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Lord Commander Ser Duncan head canon...

Though he has reached the pinnacle of Knighthood, with all the honors of such a command, and in his spotless Kingsguard armor & cape and appropriately richly tailored clothing, Ser Duncan continues to wear his scabbard on a simple hempen belt, which he has, by necessity, replaced many times over the years with the same.

When good King Aegon V asks him to please, please give it up in favor of one befitting his rank, Dunk--once the orphaned boy of Flea Bottom, and then the honest, conscientious, courageous, wandering Knight of the Hedge--tells his King, once his Squire, that he continues the practice to remind himself to stay humble no matter his station. And to keep fresh in his heart that his will always be a life of service, adhering to the ideals of a true Knight's vows.

When Dunk is a child he has dreams of the impossible, he dreams he is in a training yard being taught by the royal master at arms, he's taught politics by the royal Maester, he's taught dances and social cues by stewards and he's even brother to the heir to the throne. Dunk knows logically it is absurd, so he thinks nothing of his 'not memories' and goes about his day.

Daeron cannot look any of the children named for his brother in the eyes, he finds it painful to look into a child's eye and not see his Duncan, they may have his name but no one could ever capture his devotion and love. Anyone who had known Duncan personally find it abhorrent that people are just naming their children so callously, they would hope his story would inspire people to overcome and dedicate themselves to being better instead it made some royals greedy for approval from the crown.

When the King hosts a ball to commemorate the anniversary, he invites all the royals and all the knights including hedge knights (his brother had a fondness for them as he said they were true men who did their duties for the people rather than any stories that would come about after they had served) in doing so Ser Arlan Pennytree and his gentle giant squire end up joining the ball. When Daeron lands eyes on Dunk he is floored and nearly bursts into tears seeing a younger version of the brother he lost. His eyes sting and his palms sweat, the room spins and he very nearly passes out. If not for his wife he would of wept and thrown himself at Dunk's feet.

Daeron isn't the only one to notice the giant squire, all his brothers in arms have stopped still and can't seem to catch their breaths, his half brother Brynden and sister Shiera haven't stopped staring since he entered the hall. Baelor is struck by a deep longing to go to him and beg forgiveness, all the royals who had known him feel as of their seeing a ghost in the flesh. Someone had actually passed out.

Dunk as always is oblivious. Arlan is weirded out.

After the whole ball is done, Arlan gets ready to leave and of course takes Dunk with him. There are some murmurs and considerations about Daeron asking the hedge knight to stay but in the end they decide against it. It would be unfair to put the years of grief and guilt they felt over the death of Ser Duncan onto poor little squire Dunk. No matter how much his innocent eyes or golden brown hair or gentle smile or staggering size or good heart remind them of what they lost. So they quickly bid each other goodbye and Arlan decides that he's never getting near any of these crazos ever again.

Enter Ashford: Egg was far too young to have ever met Duncan the Unwavering Sword but he has heard the stories. As such, it comes pretty easily to him to suggest the name Duncan to this knight who obviously cannot just keep on calling himself Ser Dunk the Tall. I'm gonna say that in this version of events he didn't actually meet Baelor and Maekar to get them to vouch for him, instead Lyonel just pretended to have remembered Ser Arlan and got Dunk into the lists that way.

Anyway. Both him and Egg are just chilling at the Baratheon tent most of the time while Lyonel manages to Dunk into joining him at Storm's End + swearing himself to him after Ashford. Our boy still meets Raymun and befriends him, all three men can bond over a shared and quickly growing dislike for Steffon. Dunk's also incredibly endearing to the few men who remember the first Blackfyre rebellion who just grow to be smitten with this mini version of the famous Good Brother of the King. The way he looks after his squire and takes care of him is just peak "Duncan with little Daeron II. and his kids later on" all around; people are simply having a happy time.

Then Aerion happens.

Then Dunk hitting Aerion happens.

All hell breaks loose, of course. If there was talk of Dunk being similar to Duncan before, it's low-key official now. The whole entire tourney and everyone there just got a front-row seat to this giant of a man beating up a prince in the defence of an innocent girl who shares the name and face of such a legendary knight. If he was the champion of the smallfolk in canon, he's their unofficial ruler now. Egg throws himself at him when Aerion tries to take his revenge, not only using his status as a prince but also mentioning that he's a sworn shield to the Lord Baratheon and a friend to the Fossoways on top. Dunk has no idea wtf is happening when he's quickly pushed in front of Baelor and Maekar to deal with this.

Both men then proceed to have a heart attack when "that hedge knight that punched a Targaryen prince" turns up at their doorstep and it's just. Holy fuck that is their UNCLE. Literally, Baelor thinks it's a ghost coming to haunt him for his sins or smth like that. The hair, the eyes, the smile, even the story that's spreading throughout the entire grounds of what happened are all just so Duncan the Unwavering Sword that he feels like he's doing insane. Add to that little Egg who snuck in and is clinging to his feet as well as Lyonel with half of his entourage bursting down their doors asking how dare the royal family behave like that with THEIR sworn brother and future knight??? Shit gets messy QUICKLY.

Like…

One second Baelor is in the midst of a fight, his heart beating fast, adrenaline flooding his system. It’s a feeling he’s unfortunately familiar with. The next second there’s a mace heading directly for his head. There’s no time to move away, no way to avoid the blow. Then the very next second there’s a hedge knight the size of a tree standing between Baelor and the oncoming blow, a man so big and tall and strong that he absorbs the blow and still remains standing.

But the fact that Ser Duncan remains standing after the blow does not stop the breath from catching in Baelor’s throat, nor does it prevent his heart from skipping a beat, nor does it prevent Baelor’s chest from growing uncomfortably tight. His ears are ringing, his breathing is growing laborious, because… because… because the tableau before him is heartbreakingly familiar. And the last time a giant honourable knight stood between Baelor and a mortal blow, House Targaryen lost one of it’s best and brightest. Baelor has spent nearly a decade riddled with the guilt of being inadvertently responsible for the death of his father’s most honourable brother. And it’s happening again. He’s in a muddy field in Ashford of all places, and history is repeating itself.

Except it’s not. Because this Ser Duncan is still standing, and he’s pushing Maekar back, giving Baelor the chance to recover. And he does eventually, pure survival instinct pulling Baelor out of the depths of his panic and grief. By some miracle they all make it out of the trial alive.

Baelor is swept away, and tended to by maesters and eventually allowed some peace and quiet, and when he gets it he has the mother of all breakdowns. Baelor’s breakdown is of course nothing compared to Maekar’s eventual breakdown.

He’s sat there, grappling with the fact that he just killed his own brother. By all rights, he should blame Aerion for starting this mess, for attacking the puppet girl. But he doesn’t. He seems to blame Ser Duncan, but that’s Targaryen honor talking. He knows it’s Aerion’s fault— and so it’s ultimately his own fault.

He didn’t intend to kill Baelor. He loved Baelor. He and his brother were close. Their relationship was strong and built on years of trust and friendship.

And then Egg comes in. And he’s clearly here to kill his brother. And the look the Maekar gives him…

Incredulous, and in disbelief. Not “what are you doing” but “Could you? Would you really?” And he already knows the answer.

How did this happen? How are his sons strangers to one another— worse than strangers— when he and Baelor were so beloved to one another? How is it that he’s grieving the death of his brother so wholeheartedly while his sons plot fratricide?

It’s no wonder he talks so fiercely about ‘Blood of the Dragon’ and Targaryen honor when he sees it put under so much strain.

This scene is so good. It’s so good that it makes that final scene, where Egg sneaks off without his father’s permission, mildly infuriating. Because it’s so so clear that this moment is pivotal. That no matter what Maekar’s first reaction is to hearing Dunk’s condition to take Egg to squire, he’d come back to this moment and ultimately change his mind.