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If you’ve been watching HBO’s new fantasy series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and found yourself wondering “Wait, who exactly is this kid?”—you’re not alone. The show’s third episode just dropped a major bombshell about the young character known as Egg, and whether you’re a devoted Game of Thrones fan or someone who’s just curious about this new show everyone’s talking about, we’ve got you covered.
Let’s break down everything you need to know in plain terms, no encyclopedia of Westeros lore required.
The Big Reveal: Egg Isn’t Who He Claimed to Be
Throughout the first episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, viewers have been following the story of Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall (played by Peter Claffey), a hedge knight who decided to compete in the tourney at Ashford Meadow after his old master, Ser Arlan of Pennytree, unexpectedly passed away. Along the way, Dunk picked up a young traveling companion—a scrappy, bald kid who goes by the nickname “Egg.”
Here’s where things get interesting. In the third episode, titled “The Squire,” we learn that Egg (played by Dexter Sol Ansell) is not just some lowly young orphan that Dunk took off the streets.
Egg is unmasked as Aegon V Targaryen—yes, a member of the Targaryen royal family. Not only that, but he’s destined to become a future king of Westeros. He’s one of the four sons of Prince Maekar Targaryen (played by Sam Spruell), which makes him royalty through and through.
Why Egg Hid His True Identity
In most fantasy stories, being a secret prince would be a dream come true — but that’s definitely not the case in the world of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Being a Targaryen comes with a heavy burden—one that Egg desperately wants to escape.
The Targaryen family has a notorious reputation in Westeros. While they’re known for their dragons and their striking silver hair, they’re also known for something far more troubling: madness. Throughout the history of this fictional world, multiple members of the Targaryen bloodline have succumbed to cruelty, instability and what characters in the show refer to as “Targaryen madness.”
This is something that Egg fears in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and it’s the reason he tries to distance himself from his family. He’s watched his relatives closely. He’s seen the warning signs. And he’s terrified that the same fate awaits him if he stays too close to his bloodline.
The show suggests that Prince Aerion (played by Finn Bennett), who is also known by the moniker “Aerion the Monstrous,” already has this madness and cruelty within him. For Egg, seeing his own brother exhibit these disturbing traits must feel like looking into a possible future he wants no part of.
By hiding his identity and traveling with Dunk as a simple squire, Egg hoped to forge a different path—one where he could be judged by his own actions rather than his family’s dark legacy.
Should I Watch ‘Game of Thrones’ First?
Here’s the good news for casual viewers: no, you absolutely don’t need to have watched all eight seasons of Game of Thrones to enjoy or understand A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This new series is set roughly 100 years before the events of the original show, so you’re meeting entirely new characters in a different era of Westeros history.
That said, if you did watch Game of Thrones, you might remember some references to Targaryen madness. Although Aerys was the Mad King in Game of Thrones—the ruler whose cruelty helped spark the rebellion that put Robert Baratheon on the throne—the world of Westeros has seen many mad Targaryens over time.
The show references several examples, including King Baelor I Targaryen, Prince Rhaegel Targaryen, and Viserys Targaryen (played by Harry Lloyd in Game of Thrones—he was Daenerys’s abusive brother who met a memorable end involving molten gold). Additionally, there was the sadistic Maegor the Cruel, but it’s unclear if this was Targaryen madness or simply brutality on his part.
The point is: you don’t need to know any of these names to follow A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The show does a solid job of establishing that the Targaryen family has problems, and that’s really all you need to understand why Egg would want to run away from his heritage.
The Reveal Was Designed for Both Newcomers and Book Fans
If you felt surprised by the revelation about Egg’s identity, you’re not alone. The show is based on a series of novellas by George R.R. Martin, and the creative team knew they’d have two very different audiences watching.
Speaking on HBO’s Inside the Episode about the huge reveal of Egg’s identity, director Sarah Adina Smith said: “For those who were already fans of the novellas, they’ll know that this reveal is coming. For everyone else, hopefully, it’s a surprise and we wanted to do service to both audiences.”
She added: “If you were to go back, you would see all those little breadcrumbs.”
This is encouraging for viewers who might want to rewatch the first few episodes now that they know the truth. Small moments and subtle hints that might have seemed insignificant before could take on entirely new meaning with this context.
Now that Dunk knows the truth about his young companion, the dynamic between these two characters is bound to shift. Dunk thought he was mentoring a street kid with potential. Instead, he’s been traveling with a prince who could one day sit on the Iron Throne.
For Egg, having his secret exposed means confronting the very identity he tried to leave behind. Will he be forced to return to his family? Can he continue his journey with Dunk? And perhaps most importantly, can he escape the fate he fears—the madness that seems to haunt his bloodline?
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms airs on HBO and HBO Max in the USA on Sundays.
