Every time ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ hinted at that big Egg reveal

Well, the cat is out of the bag. Or, should we say, is the egg out of the…chicken? Whatever expression you choose, one thing is clear: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms revealed Egg’s (Dexter Sol Ansell) true identity.

Until episode 3, Egg was the sassy but worldly squire of cover knight Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Great (Peter Claffey). But he is not a member of the little people of Westerosi. Instead, he is none other than Aegon Targaryen, son of Maekar Targaryen (Sam Spruell) and grandson of King Daeron II Targaryen.

The reveal comes at the end of episode 3, when Dunk attacks Prince Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett) in retaliation for injuring Dornish puppeteer Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford). As Aerion prepares to pull out all of Duncan’s teeth, Egg bursts in and demands the guards – whom he addresses by name – not to hurt Dunk again.

“If they do, they will answer to my father,” he said.

Aerion is not outraged by Egg’s intrusion as he would have been if another member of the common people had intervened in his torture of Dunk. Instead, he is annoyed and addresses Egg informally, wondering what happened to his hair.

“I cut it, brother,” Egg replies. “I didn’t want to look like you.”

The exchange confirms Egg’s Targaryen nature, but there have been many other clues to his true identity. Whether you already know the truth as a book reader, called it in as a new audience member, or were totally caught off guard and want to catch the clues you might have missed, we’ve got you covered. Here are the five biggest indices of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms this egg is really Aegon.

The Targaryen sigil coin at the pub

In A Knight of the Seven KingdomsIn the first episode, Dunk crosses paths with a drunk man in a pub who pays with a coin bearing the Targaryen sigil of the three-headed dragon. Moments later, he comes across Egg.

The play suggests a Targaryen presence at the pub and also gives us a clue as to the identity of the drunken man. Until the Egg/Aegon reveal, the talk surrounding Aegon was that he was supposed to attend the tournament with his brother Daeron, but the two never showed up. Now we know where brother is, but where is Daeron? It is likely that he is the man Dunk met in the pub, as Daeron’s heavy drinking earned him the nickname Daeron the Drunk.

Shaved Egghead

As we learn in Dragon HouseTargaryen and Velaryon bastards like Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) shave their heads to avoid drawing attention to their Valyrian blood. Egg’s freshly bald head hinted from the start that he was trying something similar. Unlike Alyn, however, Egg is a trueborn. Yet he seems reluctant to associate with his family, and who would blame him when he has a tyrant like Aerion for a brother? Speaking of…

Egg’s panicked reaction to Aerion during the tournament

Egg has an intense reaction to Aerion’s joust with Ser Humfrey Hardyng (Ross Anderson) in episode 3, yelling at Humfrey to “kill him”. Screaming at the death of a Targaryen would be considered treason – just look at what Aerion does at Tanselle’s dragon-slaying puppet show! – so a member of the common people would probably not engage in this behavior. But a Targaryen prince who didn’t face consequences certainly would. Additionally, Egg’s vehement reaction to Aerion suggests a deeper personal connection, hinting at their strained sibling history.

Egg’s fortune so that he becomes king

In episode 3, Dunk and Egg cross paths with a fortune teller. She tells Dunk that he will find great fortune and riches, and she tells Egg that he will be king… oh, and that he will die a painful death to the joy of many. Of course, Dunk thinks this is a load of bullshit and gently mocks the fortune teller’s work. But these words are terrifying to Egg because, as a Targaryen, it is likely that he could one day become king. This fact adds another layer to his frightened reaction, as these words could very well be his true future.

Egg calling Dunk “My Lord”

When Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) in disguise becomes Tywin Lannister’s (Charles Dance) cupbearer in Game of Thrones In season 2, he teaches her a valuable lesson: she calls him “my lord”, when in reality, a girl of low birth would call him “m’lord”. The overly appropriate language betrays its noble origins. The same goes for Egg in A Knight of the Seven Kingdomswho refers to Dunk as “my lord”.

But that’s not all. Egg’s manner of speaking is incredibly formal and full of knowledge that few people in Westeros would expect a young peasant to possess. Case in point: his knowledge of the inner workings of tournaments, which he displays in Episode 3. If Arya had made any of these mistakes during her time disguised as Arry, she certainly would have been caught and killed. But unlike Egg, she was on the run during wartime and her father had just been executed as a traitor. Egg, in comparison, disguises himself during a time of peace. There’s definitely a dangerous element to his actions, but he also has more leeway to have a little fun.

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