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Total Film
Total Film
Entertainment
Amy West

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms author George R.R. Martin didn't want the show to "confirm one way or another" if Dunk is really a knight: "Can you earn it, even if you've never been given it?"

Peter Claffey as Ser Duncan the Tall.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 has concluded, and it's safe to say there's one big question on every viewers' lips: so, is Dunk actually a knight? Well, according to showrunner Ira Parker, the answer to that was deliberately left "ambiguous" in the spin-off by request of Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.

In episode 6, titled 'The Morrow', we see Duncan (Peter Claffey) ask his mentor Ser Arlan (Danny Webb) why he never knighted him in a flashback – only to never receive an answer, since Arlan seemingly dies shortly after. Though the show leaves the exact timeline of that fairly open-ended, too, which makes way for fans' imaginations to fill in their own blanks with certain theories, says Parker.

"We think it's over. But then, he's back and, as far as we know, the continuation of that scene is, 'Boy, go get me my sword,' and then he knights him," he teased in a new interview with Collider. "There is no confirmation, one way or the other, coming out of that scene. That's exactly how Mr. R.R. Martin requested it. It remains [ambiguous], and people can decide for themselves.

"Look, Danny Webb is a fucking magician. I love him so much. He's just become Arlan. It could have been no one else in this whole world. He was just pitch perfect, all the way up until his death. This whole journey is going to be about what makes a true knight, whether or not you're given the title, or if you have to earn the title even after you're given it. Can you earn it, even if you've never been given it?"

Also starring Daniel Ings, Finn Bennett, Tanzyn Crawford, and Dexter Sol Ansell as Dunc's young squire Aegon 'Egg' Targaryen, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was renewed for a second season before season 1's premiere in November 2025.

The next chapter, which will be based on Martin's 2003 novel The Sworn Sword, is expected in 2027. In the meantime, check out our guide to the most exciting new TV shows heading our way.

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