The use of flashbacks has started to become a bit of a crutch on various TV shows, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms lost the momentum of the penultimate episode by using a long one. This doesn’t mean the show had to get rid of the flashback completely, but it could have been done better.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 Episode 5 brought us the Trial of Seven, which saw Dunk fight for his innocence after protecting the weak from Prince Aerion. However, it looked like Aerion was the more superior fighter, knocking Dunk out, leading to a flashback of the time Dunk met Ser Arlan.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Should Have Split Up the Flashbacks
The better way of doing this would have been by splitting up the flashbacks. Adding one long flashback into the middle of the (already short) episode, it took out the momentum of the trial. Sometimes, we need a breather, but not in this case.
So, instead of one long flashback, we could have seen it split up into smaller moments. Each time Dunk got hit in the head or went down, we could have had another quick look at the past. There were clear moments of the flashback that could have offered a break, allowing the show to keep the momentum of the fight, while also giving us the necessary arc for Dunk.
Then the final flashback could have come when he was knocked out cold. We could still have Ser Arlan telling him to “get up,” while Egg was also screaming at Dunk to get up in the present day.
Was All the Flashback Necessary on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
There is also the question of whether A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 Episode 5 even needed the flashback in full. The part of him scrounging for money on the battlefield and some of the smaller moments in Fleabottom didn’t really seem all that necessary.
Sure, we found out that Dunk was hoping for his mom to come back somehow, despite being dead, and we know that his friend was looking for a way out of Fleabottom.
However, in the end, it was really just Rafe dying and Ser Arlan coming to help protect Dunk that gave us a look at why Dunk is a man of honor — why he is so focused on protecting the innocent. Sure, offering a look at Rafe and Dunk’s friendship helped a little to understand why that death hurt him so much, but considering how fast he was to protect Tanselle, I’m not sure we needed to see a big connection to Rafe.
If Rafe was such a big part in Dunk wanting to become a knight, then we could have seen flashbacks throughout A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and not just in that one episode. A flash of her face when Dunk first saw Tanselle could have helped bring intrigue to make the flashback more fitting.
While the fight in the present day was certainly exciting, the flashback was too long, and it took away the momentum.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 Finale airs on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 10/9c on HBO and HBO Max.
