A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has a potentially perfect ending – but it needs a long time to get there. HBO’s latest Game of Thrones spinoff only has one season under its belt so far, with a second confirmed, so talk of its conclusion might seem a little premature. But given Game of Thrones‘ ending is one of the most talked-about in TV history for all the wrong reasons, then the network should already be mapping things out and having an endgame plan in mind for this prequel. That’s the case with House of the Dragon, which is expected to end with its fourth season in 2028, but what about AKOTSK?
Showrunner Ira Parker has discussed a plan, or maybe more of a hope, really, for as many as 15 seasons of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This idea would mean the show runs for 4-5 seasons, then returns a decade later for another run, and then a decade later for its final block of seasons. It’s so ambitious that even Richard Linklater might question it, and would mean requiring 30 years at a minimum to complete things, but it would actually be the best way to give this show, and its two main characters, a proper ending.
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Can’t End With The 3rd Book
Image via HBO
As it stands, three novellas have been published in George R.R. Martin’s The Tales of Dunk and Egg series, which is what A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is adapting. However, he has plans for many more, perhaps taking the saga up to 12 installments total. On the surface, this presents the TV show with a similar problem with the one faced by Game of Thrones: overtaking the books.
Thankfully, that’s much easier to navigate here, even if Martin doesn’t complete any more Dunk and Egg stories. He and Parker are seemingly quite close collaborators, and have plans to break everything down for future seasons. Given these books are much shorter, and far less complex in terms of having myriad characters, plot lines, and locations, that should be a simpler task than the one Thrones had.
That’s all good, provided HBO actually renews the show that far, because ending with the third book would be disappointing. The Mystery Knight is a strong entry in the series and, assuming Season 3 of the show happens (which does seem very likely right now, given it has positive reviews and high ratings), should make for good television.
But it is “just” another adventure for Dunk and Egg; there’s by no means any sense of finality to it, and nothing that makes it particularly fitting as an end point. Given what we know from Game of Thrones history, their stories are still only getting started, so it’d be a huge shame to leave it there.
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Needs To End With The Tragedy At Summerhall (Major SPOILERS Ahead)
Image via Marc Simonetti/Bantam
Another advantage over Game of Thrones is that, thanks to Martin’s worldbuilding and supplementary materials, we do at least know the broadstrokes of where Dunk and Egg end up. The fortunes will change considerably over the years: thanks to various deaths, Egg eventually becomes King Aegon V Targaryen, and Dunk serves as Lord Commander of his Kingsguard. Egg reigns over Westeros for over 20 years, before things end with what’s known as the tragedy at Summerhall in 259 AC (which is 50 years from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1’s timeline)
Some of this remains shrouded in mystery, but the key points are:
- Egg’s reign had upset many lords of Westeros, due to him giving greater rights and protections to the smallfolk (no doubt inspired by the people he and Dunk met on their adventures.
- There was also an increasing concern regarding a band of nine outlaws in Essos, who were styling themselves as kings in their own right.
- Because of all this, Egg thought the only way to truly establish a firmer control was with dragons, and seemingly tried to hatch a dragon’s egg at the Targaryen residence of Summerhall, with wildfire and pyromancers involved.
- This caused a great blaze that grew out of control, killing several people in attendance, including Egg, his eldest son (named Duncan), and perhaps Dunk, too.
- Dunk played a part in saving the lives of others, including Princess Rhaella Targaryen, who then immediately gave birth to a son, one Rhaegar Targaryen.
Previously, it was accepted that Dunk had died at Summerhall, but recent comments from Egg’s actor, Dexter Sol Ansell, suggested that might not be the case, as he revealed Martin had told them Dunk actually survives. It remains to be seen whether that’s the truth, of course, but this would undoubtedly be the perfect way to end A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
It’s the most dramatic moment of their lives, would be an epic on-screen event, and has a true sense of finality. As such a pivotal moment in their stories and Westeros history, it deserves its place on screen, and is the only way the TV show would end. Getting there, though, is a whole other matter.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 2 will release on HBO and HBO Max in 2027. All six episodes of Season 1 are streaming now on HBO Max.
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