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There’s a simple delight there—a brightness in his mismatched eyes where they meet Raymun’s from under the cracked visor of his borrowed helm. It’s the expression of a loving older brother that has definitely bragged about this before, to their parents and other brothers, to nobles in a tourney’s royal box, to sparring knights in several training yards, to soldiers around a campfire after a day of fighting a war. My brother is strong. An inarguable truth, personally experienced; an honest smile to accompany the out-of-pocket boast. Countless memories of reveling in their ability to meet one another physically, to harm as much as to hold. To leave wounds and scars, to manhandle one another. The fun that comes with it, and the joy of being moved so literally—the deep pleasure of having a brother like Maekar, who can move him.

Baelor is playful in this moment, the helm still tight on his head, talking about his baby brother to the young Ser Fossoway. And he radiates the plain happiness of knowing his Maekar grew up so demonstrably, undeniably, wonderfully strong.

Dunk's point of view and the way he sees Baelor is a beautiful simplification for the sake of the story, but can be dangerous in the sense that it can lead to oversimplifications and black-and-white thinking. Like, Baelor could do no wrong, or Maekar was a villain, or Baelor cared about Dunk only, etc., etc. It can be far too easy to ignore the reality of Baelor being a good, but complicated man, whose judgment was not always perfect. They are only human, and they are flawed, just like everyone else, and this is sort of the point here as well.

I like the idea that no one is pure goodness, just like no one is pure evil, even though this, too, can be a slippery slope in terms of the extent and the good old moral ambiguity. Namely, what, exactly, are the lengths that this good man can go to, when he feels he has to, or simply wants to? In Baelor's case, this question remains largely unanswered.

The thing is (I believe) that this whole affair was not just about "Dunk and Baelor's goodness versus Aerion's wickedness". It was also "a small man versus the royals", "the royals versus public opinion", and "the royals versus gods". There were so many ways this could go catastrophically wrong for the Targaryens, and Baelor was trying to prevent that by putting himself on the line, as the man who held most of the power and responsibility. And of course he could have used his power in so many other ways. He could have put Dunk back in prison and taken his time. He could have put Aerion and Daeron in prison as well, if they still insisted on their games involving "high treason". He could have found, or appointed, or hired a fighter, or two, or three for Dunk, and then he could have sat back and watched the show.

However, the fighters turn up themselves (thanks to Aegon and the fact that Aerion has an impressive ability to make enemies). But Steffon Fossoway gets bought to Aerion's side, and by this point the game has become so rigged it's unbelievable. And Baelor, as a Targaryen prince, a nobleman in the best sense of the word, a man of honor, and one of the best fighters in the realm, cannot remain neutral, because he cares for the truth. "Goodness is as goodness does", as we know. I believe he is capable of deep empathy, just like Dunk, who seems to empathize with every living creature he encounters. And on top of it all, he can see the injustice being done to Dunk by the Targaryens more clearly than anyone else, what with the trial of seven being basically a trap, and the alternative for Dunk being essentially a slow death, had they actually chopped off his hand and his foot. But the fact that Baelor had to ride into the arena at all should give you an idea of just how dire the situation was. Publicly. Politically. Personally. It was awful both for Baelor and for Maekar.

In fact, Baelor was so desperate to fix the situation (while making it much, much worse within his own family, though), that he actually went into a serious fight without being armored up properly. He wasn't wearing a proper helmet, of all things, which is an incredibly reckless thing to do, if you think about it, no matter how experienced, perhaps, even practically unbeatable you are as a fighter. It's just something you're strongly advised not to do, no matter how confident you feel.

And he knew exactly what he was doing, and to what extent his son's armor didn't fit him. The grand toss of his head when he takes off the helmet in front of Dunk and the crowd is because the helmet is too tight. All it essentially did was give him, and others as well, a false sense of security. And I'd love to see if Maekar had tried to pull off something like this, especially in their younger years. Baelor would have told him — absolutely not, you are not doing this, and only over my dead body, I imagine. But this, of course, was different.

I could also go on a tangent about the "how dare he love his flawed brother, when he's so perfect" thing. Well, maybe it's because they are brothers? And neither is perfect? And the love was earned? You can say what you want about the brothers' relationship and their traits. But saying that Baelor's love for Maekar, which he displayed literally until his final moments, was hollow and meaningless, a "delusion", or maybe even an "act" (especially when there was literally no reason for him to put up an act in front of Fossoway), is an insult to Baelor's obvious intelligence. It essentially destroys Baelor's character — which some people, somehow, seem to believe they are uplifting by degrading Maekar. Any relationship that is not superficial is complicated, and we are talking about insanely complicated men, circumstances and lives here.

But let's just say they grew up, and learned, and made mistakes, and laughed, and cried, and loved, and hated, and fought together. They were the two warriors of their family, so they were bonded from a young age, they were naturally close, especially in their younger years. There was a strong bond there, and while a lot of different things can be said about its nature, its presence is undeniable, I think. In George R. R. Martin's works it goes to curious lengths — they even die in a similar manner. You don't even have to look for certain symbolism and an intricate, painfully pronounced connection here, because it was there in the first place.

And maybe, just maybe (most probably, actually), Baelor had also held the little, innocent Aerion in his arms and he remembered it, even while looking at the monster that Aerion finally became. And even more than that. If Baelor played a more or less constant, integral part in the life of Maekar's family — and apparently, he did — then, at least to a degree, Aerion is his creation as well. I mean, Baelor trained him, shouted at him, humiliated him and encouraged him in the yard just like Maekar did? You bet. Taught Aerion a trick or two that he would later use on Dunk, because Uncle Baelor had taught him what to do if things got nasty indeed? Absolutely. An ultimate Baelor-ish thing to do, if you ask me, when it comes to his sons or nephews.

And could Baelor have — inadvertently — planted in Aerion the idea that you can do whatever you want, if you're a Targaryen prince, as long as you stay, or at least pretend to stay within certain boundaries, which, again, are rather vague, because you're a Targaryen prince? I really don't know. Perhaps? But if there was one person within Baelor and Maekar's inner circle who could have guessed and believed that there was more to his father and uncle's past than they were letting on, and collected all the possible information and gossip on the subject — I bet you anything, it would be Aerion. (This is a fanon-ish tangent, but I just think it weaves into the story quite nicely.)

And he was comfortable as hell in Baelor’s presence literally until the very end, which tells you a lot not only about his impertinent nature, but also about the family dynamics there. Still, nobody is born a villain and nobody becomes a villain or a selfish monster overnight. It had to be a long process and it took years (as Daeron later pointed out to Dunk). So Baelor and Aerion were simply used to each other, just like everyone else in the family.

And another curious thing about Baelor and Aerion. "Aerion is your brother. And the septons say we must love our brothers" — excuse me, but you don't talk like this about someone you believe is completely irredeemable, you just don't. Even if it's your nephew whom you've known since birth and probably even helped raise to a degree — and still, most likely, you cannot know everything about him, simply because he's not your own son and your brother's family will obviously have its own boundaries — and secrets — regardless of how close you are, it's only natural. But this very well may also have something to do with "anger not being his default" (as Bertie Carvel put it). He is, obviously, terribly angry with Aerion at the moment, and disgusted by his actions — he might have even wanted to kick Aerion himself — but it looks like if they were not at Ashford, it would be just another damn evening in the Targaryen household. The main problem being — they are not at home, and they are under the scrutiny of commoners and nobles alike.

But back to Baelor — I don't think all of this affected his decisions, at least on the conscious level. He had to keep at least some semblance of peace between himself and Maekar, who sided with Aerion — as long as it was still possible, and even while deeply disagreeing with Maekar. He couldn't afford any further damage to their public image in any form. (Lord Leo Tyrell was also sitting there, by the way, representing the high nobility and hanging on every word.) And he wouldn't position himself or any of his relatives above the law. But still, it was his family. And let's not forget about Aegon, who can still turn out to be either good Aegon, or bad Aegon, and is watching things unravel. So Baelor feels obliged to set a good example.

The only father he needed was Ser Arlan of Pennytree. That is the lineage he descends from, not in blood, but in spirit. Dunk passed or at least tried to pass that down to Egg. Dunk was special not because of his blood or lineage, but because he was Dunk.

Dunk the hedge knight who challenged a prince to defend a smallfolk woman, cut his own cheek in an attempt to stop a fight between Webber and Osgrey, inspired a future king and likely put his life on the line and tested his Kingsguard vows by taking a stand against his own king to save the life of an infant.

Sleepers Peace @copperboltsblog has suggested that the concept of the sculpture of the same name by Greet Desal would be great do with Henry and his animal companions - and I totally agree! So here's my take on it |06052026

EXACTLY!!

You can't make Dunk without making him a good man because being good is the most fundamental part of him. If you remove that you no longer have Dunk you just have some other giant man. You can make him older, bitter, and tired, but you can never make him evil or cruel because that is not who he is. Our last accounts of him are as an old Kings Guard going back into Summerhall to try and save more people from a fire. He is pure good.

You can make Baelor evil because his biggest thing is being perceived as honorable. You can still be evil, cruel, and manipulative while being perceived as honorable. At the end of the day he is a politician, a prince, his duty is to what he perceives to be the best for the realm. Joining Dunk's side was the honorable thing, but also the best thing politically for the Targaryens. If Dunk had lost the realm would riot, if he had won with no Targaryen helped they'd be presumed as weak.

Lyonel is complicated because we see him as chaotic and wanting. His most important character trait is his presence. You know looking at him that he is a Lord, a Storm King (I know its Storm Lord but they used to be kings and it fits.) He joined for the ability to kick heads, his allyship with Dunk is because he finds him interesting. He is the easiest to make straight up evil or cruel because it is already there blatantly. Storms can be kind and cruel. I live where tornados happen, they are beautiful disasters.

Raymun is the only person I think I'd have a difficult time making cruel but an easy time making selfish. At the end of the day he did join Dunk because it was right but he benefited heavily from it. His family line still exists and thrives in "modern" asoiaf time.

After hugging her goodbye and sending her away, the guards come.

"A decision has been made quicker than I thought," he muses as the kingsguard guide him to the throne room. He isn't keen on being forced to plead for mercy, he'd rather his head be taken right there at the throne. But he isn't dragged, he walks in there with his head held high. The boy he had met at the tender age of eight sits upon the throne, his head surprisingly bare of a crown. The boy, no longer a boy but a man, looks tired and upset. Lyonel supposes that's to be expected.

"I will not have your head," Aegon V tells him. "I wanted too. My anger was quite like yours, my lord."

"What changed your mind?" Lyonel asks softly. "Would you rather I beg?"

Egg shakes his head. "Someone else already did."

"My children should not -"

"Not your children, Lyonel," Egg murmurs softly. He waves the guards away and waits until they are alone before he says it. "My lord commander did."

Ser Duncan? Dunk had begged for his life? Lyonel cannot believe it. He must already be dead, his head has to be in a basket and being carried off to be burned. Right?

"Ser Duncan has been my greatest council for as long as I can remember," Egg admits softly. The image of this king fades away, and is replaced by the bald headed boy that Lyonel had known. "He wished for mercy for you, so who am I to say no?"

"I would have killed him if I had been able," Lyonel blurts out without thinking.

To his surprise, Egg laughs. "No, you would not have."

Baelor aka Mr Prince Perfect Who Isn't So Perfect After All

Lets start with the obvious: this is a man who grew up knowing his very existence is political.

His mother is Dornish. His grandfather was Aegon the Unworthy. The realm whispers that Daemon Blackfyre (gold-haired, Valyrian, purple-eyed, pure) should have been the one to wear the crown after Daeron.

Baelor grew up listening to that whisper, watching men look at him and visibly rethink what they were going to say. Grew up hearing more Dornish than dragon said as an insult in courts that thought he couldn't hear. And what does a boy do with that? He becomes unassailable. He becomes so good, so restrained, so dutiful, so politically flawless that there is nothing left for anyone to criticise. If he's perfect, no one can say his blood is the problem.

That's Prince Perfect. It's not a compliment in his own head, it's a sentence he's serving.

His core insecurity, the strongest beam of his entire psychology, is this: he believes wanting things is dangerous. Maekar puts it plainly in HW Eight: "Duty is all he knows. He doesn't believe he's allowed to want things for himself. He thinks that's selfish and dangerous for someone in his position."

Because his grandfather wanted. His grandfather wanted wives and whores and bastards and legitimised every mistake he ever sired, and the realm bled for decades because Aegon the Unworthy couldn't keep it in his pants.

So Baelor looked at that inheritance and decided: "I will never want. I will only serve."

His sore spot is being called selfish. Being told he wants too much. Because every time he reaches for anything that isn't duty, he hears his grandfather's laughter and the rattle of Daemon Blackfyre's voice in his head, and he flinches away from his own desire like it's a hot coal. Bloodraven reads him perfectly in HW Six: "You have spent your life putting the realm before itself so oft it has forgotten you have a self to put before it." That line alone should be tattooed on his ribs.

But another thing I haven’t seen discussed much that I think really contributed to the disillusionment that we see in the final episode is how it must have felt for Dunk to see the Kingsguard be ordered to fight for Aerion. He’s terrified to fight against them, of course, but he also canonically really idolizes the Kingsguard, in both the show and the book, and considers them the greatest and noblest knights in the land. He's dreamed of being one of them- every boy has, he says- and that dream gains a little fuel in the show when Donnel of Duskendale (dishonestly) claims to have risen from a similar class position to Dunk's.

Aerion is wrong, unequivocally- even if Baelor won't outright say that, which says something  about his own precarious position as part of that family, but Dunk knows it in his bones- but it doesn’t matter. They are sworn to the royal family and at their command. For Dunk, it's one level of having his naivete shattered to realize that a knight, even a prince, can be dishonorable and cruel. But it's another level to see the Kingsguard knights, who may themselves be much better men than Aerion, have no choice but to fight, and potentially kill or give their own lives in defense of that cruelty. 

There's only so much honor one can have- even those held to be the most honorable- when someone owns you.

And swearing yourself to a household is not just one person- lords die and are replaced by sons or cousins or brothers or nephews, and each may be a totally different kind of man. You could swear yourself to a great man like Baelor, and still find yourself laying down your life for a prick like Aerion. And once the shock passes and that has really had time to sink in, I can see why that would make him suddenly skittish of something he had previously wanted and sought out.

Dunk is still a loyal person, that’s a core trait. He's still naive and at times oblivious and a little too trusting, though I would imagine that fades at least a little over the years. But he needs the choice to give or withhold that loyalty based on a person’s actions. The life of a hedge knight gives him a freedom that household knights- even the greatest of them- do not have. Even if he swears his sword to someone, it's temporary, and it can be revoked, as we see him do with Ser Eustace when it's revealed how much he had lied to them. 

There are other factors too- he clearly considers the hardships of being a hedge knight to be character-building, which they definitely are for Egg. He seems to feel out of place in spaces too high for his station, maybe finds too much comfort to be uncomfortable. And the guilt is of course still there, the need to do something worthwhile with the life he’s been given. But I think the need for that freedom is still a major factor, and said hardships are the price he has to pay for that. Ultimately, I think Egg is the only one he would have ever sworn himself to after Ashford, because Egg is his family- he knows him as well as he knows himself (he thinks), and he basically raised him and imparted a lot of his own values onto him. He loves Egg, and he finally feels like he can give that loyalty to someone permanently.

The second time Dunk sleeps with Baelor, it's sort of an accident. And they do actually sleep.

"Not that I'm not absolutely gagging for it," Baelor informs him with the very considered speech of the well and truly pissed. They're riding up the lift to Duncan's flat, Baelor more or less tucked under Dunk's arm and fiddling determinedly if ineffectively with the buttons on Dunk's shirt.

"Gagging for it, really," Dunk says, biting his tongue to stop from smiling. Dr. Targaryen is a prissy little shit who hardly bothers to look his patients in the eye and makes faces at their charts where they'll see him and get upset that that means they're going to die, which sometimes it does, and it drives Dunk absolutely mental and is bad healthcare no matter what anyone says about it. Dr. Targaryen can fuck off into the sunset as far as Dunk's concerned.

But Baelor — who only seems to emerge after three drinks or more, which fortunately was the minimum requirement at Egg's Fellowship Acceptance Party ("No one has a party for themselves when they get a Fellowship." "Well, maybe they should.") that was held tonight — Baelor is funny, and wry, and knows all the lyrics to "Let It Go" because apparently his youngest son is obsessed with Frozen. He has lots of thoughts on Emily Wilson's new translation of the Iliad but also lots of thoughts on the Odyssey film that's coming out in a few months. He laughs at Dunk's jokes and asks after Arlan and has good advice for the looks-like-it'll-have-to-happen nurses' strike that will probably come for them in the next month. He keeps looking at Dunk's mouth and then away, like he's still tempted, even now.