‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ episode 5 flashback, explained

In the world of Westeros, flashbacks are just as important as prophecies.

And although they are sometimes used for comic effect in A Knight of the Seven Kingdomsthe episode 5 flashback with young Dunk (Bamber Todd) and Rafe (Chloe Lea) seems more significant than the others.

So what is happening and why is it important?

What happens in the episode 5 flashback?

As Dunk (Peter Claffey) passes out during the Trial of the Seven Battlegrounds, the lights come on on a different battlefield in another time: the aftermath of the Blackfyre Rebellion, with young Dunk and his friend Rafe looting the bodies in search of something valuable.

Later, as they return to their Flea Bottom home in King’s Landing, they discuss how Rafe wants them to leave town. We have transcribed it in full below.

Dunk: “I just don’t know why we’re in such a hurry to leave? The war is over. The Black Dragon is dead. Ferret said we’ll all get free bread now.”

Rafe: “Are you stupid? Nothing’s over. Don’t you remember when Pudding killed Cedric’s little brother?”

Dunk: “It was an accident.”

Rafe: “Yeah. And we all thought that would be the end of it, only for Cedric to come back a year later and burn down almost half of Flea Bottom trying to kill Pudding. Nobody forgets shit. You hurt someone, they hurt you back. If you want to stay, fine. But Flea Bottom is full of people in pain. It’s tinder waiting to catch.”

It’s a conversation that foreshadows Rafe’s death, but it’s also much bigger than that.

Why is conversation so important?

The conversation between Dunk and Rafe draws on a theme that has been prevalent in every Game of Thrones story thus far: the cycle of violence. In Dragon House, this takes the form of an escalation between the green team and the black team, and in A knight of the Seven Kingdoms, this has already been clearly demonstrated by the trial of seven Dunks forced to defend his life.

And while this exchange between Dunk and Rafe resonates throughout the broader GoT universe, it’s not the sole focus of the flashback.

Later, after Rafe is mortally wounded, the way Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb) steps in to protect young Dunk mirrors the way an adult Dunk steps in to protect Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford) from Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett). In this way, the flashback to Dunk’s childhood shows us why he values ​​the knight’s principles so much. Dunk’s heroism is a learned behavior, and Tanselle recalls the friend he couldn’t save as a child.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes airing on HBO and HBO Max on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.