‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Episode 2 Reactions | Talk the Thrones

Summary

‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Episode 2 Reactions | Talk the Thrones

Podcast: House of R (The Ringer)
Hosts: Mallory Rubin, Joanna Robinson, Chris Ryan
Date: January 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, hosts Mallory Rubin, Joanna Robinson, and Chris Ryan dissect Episode 2 of HBO’s “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” They focus on the delightful world-building, standout characters (especially the Targaryens and their shifting place in Westeros), tournaments both brutal and hilarious, and what’s at the core of knighthood and legacy. Their discussion is full of banter, references, and their signature deep-dive energy—infused with fun tangents about jerky, crabs, and Kingsguard armor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Signature House of R Banter and Introduction

• The team start off joking about jerky ("Jerky to open, jerky to close." - Joanna, 03:21), setting a playful tone that they maintain throughout the show.
• Briefly discuss where to find the podcast and video, but quickly jump into reactions.

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2. Episode Recap & Targaryen Arrival

• The Targaryens’ New Normal:
  The hosts note the arrival of Baelor, Maekar, and Aryan Targaryen as one of the episode’s highlights, observing their diminished, more human status.

  "You just see they've been taken down a peg or two ... this is a more weary, maybe like late period Rolling Stones version of the Targaryens."
  — Chris Ryan, 12:01

• Absence of Dragons and Myth:
  With the dragons extinct, what does it mean to be a Targaryen? The panel discusses how this shapes the legacy and identity of Westeros’ ruling house.

  "What makes a Targaryen a Targaryen when they don't have their dragons?"
  — Joanna Robinson, 13:37

• The Blackfyre Rebellion’s Relevance:
  Discussion centers on subtle historical references (e.g., the Battle of the Redgrass Field, Blackfyre rebels, Egg’s outburst: "You Blackfyre bastards."), and the tension they bring to the royal family’s reputation.

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3. Baelor “Breakspear,” Maekar, and Targaryen Politics

• Character Impressions:
  Mallory expresses her excitement for Baelor’s arrival, praising both the character and actor:

  "Baelor Breakspear is my favorite. He's my dude and I love Birdie who's playing him. That casting was ... sensational."
  — Mallory Rubin, 10:09

• Targaryen Family Tree and Nicknames:
  They clarify confusing Targaryen family names (Baelor, Maekar, multiple Daerons, etc.) with jokes about needing more diverse names.

  "As we have said before, we would really love to implore the Targaryens to think of some different [names]."
  — Mallory Rubin, 18:48

• Baelor’s Reputation & Warmth:
  The show differentiates Baelor’s popularity and approachability, especially compared to Maekar's gruffness.

  “The way that Baelor remembers Sir Arlen when not a single other person did ... and that was like, a crisis."
  — Mallory Rubin, 22:01

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4. Themes of Knighthood, Legacy, and Storytelling

• Truth vs. Myth:
  The team highlight the series’ core question: how do legends and personal legacies get built?

  "Tales grow in the telling of them. I think is the line of the episode. Because that's like what we're watching, right? Is a tale as it grew."
  — Joanna Robinson, 19:50

• Dunk’s Emerging Identity:
  The journey of Dunk “coalescing” his brand—getting armor, a sigil, and building a legacy—resonates with all three hosts.

  "He's getting some armor, he's getting a sigil ... the way in which the myth is forming as it goes."
  — Joanna Robinson, 10:43

• Puppeteering & Tales as Metaphor:
  Egg’s quick-witted “You’re the perfect height for puppets” saves Dunk from an awkward moment, while serving as a motif for stories being shaped as they happen.

  "Egg goes. Puppets, right? A real nice save from Egg."
  — Joanna Robinson, 23:53

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5. Tournament (Tourney) — Action, Atmosphere, and Production Choices

• The Tourney as Core Spectacle:
  The jousting sequence, shot at night, both grounds the story in chaos and underscores Dunk’s awe and intimidation.

  “The night almost shrouds this whole thing. And even more mystery. Like, it's like they're going so fast we can't see it clearly.”
  — Chris Ryan, 29:04

• George R.R. Martin’s Tournament Obsession:
  Joanna reveals the novella spends 15 of its 100 pages describing the tournament, underlining its importance to George and the adaptation.

• Sigil Spotting and Budget Choices:
  The hosts approve the night setting and admire the clarity and intensity of the joust action.

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6. Character Deep Dives & Relationships

Egg (Aegon)

• Wisdom & Mystery:
  Egg displays sly wisdom, cultured knowledge, and tactical shrewdness beyond his age.

  “He knows about puppetry. He knows the arts and sciences.”
  — Chris Ryan, 22:53

• Growing Bond with Dunk:
  The relationship between Dunk and Egg is both endearing and complex—Egg boosts morale, supplies facts, and is sometimes more mature than his master.

  “A lot of what's going on here is that they're complimenting each other because they're so different … It's just so compelling to watch in real time.”
  — Mallory Rubin, 27:17

• Emotion at the Tourney:
  Egg’s enthusiasm (“get him!”) contrasts with his later vulnerability about his own readiness to serve as a squire, humanizing the character.

Dunk (Duncan the Tall)

• Everyman Appeal:
  His humility, integrity, and innate “goodness” are recognized by diverse characters, making him a natural (if reluctant) hero.

  “Dunk has something that other people are recognizing from across the spectrum of the universe of this show ... if not special, at least valuable, which is like his sort of innate heroic, chivalrous quality.”
  — Chris Ryan, 41:04

• Media Translation:
  The show allows us to see how others view Dunk, subverting the novella’s limited viewpoint.

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Tanzel and the Shield

• Tanzel, the Artistic Puppeteer:
  She’s entrusted with redesigning Dunk’s shield (“graphic artist” jokes abound), and the hosts appreciate the gentle chemistry and comic beats in their interactions.

• Shield Continuity Error:
  Joanna notes an out-of-order shield scene, calling out the show’s small goof but chalking it up to necessary adaptation.

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Kingsguard Appreciation

• Banter, Brotherhood, and Bathroom Talk:
  Their scenes with Dunk at the stables add both heart and comedy.

  “If anyone would know where to take A. ... it's Mr. Diarrhea Dunk.”
  — Chris Ryan, 31:52

• Power, Perception, Social Climbing:
  Donal’s “humble crabbing” background may be exaggerated, but shows there are many paths to knighthood and status.

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7. Craft, Design & Small Details

• Kingsguard Armor:
  Discussion of which show had the best Kingsguard armor—shout-outs to Jaime’s undressing scene and classic dragon motifs.

• Show versus Book Choices:
  Several moments, including Egg’s puppet line and Dunk’s care for horses, are “show additions” praised for deepening the characters.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Jerky to open, jerky to close."
  — Joanna Robinson, 03:21

• "You just see they've been taken down a peg or two ... this is a more weary, maybe like late period Rolling Stones version of the Targaryens."
  — Chris Ryan, 12:01

• "What makes a Targaryen a Targaryen when they don't have their dragons?"
  — Joanna Robinson, 13:37

• "Tales grow in the telling of them."
  — Joanna Robinson, 19:50

• "He's getting some armor, he's getting a sigil ... the way in which the myth is forming as it goes."
  — Joanna Robinson, 10:43

• "Egg goes. Puppets, right? A real nice save from Egg."
  — Joanna Robinson, 23:53

• “The night almost shrouds this whole thing. And even more mystery. Like, it's like they're going so fast we can't see it clearly.”
  — Chris Ryan, 29:04

• “I just love that there has been a consistent drumbeat narratively of crabs in this franchise.”
  — Chris Ryan, 36:30

• "Dunk has something that other people are recognizing from across the spectrum ... if not special, at least valuable, which is like his sort of innate heroic, chivalrous quality."
  — Chris Ryan, 41:04

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Notable Segment Timestamps

• Targaryen arrival and standing: 04:24, 12:01, 13:37
• On Baelor Breakspear’s warmth & memory: 10:09, 19:22
• Tourney setup & George’s love of tournaments: 28:12, 29:04
• Egg & Dunk’s relationship development: 23:53, 25:12, 27:17
• Kingsguard comedy & crabbing discussion: 31:47, 32:44, 36:30
• Knighthood, legacy, storytelling themes: 19:50, 41:04
• Shield graphic design and egg’s directions: 44:12

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The House of R team delivers an energetic, insightful, and amusing breakdown of Episode 2, celebrating its loving focus on character-building, myth-making, and the nuts-and-bolts of knighthood in a dragon-less Westeros. Their ability to toggle between fandom lore, meta commentary, and infectious enthusiasm makes their reactions a must-listen for any Thrones or fantasy fan—especially those wanting deeper context, historical resonance, and a sense of fun.

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Next Episode: The hosts will return on Sunday night after Episode 3 of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”—they can’t wait for more tournaments, Targaryens, and (presumably) more jerky.

Transcript

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[Chris Ryan]

Hello and welcome to Talk the Thrones. My name is Chris Ryan. I am an [e-mail] joining me in the studio is Joanna Robinson and screaming crab cakes and football. That's what Dusk and Dale does. It's Valerie Rubin. What's up?

[Mallory Rubin]

What's up, man? What's this piss throff?

[Chris Ryan]

Oh, God.

[Mallory Rubin]

We need muscle.

[Chris Ryan]

We're gonna get all to the culinary delights of this episode. Second episode of Night of the Kingdom. Night of the seven Kingdoms. Hard salt beef. We're gonna talk about it right after this. Welcome back, guys. Episode two. You know what? We didn't do any housekeeping last time. We didn't say where people can find us, where people can watch us, where people can listen. This is on the house of our feed.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah. How do you feel about that?

[Chris Ryan]

R can stand for many hours, you know.

[Joanna Robinson]

Ah, Ryan, Love it.

[Mallory Rubin]

This is where you belong, you know.

[Joanna Robinson]

Ryan, Ruben and Robin.

[Mallory Rubin]

The dragon has three heads you can.

[Chris Ryan]

Listen to and watch us on the Spotify house of our feed. You can also Watch us on YouTube on the Ringer verse channel. Right. And you can catch me all over the place. I pop up here and there.

[Joanna Robinson]

But you're talking about this show on the watch we do. Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

You know, it's right up against industry. So it's like it's just every Monday. It's a delight to find out what Andy thinks about either one of those shows. We're going to talk about this second episode. Do you want me to just recap it for you?

[Joanna Robinson]

Can I quickly ask Mallory, how excited were you to have an episode of television that is essentially titled Jerky? And I know you're a jerky enthusiast.

[Mallory Rubin]

You need to have it with you on every flight.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

If you ever leave your home, you should have some jerky with you.

[Chris Ryan]

Weird flight plane food, don't you know?

[Mallory Rubin]

I love a Funyun. Something salty. I like a turkey jerky. You know, trail mix, certainly. I mean, Jomi's here with us. Basically. 90% of our text thread with Jomi is about Welch's fruit snacks that we all purchase at the airport.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

So yeah, you know, we, we've get. We get some nice hard salt beef action with Arlen and Dunk at the beginning. We get Dunk taking a big, A big bite at the end. No soaking of the. The beef in this episode.

[Joanna Robinson]

Jerky to open, jerky to close.

[Chris Ryan]

I like to just hit the Centurion Lounge and see what they've got, you.

[Mallory Rubin]

Know, before sort of like seasoning. Do you like on your jerky?

[Chris Ryan]

I hate jerky. Let's get into this episode.

[Mallory Rubin]

Man, you're missing out.

[Chris Ryan]

Welcome to the past where we see Sir Arlen packing insane heat.

[Mallory Rubin]

Unbelievable stuff.

[Chris Ryan]

Was that a prosthetic? I gotta find out.

[Mallory Rubin]

I feel sure that when. We will know when Bill starts watching this show. Yes, because we will get that text from him.

[Chris Ryan]

He is getting himself a diabolical fatal infection and he's fucking dying. This is what Game of Thrones is.

[Mallory Rubin]

It's also fucking. And then.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes, but this is, this is what this franchise is about. Guys getting minor, infectious and then going out on that, you know, no antibiotics in this world.

[Mallory Rubin]

Question for you guys. Should Dunk just be going around to all of the high lords and saying, do you remember the man biggest Werewood cock? I think he would be having more luck if he had led with that.

[Chris Ryan]

Oh, Sir Armin, Sir.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

This riveting footage is narrated by Sir Duncan, who is making his case to House Tyrell. Shout out to my girl Marge to get someone, anyone royal to co sign his entrance into the Ashford tournament last he gets rejected. Leading his squire egg to question whether Arlen was really all that in the first place. Oh, but what's that? Is that the Targaryen music I hear? King Darren's adult sons show up on the scene with banners and trumpets and questionable manners. We got Balor, the crown prince and Hand of the King, along with his brother. Money makes got a kid of his own. And this guy seems like a real stand up dude. His name is Aryan. He's played by Finn Bennett, may have seen him. True detective. Night Country.

[Mallory Rubin]

Love it. Money makes his elite nickname work.

[Joanna Robinson]

Really sensational stuff.

[Chris Ryan]

In about 14 seconds of screen time, Aryan mistakes Duncan for a stable boy and asks him for a wench and some wine.

[Mallory Rubin]

Who among us? Honestly, it's the big three in life.

[Chris Ryan]

Someone proving the Q rating of the target. Jason Knights are Sir Roland and Sir Donald. Members of the Kingsguard.

[Mallory Rubin]

Correct.

[Joanna Robinson]

You love the kings.

[Mallory Rubin]

You do.

[Chris Ryan]

God, those guys are cool.

[Joanna Robinson]

I just want to note that like one third of our notes today you dedicated to a minute of screen time occupied.

[Chris Ryan]

Those guys are badasses. Right?

[Mallory Rubin]

I will say I'm homies.

[Chris Ryan]

Who are the Morningstar guys, Right? Like, right. Is that the guy's name? The dude who's at the tower of the morning?

[Mallory Rubin]

Sword of the Morning. Arthur Dane. Tower Joy, you're the best. I thought Sir Roland was particularly memorable.

[Joanna Robinson]

I got a spicy tag.

[Chris Ryan]

These guys have good natured banter. With Duncan at the stable, we get some intel on Donald's crabbing background during a tender moment between he and Dunk. And that tenderness extends all the way to Balor Targaryen. Dunk eavesdrops on the Targaryen brothers, talking about Makar's missing sons, Darren and Aegon. When he's discovered, he makes his big pitch to Baylor, who is surprisingly warm towards Duncan and says he remembers fighting Arlen in a tournament 16 years ago. There's just one condition. Duncan has to get a new Sigil. But otherwise you're in.

[Joanna Robinson]

Branding is great.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, great opportunity maybe, but you're in the tourney. Enter Tanzel, the puppeteer who moonlights as a graphic artist.

[Joanna Robinson]

It's her passion.

[Chris Ryan]

She agrees to redesign Doug Shield under the creative direction of Eg. Dunk also needs some armor. And while the blacksmith armor is not unsympathetic, he still needs his rate. So Dunk sells off his beloved horse.

[Joanna Robinson]

One horse One.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yes. Just. Just sweet.

[Chris Ryan]

This is basically a Bruce Springsteen song. He has to sell his horse to get his armor.

[Mallory Rubin]

Do you have any lyrics prepared for us?

[Chris Ryan]

I actually don't. You know, honestly, I. The reason I don't is because they didn't give my guy Jeremy either. Jeremy a nom.

[Joanna Robinson]

So okay. If they had, you would be ready.

[Chris Ryan]

Full on Egg and Dunk. Visit night one of the tournament and get a front row seat to the brutality and the speed. Honestly, this is like me thinking I could play slot receiver in the NFL and then go into the combine and be like, you know what? I don't know if I have the twitch ability.

[Mallory Rubin]

I, I, I loved what Ira Parker, the the showrunner said on the official pod off of episode one, which was, I'm paraphrasing. Dunk has been playing like pickup hoops with his high school pals and now he's trying out for the Lakers.

[Chris Ryan]

Honestly, we gotta talk about Ira Parker's old hair before his new hair. Yeah, his long, like I'm in Slayer hair. What's up with that?

[Joanna Robinson]

He's a hippie guy.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, that's great. Anyway, Egg and Dunk, they chat about like this tournament and dunk is shook. Dunk is like, I'm not sure I'm ready for prime time. And you know, Egg is just kind of like he's seeing the whole chessboard. We're going to get into what he he says, what he does, what, how he seems in this episode. But Mal, I'll start with you.

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[Chris Ryan]

You what was your favorite part of the episode?

[Mallory Rubin]

Oh, I thought this episode was great in general, so I'm excited to talk about all of it with both of you, but there can only be one pick for me. My favorite character in this novella is here. Baylor Breakspear is my favorite. He's my dude and I love Birdie who's playing him. That casting was. So I texted you like 500 times.

[Chris Ryan]

When that was announced.

[Mallory Rubin]

I thought that that scene was sensational and I can't wait to talk about it with you guys today. So Balor finally being here and Maker and Aryan.

[Chris Ryan]

Great.

[Mallory Rubin]

To have the Tarks here, but Baylor in particular is just very exciting for me. I love him.

[Chris Ryan]

What about you, Joanna?

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah, I think, you know Lord Ashford says sword and shield do not make a knight and then tries to get a. Am I right? From Maker. Maker's like, I'm not giving you anything, but sort of. But like watching Duncan's brand further coalesce with the he's getting some armor, he's getting a sigil. Like we got his name last. So like the way in which the story, the myth is forming as it goes. That and tug of war with my guy.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, I forgot to mention the tug of war, which was very impressive.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah, we got, I believe, three cunts from Lionel in like 75 seconds. That guy is efficient with his screen time. My goodness.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. I sent you like basically every line he said in the episode.

[Chris Ryan]

I definitely think that my favorite part of the episode was the arrival of the Targaryens. And I guess we could start there and we need to talk about them. Because here's the thing is you can be very well steeped in all the lore and read the books and understand what's going on, or you can kind of watch the shows and. And then watch our show and just watch our show. But even just from the performances of the actors portraying the Targaryens, you just see that they've been taken down a peg or two a bit. You know what I mean? Like, I think that this is a more weary, maybe like late period Rolling Stones version of the Targaryens. You Know, like, we're still out here playing. Start me up at stadiums, but, like, we really got to get cranked before this happens. Like, it's not just flowing through us anymore.

[Joanna Robinson]

And you don't feel like Aryan is really, like.

[Chris Ryan]

Aryan has a lot going on. But, like, I even think, like, his uncle and his father's reactions to him or like the way they talk about him, like, you know, is different.

[Mallory Rubin]

So, I mean, what do you think of the short hair?

[Chris Ryan]

I'm for it. You're.

[Mallory Rubin]

You're a fan of the short hair in general? Yeah, I think it's great.

[Chris Ryan]

I think it looks good.

[Mallory Rubin]

I think it's great.

[Joanna Robinson]

I like it as like an idea of like a humbled Targaryen is like, we're not wearing our long hair.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah. You know when you're not flying on a dragon and it can't just flutter in the wind.

[Chris Ryan]

Well, let's. There's obviously an absence of dragons. Let's talk a little bit about what has happened to them. Yeah. In between the end of House of the Dragon, which we can't really betray because we don't want to be mean to people watching House of the Dragon and now where it seems like they're still like, they're the seat of power. Right. They're still running the kingdom, but they're just like a little bit different, a little bit less mythical. What'd you think, Joe?

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. We get this line. Father bade us attend this miserable circus. Right. Which we had been talking about. What are the Targaryens doing at this sort of backwater tourney?

[Chris Ryan]

Yes.

[Mallory Rubin]

Iconic. With Lord Ashford just literally standing right there. That is said about him, his home, his daughter's name day celebration, and the tourney he is hosting.

[Joanna Robinson]

Gwen Ashford. What a piece of work.

[Mallory Rubin]

How thrilled were you to get a name?

[Joanna Robinson]

This whole thing is like, Gwen Ashford's my super sweet 13. Right. It's her 13th birthday.

[Chris Ryan]

She's like, it's her.

[Joanna Robinson]

It's her Name Day. George R.R. martin forgot to give her a name in the book.

[Chris Ryan]

That's great.

[Joanna Robinson]

So she's Gwen in the show. We love that she has a name in some lines. It's really nice.

[Chris Ryan]

Bech Deltas.

[Joanna Robinson]

Well, she's talking about missing guys, so not really, but anyway. So what makes the Targaryen a Targaryen? I think we've been asking question, what makes a knight a knight, but what makes a Targaryen a Targaryen? When they don't have their dragons. Yeah. And I think that's what we're seeing. We're seeing Baelor, who seems like a really chill, nice dude, and we're seeing Aerin, who seems like a piece of shit. So it's like the whole spectrum he's vibing with it of Targ here. But I think we talked about this last week. This idea of the Blackfyre rebellion, which gets the mentioned twice in this episode, the Red Grass Battle of the Red Grass field gets mentioned. That's from that Targaryen civil war that really just happened a few years ago. And then at the very end, Egg is like, you Blackfyre bastards. Right? Yeah. So we weren't sure they were going to talk about it because it's not in the book. In the first book.

[Chris Ryan]

Oh, okay.

[Joanna Robinson]

Because George hadn't thought of it yet. But it's very prevalent in the second and third novellas. And so it's already here. And that's really exciting because that they're still licking their wounds from a massive civil war. They don't have their dragons, so they're really holding on by a thread to their power here.

[Mallory Rubin]

I loved too, the way that like, to the Red Grass point that Dunk was just like the red grass, right. He's talking about how Arlen lost his prior squire. Sweet little Raj, Roger Mace to the face. Tough way to go, but shorthand, it does rhyme. The Red Grass. There's not a person he could be addressing there who would. Wouldn't know what he meant. Like, that is the way that this looms. This latest civil war looms over the realm and history. So you pair that conflict and the fact that where they are in history right now, some of the people that the Targaryens are interacting with might be like, really glad that Darren ii, Darren, the good one. And some of them might not feel that way.

[Joanna Robinson]

Like I was on the other side.

[Mallory Rubin]

13 years after civil War. It's not like everybody is in agreement the dragons, as Joe noted. And then you add in this little delicious aspect of the brown hair on Baelor, which, like, is actually worth talking about because you don't have a dragon and you don't have that signature silver hair that's supposed to instantly remind you that you're closer to a God than a man. That shit that you targets are always talking about. Now, for Dunk, for Sir Arlen, for the readers, for the viewers, the fact that you see Baylor like in the novel, it's a little different in the novella Dunk. And I actually thought this was a really interesting change that here the. I thought the implication was that Dunk Sees them go in and he's like, I'm going to go, well, here's my Hail Mary. Makes the pitch directly, right? Whereas in the novella he is just going to seek out Plummer again. Happens upon them, literally is speaking to Baelor before he has any idea who he's talking to. And then in real time it's like, oh, my Lord. So he's dressed more plainly and simply. He's got the. Because his father the king married a Martel, his mother's a Dornish princess, so he has like common hair. Right. And some people are like, neat and other people are like, this is just one more reason to think that I can go for you. From the world of ice and fire. Yet too many men looked upon Baylor's dark hair and eyes and muttered he was more Martell than Targaryen, even though he proved a man who could win respect with ease and was as open handed and just as his father. So that's, I think, a good indication of the landscape that they're navigating as they go around.

[Joanna Robinson]

I mean, what's also true is that Balor is way more popular than Maekar.

[Mallory Rubin]

Way more popular. That introduction of them was so funny.

[Chris Ryan]

And why personality is. But does my car's personality follow his.

[Joanna Robinson]

Ranking or is he like, he's the youngest son?

[Chris Ryan]

Is he like, I'm fourth son?

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

I'm a little salty because, like, I'm not gonna. I'm so far down the pecking order here. Or is he just like, I was born that way?

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. I don't know. But I can I just. One more piece of Baylor make our lore that I want to give. I mean, Baylor is Baylor Breakspear. Like, that's a sick name. Aryan, Bright Flame.

[Chris Ryan]

And then also did he give himself that name?

[Mallory Rubin]

Probably the Bright Prince.

[Joanna Robinson]

And then there's Maekar.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

That being said, they're also called the Hammer and the Anvil because at the Battle of the Red Grass Field, they did like a pincer attack movement. One was the hammer.

[Mallory Rubin]

Baler.

[Joanna Robinson]

One was the anvil.

[Mallory Rubin]

Maker, it's cooler to be the hammer.

[Joanna Robinson]

It just is.

[Mallory Rubin]

Than it is to be the Anvil.

[Joanna Robinson]

It just is. But that's their legacy. There's like a whole song about these brothers.

[Mallory Rubin]

Music.

[Joanna Robinson]

Their other two brothers suck. And they get a mention in this episode.

[Chris Ryan]

How's Darren?

[Mallory Rubin]

That's. Darren is Maker's eldest son. They're middle brothers. So the king's son, eldest brother, heir to the throne, Prince of Dragonstone, Balor. Then Aerys and Rhaegal. Are their middle brothers to get a quick mention here. And it's like bookish.

[Chris Ryan]

Oh, right.

[Mallory Rubin]

Mad. So that's sort of the rap sheet on those guys. The scattering. Then Maker. Maker has his sons. Darren, I know you were like, but.

[Chris Ryan]

Isn'T there another Daeron the king?

[Joanna Robinson]

The current king is Darren ii.

[Mallory Rubin]

So Darren II is the ruling king right now. Okay.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

Daeron, son of Maekr the Missing.

[Joanna Robinson]

We'll call him Daeron the Missing.

[Mallory Rubin]

I like it. Not to be confused with Daeron the First, the Young dragon, a famous figure in Targaryen history.

[Joanna Robinson]

No.

[Mallory Rubin]

Not to be confused with Darren the Daring.

[Joanna Robinson]

You're making it worse than Mellor.

[Mallory Rubin]

I think the point is, as we have said before, we would really love to implore the Targaryens to think of some different.

[Chris Ryan]

Yes.

[Mallory Rubin]

And you might be wondering on the name from Baelor in case anyone who is a Game of Thrones enthusiast is like Balor. Like Sept of Balor or Balor, the famous season one episode. No, he is named for Baelor the Blessed, Balor the First, who the sept was named after. And then of course, the Thrones episode is named for the sept. So different Balors, different Dagons.

[Chris Ryan]

My favorite part of Dunk, they should just name a kid talking to these guys about who Arlen is.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

Is Baylor's recall. That's right.

[Joanna Robinson]

He remembers.

[Chris Ryan]

He is.

[Mallory Rubin]

It's the best.

[Chris Ryan]

He is a ball knower or a bail knower, as I say.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

He has like his access to baseball reference for the knights is right there. And he's like 16 years ago, off the dump, broke four lances, fought.

[Joanna Robinson]

Didn't.

[Chris Ryan]

Didn't win, but didn't suck.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

Never shamed himself.

[Chris Ryan]

And then you have that great exchange between the two of them where Duncan mistakenly is like, it was seven lances, sir. And he's just like.

[Mallory Rubin]

And Plumber's like some amazing facial expressions from Plummer in the background of that scene.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

Tales grow in the telling of them. I know. I think is the line of the episode. Because that's like what we're watching, right? Is a tale as it grew. But. And I also love the way the episode is bookended. We get Dunk making the pitch about Arlen and he's sort of trying to polish his legacy. Right. We get the juxtaposition of what was actually going on with Arlen at the time. And some of it's good. Like he's giving money away to people. Right. Like he and Dunk are sharing some jerky and a laugh under. Under a tree. Like, very, very sweet. So there's some nice stuff, but, like, at the end of the episode, we get a more plain, unvarnished version of who Arlen was. And that's just like, what this story is about is, like, who. Who is Dunk versus Duncan, the. Like, the legacy of Duncan the Tall.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Joanna Robinson]

You know, and. And that's what Balor is underlining here. Yeah. Yeah. Seven spears. No, it was four, but don't worry about.

[Chris Ryan]

It was. What was the one he asks him about?

[Joanna Robinson]

Damon Lannister, the Gray Lion.

[Chris Ryan]

Is that a hard question?

[Mallory Rubin]

No, it's not. I think that's actually.

[Chris Ryan]

He was trying to help Mal a little bit.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

I think that tells us more about Balor than it tells us about Dunk. Because the Lord of Casterly Rock is not a hard person.

[Joanna Robinson]

Not a tough.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, it's like, who won the World Series?

[Joanna Robinson]

So it's not like Mallory rapp rattling off 900 different targets.

[Mallory Rubin]

It's like. It's one more way to show us that the. Like you said, the warmth and the kind of, like, generosity and the hospitable welcome. The fact that, like, what is the reason that Dunk is in that room in the first place. Right. I asked Sir Manford. He told me to fuck off, by the way.

[Joanna Robinson]

On the like.

[Mallory Rubin]

Is that a hard thing to know? Part of how in the novel Dunk tries to convince Sir Manfred is like rattling off the history of how House Dondarion got the Sigil. And he's like, anyone could know that. Like, a thing that anyone could know is not definitionally impressive. But, yeah, Balor wants Dunk to. To be able to do this. He calls him sir easily. He's sir arrives. Right. Like, he doesn't need Dunk to convince him that he's a knight. Because he is remarking upon a certain quality right there is a Dunk is endeavoring to do something, make something of his life. And Balor is responding to that with a warmth I also just love. He's fabled warrior, open heart. Sir Arlan loves him snacking like Brad Pitt in any movie. He's in the way that he was just popping.

[Joanna Robinson]

The way he, like, looks up from his, like, huh.

[Mallory Rubin]

The comfort and the ease and. Yeah, like, the fact that he remembers Sir Arlen when not a single other person did. And that was like, a crisis.

[Chris Ryan]

It's just so funny that Maekar the whole time is just like, sorry, what the fuck are we talking?

[Mallory Rubin]

When Dunk rips off the shovel, the chival Arlen idea and Maker's just Like, fuck this. Like, how many days of my life do I have to spend? How great my brother is?

[Joanna Robinson]

Incredible. Also, when. When Dunk is like, I tried to talk to Manfred Dondarrion. And Maekar goes, who? And as we talked about, Astar.

[Mallory Rubin]

Fantastic.

[Joanna Robinson]

Baelor's married to a Dondarrion. So, like, the Dondarrians are in their immediate family and maker's. Like, who the fuck are you talking about?

[Chris Ryan]

Well, he's got a lot of his hands full with his kids.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. All right.

[Chris Ryan]

I want to talk a little bit about Egg in this episode.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yes.

[Joanna Robinson]

So.

[Chris Ryan]

He'S wise.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yes.

[Joanna Robinson]

He knows about puppetry.

[Chris Ryan]

He knows about puppetry.

[Joanna Robinson]

He knows the arts and pollen.

[Chris Ryan]

He's in the arts and sciences.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

He knows a lot about knights.

[Mallory Rubin]

Sure does.

[Chris Ryan]

Especially currently serving knights. He does not seem to enjoy the arrival of the Targaryens.

[Joanna Robinson]

Correct.

[Chris Ryan]

I note that.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah, here's some commentary on the royal lap dogs. You know, he's really saying to Dunk, like, just fucking right into the jazz, man.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

I think that after Plummer ripped off the Ashford chair bit in episode one, he would really have enjoyed Dunks. Turn his asshole into a lancel. Or Eggs. Excuse me? Turn his. I was like, wow.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

Little potty mouth on little Egg here. I loved that. What did you think of Egg getting the puppet line? The famous.

[Joanna Robinson]

One of my favorite lines in the story.

[Chris Ryan]

It's a commonality or. No, no.

[Mallory Rubin]

When.

[Joanna Robinson]

When. When they meet Tansel. Too tall, right? And she's like, too tall. The boys called me, and Dunk says, you're not too tall. You're the perfect height for. And trails off.

[Chris Ryan]

Control yourself.

[Joanna Robinson]

And Egg goes. Egg goes. Puppets, right? A real nice save from Egg. You're the perfect type for puppets. But that's, like, one of Dunk's lamest lines. He's like, you're the perfect type for puppets. I mean, he's got zero game, my guy. I love Egg in this episode. I love watching him just, like, be a kid, you know, get, like, the way that he's watching the puppet show in this episode, the tug of war sequence, which is added, like, that's not in the book. All of their chats, like, the bug in his cider, you know, and then just, like, watching the attorney and just being like, yeah, get him. Like, it's just like. It's really sweet.

[Mallory Rubin]

Did you think he was more like Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers? Or was he giving you, like, Bill's Mafia, like, I'll flip my way through a table vibes? He was really into The. Yeah, he was really into the beginning of the joust. I think that.

[Chris Ryan]

I think that he's definitely a northeast corridor guy for sure. You know, he loves winter football.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

And big hits.

[Joanna Robinson]

Agreed, agreed.

[Mallory Rubin]

What jersey is he rocking, Ray Lewis?

[Chris Ryan]

Well, I mean, you think he's a Kyle Hamilton fan?

[Mallory Rubin]

Welcome to the flock, Egg.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

He likes Kyle Hamilton's positional flexibility. The way he really opens up scheme on the defensive side.

[Chris Ryan]

What else is there to say about. Because he's still. He's still the mysterious stranger of this show.

[Mallory Rubin]

Well, so he shifts from. I thought this was sud. But effective. He shifts from that really, like, effusive cheering and euphoria at being there watching the joust to the chaos is unfolding. Obviously, we get the kind of foggy head from Dunk, who's like, whoa, this is going to be intense. Right. But then Egg is watching all the squires grab the lances after they've shattered.

[Joanna Robinson]

And replaced them, and he looks at.

[Mallory Rubin]

His tiny little hands and he's like, oh, man, he's having his puppets. Am I going to be ready for this? Am I going to be able to do that? And I thought that was like. Like precious.

[Joanna Robinson]

I think him talking about, like, feeling puny for his size and all of, you know, for his age and all of that. I thought that was really sweet. The genuine, like, bonding between the two of them is, I thought. Really? Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

You can't really. I mean, just to step into the TV side of it, you cannot really say enough about how much they nailed the casting on this and how. I mean, the. Dexter. Dexter. Saul Ansel. Is that his name?

[Joanna Robinson]

There's only one moment where he was like. And you know that I was like. There was, like, a little too much sauce on the. On the hot dog there.

[Mallory Rubin]

But other than that, like, too many bugs in the cider, too much salt on the beef.

[Joanna Robinson]

Sometimes sentences get away from me.

[Mallory Rubin]

I did like that, that. When he does that, though. I did like that moment where Dunk, like, kind of has offered up this. Yeah, well, you know. Yeah, you're like. People always call me stupid. And Egg is waiting because he's like, aren't you trying to, like, help me or teach me? And we have all these moments already where Dunk is learning something from Egg. And so Egg is, of course, eager, and Dunk's like, what am I supposed to, like, help you grow? I thought that was great. But. But right before that, when Egg very charmingly said, well, you are both gigantic, you know, Commonality. Yeah. Is that promising? It's a commonality. And so I like thinking about how with Tanzel and Duncan, Egg is identifying something that they share. And we have with Egg and Dunk a little bit of the inverse in that, you know, they're so charming to us because they are the odd couple, obviously in episode one, you know, the. Well, what would my mother say? She's dead. And oh, you'd have to take me back from King's Landing. Dunk is identifying things that he. That soften him toward Egg and that he thinks point to commonalities. But a lot of what's going on here is that they're complimenting each other because they're so different. And that's not only effective and useful in the plot engine of the story, it's just so compelling to watch in real time. So I think Egg is fantastic. Dunk is obviously, obviously just.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, I think one of the hallmarks of like all these shows. But I assume George's writing is just like the ability to like fashion these relationships out of opposites, which is obviously not unique to him. But like throughout Thrones, you're like. And honestly, if I had, I. I would say hot D kind of misses this a little bit. Is a little bit of the, like, let's put two people on a mini.

[Joanna Robinson]

You and Kristen Cole.

[Chris Ryan]

I mean, in Philly at closing time. It's a different story. Yeah, it's a little bit more task oriented, you know.

[Joanna Robinson]

Can I talk to you about the tourney for a second that we see?

[Chris Ryan]

What is this? This is like opening ceremonies. What are they doing?

[Joanna Robinson]

No, no, this is real. So it's 5 5v5. I just want to point out that this first novella is 100 pages long. The description of this section of the tourney is 15 pages long. It's so in depth. There's so many names. I mean there are illustrations too, but there's like so many names. Like George is so excited to talk about attorney and he talked about this before the show started. Like he's inspired by Ivanhoe. He loves that book that he's like, targ, tartar.

[Chris Ryan]

Here we go. And then he's like, now the tournament.

[Joanna Robinson]

And he's like, let me tell you about Home Free Harding. Get really excited. And so he was like, it was important for the show to nail the tourney. And this isn't the last that, you know, we're at a like multi day tourney. This isn't the last action we'll see. But I thought it was interesting that they shot it at night. That's like an interesting budgetary thing, I imagine.

[Chris Ryan]

See, I actually thought the nighttime shooting contributed a little bit from, for the perspective of Duncan Egg. Like, the night almost shrouds this whole thing. And even more mystery. Like, it's like they're going so fast we can't see it clearly.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

How is this working? But I, that's interesting.

[Mallory Rubin]

Smell the, the Tully bitten fish head flying over you, but can you track it with your eyes in the dark? It's a good question.

[Joanna Robinson]

The bit with the fish, it's pretty gross, disgusting. But I thought that, I thought, like, you know, Thrones took so much flack for its night shoots. Like, I thought the action was. Yes, overwhelming, but fairly clear. Like, I can track things. And as long as you are, like, adept at sigil spotting or whatever it is, like, you can kind of track the action and it looks intensive. I was, I didn't feel overwhelmed. Like, I couldn't follow what was happening. It felt scary and fun. Yeah. And I'm just excited for George that he got exactly what he wanted, which is like, please nail the tourney.

[Mallory Rubin]

What a time to be George.

[Chris Ryan]

I'm so glad that something worked out.

[Mallory Rubin]

For him to be George. Yeah, I, I, I really agree. It was super exciting and energizing, but it's also scary. It makes you worry for Don getting into that. What did you think of getting to see Prince Valar Balor son, who is one of. So there are five champions and then challengers.

[Chris Ryan]

I'll take that back.

[Mallory Rubin]

I'll take that back.

[Joanna Robinson]

So Valar, second in line to the throne.

[Chris Ryan]

Okay. But, like, there are doubts about some of his abilities. Like, he's like, I'll take that bet. This guy's not that hot.

[Mallory Rubin]

Well, so Dunk is kind of like assuming, right?

[Chris Ryan]

I bet he's the.

[Mallory Rubin]

Well, because part of it is like, Baylor's prowess and maker, as Joe noted, with the hammer on the anvil. A fabled warrior as well, though. And as the passage goes, like, in the shadow of his, his eldest brother, always it's a little bit of the, like Brienne Jamie, like, well, maybe you were that good once. Or maybe people just love to overpraise a famous name idea. Like the assumption that the Targaryen prince, who is one of the champions, would be the favorite is. Well, that's not the position that Dunk is gonna be. And nobody knows who the fuck he is. Nobody remembers who Ser Arlin is other than Baelor. But you see that shiny black Targaryen armor and the impressive mount, and you're like, is that the guy and Egg's like, not really. I don't think so. You know, so just what is. What is the perception? What is your. What does your name grant you? What are people expecting from you based on who you are? And is the fact that you're no one and known to no one perhaps an advantage then? Actually it's like kind of an interesting place to find the characters in the opening stretch of the joust scene here.

[Chris Ryan]

We'Re talking a little bit about knights. You just brought up what's his name? Valor.

[Joanna Robinson]

Valar.

[Chris Ryan]

Valar Velar.

[Joanna Robinson]

You're like, enough about the second align to the throne. Can we talk about the Kingsguard?

[Chris Ryan]

I just want to talk about my guys in the Kingsguard for a second because a very, very good scene. Just like the two of them.

[Mallory Rubin]

It was great.

[Chris Ryan]

Also looking for a take place to take a dump, but having like great.

[Mallory Rubin]

Well. And if anyone would know where to take A. It's Mr. It's Mr. Diarrhea Dunk.

[Chris Ryan]

He's like, let me tell you, I reject that name.

[Joanna Robinson]

It's Mr.

[Mallory Rubin]

Diarrhea Dunk.

[Chris Ryan]

I'm rejecting anywhere. Trow is a great place to go to the bathroom. Really interesting. And then so Donal, not unlike Balor, you know, connects with Dunk about something for. For Balor. It's probably like this idea of virtue and humility and a nightly quality these season. Duncan. But no, sorry, just doing my.

[Joanna Robinson]

Make our impression.

[Chris Ryan]

But Donald, one of the king's guard, is like, oh, I, you know, I came from nothing too, brother. You know, like, I just crabbers.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah, I just humble crabbers.

[Chris Ryan]

And then Egg is like, I happen to know that his dad basically like owns all the.

[Joanna Robinson]

His last name is Old Bay Tycoon.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah, exactly.

[Chris Ryan]

And he's like, how do you know so much about that? And he's like, I'm interested.

[Joanna Robinson]

I mean, you. You pointed out his branzino skills last week. I thought that's off brand for eggs.

[Mallory Rubin]

That's exactly right. Exactly right.

[Chris Ryan]

Why would Donald lie about that?

[Joanna Robinson]

I think he's trying to make. I mean, this is a show edition, so we don't have like a clear, clear answer for you.

[Chris Ryan]

It's just a great wrinkle.

[Joanna Robinson]

Donal of Duskendale, though he's in the book, is like a much even thinner character than he is in this episode. Right. So they're fleshing out the Kingsguard for you, Chris, because they know how much you love them and giving him this whole crabbing backstory. So we don't have like a technical Answer for you. So we can only just use our TV watching skills and say, I think you're just making. Try to make Dung feel better about the opportunity.

[Chris Ryan]

You guys are making fun of me, but as I'm thinking about it, all my favorite characters are in the King's Army.

[Joanna Robinson]

I know, I know.

[Mallory Rubin]

We see you very clearly.

[Chris Ryan]

Jamie Lannister. Yeah, right.

[Mallory Rubin]

Marin Trant, you know.

[Chris Ryan]

Oh, come on, give him a break. Morning. Son of the Morning.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. Morning Star himself.

[Mallory Rubin]

You're so close. One of these days, you're gonna get it.

[Chris Ryan]

One of these days. That guy's cool, too, though.

[Joanna Robinson]

Are you a Barris and Selmy guy?

[Mallory Rubin]

You love Barri. Yeah.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

Even now I cut through you like kink.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, those are guys.

[Mallory Rubin]

Well, rank the armor. I think this is the best King Kingsguard armor we've seen yet.

[Chris Ryan]

It's real white.

[Mallory Rubin]

Well, this is, like, I think closest to the canon. I like it. The dragon kind of wing effect.

[Joanna Robinson]

I think Jamie had the best armor.

[Mallory Rubin]

Of course you do.

[Joanna Robinson]

And when he took it off with just one hand, I mean, that was good.

[Mallory Rubin]

That was memorable, admittedly. That was memorable. So I think, though, like, another interesting thing about Donnell is, like, it's one more reminder that there are different kinds of access and different kinds of power. Sure. He's not a nobleman. He's not a Darklyn of Duskendale. You loved watching a darkling of Duskendale get beheaded by Chris Cole and Noti.

[Chris Ryan]

That's time well spent in that series.

[Mallory Rubin]

You love us sack. Money is you love a sack in many forms. That's part of why you were so taken by Sir Arlen and you'll never forget him. We didn't actually.

[Chris Ryan]

No, I'm not going to get into it.

[Mallory Rubin]

No, let's. You want to talk about that?

[Chris Ryan]

I just didn't really get to see much sack because, like, there's just a tree trunk hanging down to his ankles there.

[Joanna Robinson]

A mighty Elm.

[Mallory Rubin]

A mighty Elm indeed. A mighty Elm indeed. You know, money is access, money is power. And so I think. I think that there is a tenderness of intention there to say, like, bro, you can do this. But, like, this guy had Daddy funding every step he ever.

[Joanna Robinson]

Nepo, baby.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah, exactly.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. Donald Obey fought his way into the Kingsguard.

[Chris Ryan]

So. Donald Kingsguard. That's like a good job for a noble.

[Mallory Rubin]

It depends if you want to be able to fuck and marry. They're celibate and have your own lance. I mean, they're supposed to be so, you know, they make you swear and swear. Yeah. Chris Cole famously Honored the vow of celibacy. Jamie definitely never fucked his sister.

[Joanna Robinson]

Just Barristan holding down the vows, I guess.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah, pretty much. But it is.

[Joanna Robinson]

It is.

[Mallory Rubin]

If you want to be a knight, if you care about being a knight, it is the great honor. And so that's another thing with Dunk. Getting to interact with Hot Roland and Obedani is, you know, when he sees them arrive. The seven champions of the Kingsguard were the most.

[Joanna Robinson]

There's only seven of them.

[Mallory Rubin]

Warriors in all the seven kingdoms. A word we both learned how to pronounce this week. Oh, yeah, you probably knew.

[Chris Ryan]

I didn't.

[Mallory Rubin]

Well, now we all know. Look at that. Saving only perhaps the crown prince bodice himself.

[Joanna Robinson]

A bodice ripper.

[Chris Ryan]

Bodice ripper. I got confused. Yeah, he's the bodice ripper. Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah, I support you always. Genuinely.

[Joanna Robinson]

When we mentioned bodices on House of ar, a bunch of people wanted us to ask you about. About your bodice ripping skills.

[Chris Ryan]

I've said all I need to say about that.

[Mallory Rubin]

Keep the commentary coming. Did crab make you think more of Davos, son of a crabber, or your actual favorite character?

[Joanna Robinson]

Crab for Chris Cole, the crab eater.

[Mallory Rubin]

Back on top.

[Chris Ryan]

I just love that there has been a consistent drumbeat narratively of crabs in this franchise.

[Joanna Robinson]

I think thinking about Ser Davos is really useful because he's also from Flea Bottom the way that Duncan is. And so Sir. Sir Davos is a genuine actual start at the bottom now we're here kind of story. So.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, we're having a lot of fun.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah, aren't we? It's the best, ain't we?

[Chris Ryan]

Well, I was just saying because this is like, weird. I'm like, kind of done, like I. I'm like. Because it's a 33 minute episode, this.

[Mallory Rubin]

Is the shortest episode I've ever seen.

[Chris Ryan]

It's almost strange to like be in this world where we're like, great job, guys.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yeah, well, give us your. What's your Aryan vibe Check.

[Chris Ryan]

Okay, first of all, Finn Bennett, I just have. Have a lot of stock on. On him. Is in my investment.

[Mallory Rubin]

Absolutely.

[Chris Ryan]

So I thought he was fabulous in Night country and black doves.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

He.

[Chris Ryan]

Black doves. He was fantastic. He just has that.

[Joanna Robinson]

He's got it.

[Chris Ryan]

Pardon my French, twat. Like, kind of like did not think that's what he was gonna say. He's just such a. Like a stuck up, very Lionel Baratheon.

[Mallory Rubin]

Laughingstorm of you just. Was it?

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah, well, I thought you said cunt like four times. I mean, like, people are watching.

[Mallory Rubin]

She's just Beating you.

[Chris Ryan]

Anyway, he just had, like, that' character entrance. And it says everything you need to say about him. I am not expecting much. Many layers to his character. I think he is here to be an asshole. And that's, that's giving.

[Joanna Robinson]

Like, would you put him in, like, the Joffrey camp? Like, where would you put him?

[Chris Ryan]

I just, maybe not as sadistic, but maybe, maybe not. I'm not betting heavy. I'm just saying he's not going to, like, have a character beat where he's like, well, nobody understands me, you know, Like, I have a really hard life.

[Joanna Robinson]

Like, Mallory, how did you feel about the character design here? Because it's different from the book.

[Mallory Rubin]

I really like in the book that he, you know, he comes in and it's with raiment bright as flame, all reds and yellows and golds. He's basically just trying to walk in looking, yeah, peacocking and looking like, as dragony and as wreathed in fiery dragon flame as possible. So I think in general, obviously, the show, the shows have a little bit of a subtler visual palette than that. And so I think this makes sense as a treatment. And the hair is doing all the work that, that, frankly, we need. But I, I, I did, I did long for that a little bit. What I, what I really love about his entrance, though, is the way that, that, that's where we get that great line that we've, we've mentioned many times across the trailer pods. And so far, covering the season on Dunk, he felt ill at ease enough around the lords and their pavilions. He had no business speaking to princes, like, confronting Aryan. It's a real, like.

[Joanna Robinson]

Why am I.

[Chris Ryan]

Talking to these people?

[Mallory Rubin]

And then he's got to go have this conversation with Baylor and Maker and Lord Ashford and our dude plumber. But it would be like having a.

[Chris Ryan]

Bunch of baseball cards a sudden hanging out with the people in the baseball games or something.

[Joanna Robinson]

Exactly.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yes, exactly. That's a perfect comp.

[Joanna Robinson]

Something they added. Not that we needed more to endure ourselves to Dunk, but something they added to that scene is him, like, taking care of Aran's horse who gets, like, spooked. So it's a real, like, save the cat moment, right, that he's like, he loves to talk to horses. He sells his horse for some money, but leaves some money behind. He needs all of that money. I mean, he's tossing some coin to Tanzo.

[Mallory Rubin]

He sure is.

[Joanna Robinson]

Look, graphic design isn't cheap, but he needs that money. And he's like, he leaves money for oats and an apple for Sweetfoot, you.

[Mallory Rubin]

Know, and he feels very pained. Like it's expressly stated in the novella that he feels like he's betraying an old friend. Because this was obviously Thunder is the war horse. But, you know, Sweetfoot mattered a lot to Arlen and Arlen taught him. We talked about this on House of Arden, like care for these animals and to take their care seriously. And that if he had a copper left, he would spend it on an.

[Chris Ryan]

Apple for that care. But he taught them horse care.

[Joanna Robinson]

No. Neosporin in the Seven Kingdoms didn't just.

[Mallory Rubin]

Die because he caught a cold in the rain, you know. Yeah. But this is. This is like a. This is added.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. I just like the described.

[Chris Ryan]

And he's like, that's a bad cut. I should. And then just is like, I'll just let that.

[Mallory Rubin]

The canvas of his body covered in scars. So you have to wonder like, what made this particular wound.

[Joanna Robinson]

I feel like you're like one step away from his body is a Wonderland thing. Arlen. I love that this right.

[Mallory Rubin]

We have been waiting for Chris to sing all pods. So it's not too late.

[Joanna Robinson]

It could.

[Mallory Rubin]

It could be that.

[Chris Ryan]

I thought for as much as fun we're having, I thought this was an excellent episode for showing that Dunk has something that other people are recognizing from across the spectrum of the universe of this show that is, if not special, at least valuable, which is like his sort of innate heroic, chivalrous quality.

[Joanna Robinson]

Right.

[Chris Ryan]

That Baylor down to the armorer Dan to Tanzel, like all many people, if they too are good, they're recognizing that common goodness.

[Mallory Rubin]

Yes.

[Chris Ryan]

That's good writing.

[Joanna Robinson]

We talked about this a little bit on House of Our. This idea that, like in the book, you're reading from Dunk's point of view. So he's not gonna say. And then Steely Pate looked at me like I kind of could be a cool guy or like Balor thought I might be a cool guy. So, like, this is something we are getting in the show is the way that other people look at him, which is not available to us in the book, which makes television a great medium. I also think it's worth talking more about puppets. Puppets.

[Mallory Rubin]

Florian the Fool.

[Chris Ryan]

Sure.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah. Is that okay with you?

[Chris Ryan]

Can I talk about that? I toned down a little bit during the puppet show.

[Mallory Rubin]

Did you remember the name Florian? Where you like.

[Chris Ryan]

I didn't want any House of the Dragon spoilers.

[Joanna Robinson]

This is a different time period.

[Mallory Rubin]

This is way back when. Way back when.

[Chris Ryan]

Florian is that this guy who is the dragon named Florian?

[Joanna Robinson]

No, the fool. The fool becomes a knight, and this is one of Sansa's favorite stories.

[Mallory Rubin]

Remember Sir Dontos?

[Chris Ryan]

No.

[Joanna Robinson]

No.

[Mallory Rubin]

I could be your. I could be your Florian.

[Chris Ryan]

Who's Sir Dontos? Is he in Game of Thrones?

[Joanna Robinson]

Don't worry about it, okay?

[Mallory Rubin]

He's the one who helps Sansa escape. Joffrey makes him drink all the wine, turns him into the. And Sansa's like, he's a. He's a fool, not a knight.

[Joanna Robinson]

Chris has closed his laptop, which means it's time to know. But I guess it doesn't mean it's time to go.

[Chris Ryan]

It just means he has no more.

[Mallory Rubin]

Bullet points on Crabs. Or the Kingsguard.

[Joanna Robinson]

Or the Kingsguard. I. Should I mention the continuity thing, or should I save that for House of R? Go for it.

[Chris Ryan]

No, I. I like continuity stuff.

[Joanna Robinson]

I think it's in this episode. I. I don't want to knock this episode. I think they're doing so much with so little budget, and they're really, really killing it. There's a continuity error where Dunk gives the shield to Tanzel, and then later when he goes to Steely Pate, and. And also when he sells Sweetfoot, he's got the shield back on, though they digitally deleted the, like, chalice, the winged chalice on the back of it. And so it's not that he has another shield knocking about. I think they just did the scenes a little bit out of order, which is fine. There's no shame in it. But out of order would be closer to the book order. So there's something about the way they reshuffled the scenes that made more sense.

[Chris Ryan]

Maybe they wanted to emphasize their relationship.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

With Ted's all a little bit more.

[Joanna Robinson]

And also the Kingsguard.

[Chris Ryan]

Sure.

[Joanna Robinson]

Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

Was she not too tall for. Do you think.

[Joanna Robinson]

Man?

[Mallory Rubin]

Did you, like. If you don't want to talk about, like, blowjobs or different angles, you know, the physics, the vectors, we don't have to.

[Joanna Robinson]

I don't think that's what he was gonna say.

[Chris Ryan]

I know that's what she was going to say.

[Joanna Robinson]

He's a blushing virgin. I think it's for kissing. He says in his.

[Mallory Rubin]

So nervous.

[Joanna Robinson]

In his head, in the book, he's talking about how he wouldn't have to kneel down to kiss.

[Mallory Rubin]

The one kiss he's had. It's like a tavern.

[Chris Ryan]

When she's teen in the book.

[Mallory Rubin]

Sat on a table to kiss him.

[Joanna Robinson]

Because he's too tall.

[Mallory Rubin]

He's like, I kiss not too tall for what? For kissing.

[Joanna Robinson]

Classic.

[Mallory Rubin]

It's Just great stuff.

[Joanna Robinson]

It's sweet, virginal kissing.

[Mallory Rubin]

What did you think of the. A graphic design idea for the new shield?

[Chris Ryan]

I like egg being like. I'm sort of like Eddie Qing this, you know?

[Mallory Rubin]

Yes, exactly.

[Chris Ryan]

Just giving. Like, I'm giving my big vision. And then you just need you to execute.

[Mallory Rubin]

It's fun to hear it described. You know, that's the. The COVID of the collection of the novellas. It's like iconic imagery. So this looks just exciting to. To hear. I love their facial expressions. AG is just like, man, you're botching this. And Tanzel's like, what? Like, what are you. You came here to ask me to do this, but you don't know what you're asking me. It's all very charming and sweet. I loved it. And I think what Jo said earlier, I was really struck by that book ending too. And I love that the end note of the episode from Dunk is about jerky. That bite is the actual last note of the episode.

[Joanna Robinson]

But.

[Mallory Rubin]

And I am his legacy. On the morrow we will show them what his hand had wrought. I got like, a chill. And to be able to reconcile the truth that we are glimpsing in those. There's a very comedic adjacency of the flashback with this, like, I am trying to compel you to vouch for me. Building toward this reconciling, as you said, of the truth and as we love to talk about this, George. Central focus of what's real, right? What's the ideal? And how do those things meld with each other? And for Dunk to be on his own journey of embracing it, but not as a rejection. Like, Arlen is there as the foundation still. And then you build on top of that. So Dunk and Go becomes his own man. And he wants. He's repeatedly in the novella, like. And he says it in this episode. 60 years. And he was never a champion. Like, I want more than that. And that's okay. But saying that doesn't mean that I'm like, this guy actually was a joke and it's okay that no one remembers him. He's like, the fact that no one remembers this guy who gave chunks of his body to help their cause is appalling. Like, how can that be the way that people live their lives and not.

[Joanna Robinson]

The most important chunk of his body that is intact?

[Mallory Rubin]

And the fact that that guy. I mean, I love that, like, you could just see the woman in the background. Like, he's just. Till the very last breath. He's getting it in, man.

[Chris Ryan]

Yeah.

[Mallory Rubin]

Good for him.

[Chris Ryan]

I think that that's a great Gris.

[Mallory Rubin]

Rubin commentary updating the Gold Town lyrics With Ashford taking a piss in front of a thatched roof cottage and fucking a hot chick on the road. We should all be so lucky.

[Joanna Robinson]

Jerky in the rain.

[Chris Ryan]

Do you want us to go and you can just kind of rip for a while?

[Mallory Rubin]

Very memorable episode. I believe that was the first episode.

[Chris Ryan]

I can't wait for next week. Joanna Robinson, Mallory Rubin, House of R. Christopher Ryan. Yeah, it's me. We'll be back next week. Thanks to everybody who works hard on making the show what it is.

[Mallory Rubin]

Legends.

[Chris Ryan]

We will see you on Sunday night after A Night of the Seven Kingdoms, Episode three.

[Mallory Rubin]

It went Bye.

[Chris Ryan]

Sam.