Stark is gathering men to stop the  ironborn, and Dunk plans to join the Stark forces.

[00:06:27]George Martin started writing this northern  story. It has the working title “The She-Wolves of Winterfell”. George described the story  at a convention. It seems that when Dunk and Egg get to Winterfell, Lord Beron is dying  of wounds from battle. So we meet Beron’s family – a group of formidable northern women  called the She-Wolves. These women are wives, widows, mothers and grandmothers of the Starks.  And they’re in conflict, arguing over who’ll be the next Stark lord. According to the family tree,  Beron’s son Donnor Stark should be the next Lord of Winterfell. But maybe Donnor is too young, or  too weak, so someone needs to rule for him. Or maybe there’s a rival claim from another branch of  House Stark. For whatever reason, Dunk and Egg get involved in a succession crisis at Winterfell. The story might also have a romance for Dunk.

[00:07:28]Because in the main books, Bran Stark has a  vision of Winterfell in the past – he sees “a young knight” who’s “as tall as Hodor” kissing  a brown-haired girl. Fans think this tall young knight might be Dunk, and the girl might be  Old Nan, the old woman who tells stories to Bran. Old Nan is Hodor’s great-grandma, and Hodor  is super tall, so maybe Dunk and Nan have sex, and Dunk is Hodor’s great-grandpa. But  Dunk doesn’t stay at Winterfell. So would Dunk leave Nan if he got her pregnant? Dunk never knew his parents. So in the books, he wants to search for his father at the Wall.  He thinks his dad might have been a criminal who was sent to the Night’s Watch. So maybe while  Dunk is the north, he goes to the Wall to find his father – exploring themes of parenthood and  bastardy, which would be relevant if Dunk has kids. Cause even if Dunk and Nan don’t hook up,  George Martin has hinted that Brienne is descended from Dunk. So Dunk does have kids with someone.  But as far as we know he doesn’t get married, or raise his kids, so what kind of father is Dunk? The She-Wolves story is presumably focussed on the Starks choosing their next lord.  After that’s settled, maybe Dunk will have to fight Dagon Greyjoy and his ironborn. George Martin had the idea for this story since at least 2006. He was contracted to publish it in  2013, but the story wasn’t finished. But in 2025, George hinted that he’s been working on  She-Wolves again. So She-Wolves could be the next new Dunk and Egg story – it might be  the fourth book and fourth season of the show.

[00:09:24]George started writing another book called The  Village Hero. Set in the riverlands. George hasn’t described this story. But it might involve  Otho Bracken. Cause the Brackens are an important house in the riverlands. And Otho is introduced  in The Hedge Knight – he’s the guy who farts in the show. In The Sworn Sword, a character  says that Otho will become the Bracken lord, and that this will cause war with the Blackwoods.  The Brackens and Blackwoods have been feuding for thousands of years. And Otho famously killed Lord  Quentyn Blackwood. So Blackwood-Bracken conflict could be part of The Village Hero. Maybe the story  will reveal the mysterious origins of the feud.

[00:10:10]Dunk’s mentor Arlan was from a village called  Pennytree. And Pennytree is in the riverlands, in contested territory between the Brackens  and Blackwoods. So maybe in The Village Hero, Dunk will visit Arlan’s hometown. He could  see the penny tree mentioned in Season 1.

[00:10:28]Maybe Dunk will meet Arlan’s sister, the mother of  Arlan’s old squire Roger. Dunk could learn about the life and legacy of his father figure. Maybe  Arlan is the village hero of the story’s title.

[00:10:43]Egg later marries a Blackwood, Lady  Betha. Betha is described as spirited, and “stubborn”. She’s nicknamed “Black”  Betha for her raven-dark hair and eyes.

[00:10:56]Betha is the daughter of Lord Blackwood,  so she might appear in The Village Hero.

[00:11:02]Egg and Betha would both be teenagers  at this time. So Egg could begin his romance with his future wife in this story. The Blackwoods are one of the few riverlords who worship the old gods. They have a great  weirwood tree at Raventree Hall. Bloodraven’s mother was a Blackwood, which connects him  to the magic of greensight. So The Village Hero could explore the mysteries of the old gods. George has had plans for The Village Hero since at least 2014. And he says he started  writing his riverlands story in 2025.

[00:11:36]So The Village Hero could be the fifth  book or fifth season of Dunk and Egg.

[00:11:43]So Ira Parker wants to make twelve seasons of A  Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. He says he wants to make four or five seasons now with Egg as  a boy. Then he wants to wait for ten years, and come back when the actors are older. They’ll  do more seasons with Egg in his twenties. Then they’ll do another ten year gap, and do the final  seasons with Egg as a grown man. It’s an ambitious plan. But it fits the arc of the books. Cause the first few Dunk and Egg books are small-scale adventures, when Dunk and Egg are  young and inexperienced. But ten years later, Dunk and Egg are involved in bigger  events, including politics and war.

[00:12:22]The books say that at some point, Dunk and Egg  go to the Disputed Lands. The Disputed Lands are in the east, between the cities of Tyrosh, Myr  and Lys. These cities often hire mercenaries, or sellswords, to fight in the Disputed Lands.  And it looks like Dunk will become a sellsword.

[00:12:40]Because the titles of the Dunk and Egg books  all refer to Dunk’s job description. In Book 1, he’s a hedge knight. In Book 2, he’s a  sworn sword. In Book 3, he’s a mystery knight. And George said that a future book  title will be The Sellsword. So maybe Dunk will be a sellsword in the Disputed Lands. Cause in Book 1, we meet Egg’s evil brother Aerion. Dunk defeats Aerion. Then Maekar sends  Aerion to Lys. And Aerion joins a sellsword company, called the Second Sons. So maybe Dunk  and Egg go to the Disputed Lands, and become sellswords, to find Aerion. Maybe to bring him  home, or to stop him from doing something stupid.

[00:13:23]At this time, there are Blackfyre rebels in  the east. Their main ally is Bittersteel, the half-brother of Daemon Blackfyre the First,  and the half-great-uncle of Egg. And Bittersteel leads a sellsword group in the Disputed Lands,  called the Golden Company. So that’s another reason why Dunk and Egg might go to the Disputed  Lands – to investigate or stop Bittersteel. Maybe they infiltrate the Golden Company. Maybe they  stop Aerion from joining the Blackfyres. Also, around this time, we know there’s a Stark in the  Second Sons – Rodrik Stark, the Wandering Wolf, a son of Lord Beron from the She-Wolves story.  So maybe Rodrik is in this story. This is all just speculation. But we know there’ll be a  sellsword story, we know Dunk and Egg go to the Disputed Lands, so maybe they will face Aerion,  and Bittersteel, in the east. In the books, sellswords often raise questions of loyalty  and morality, and those themes are important for Dunk’s journey as a hedge knight. The  Sellsword might be the sixth Dunk and Egg story.

[00:14:33]According to the history book, in  the year 219, Egg was involved in a war. This was ten years after Book 1,  so Egg was 19, and Dunk was about 27.

[00:14:45]Bittersteel and Haegon Blackfyre launched the  Third Blackfyre Rebellion. And the Targaryens battled the rebels. Egg showed “courage”. And  his father Maekar showed “leadership”. Aerion was there, and Aerion did.. “actions”. It doesn’t  say if these actions were helpful or not. There was a duel between Bloodraven and Bittersteel.  Haegon Blackfyre surrended. But Haegon was treacherously killed – maybe by Aerion or by  Bloodraven. Bittersteel was captured, but King Aerys spared him, and Bittersteel escaped. The book doesn’t say if Dunk was involved, but you’d assume he’d be with Egg. This could  be Dunk and Egg’s first big battle. And it might be the first story where Egg is acting as Prince  Aegon Targaryen, instead of hiding his identity as Egg. This story could explore Egg’s relationship  with Maekar. And with Aerion. Was Aerion an ally now, or an enemy? The capture of Haegon and  Bittersteel raises themes of mercy and morality.

[00:15:51]So the Blackfyres were defeated, and the  next year, Egg married Betha Blackwood.

[00:15:56]So after proving his courage in war, Egg  became a husband, and soon a father. Maybe this story is about Egg becoming a man.  Aemon says Egg was sweet and innocent, but that Egg had to “Kill the boy and let the  man be born”, to be “An Aegon, not an Egg”.

[00:16:16]The book doesn’t say where this war happened.  Maybe it happened in the Disputed Lands, maybe this story is part of the sellsword book. So the Third Blackfyre Rebellion might be the sixth or the seventh Dunk and Egg story. The books mention another incident around this time. It involves “the Rat, the Hawk, and  the Pig”, and Princess Aelora Targaryen. Aelora was Egg’s cousin – a daughter of Prince Rhaegel.  Aelora was married to her twin brother Aelor, until Aelora accidentally killed Aelor in a  “grotesque mishap”, that left Aelora “mad with grief”. Later, there was a masked ball – people  wore animal masks at this party. There, Aelora was attacked by three men called “the Rat, the  Hawk, and the Pig”. Then Aelora committed suicide.

[00:17:13]These events are mysterious. What happened  at the ball, and who were the Rat Hawk and Pig? All we know is that thirty years later,  the Rat Hawk and Pig were part of a rebellion, and they were defeated in battle. So maybe  the Rat Hawk and Pig were outlaws? Or rebel lords? Maybe they were connected with the  Blackfyres. Cause the attack on Aelora seems to have happened around the time of the  Third Rebellion. Or maybe the masked ball was part of Egg and Betha’s wedding or engagement. It’s a mystery. But George Martin seems to have a story in mind here – involving  tragedy amidst romance and war.

[00:17:52]In two twenty-one, King Aerys died. And Egg’s  father Maekar became king. Maekar summoned his sons to court – Daeron, Aerion, Aemon,  Egg. Aemon refused to join Maekar’s council, and instead served as maester to Daeron at  Dragonstone. Then Daeron died of a pox. And Aerion also died. Because in a fit of drunken  madness, Aerion drank wildfire – that explosive green liquid. Aerion thought this would transform  him into a dragon. But it just killed him. Maybe visions or prophecies or Bloodraven led Aerion  to this madness. So Maekar got the throne, but his family fell apart. What was his  relationship like with Egg, and Dunk?

[00:18:40]As king, Maekar was harsh and stern. His reign  was mostly peaceful, until the Peake Uprising.

[00:18:49]House Peake are a family in the Reach. In  the First Blackfyre Rebellion, Lord Gormon Peake fought for the rebels – and it was Gormon  who killed Arlan’s squire Roger. Gormon Peake led the Second Blackfyre Rebellion in The Mystery  Knight, and was killed for it. And now the Peakes rebelled again. This was in two thirty-three,  when Dunk was about 41 years old, and Egg was 33.

[00:19:14]Most of our information about the Uprising is  from a bonus chapter published on George Martin’s website. It says the Targaryens defeated the  Peakes at their castle, Starpike. Egg was at this battle, and Egg had a squire named Tion Lannister.  Tion was the son of Lord Gerold Lannister with his wife Rohanne Webber – the same Rohanne who Dunk  kissed in The Sworn Sword. So it seems like Dunk and Egg are friends with Rohanne’s family. Since Egg had a squire, Egg must have become a knight – maybe Egg was knighted by  Dunk. Even though, as far as we know, Dunk was never knighted himself. Which would  technically make Egg a fake knight, like Dunk.

[00:19:57]Tion Lannister had a twin brother named  Tywald. And at the Storming of Starpike, Tywald was mortally wounded. While  Tywald was dying, Egg knighted Tywald, granting Tywald’s last wish – to be a knight. In this battle, Egg’s father King Maekar was killed – his head was crushed by a rock dropped  from a wall. So Maekar died from a head injury, like how his brother Baelor died. Lord Robert Reyne was killed in this battle. So Robert’s son Roger started  killing Peake prisoners, for revenge, until Egg stopped him. So even after Maekar’s death,  Egg chooses mercy, not vengeance and murder.

[00:20:40]So in this war, Egg is a knight with a squire  of his own, like Dunk was for him. He faces tragedy with the deaths of his father and  Tywald. But he stays committed to his morals.

[00:20:53]George Martin reportedly said that  he’s planned a book about these events.

[00:20:57]After the death of King Maekar, the lords  held a Great Council, to choose the next king. They rejected Daeron’s “simple-minded  daughter Vaella”. They rejected Aerion’s baby Maegor. Aemon couldn’t be king because he was  a maester. A Blackfyre called Aenys turned up, and Bloodraven treacherously killed him.  The obvious choice for king was Egg. But many lords didn’t trust Egg, because Egg grew up  travelling with Dunk, living like a weird peasant.

[00:21:27]Some lords wanted Aemon to stop being a maester  and become king, but Aemon refused. So Egg got the throne – he became King Aegon the Fifth.  And a big reason why Egg was chosen is cause he was supported by Lord Gerold Lannister – the  husband of Dunk’s crush Rohanne, and the father of Egg’s squire Tion. Gerold used his words and  his gold to convince the lords to make Egg king.

[00:21:54]So it sounds like Gerold is a friend and ally of  Egg and Dunk. Which is interesting, because Gerold is said to be a murderer. It’s rumoured that  Gerold killed his own brother, and his niece, to take over Casterly Rock. And also, Gerold’s  wife Rohanne, Dunk’s crush, she “vanished under mysterious circumstances” three years ago.  Did Gerold murder Rohanne? And if Gerold is a murderer, why would Dunk and Egg be friends with  him? Maybe Dunk and Egg were involved in Rohanne’s disappearance. Maybe Rohanne wanted to disappear.  Maybe Dunk and Rohanne continued their romance.

[00:22:34]It seems like there’s a story here about  Dunk and Egg, and Gerold and Rohanne, amidst the politics of Egg’s rise to the throne. King Egg wanted Aemon to help him rule. But Aemon was worried that people would  use Aemon against Egg politically.

[00:22:50]So Aemon joined the Night’s Watch. Bloodraven dishonourably killed Aenys Blackfyre. So as punishment, Egg sent Bloodraven  to also join the Night’s Watch. Or maybe Egg really sent Bloodraven north to investigate  white walkers or something, who knows. Egg sent Dunk to escort Aemon and Bloodraven to the  Wall. So maybe Dunk got wise advice from Aemon, or mystical knowledge from Bloodraven. Maybe  Dunk finally met his father at the Wall.

[00:23:18]The Great Council could be the  tenth Dunk and Egg book or season.

[00:23:23]Egg tried to be a good king. In his adventures  with Dunk, Egg learned to respect and care for the common people. So King Egg tried to  help the smallfolk. Giving them new rights and protections. But the lords hated this,  and some of them rebelled. Egg spent “much of his reign in armor”, fighting rebels. In two thirty-six, the Blackfyres returned.

[00:23:47]The Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion was led by  Daemon the Third and by Bittersteel with the Golden Company. Dunk and King Egg battled  the Blackfyres, alongside Egg’s three sons. At the Battle of Wendwater Bridge, Aegon’s knights  broke the Golden Company. Bittersteel fled. And Dunk killed Daemon Blackfyre the Third. It was a  decisive Targaryen victory. Egg’s army lost less than a hundred men. But one of the dead was Tion  Lannister, Gerold and Rohanne’s son, who was Egg’s squire. For years Egg’s whole identity was being  a squire – how did he feel to see his squire die?

[00:24:27]At this time, Dunk was a Kingsguard knight –  a sworn protector of King Egg. And eventually Dunk became Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.  George said that “The Kingsguard” and “The Lord Commander” will be titles of future Dunk  and Egg books. So maybe this Blackfyre rebellion story is “The Kingsguard”,  the eleventh Dunk and Egg adventure.

[00:24:50]King Egg and Queen Betha had five  children – Duncan, Jaehaerys, Shaera, Daeron and Rhaelle. Traditionally, Targaryens  marry their own siblings – the incest keeps the dragon blood pure. “The McPoyle bloodline has  been pure and clean for a thousand years”. But Egg wanted to avoid incest. “Avoid incest”.  Instead, Egg and Betha arranged for their kids to marry important nobles. This would form  alliances with the Baratheons, Tullys, Tyrells and Redwynes. But Egg’s children were rebellious.  They wanted to marry for love not politics.

[00:25:27]Egg’s first son was Duncan “the Small”,  named after Duncan the Tall. Duncan was heir to the throne, and he was betrothed to  marry a daughter of Lyonel Baratheon – the same Lyonel who we met in the Season 1, thirty  years ago. Lyonel was now Lord of Storm’s End, and he and King Egg were close allies. This  marriage would ensure the Baratheons and Targaryens stayed friends for another generation. But Duncan fell in love with another woman, named Jenny of Oldstones. Jenny was a mysterious wild  commoner, who wore flowers in her hair. She lived among ruins, and claimed to descend from ancient  kings of the riverlands. Jenny was friends with a woods witch – Arya meets this witch in the main  books, she’s called the ghost of High Heart. The ghost wants to hear a song about Jenny. And in  Game of Thrones, Podrick sings Jenny’s song.

[00:26:22]King Egg didn’t want Duncan to marry Jenny.  The heir to the throne shouldn’t marry a wild peasant girl. But Duncan loved Jenny so much,  that Duncan gave up his claim to the throne, and married Jenny. Duncan went from the Prince  of Dragonstone to the Prince of Dragonflies.

[00:26:40]Lyonel was furious that Duncan broke the betrothal  with his daughter. So Lyonel swore an oath of vengeance, and he rebelled against King Egg,  crowning himself an independent Storm King.

[00:26:55]Lyonel’s rebellion ended when Dunk defeated  Lyonel in single combat. Thirty years ago, they danced and rode together – now  Dunk defeated the Laughing Storm.

[00:27:07]To make up for the broken betrothal, Egg had  his daughter Rhaelle marry Lyonel’s son Ormund.

[00:27:12]Ormund and Rhaelle’s grandson was Robert  Baratheon, the man who ended the Targaryen dynasty in Robert’s Rebellion. So Duncan  and Jenny’s love led to the downfall of the Targaryens. This story might be titled The  Champion, because Dunk fights as Egg’s champion.

[00:27:31]Egg’s second son was Jaehaerys. And Jaehaerys was  in love with his sister Shaera. Egg wanted to stop the incest. He wanted Jaehaerys to marry a Tully,  and Shaera to marry a Tyrell. But Jaehaerys and Shaera refused. They ran off and married each  other, and Egg was forced to accept it. This ruined the potential alliances with the Tullys and  Tyrells. And Jaehaerys and Shaera’s son was the Mad King Aerys Targaryen. Maybe incest is bad! Jenny’s witch friend, the ghost of High Heart, made a prophecy. She said that  the prince that was promised, or Azor Ahai, the hero who’ll defeat the white walkers, will be  born of the line of Aerys and his sister Rhaella.

[00:28:15]Because of that prophecy, Jaehaerys made Aerys  and Rhaella get married. Egg didn’t support this incestuous prophecy marriage. But Aerys and  Rhaella’s daughter was Daenerys, and their grandson, apparently, was Jon Snow – these might  be the heroes who’ll save the world, in the books.

[00:28:32]There are theories that this prophecy is part  of why Duncan abdicated, and why Aemon refused the Throne. Why Daeron and Aerion self-destructed,  and why Egg’s uncle Aerys had no children – maybe they all believed that the bloodline of  Daenerys and Jon Snow must take the throne.

[00:28:50]It’s just speculation. But there’s definitely  prophecy and mystery amidst the family drama.

[00:28:58]Egg’s third son was Daeron – named after Egg’s  brother Daeron the Drunken. Daeron was a “splendid knight”, “A born soldier” who loved tournaments  and battle. Daeron was betrothed to marry Olenna Redwyne – a young Queen of Thorns from Game  of Thrones. But Daeron refused to marry her, because Daeron was in love with a knight named  Jeremy. Daeron and Jeremy died together in battle against the Rat the Hawk and the Pig. So Egg’s family is full of drama, romance, prophecy, and tragedy. His children choose  love over politics – and this leads to the downfall of House Targaryen. The stories  of Duncan and Jenny, Dunk and Lyonel, Jaehaerys and Shaera and Daeron, could be one  or multiple Dunk and Egg books and seasons.

[00:29:48]In 253, there was a tournament at  King’s Landing. Dunk was about 61, Egg was about 53. At this tourney, a  sixteen-year-old Barristan Selmy competed as a mystery knight. Barristan defeated Dunk the  Tall, and defeated Prince Duncan the Small. So King Egg knighted Barristan – and Barristan  eventually became a legendary famous knight.

[00:30:12]And it’s funny – coz if Barristan was knighted  by Egg, and if Egg was knighted by Dunk, and Dunk was never knighted – then Barristan  the Bold, one of the greatest knights ever, is technically not a real knight. By this time, Dunk was Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. So “The Lord Commander”  might be the title of a book around this time.

[00:30:34]While King Egg ruled, there was trouble in the  westerlands. Because Tywald and Tion Lannister both died, Gerold’s third son, Tytos, became  lord. And Tytos was weak. His lords disobeyed him, leading to corruption and rebellions. The weakness of House Lannister infuriated Tytos’ son, Tywin Lannister. When Tywin was  ten years old, Tytos had his daughter marry a low-ranked Frey. And Tywin got so angry that he’s  said to have hit his father. Tytos then sent Tywin to King’s Landing to be Egg’s cupbearer. So young  Tywin was probably close to Egg and his council for years. Egg was 52 years old at this time,  and Dunk was 60. What did they think of Tywin?

[00:31:23]Even at ten, Tywin was “iron-willed, fearless”,  and hard beyond his years. At court, Tywin made friends with Aerys, the future Mad King. Did  Egg see how dangerous Tywin and Aerys were?

[00:31:38]In the west, Lord Tytos failed to bring order  and justice. Three times, Egg had to send knights to the westerlands to end conflicts.  Maybe Ser Dunk was part of these missions.

[00:31:51]Because of Tytos’ weakness, rival houses House  Reyne and House Tarbeck became more powerful.

[00:31:57]One time, the Tarbecks stole some land from  some knights. The knights asked King Egg for help. And Egg got angry at Tytos, and commanding  him to deal with the problem. But Tytos failed to control the Reynes and Tarbecks. So, years  later, Tywin massacred the Reynes and Tarbecks, killing hundreds of civilians. They wrote a song  about it, called “The Rains of Castamere”. So Tywin committed some of the worst atrocities in  the history of Westeros. And as cupbearer, Tywin was close to King Egg. Tywin only became lord  because of Tywald and Tion both died by Egg’s side. And Tywin is the grandson of Dunk’s crush  Rohanne and Egg’s ally Gerold. So we don’t know the full story, but Dunk and Egg are closely  connected with three generations of Lannisters, leading to Tywin’s monstrous atrocities. King Egg’s reign was difficult. Egg wanted to bring peace and justice for all. But there  were so many rebellions. The Blackfyres, Lyonel, the Rat Hawk and Pig, chaos in the westerlands.  And on the Stepstones, Maelys Blackfyre and the Ninepenny Kings planned their attack. Egg came  to believe that he needed the power of dragons.

[00:33:20]Dragons had been extinct for a hundred years. But  they still had dragon eggs. Egg got obsessed with hatching these eggs. And this dream of dragons led  to tragedy at Summerhall. Aemon says that all his brothers dreamed of dragons – Daeron, Aerion,  Egg. And the dreams killed them, every one.

[00:33:42]We don’t know what happened at Summerhall. But it  sounds like Egg gathered his family, and he did a ritual to hatch dragon eggs. Egg used wildfire  and pyromancers. A fire got out of control. And King Egg died, along with some of his family. The  books hint that Dunk saved someone – he might have saved Rhaella, while she gave birth to Rhaegar. There are lots of theories about Summerhall. Like, maybe Egg deliberately sacrificed himself,  or sacrificed his own family – believing it was necessary to hatch dragons for the greater  good. [Maybe Egg dreamed of the white walkers, and that’s why he thought he needed dragons].  It’s like how Stannis sacrifices people to try to wake dragons in the books. Aemon says  “better men than Stannis have done worse things than this”. Maybe Aemon is talking about  his brother Egg sacrificing people at Summerhall.

[00:34:36]As a Targaryen, Egg is connected to mystical  dreams of blood and fire and destiny. But Dunk is different. Dunk more grounded. Dunk is sceptical  of magic and prophecy. In The Mystery Knight, Egg is excited about dreams of dragons, he  says it’ll splendid if dragon eggs hatch. But Dunk has doubts – he asks, would it be splendid?  Dunk’s identity is his knighthood – he’s sworn to protect the innocent. So Dunk wouldn’t let  Egg sacrifice people. Maybe Dunk tried to stop Egg from doing Summerhall. Maybe after  fifty years of friendship, after all their adventures, maybe Dunk had to turn against his  friend. Like when Sam has to stop Frodo at Mount Doom. At the end of their long journey, two  friends struggling with power amid fire. This could bring together all the series’ themes of  ambition and dreams versus morals and humility.

[00:35:42]The story of Dunk and Egg ends in tragedy at  Summerhall. The books say that Egg died at Summerhall, and the official app says that Dunk  died there too. But the actor who plays Egg said that George said that Dunk survived Summerhall.  And that does fit with Daeron’s dream in the show about Dunk surviving a fire. So if Dunk secretly  survived, where did he go? There’s one wild theory that Dunk became Coldhands, the zombie in the  books. But maybe Dunk reunited with Rohanne, his old crush, who mysteriously vanished  thirty years prior. Maybe in their old age, Dunk and Rohanne got to be together. In the books, Brienne finds Dunk’s shield on Tarth, the home of House Tarth.  And George reportedly said that Dunk was an ancestor of Brienne of Tarth. So maybe Dunk  and Nan had a daughter who married a Tarth, and now she and Dunk and Rohanne and Tanselle  could live happily ever after. Like Sam in The Lord of the Rings, getting a happy family, while  still carrying grief from losing his friend Egg.

[00:36:56]So that’s what we know about the lives of Dunk  and Egg. This could be twelve or fifteen books or seasons. And this is only based on the  information we already have. George might have lots more plans for Dunk and Egg that he  hasn’t revealed yet. This is a long, epic tale.

[00:37:15]The first few Dunk and Egg books are fun and short  – they’re only novellas, thirty thousand words long. That’s why the TV seasons are only  six episodes of thirty minutes each. But Dunk and Egg’s later adventures – with the wars  and politics and deaths in fire – they might be bigger books. Darker, more complex books. The TV  seasons might need more and longer episodes. The story gets much more complicated, and that  might be why the book series is unfinished.

[00:37:47]George says he wants to finish the Dunk and  Egg books before the show gets past his books, but he said the same thing about the main Game  of Thrones series, and those books are still unfinished. Maybe the TV show can continue based  on George’s plans. And hopefully one day we’ll get the full story of Dunk and Egg. From a humble  knight and squire, to a king and a champion of Westeros. Ending with tragedy, in blood and fire. So those are the facts of Dunk and Egg’s future.

[00:38:21]But what will these stories feel like on screen?  Alt Schwift X and Glidus made a video discussing each of these Dunk and Egg stories. It’s  three hours of in-depth speculation!

[00:38:31]They also made a new video chatting about House  of the Dragon Season 3. And starting in June, they’ll make Dragon Time, weekly discussions of  each episode of Hot D Three. You can watch all these videos, in full, exclusively on Nebula.  Nebula subscribers get early access to the full version of Dragon Time. And they can listen  on podcast apps using the Nebula podcast feed.

[00:38:53]Nebula is an independent, creator-owned site,  and signing up helps support Alt Shift X.

[00:38:59]Nebula has over seventy hours of exclusive Alt and  Glidus videos. And Nebula is home to other great creators, like Tom Scott, and his new series,  England. Abigail Thorne plays Sharako on Hot D, and Nebula has Abigail's films Dracula’s  Ex-Girlfriend, and The Prince. With my link, you can get 50% off an annual subscription,  making the price just thirty bucks for a year.

[00:39:22]Sign up at nebula.tv/altshiftx. And watch  Dragon Time starting this June. Thanks.

[00:39:28]Thanks for watching. And thanks to the Patrons,  including Steven, Judith Teresa, Alex Dellbridge, Jenny of Coldstone Creamery, Angés, Emily  Magnotta, Guy Incognito, and Nexist. Cheers.