Ser Duncan & Aerion Targaryen's Trial Of Seven Fight Is A Tribute To One Of Game Of Thrones' Greatest

3 weeks ago 26

Prince Aerion with his helmet visor up in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Published Feb 17, 2026, 1:09 PM EST

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5.A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms delivered arguably the most popular episode in the Game of Thrones franchise, and the fight between Ser Duncan "Dunk" The Tall and Aerion Targaryen pays homage to another popular battle.

The HBO series serves as a prequel to Game of Thrones and follows the humble but tall knight Dunk with a clever young squire named Egg as they travel across Westeros. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is adapted from George R. R. Martin's Dunk and Egg novel series, which stars Peter Claffey as Dunk, Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg, Finn Bennett as Aerion Targaryen, and Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonal Baratheon.

Peter Claffey as Dunk kneeling in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

In an interview with The Wrap, Claffey discussed episode 5 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which brought the Trial of Seven to life. The episode showed Dunk in a tense battle, facing memories of a childhood heartbreak, forcing him to face reality and fight for justice in the present. According to Parker, the battle between Aerion and Dunk was an homage to the great Battle of the Bastards between Jon Snow and Ramsey Bolton:

"When we talked about it as well with Florian [Robin] and C.C. [Smiff], the stunt coordinators on the job, is we have to throw these almost ground and pound-smashing punches. It was cool, because I felt like it was almost a tribute to Jon Snow getting his final revenge on Ramsey Bolton after he kidnaps his brother and stuff. It does really sort of symbolize that grit and ground and pound in the dirt. It’s just like you probably would have done to try and survive and eat in Flea Bottom."

The battle between Jon Snow and Ramsey Bolton, titled The Battle of the Bastards, is also regarded as one of the best episodes in the Game of Thrones universe. The episode is highly rated with a score of 9.9 out of 10 on IMDb, compared to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5 being rated 9.8 out of 10. Both battles have tragic consequences and show brutal blows being delivered, with Jon Snow rallying to fight as well as Dunk beating the odds.

The next episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will be the last of season 1, and with the tragic ending of episode 5, it will likely be the fallout of Dunk's victory and the death of Prince Baelor Targaryen.