There have been a lot of questions about whether Dunk is really a knight on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Only Ser Arlan was there to see him knighted. Of course, the question always was whether it mattered, but the truth is, it does.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 episode 4
As Dunk learned he would need to fight in a Trial of Seven, he had to find six other knights to fight beside him. Steffan Fossoway initially agreed, but on the morning of the trial, he revealed that he’d been offered a dukedom, and so, he would fight for Prince Aerion.
Raymun knew what had to be done. He needed to be knighted so that he could fight, and any knight can knight someone. So, he turned to Dunk to ask for him to do it.
Dunk said he ‘shouldn’t’ knight Raymun on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Dunk didn’t want to do it. His wording was “shouldn’t,” and it’s a huge sign that he can’t knight someone because he isn’t knighted either. I’d also argue that he doesn’t know the wording since Arlan never did it for him.
Ser Lyonel Baratheon ended up stepping in to knight Raymun, allowing him to fight in the trial by combat. There wasn’t even a question about it. If Raymun wanted to fight, then he should be allowed to fight.
Nobody even questioned why Dunk wouldn’t do it. The word “shouldn’t” could arguably imply that he doesn’t want his friend to run the risk of dying. However, it is much deeper than that.
Does it matter if Dunk isn’t a real knight?
When the topic of Dunk being knighted came up, showrunner Ira Parker questioned whether it was really that important. Skirting around the question made it clear that Dunk probably wasn’t knighted, but would we ever get to see that play out? We weren’t sure, but it looks like we’ve got the first hint of it on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 episode 4.
When it comes to character, it doesn’t matter. Dunk does what every knight should: he protects the innocent. However, there are some issues with honesty, considering he’s lied immediately about being a knight. Can he get over that by being as good of a man otherwise? Maybe, but he has to get through this Trial by Seven first.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms airs on Sundays at 10/9c on HBO and HBO Max. Episode 4’s early drop was purely due to the Super Bowl.