The pros and cons of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ pre-finale flashback

But while we get a vivid first-person taste of combat, with Dunk and Aerion pairing off in the jousting arena, showrunner Ira Parker leans into a narrative trend that slows the intense action down considerably. As Dunk goes down in combat, we cut from the action and head into a penultimate-episode flashback. We spend the next 25 minutes watching Dunk’s story from his time as an orphan, shortly after Daemon’s Rebellion ended, through a pivotal moment with the knight he later squires for, Ser Arlan Pennytree.