A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Explaining the Dark Prophecy in Episode 3

Warning: This nonfiction contains spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 3!

Episode 3 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is simply a large one, arsenic it ends with the uncover that Dexter Sol Ansell’s quality Egg is acold much than conscionable a humble squire. He’s really Aegon V Targaryen, a subordinate of 1 of the astir celebrated and volatile families successful Westeros. That besides makes him a distant heir to the Iron Throne.

Episode 3 (titled “The Squire”) foreshadows that large uncover earlier on, erstwhile Egg and Dunk (Peter Claffey) brushwood an aged luck teller and she makes a alternatively startling assertion astir Egg’s future. Is helium really destined to go king? Why does everyone hatred him truthful much? Let’s interruption down what the aboriginal holds for this character, but beware of spoilers for the Tales of Dunk and Egg books ahead!

The Prophecy successful A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

In Episode 3, Dunk and Egg brushwood a luck teller who offers a glimpse of their respective futures. She tells Dunk, “You shall cognize large occurrence and beryllium richer than a Lannister.” That sounds beauteous generic and optimistic arsenic fortunes go, but she’s really much close than Dunk would ever dream.

But the existent nutrient of this speech comes next, erstwhile Dunk urges the luck teller to work Egg’s luck and she responds, “You shall beryllium king, and dice successful a blistery fire, and worms shall provender upon your ashes, and each who cognize you shall rejoice successful your passing.”

Pretty acheronian stuff, particularly erstwhile delivered to a confused young boy. But, again, this luck teller seems to beryllium legit. Occasionally, Westeros has real, genuine examples of magic astatine work, and this appears to beryllium 1 of them.

What Is Egg’s Future?

If there’s 1 information astir Westeros, it’s that Targaryens beauteous overmuch ne'er person blessed endings. That’s arsenic existent for Egg arsenic it is immoderate of his different relatives. The luck teller gives a beauteous close breakdown of what befalls him arsenic an adult.

Egg yet returns to his existent individuality arsenic Aegon V, and helium does so go king 1 day. In Westerosi lore, he’s really known arsenic “Aegon the Unlikely” because, arsenic the 4th lad of a 4th son, helium was ne'er expected to person a beardown assertion to the throne. But aft the decease of his father, King Maekar I, the enactment of succession becomes unclear.

A Great Council is convened to take the caller king. The Council passes implicit the precocious Prince Daeron’s children and alternatively selects Aegon’s member Aemon. But erstwhile Aemon (whom you astir apt retrieve arsenic a precise aged antheral successful Game of Thrones) opts to articulation the Night’s Watch instead, it yet falls connected Aegon to beryllium king.

As acold arsenic Targaryen kings go, Aegon V is really a beauteous decent guy. His clip spent among the smallfolk of Westeros gives him a definite affection for the underprivileged classes, and helium does his champion to institute caller policies that would assistance them. He besides makes Dunk the Lord Commander of his Kingsguard, hence the luck teller’s committedness of occurrence and wealth.

Unfortunately, those aforesaid societal policies marque Aegon a pariah among the affluent elite of Westeros, and helium grows to beryllium hated by galore nobles. The information that helium has nary dragons with which to enforce his regularisation doesn’t help. Aegon becomes obsessed with restoring the Targaryens’ dragon line, an obsession that yet becomes his undoing.

Aegon becomes obsessed with restoring the Targaryens’ dragon line, an obsession that yet becomes his undoing.“

True to the luck teller’s word, Aegon yet dies successful a monolithic occurrence astatine his Targaryen summertime home, a occurrence started erstwhile helium attempts to hatch dragon eggs. That occurrence besides claims the lives of his eldest son, Duncan, and his lifelong person Ser Duncan the Tall. It’s harmless to accidental that fewer among the precocious classes miss King Aegon.

From there, the Iron Throne passes archetypal to his lad Jaehaerys, and from determination to Jaehaerys’ lad Aerys. Aerys is that “Mad King” everyone talks about, and Game of Thrones fans cognize what unfolds from there…

How overmuch of Egg’s tragic communicative volition we really spot play retired successful A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms? It’s hard to say, but we bash cognize the bid has already been renewed for a 2nd season. Showrunner Ira Parker would similar to screen the afloat scope of Dunk and Egg’s shared lives, though helium admits that the bid whitethorn yet conscionable absorption connected the 3 Dunk and Egg novellas published to date.

“George has outlined 12 much of these stories that he’s shared with me. These stories instrumentality them each the mode done their lives,” Parker told The Hollywood Reporter. “Some of these are conscionable a paragraph, but they springiness you a consciousness of wherever they’re going to spell and the radical who travel backmost successful and retired of the story.”

For much connected A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, cheque retired IGN’s afloat reappraisal of Season 1.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.