- Rating: 4/5 Stars
- Verdict: It was always going to be tough to follow the hype of last week's episode, "Seven." But "In the Name of the Mother" largely lives up to it with its epic Trial of the Seven, artistically well-executed flashbacks to Dunk's past and a stunning conclusion that only bookreaders will see coming.
- Premiere date/time: Sunday, Feb. 15, at 10 p.m. ET
- Channel: HBO and streaming on HBO Max
"A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" has undoubtedly become one of the best shows of the year, if not the best. While the series premiere was a bit of a slow burn, last week's "Seven" was one of the best "Game of Thrones" episodes ever, from either the original or the two spin-offs we've gotten from HBO so far. When the "Game of Thrones" theme kicked in as Baelor declared he'd fight for Dunk, it was, as the kids say, absolute cinema.
That meant that this week's episode had a high bar to clear to keep the momentum going. The bad news is that "In the Name of the Mother" isn't quite as good as "Seven," though that's not a huge shock.
The good news is it's still a great episode of television, and its execution of giving us the historic Trial of the Seven between Ser Duncan the Tall and Prince Aerion Targaryen while showing us Dunk's journey from King's Landing street rat to squire to a knight via flashback is masterfully done.
I would have preferred a more contained episode, akin to "Blackwater," but there's no denying that the backstory revealed here was necessary to paint a fuller picture of Dunk. This episode also delivered a stunning moment at the final moment, once again, so trust me when I say, this show is still producing excellent episodes of TV.
Spoilers ahead for "Seven," episode 105 of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"
'In the Name of the Mother' is two episodes in one, and it mostly works
The whole season has been building to this moment. We've assumed that the tourney at Ashford Meadow would be Dunk's moment of glory, and that's proven to be partially true. Dunk will be given a chance to write his name in the history books at Ashford Meadow, but he won't be participating in the tournament. Instead, he's going to defend his life and honor in a ritual known as the Trial of the Seven.
In "Seven," we learn that this means Dunk must find six other men to fight with him in what could be a battle to the death for all seven. Especially as they'll largely be fighting well-trained Targaryen princes and their sworn Kingsguard. But when Baelor arrives to fight with Dunk, hope arises that this may be a fair fight after all.
That hope is pretty quickly dashed. Dunk is an experienced fighter, and almost immediately, he's knocked from his horse by Aerion and is rendered briefly unconscious. But it causes Dunk's life to flash before his eyes, or at least, the moment when he met Ser Arlin of Pennytree.
From here, we get scenes of Dunk's journey from the streets of King's Landing to becoming Ser Arlin's squire, interspersed between scenes of the Trial of the Seven. Thankfully, we're not cutting back and forth constantly; we spend a large chunk of time in Dunk's past before awaking on the battlefield and resuming the epic battle between Dunk's fighters and Aerion's soldiers. There's a final brief moment of flashback when Dunk is briefly knocked down to the ground again, but for the most part, once we're back in the fight, we're back there for good.
Separately, both these episodes are excellent. Getting to see Dunk as a youth in King's Landing is massive for his character development, and there are some moments of high drama on par with anything we've seen so far this season. Meanwhile, the fight between Dunk and Aerion is well-executed as well. Admittedly, it's very focused on Dunk and Aerion; the other 12 people involved are only shown sparingly, which is a bit of a disappointment. Still, it's a well-scripted, well-choreographed fight between our hero and villain.
Unfortunately, forcing these two, largely (but not wholly) disparate episodes together, diminishes the impact of both. Not in a massive way, but I wish we could have gotten the flashback scenes in one episode, first, and then dedicate an episode entirely to the Trial of the Seven. It would have made each story hit with greater impact, particularly the historic fight.
Verdict: This battle of the century largely lives up to the hype
Despite my qualms with the construction of this episode, the substance of it is excellent. This climactic battle is undercut slightly by pulling us away for several minutes into a different story, but once we're back in the present, Dunk's fight with Aerion is epic. Especially once Dunk starts to go berserk.
Plus, the showrunners once again delivered a stunning moment at the end of the episode, and one that only readers of the Dunk and Egg novellas would have seen coming. I won't spoil it, as it's possibly the biggest moment of the entire season, but the decision to have that moment arrive in the final seconds of the episode, and then immediately cut to the credits, makes it hit with an incredible impact. Yes, it's obvious the show needs to make that choice, but it is still a positive mark that the show executed it properly.
In the end, while "In the Name of the Mother" isn't quite as good as "Seven," and this potential battle of the century isn't quite as good as some we've seen in "Game of Thrones" over the decades, it strikes true enough to the mark to deliver an incredible episode. That means this show is still must-see TV, and might just be the best show of the year so far.
"In the Name of the Mother" ("A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," season 1, episode 5) final rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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