The penultimate episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms had a lot of what you expected would happen, but a decent amount was very much unexpected, even for book readers.

Despite some jitters, Dunk charges into the seven against seven trial, only to be unhorsed quite quickly. But instead of sticking with him and seeing how the rest of the melee plays out, we’re treated to an extended flashback of his character’s youth back in Flea Bottom.

It was a bit of an odd choice, in my opinion, to place this flashback at this point. I couldn’t help but think that it was messing with the pacing established in the previous episode. To the point where my takeaway was the flashback should’ve been broken up into smaller chunks and sprinkled throughout the season. There’s enough there in the flashbacks thematically to show why Dunk is on his journey of righteousness, but also, we didn’t learn anything new, really. We know Dunk is from Flea Bottom, that life was rough there, and that he eventually joins up with Arlan, who is a bit of a fool (as well as a drunk). I think doing little openings each episode after the first one would’ve been more effective, with this episode opening on the segment of Dunk following Arlan, up until the point where Arlan says “get up”. Then we cut back to the tourney and Dunk on the ground, who was knocked off his horse at the end of the previous episode. I really think the bigger flashback bogged the pacing with information that we already inferred.

What’s new is that he also had a friend, Rafe, whose attempt at thievery got her killed, which is the catalyst for Dunk eventually becoming Ser Arlan’s squire. Her death is ultimately there to reinforce the death of Prince Baelor. After Rafe is killed, Arlan comes to Dunk’s rescue in a chaotic attempt to protect the innocent and weak. Dunk then makes it his life’s mission to provide that same security for the disinfranchised. At the tourney, Baelor accepts Dunk’s request for aid in seeking justice for the innocent, but no matter how many times he asks the prince to get up, he feels that the Prince’s death is due to his quest for justice. He’s a lowly peasant from Flea Bottom; he shouldn’t be cradling the heir to the throne in his arms. He feels tremendous guilt that his pursuit of the code of a knight cost the life of a good man, in a world where good men seem hard to come by. Hence the title of this week’s episode. So I get it, I just think the execution of the flashback wasn’t done in the best way. But before his death, Baelor reminds Dunk that the realm is in need of good men, something that Dunk should hold onto.

With a much smaller budget, we didn’t get to see too much of the rest of the tourney combatants (which is a shame for fans of Lyonel), but we did get a raw and visceral fight between Dunk and Aerion. It was messy, muddy, bloody, and not at all what you think of when you conjure the image of valiant knights. But I quite liked that chaotic and violent duel between the pair. It was intense and primal, reminding me a lot of the ending of The Last Duel in a way. Having Dunk severely injured, forcing the Prince to yield and recant his challenge, was so satisfying.

So it was overall a good episode, I just think the execution of the themes could have been handled more effectively. With one more short episode to go, we’re almost done with our time with Dunk and Egg. For the time being, at least.