Movies & TV A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms The Jousting Begins in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: “Hard Salt Beef” Dunk gets by with a little help from Targaryen princes and smallfolk alike… By Tyler Dean | Published on January 26, 2026 Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO The second episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms continues the premiere’s winning streak with a compelling blend of humor and action (including some of the most intricately choreographed and dynamic jousting scenes ever put on film!) as we follow our titular hedge knight’s quest to become the champion of the tourney at Ashford Meadow. As always, there may be mild spoilers for the general world of Game of Thrones and the Song of Ice and Fire books, but no spoilers for this show beyond episode 2. Let’s get started!  Opening Titles: [File Not Found] Obviously, the dynamic globe and astrolabe of the original Game of Thrones credits are an iconic sequence, perhaps the apotheosis of the HBO opening credits artform that arguably began with The Sopranos and Sex and the City. When House of the Dragon reused Ramin Djawadi’s opening theme, it was a bit of a disappointment even if its opening title visuals are, ultimately, a spectacular improvement on the high bar set by the original series. The decision to eschew opening titles entirely in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is one that feels slightly disappointing but is probably to the overall benefit of the show. It’s a smaller affair with a different vibe, focused on less grandiose moments in history (and with a shorter runtime than the hour-long dramas), and it makes sense to tamp down anything that might overstuff the series or make it feel too tonally similar to the other entries in the Game of Thrones universe. The Title The second episode title, “Hard Salt Beef,” refers to the poverty food that bookends the episode. It’s also, cheekily, a pretty good descriptor for Dunk (Peter Claffey) himself. The name feels apt, seeing as this episode really focuses in on the giant differences between the life of a hedge knight and the life of a royal prince, or even a knight from a noble line.  The Targaryen Delegation Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO This episode finally introduces the bulk of the Targaryens we’ll meet in the course of this season. Bertie Carvel (who you may know from Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and The Crown) plays Baelor Targaryen, who is the eldest son of King Daeron II and the current hand of the king. As I mentioned in my explainer for episode 1, Daeron II finally brought Dorne into the Seven Kingdoms by marrying Myriah Martell. As a result, Baelor has dark hair like his mother.  We also meet Maekar Targaryen, the youngest of Darron’s four sons. He’s played by Sam Spruell (who played the transcendently weird immortal assassin, Ole Munch, in Fargo season 5). Maekar, who is at least sixth in line for the throne, is upset about his missing sons, Daeron (named his grandfather) and Aegon. We encounter another of his sons, Aerion (True Detective: Night Country’s Finn Bennett) who treats Duncan with contempt, much like his father. Incidentally, Maekar has a fourth son, Aemon, currently in training at the Citadel and who, in eighty or so years, will become the same Master Aemon who tutors Jon Snow at Castle Black. We also get a brief shot of Prince Valarr Targaryen (Oscar Morgan), Baelor’s eldest son and second in line for the throne.  In this golden age of Westeros, the Targaryens are somewhat diminished from the height of their power (House of the Dragon is the story of that fall from grace) and are trying to shore up their own reputation and power now that they no longer have access to the dragons that made them kings. You can see this in the fact that King Daeron has sent half his sons to a middlingly important tourney at Ashford Meadow. You can see it in the ways the notably cheaper-looking Kingsguard armor has been painted white rather than enameled. You can even see it in the fact that they now marry outside their line in an attempt to shore up alliances.  Baelor seems to understand the assignment. Whether or not he truly lives up to the chivalric ideal that Dunk places on him, he does seem to know that taking an interest in the concerns of the smallfolk and remembering their deeds is a sure way to become beloved and help keep the Targaryens aloft. Maekar and his sons, by being so low in the line of succession, are not saddled with that same pressure and the show is effortlessly good at highlighting that difference.  The Shadow of War Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO Of course, the thing that hangs over this Golden Age and darkens the Targaryen prospects is not just the absence of the dragons. They have been extinct for fifty or so years (the books reveal that Ser Arlan of Pennytree had gone to see the last dragon shortly before its death, when he was around ten). But this story takes place about thirteen years after the First Blackfyre Rebellion.  Daeron II’s father, Aegon IV (Aegon the Unworthy) had many bastard children and, in a vague allusion to King Lear, had all his children declared legitimate on his deathbed. This led the newly minted Targaryen heirs to challenge Daeron and his trueborn siblings for the throne. These Targaryens eventually settled on the name “Blackfyre” (because they inverted the Targaryen banner colors—a black three-headed dragon breathing black fire on a red field) and tried to seize the throne. While Daeron won a decisive victory against them, numerous Blackfyre scions went into exile or escaped imprisonment, leading to more rebellions after the events of this season. Even in the era of Game of Thrones, Martin insinuates that characters like the spymaster, Varys (Conleth Hill) might be Blackfyre descendants. It’s truly the end of Targaryen legitimacy, and lends just a bit of credence to the idea that the Targaryens’ incestuous practices might have helped keep them in power even as it drove them to madness.  The show alludes to the Rebellion a couple of times in this episode. Egg, all jazzed up on the adrenaline of the first joust, shouts “Die, Blackfyre bastards!” while playfully swordfighting the air. And Dunk, in his paean to Lord Hayford, mentions that Ser Arlan fought alongside him at “the Redgrass.” This references the Battle of Redgrass Field, the decisive final skirmish between Targaryen and Blackfyre forces in 196 AC.  Kinds of Kindness Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO The real heart and magic of this show, at least thus far, lies in how good it is at being sincere about its valuation of simple kindnesses. Martin has always taken a dim view of humanity and tends to write about the ways that power corrupts and goodness is trampled. The reason that Ned Stark’s death in that first book is so affecting is precisely because Ned would be the beleaguered hero of most other fantasy epics. His plot armor should have kept him alive to eventually win back the day, but as we quickly learn, this is not that kind of story. Fifteen years after Game of Thrones became a TV staple, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is pushing back against that bitter vision of the world. Martin is still Martin, and so good intentions and a noble heart are never actually going to be enough to win the day—a fact hilariously underscored when Egg disabuses Dunk of the notion that Ser Donnel of Duskendale (Bill Ward) was born a lowly crabber and not the wealthy son of a crabbing magnate—but Dunk’s simple forthrightness inspires people around him to want to treat him well. Whether it’s the artist and puppeteer Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford), or Steely Pate (Youssef Kerkour), the armorer who gives him a discount, or Prince Baelor Targaryen himself, the show feels pretty dedicated to reminding us that there is good in Westeros and that community matters. Even the show’s depiction of Ser Arlan (Danny Webb) in flashback seems much kinder and more nuanced than the abusive old fool depicted in the season premiere. It’s surprisingly heartwarming, and something I didn’t fully expect from a Westeros-based show. Odds and Ends Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO When describing Ser Arlan’s deeds to Lords Florent, Hayford, and Tyrell, Dunk uses the phrase “he held no lands and sired no children.” That is the exact phrasing of the vows of celibacy and non-partisanship that Westeros’ cloistered orders take. Septons, Maesters, Knights of the Kingsguard, and members of the Night’s Watch all vow to hold no lands and sire no children. This metaphorically makes Ser Arlan into something of a more fabled questing knight, taking holy orders and devoting himself in service, not to secure his legacy, but for the good of the realm as a whole.  In The Hedge Knight, Ser Arlan dies of pneumonia following a brutal rainstorm en route to the tourney at Ashford Meadow. This episode seems to suggest that he died of an infected wound on his arm, which we see him trying to hide in his final days. I love how sanguine and untroubled he looks, even as he is clearly succumbing to his injury.  The fanfare played when the Targaryens enter Ashford Hall is the same theme used on House of the Dragon at Aegon II’s coronation. That, in turn has the little opening trill (used in tonight’s episode) followed by a simplified version of King Robert’s theme from the original series. Its little details like that which really make Westeros feel so storied and lived-in.   Steely Pate the armorer is in a long tradition of Westerosi Pates. Spotted Pate is a legendary folk hero: a swineherd who always outsmarts princes and knights, humbling the nobility. Consequently, there are a lot of lowborn Pates running around Westeros. Notably, in A Feast for Crows, the POV of the prologue follows Pate, a novice at the citadel who is murdered by Jaqen H’ghar, who subsequently wears his face and becomes Samwell Tarly’s roommate. But “Pate” is also one of the names Martin throws in when discussing various commoners, making it something of an in-joke.  I spoke about how great the musical continuity was above, but there’s no better illustration of the show’s attention to detail than the joust itself. It’s wonderfully shot and thrilling—and, for the book readers among us, it also goes out of its way to make sure all ten knights are the ones mentioned in The Hedge Knight’s initial bout. Even if you cannot see their faces or hear their voices, they’ve absolutely made sure that the combatants are identifiable as Medgar Tully, Damon and Tybolt Lannister, Androw and Robert Ashford, Leo Tyrell, Humfrey Hardyng, Lyonel Baratheon, Valarr Targaryen, and Abelar Hightower. It really feels like the ideal use of Easter eggs: environmental storytelling that exists neither to gatekeep nor to serve as a fourth wall-breaking wink at the audience, but rather speaks to great attention to detail and a love of the source material, without a slavish devotion to it. I’m glad that showrunner Ira Parker seems as dedicated to this as Bryan Cogman and Ryan Condal have been in the past. In Conclusion So, please chime in and tell me what you thought of the episode in the comments: Do you like the show’s scope and pacing? Are you as delighted as I am with the continued queer coding of Ser Lyonel? How great were Egg’s flummoxed little hand gestures when Dunk stopped his life lesson mid-anecdote? Are you looking forward to next episode, “The Squire,” which, for book aficionados seems like it will contain some of the most consequential events of the novella? Let me know![end-mark] The post The Jousting Begins in <i>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</i>: “Hard Salt Beef” appeared first on Reactor.