sorry we're glazing baelor too much i think so i want to point out that dunk standing up to aerion in the hedge knight is as much about egg as it's about tanselle. it's apparent maekar is a seriously negligent father and egg has one scene with baelor where he's being scolded for running to dunk instead of baelor. this is an impossible demand because the castle is too far away but the narrative reason for this choice, i think, is that at this point egg has more faith in dunk to do something about aerion over members of his own family and he's being proven right in his belief here with the way baelor dismisses him. the scene starts with egg calling him 'uncle' (“And I had to run for Ser Duncan, uncle, the castle was too far.”) and ends with, “As you will, Your Grace.” because that's what this is to baelor, it's a political headache. and to me it doesn't matter whether baelor knew precisely why egg hates his brother so much because what this reveals is that egg must go to this hedge knight he met on the road four days ago over his own family. plus the only time egg can talk about aerion abusing him is in the presence of dunk whom he's come to see as someone he can rely on over his brothers, father, and baelor as well. “Aerion is your brother, and the septons say we must love our brothers.” is mhm. considering what's going to happen the following morning with maekar. it's a bit ned beheading that deserter and then dying the same way.
obviously he's not bad, he's just one of grrm's good men whose goodness is constrained within westerosi social mores. and baelor too is meant to be a father figure for dunk once ser arlan dies. my case for this specifically rests on dunk's story about being knighted by ser arlan with no witnesses. obviously the fact that this is a lie does not matter beyond how the telling of it informs dunk's characterisation, because even a sacred vow doesn't mean anything over personal conduct, and is not what makes one a knight—a major asoiaf theme—but also important that the only confirmation of dunk's knighthood comes from baelor vouching for him during their first scene. dunk would not be legally recognised as a knight in westeros if baelor hadn't been able to recall ser arlan. after which baelor & dunk make a narrative pair against maekar & aerion. and ser arlan's lessons are what move him to assault a prince of the realm to defend tanselle so it's only fitting for baelor as ser arlan's substitute to defend dunk's life over it and while knighthood—in the form of all the high lords present at ashford who refuse to take dunk's side—has been proven to be little more than institutionalised violence, baelor's individual decision here is enough to save that ideal of a true knight for dunk. so the novella opens with dunk burying ser arlan and finding egg at the inn, after dunk relents to egg's request he thinks: 'i'll teach him the arts of battle, the same as you did ser, might be one day he'll make a knight.' then it finishes with baelor's funeral and dunk finally agrees to take egg with him permanently - the suggestion here being that he'll be repaying the debt he feels he owes baelor. and what he won't know until much later is that he'll teach egg to be a good king, better and more egalitarian than baelor would've been had he sat the iron throne.
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