A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5 review: Trial of Seven, Baelor’s tragic death, Dunk’s past & why this HBO episode changes Westeros forever. Read more!
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5 Review makes you overwhelmed because not only did A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms offer us the episode before the last one, it ensured our heads would be lobbed off narratively. Episode 5, “In the Name of the Mother”, is already a perfect 9.8/10 on IMDb, for good reason. It successfully juxtaposed the high-stakes pageantry of the “Trial of Seven” with a dangerous, soul-crushing journey into Dunk’s history that upends everything we believed we knew about our “Lunk” of a protagonist. This is the split of why this episode is being credited for the return of the Westeros favourite series to peak TV form.
Typically, the penultimate episode of a season is a nothing but adrenaline shot. Owen Harris, the director, however went very much off track. Just as dunk is hit by a morningstar on the trial, the screen doesn’t go black – it goes back.
We were in a pretty big flashback to the Battle of the Redgrass Field (yes, that’s what it was), watching a youthful, “wide-eyed” Dunk (Bamber Todd) scavenging corpses. This was more than world-building, it was a psychological autopsy. The reason is to show us Dunk in the “shadowy wynds” of Flea Bottom, and so the show tells us why he fights the way he does. He’s not a knight of the books but he’s a survivor from the gutters.
The greatest deviation was the addition of Rafe (Chloe Lea), who is Dunk’s childhood companion. Rafe is the cynicism within the smallfolk. Her philosophy is the episode “thesis statement”:
“Repayment for previous misdeeds is always repaid with compound interest… Everybody remembers shit.”
It’s the kind of classic fridging moment that Rafe’s savage murder at the hands of a city watchman is, but—executed with such raw, unglamorous violence that it feels earned. It humanizes Dunk’s fierce protectiveness over Egg. He’s not just being a good knight—he’s constantly thinking about saving the ghost of the girl he failed to protect in King’s Landing.
As we return to the present day and Ashford Meadow, the “Trial of Seven” is a far cry from a chivalric minuet. The game took on a “fog of war” approach to the 14-man melee, making it a nightmarish, claustrophobic experience.
The season climax is the heartbreaking departure of Prince Baelor Breakspear (Bertie Carvel). Baelor was the Platonic ideal of a Targaryen – fair, compassionate, and intelligent. His death is a “meta-tragedy” for the franchise, he was the first domino to fall in a set that culminates in the Mad King.
The stripping away of his helm is one of the most graphic and unforgettable images in the show. When the back of his head comes off with the steel, we find out that he was slain not by an enemy but by his brother Maekar, accidentally. It reaffirms the nihilistic fact of Westeros, even if you are the “best of them” you don’t get plot armor.
| The Champions | Outcome |
| Ser Duncan the Tall | Survived. Forced Aerion to retract his accusation. |
| Prince Baelor Breakspear | Deceased. Killed by an accidental mace blow from Maekar. |
| Prince Aerion Targaryen | Humiliated. Yielded in the mud, losing his “dragon” persona. |
| The Humfreys | Deceased. Both Beesbury and Hardyng succumbed to wounds. |
Whereas House of the Dragon is concerned with the scope of dragons, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is concerned with the texture of the world.
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In the Name of the Mother shows you can do high-stakes drama without breathing lizards or a gigantic budget. It confirmed with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5 that the show has produced a masterpiece by concentrating on class, memory and the “compound interest” of violence.
As Rafe warned, “NOBODY forgets.” Maekar will not forget he has killed his brother. Dunk won’t forget Rafe. And the audience won’t forget Baelor.
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See how George RR Martin draws tragic parallels between Baelor Breakspear and Oberyn Martell, reverberating fate & honor throughout the history of Westeros.
If you have ever found yourself buried deep in the lore of George RR Martin — A Song of Ice and Fire, or you just have a passing interest in Game of Thrones, you are probably familiar with the popular phrase “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
In Westeros, this is more than just a clever saying. How the George RR Martin whole story is built around it. George RR Martin has a penchant for retroactively playing out events of the past in the present, but often with a grimmer, more twisted result. But of all his books’ historical “rhymes,” there are none quite so heartbreaking or headache-inducing as the link between Prince Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen and Prince Oberyn “The Red Viper” Martell.
Almost a hundred years apart, these two men were the rockstars of their times. They were the top fighters, the coolest princes, the dudes everyone wanted to be. Yet, both of them died in virtually the same way: trial by combat against a giant, intimidating rival with a gory, skull-crushing ending, in a result that altered the destiny of the George RR Martin Seven Kingdoms for all time.
So let’s get down to the fascinating, tragic and completely brutal comparisons between the George RR Martin Dragon and the Viper.
Before discussing how they died, we need to talk about why what they died for hurt so much. “In a George RR Martin narrative tragedy it must hit home, so you make the audience fall in love with the character first.” Martin did this to perfection with both Baelor and Oberyn.
Baelor Targaryen as seen in The Hedge Knight is the very picture of the perfect prince. He was crown prince and Hand of the King, and also a legendary warrior. Not only was he a man of strength and power, but his character was so good that he was looked upon as a shining light of virtue and leadership in the land.
In addition, he was both the Hand of the King and the crown prince, and a fighter so famous that he was the subject of ballads. He wasn’t just strong; he was good. He was the kind of leader who made people feel safe. Had Baelor ascended the throne, the Targaryen rule might have persisted for an additional thousand years or so.
A century and change from there to the main series. Oberyn Martell was Baelor’s polar opposite in personality, but his equal in charisma. He’s the “Red Viper” – a second son who lives in the world, fighting in mercenary companies, learning poisons, and basically doing whatever he wants. He was dire, capricious, and that Shot-in-the-dark Really Cool, Just as Baelor stood for the best House Targaryen could offer, Oberyn stood for the prickly, fiery, indomitable soul of Dorne.
Both were what we call “Era Parents.” When they entered a room, they demanded respect. When they pulled out a gun, you knew something amazing was about to happen.
The similarities really start to emerge when you examine the causes of their deaths. Neither prince died in a grand war or a serendipitous mishap. They each took part in a judicial duel—a trial by combat to rescue someone who was being annihilated by the system.
Baelor Breakspear shocked the whole realm when he backed a hedge knight named Duncan the Tall (Dunk). Dunk was charged with attacking a royal prince (who actually deserved it), and Baelor saw that his own family was wrong. In an act of idealistic chivalry, Baelor practically staked his life on a nobody’s honor. He battled for the helpless against the mighty.
Oberyn Martell advances to champion Tyrion Lannister. However Oberyn’s motivation was slightly different, he craved the chance to kill Gregor Clegane (The Mountain) for the murder of his sister, Elia. But it’s the same: a scion of high-born nobility takes up his rapier in the ring, now defending a man whose fate has been decided by the crown.
Here again, we have a champion confronting a beast for a small fry, in both cases. And in both cases the story tricks us into thinking they’re going to win.
This is the part that makes everyone cringe. George RR Martin didn’t simply kill those characters — he dismembered them, in ways that are specific, graphic, and medically horrifying.
The “head-crush” is a very specific motif in Westeros. It is the beheading of a family or movement’s “head.”
The Hedge Knight tells the tale, and Baelor appears fine at the end of the fight. He’s sitting up, chatting, and instructs his maester to attend the other injured men first. But then, he complains about a headache. The horror is revealed when he removes the helmet.
His brother, Maekar, had clubbed him with a mace in the scramble. The blow had crushed the back of Baelor’s skull. The helmet was the only thing holding his head together. Baelor collapsed when the helmet was removed and the pressure relieved. The “red blood and pale bone” that is poured out here is one of the most memorable images in fantasy literature. Baelor was exhausted as a “walking ghost” – alive only thanks to his armor and force of will.
Oberyn’s death is the violent, fast-paced rhyme to Baelor’s slow tragedy. We all know the scene. Oberyn has the Mountain pinned. He has won. But his arrogance gets the better of him. He wants a confession.
The Mountain trips him, punches his teeth out, gouges his eyes and then— in a moment sextillions of TV viewers will rerun in their heads that crushes his skull with his bare hands. The “sickening crunch” described in the books is a direct echo of the noise Baelor’s skull emitted when his helmet was taken off.
Both men were inches away from survival. Both men were the superior fighters. And both men were left broken on the tourney grounds.
If we investigate a little, there turns out to be an interesting “technical” reason why they both died, and it says a lot about what kind of men they were.
He raced late into the melee without any armor of his own. He had to borrow armor from his son, Prince Valarr. The problem? Valarr was smaller and slimmer than Baelor. The helmet was too tight.
A helmet must be padded and have some space in front to play the shock of the hit in medieval fights. The death of Baelor Toesdrinker was a tragic example of what can happen when armor is ill-fitting. That which should have protected him from harm, was what killed him, underscoring the need for accuracy and caution when making protective equipment.
Oberyn was known to fight without a helmet. He wanted to be quick, light, and to have everything in sight. This was his hubris. He thought his ability was sufficient protection. If Oberyn had been wearing a heavy helm like a regular knight, the Mountain would not have been able to gouge out his eyes and crush his skull so easily.
Baelor is one of the coolest lessons on how to read prophecies George RR Martin Game of Thrones can teach us.
In The Hedge Knight, Daeron the Drunkard has a “dragon dream.” He says to Dunk:
“I dreamed a great red dragon fell upon you, but you were living and the dragon was dead.”
Everyone is initially under the impression that Dunk is going to kill a prince in the fight. But that’s not what happens. Baelor (the “great red dragon”) dies from a blow to the head and collapses over Dunk, who is crying on the ground. The prophecy was fulfilled, but not as anyone expected.
Tragedy is the source of great wisdom that audiences can learn from in this tale. When Daenerys has visions, or Cersei hears prophecies, it is a signal to treat such pronouncements with a grain of salt and a generous helping to understand the “falling dragon” is not an actual monster that drops from the sky but it’s the fall of a great man. Baelor’s death is the key to understanding the magical logic of the whole George RR Martin series.
You might be thinking: “So a prince died 90 years ago, big deal. Where’s the relevance to the main storyline?”
But this is why we have the Mad King, thanks to Baelor Breakspear’s death.
Let’s see how the dominoes fall:
The succession to the throne would have been secure. There would be no Mad King Aerys, no Robert’s Baratheon, and no Ned Stark losing his head.
Baelor’s death was the “hammer blow” that shattered the foundations of House Targaryen. When we reach Oberyn’s death in the novels, we are simply witnessing the end of the house.
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Baelor Targaryen, by birth, looked very different from most Targaryens. His mother was Mariah Martell of Dorne the source of his Dornish heritage, he inherited her black hair and black eyes. It gave him a decidedly Doran look, and some quietly commented that Baelor was “more Martell than Targaryen.”
Particular, grotesque fate for the Martell line Martin has reserved, it seems like. It’s almost a “blood-rhyme.” The ones who have the blood of Dorne with fierce, proud, rebellious to keep ending up crushed by the likes of what the Iron Throne can put its enforcers, blunt force.
So the next time you see that gruesome scene of Oberyn Martell in Season 4, or The Hedge Knight, keep in mind that you’re not just watching a fight. You are watching a cycle of history repeating itself.
George RR Martin connected these two men across time to reveal to us that the “Game of Thrones” consumes even its best players. Baelor was the fire of the past, and Oberyn was the hope of the present. They both crumbled under the burden of their own decisions, and the cruelty of their world.
The death of Baelor broke the Targaryen dynasty, and that of Oberyn shattered the peace between the Lannisters and Dorne. They are the two “crushed crowns” of Westeros that testaments to how even the brightest stars can go out swiftly, violently.
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HBO expands the Harry Potter universe with Lambert Wilson as Nicolas Flamel. Learn how this new casting brings new depth and magic to the magical world.
The Harry Potter universe is growing in exciting new directions, and the most recent casting information for HBO’s very hot Harry Potter series is exciting fans. The French actor Lambert Wilson, known for his iconic role as The Merovingian in The Matrix dystopian films, will play the legendary alchemist Nicolas Flamel. This news is a huge change from the original film series, which never actually had Flamel on screen, even though he was very important to the plot of the first book.
Collider reported, Wilson was recently seen shooting at the breathtaking Kynance Cove, Cornwall, England, with long white hair and a beard that captures the look of the ancient wizard in that cove of ageless looking black and white images. Also joining him is the renowned Swiss actress Marthe Keller as Flamel’s wife Perenelle, a role previously not seen from screen adaptations. The two were shot with John Lithgow (who portrays Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore) in what looks to be a powerful beach scene not included in J.K. Rowling’s original novel.
Reports say Wilson, 67, has very impressive international credentials for the role. In addition to iconic Matrix performances, he’s known in French film for, among other acclaimed work, the award-winning Of Gods And Men. His casting is a testament to HBO’s dedication to authenticity — the real-life Nicolas Flamel was a French alchemist who lived from 1330 to 1418, and so Wilson’s native French roots make him a natural fit for the role.
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What makes this casting especially exciting is the expanded arc for the Flamels that HBO is developing. Instead of the original movies, where Flamel was only referenced as the maker of the Philosopher’s Stone, the new show will delve into his wider ties to the wizarding world, such as his close friendship with Dumbledore and the bond he shared with Perenelle.Fans have speculated that the scenes at Cornwall may show Dumbledore telling the two about the choice to obliterate the Philosopher’s Stone, which would lend some emotional heft to the story’s ending.
The only earlier depiction of Flamel was by Brontis Jodorowsky in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald where he appeared as a frail elderly man. Jodorowsky kindly shared his thoughts on casting Wilson, comparing it to a baton race where you pass characters from one actor to another. He did say, however, that Harry Potter will always be Daniel Radcliffe to him.
HBO is now adapting Harry Potter into a series, suggesting the thought that it will be more than just a faithful retelling of the beloved books. Co-creators and showrunners Francesca Gardiner and successor director Mark Mylod both Emmy-winning powerhouse talent from Succession, helming the creative direction, the series is said to explore the lush mythology that the films could never fully realize in limited time.
With Lambert Wilson as Nicolas Flamel, HBO’s Harry Potter series is shaping up to combine the magic of nostalgia with new storytelling depth. The fans of the franchise can expect a more in-depth look into lost knowledge, nuanced characters, and the emotional core that made the series timeless. If the rumors are true, this series may not just return to the wizarding world — it may redefine it for a brand new era of viewers.
