Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Just Referenced A Huge Targaryen Fight
A huge battle is now something kids pretend about.
There are many benefits to the smaller scale of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. We get to see moments that would go unseen in a bigger show like Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon, like puppet show performances or the logistics behind tourneys. With the introduction of already-beloved character Egg, this allows for time to show this small boy just being a boy — being amazed by fire effects, watching jousts, and having snacks.
But one of these lighthearted moments where Egg gets to just be a boy actually references a huge part of Westerosi history that occurred between House of the Dragon and this series — and it’s important to the future of the Targaryens.
Warning! Spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 2 ahead!
Episode 2 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms shows the arrival of the Targaryens, Ser Duncan finally finding someone to vouch for him, and the start of the tourney. But late that night, back at the elm tree that Dunk and Egg call home, Dunk is contemplating the challenge he faces to win the tourney while Egg is play-fighting in the background. “Do you yield, Blackfyre bastards!?” he yells, thrusting a stick like a sword. But just who are the Blackfyres? They’re actually a key part of Targaryen history.
Egg may be a squire, but he’s still just a kid.
The Blackfyre Rebellion began with King Aegon IV, the character George R. R. Martin has described as the “King Henry VIII” of Westeros. And much like his real-world inspiration, he was cruel, large, and promiscuous, fathering many bastards even though he was married to his sister Naerys. (Both he and Naerys were grandchildren of Daemon and Rhaenyra from House of the Dragon.)
On his deathbed, Aegon IV declared all of his bastards to be legitimate. Normally, this would be fine — we see bastards be made legitimate by Corlys Velaryon in House of the Dragon. However, one of these bastards, Daemon, the son of Aegon and his cousin Daena, decided this was his chance to take the throne. Aegon IV had always favored Daemon over his trueborn son, Daeron the Good (who is now king), and even bestowed Daemon with Blackfyre, the Valyrian steel sword heirloom once wielded by Aegon I, Aegon the Conqueror. So when Daemon decided to challenge his half-brother to the throne, he decided to take the name Daemon Blackfyre.
The First Blackfyre Rebellion was fought against King Daeron — the father of Baelor and Maekar Targaryen, who are at the tourney — and Daemon Blackfyre.
So when Aegon refers to the “Blackfyre bastards,” he’s not being derogatory — that’s truly how Daemon and his half-siblings are described. The Blackfyre Rebellion would tear Westeros into two, but it ended with a final battle at Redgrass Field, about 13 years before A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set. So basically, Aegon is pretending to be in a battle that happened a few years before he was born.
There would be a number of Blackfyre rebellions over the course of the Targaryen reign, but the first shook the entire kingdom, from changing the political game to even affecting how children play — and that’s an effect that only A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms can show.
