A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Just Confirmed It Won’t Answer 1 Major Baelor Targaryen Question

Baelor Targaryen is one of the most interesting characters in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, but there’s one big question about him we won’t get answered. Played by Bertie Carvel, Baelor is heir to the Iron Throne, and quite different from the other Targaryens in both this show and House of the Dragon. He’s decent, kind, true, and as honorable as they come, positioning him as the kind of ruler we never get to see in the Game of Thrones franchise.

His particular combination of being so good, honorable, and being the heir to the Iron Throne means I can’t help but wonder whether Baelor knows about Aegon the Conqueror’s dream. As a reminder, his prophecy, or Song of Ice and Fire, foretold of a coming winter and a darkness that would destroy humanity (in other words, the White Walkers), and that only a Targaryen ruling a united Westeros could defeat it. It was what prompted Aegon to conquer the Seven Kingdoms, and is passed down from king to heir through the generations, but does Baelor know?

Baelor Targaryen Probably Doesn’t Know About Aegon The Conqueror’s Dream

Image via HBO

Aegon’s Song of Ice and Fire prophecy was only introduced in House of the Dragon, so there’s no concrete evidence from any source material as to which Targaryens may or may not know. As it stands, we know for sure that Rhaenyra has told Jacaerys Velaryon, her heir, but with the Dance of the Dragons causing so much destruction to House Targaryen, it’s quite possible that it never goes any further.

Baelor’s character and actions do speak to a ruler who could unite people and inspire them should the need arise, both nobles and smallfolk alike, but it’s more likely that he is just a decent person, not someone motivated by the dream, though it would certainly add another layer to it. There are those in the family with dragon dreams themselves, such as Daeron Targaryen, but there’s no mention of the Conqueror’s prophecy, and it’s hard to see how it would’ve survived the civil war. In a Reddit AMA, showrunner Ira Parker was asked about the Catspaw dagger, which also belonged to Aegon and was inscribed with the prophecy, but he simply said: “We can’t afford luxury items.”

It seems like there are no plans to introduce Aegon’s dream anytime soon, which makes sense: not only is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ timeline far removed from House of the Dragon (it’s almost 80 years later), it’s also not focused on the king or the fate of the realm. It works in HOTD as a plot device, but it wouldn’t be necessary here… yet. If the plan for as many as 15 seasons of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms happens, that could change when we get to the point of Egg as King Aegon V Targaryen (which is long after Baelor’s own passing).

In A Song of Ice and Fire, Egg’s brother, Maester Aemon, mentions dreams and prophecies. He is aware of those surrounding the Prince That Was Promised, and the notion that “the dragon has three heads,” but importantly, he also implies that Egg had prophetic dreams as well, as this passage from A Feast for Crows reveals:

“My brothers dreamed of dragons too, and the dreams killed them, every one. Sam, we tremble on the cusp of half-remembered prophecies, of wonders and terrors that no man now living could hope to comprehend.”

That certainly seems to suggest that Egg had dreams of dragons, and the half-remembered prophecies point to the Prince That Was Promised, which HOTD has since conflated with Aegon the Conqueror’s dream. And what we do know about Egg is that he tried to bring dragons back to the world. This was to give him greater power and control over Westeros’ lords unhappy with his rule, but could it have also been because of the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy?

That’s something A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms could show… if it runs for long enough. It’ll never answer the question about Baelor, and it seems the prophecy skips several generations (we at least know that Rhaegar Targaryen knew about the Prince That Was Promised), but it might one day be recovered.

New episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms release Sundays at 10 pm ET on HBO and HBO Max.

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