At long last, the secret behind Egg has been revealed. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is now half over, but now viewers have learned the squire’s true identity, something readers of the original Tales of Dunk and Egg books have known from the start. But what does this new secret mean for the future of the show — and the future of Westeros itself? The answer is a lot more complicated than you may think.
Warning! Spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 3 ahead!
In the latest episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Duncan the Tall’s original plan to join the lists was derailed by a scandal: After Aerion Targaryen attacked Tanzelle during a puppet show where her character slayed a dragon, Egg ran to get Duncan to defend her honor. Duncan did, in fact, attack Aerion, but the Targaryen took it as a personal affront and ordered the Kingsguard to injure Dunk. It all stopped, however, when Egg told the guards to stop, and they obeyed. Egg was revealed to be none other than Aegon Targaryen, the youngest son of Maekar, thought to be lost.
But now that we know Egg is Aegon, the question remains: who is Aegon? It’s no secret that you can’t move for Aegons in the Targaryen family tree, but this specific Aegon is Aegon V, who in the events following the show, will be the 15th Targaryen to take the Iron Throne.
In George R.R. Martin’s The Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, Aegon’s rise to the throne is deemed unlikely, as he’s the fourth son of a fourth son. But after circumstances make him next in line for the throne, he rises to the occasion.
How Is Aegon Connected to Daenerys?
Warning! Spoilers for The Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas.
Aegon V is considered a good king — he marries Betha Blackwood for love, and together they have five children: Duncan (named after Aegon’s old friend and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall), Jaehaerys, Shaera, Daeron, and Raelle. Bucking against Targaryen tradition, Aegon is not quite keen on Targaryen in-breeding, so he arranges politically advantageous marriages for all of his children, but they would have other plans. Duncan runs off with a commoner he falls in love with instead of his intended, the daughter of Lyonel Baratheon. Daeron makes it clear he is a “confirmed bachelor,” and Jaehaerys and Shaera run off and marry each other. Targaryens are gonna Targaryen.
That leaves Raella to be the only one of Aegon’s children to marry into another House: she marries Ormund Baratheon, and they have a son named Steffon, who has three sons named Robert, Renly, and Stannis. Meanwhile, Jaehaerys and Shaera have two kids, Aerys and Rhaella, who (of course) marry each other, and they have seven children, including Rhaegar (known as the Mad King), Viserys, and Daenerys. That means that in the book canon, Egg is the great-grandfather of Daenerys Targaryen, but also of Robert Baratheon.
Unfortunately, though Egg rules with compassion from his time spent among the smallfolk, he did have one quirk that was very unique to the Targaryens: a desire to bring back dragons, which at this point in history had gone extinct. Details are hazy, but some event at the Targaryen pleasure palace of Summerhall caused the building to catch fire, resulting in the tragic end of King Aegon V and both Duncans: his best friend and his son.
So while this Egg may be small and unimposing, if the series follows the books as closely as it has so far, then he will become the king who begins the Game of Thrones era.
