A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2 Review: Hard Salt Beef

The following contains spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 2.

The Targaryens arrive on the scene in the second episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but much like almost everything else about this show, they’re not entirely what you expect. Part of the reason for that is, at this particular moment in Westerosi history, the Targs are kind of not having a great time. Yeah, the family is still on the Iron Throne, but all their dragons are dead, and King Daeron II just had to put down a rebellion by his own illegitimate half-brother, Daemon Blackfyre. In short, the whole Fire and Blood thing really just isn’t as impressive as it used to be.

Case in point: The fact that they’re attending this tourney at all. Let’s face it, and no shade to House Ashford or whatever, but nothing about this event suggests that they or it are important enough for this many Targaryen heirs to the throne to be attending. The entourage includes: Prince Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvell), the heir to the Iron Throne, his younger brother Prince Maekar (Sam Spruell), and Maekar’s son Aerion (Finn Bennett). Two of Maeker’s other sons are also meant to be part of the group, but they’re missing at present, and everyone’s pretty much just hoping they aren’t dead in a ditch somewhere. But, currently missing kids aside, that’s still a lot of Targaryen royalty for this particular tournament. (It’s Aerion, for his part, who somehow at least seems aware of this, and is predictably snotty about being forced to attend.)

Their arrival is suitably dramatic, with fluttering banners, lots of attitude, and several members of the Kingsguard in tow. Baelor is immediately striking, if only for all the ways he doesn’t look like a conventional Targaryen. Dark-haired and stocky rather than white-blonde and willowy, he very visibly takes after his Dornish mother rather than his father, the king. But his appearance isn’t the only thing that goes against our expected understanding of how Targaryens are supposed to be and behave. Because Baelor is kind. When given the chance to rage at Dunk for eavesdropping or humiliate him for his clearly desperate request, he listens. He’s even sympathetic. He vouches for Dunk so that he can enter the jousting tournament, even though it’s not entirely clear whether he actually remembers Ser Arlan at all. And, to be fair, I kind of love the idea that he may have chosen to just do this big dumb kid a solid, knowing that no one else would remember whether or not what he said was true. It’d be such a non-Targaryen-coded move. 

But with his admission into the tournament finally secured, it’s time for Dunk to get ready. Unfortunately, weird knight rules mean that he can’t wear Ser Arlan’s colors or armor, which leads him to having to go buy some of his own, which, of course, he can’t afford. (It probably doesn’t help that he’s also gigantic. He’s not shopping off the rack.) Cue him selling his beloved white palfrey, and their goodbye is pretty much straight out of a Disney movie, with Dunk promising to reclaim her if he manages to win, and making the guy who buys her promise to give the animal extra oats and an apple. It feels like we’re seconds away from bursting into some sort of farewell song. (It’s not ineffective, to be clear. If Dunk doesn’t get that horse back, I’m sending someone hate mail.)

On the plus side, needing to get the crest on his shield repainted does give Dunk an excuse to talk to the pretty puppeteer girl he’s been admiring at one of the tents surrounding the jousting pitch. Her name is Tanselle, and she was teased about her height as a child. (Tanselle Too Tall!!) They’re so adorable, it ought to be illegal, and you can easily picture the giant, sweet but dumb children they’ll produce. Egg, who has spent most of the episode being kind of an enormous nerd, also turns out to be an excellent wingman, asking Tanselle the sort of get-to-know-you questions that Dunk is truly not equipped to manage. We’re all rooting for you, ser. 

The episode closes with Dunk and Egg off to watch the first competitions on the pitch. The party atmosphere is infectious, and the event itself is raucous and wild. And it all looks nothing like the more sedate jousting we’ve witnessed elsewhere in this universe. Six jousts seem to be running simultaneously, featuring knights from all the big houses bearing shields with familiar crests: Targaryen, Tully, Lannister, Baratheon. Lances are splintering wildly, horses are crashing into one another, and men are gleefully riding each other over. It feels dangerous and violent, particularly when it’s shot from the perspective of the crowd of commoners, who gleefully cheer every slice and injury. No one’s performatively giving out roses to pretty girls in the audience, not this time around. 

Afterward, Dunk’s strangely melancholy, reflecting on the life that Ser Arlan lived, and the success he chased but never achieved. He was never a champion in the lists. Most of the nobles don’t remember him anymore — if they ever did — and don’t seem particularly grateful for any service he may have done for them. What was the point of his life, of being an honorable man? Well, the episode makes it pretty clear: Dunk is the point. Arlan didn’t have to, but he raised a lost kid to be a good person, and that’s no small thing in this world of death and vipers.

“I am his legacy,” Dunk says, and it sounds like a promise. What that legacy will turn out to be, well. I guess we’re about to find out. 

New episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiere Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max, culminating with the finale on February 22.