A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5, ‘In the Name of the Mother’, is set to be the biggest chapter yet, with the show gearing up for the long-awaited Trial of Seven. Before it drops, a wild new theory has emerged surrounding the Three-Eyed Raven.
The Game of Thrones prequel has been a faithful adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas, with the story focusing on Ser Duncan the Tall and his young squire Egg, while slowly building towards a conflict with House Targaryen.
But A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 4 showed the series is set to take a dark turn after Baelor Targaryen announced he would fight alongside Dunk, choosing to stand with the hedge knight rather than his own family.
With the next episode to depict the start of that brutal battle, some fans are revisiting what really happened in The Hedge Knight, with a sinister theory resurfacing. Warning: major spoilers ahead for the book!
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Three-Eyed Raven theory explained
The theory suggests Baelor Targaryen’s death in the Trial of Seven might not have been a tragic accident, but the result of a dark magical force. Specifically, it questions whether the Three-Eyed Raven could have manipulated events to shape the future of the Targaryen line.
You see, in The Hedge Knight – the first Dunk and Egg novella – during the Trial of Seven, Baelor is fatally injured. The blow comes from his brother, Prince Maekar, who later reflects on the moment.
“Some men will say I meant to kill my brother. The gods know it is a lie, but I will hear the whispers till the day I die. And it was my mace that dealt the fatal blow, I have no doubt,” he says.
“The only other foes he faced in the melee were three Kingsguard, whose vows forbade them to do any more than defend themselves. So it was me. Strange to say, I do not recall the blow that broke his skull. Is that a mercy or a curse? Some of both, I think.”
With Episode 5 set to show at least the start of that combat, some fans are now pitching a much darker explanation for why Baelor gets involved – and why he’s struck.
As suggested by YouTube channel Three-Eyed Raven (a fitting name), Baelor might not have just been moved by Dunk’s blunt sense of justice. “Could he be walking into a trap set by the Three-Eyed Raven?” they asked.
According to the theory, the Trial of Seven “could be a door that opens to the influence of other entities… A kind of sacrifice or combat ritual that allows the green seers to intervene.”
It points to Baelor’s reputation as an ideal king, and suggests that might be exactly why something supernatural would want him removed before he can rule over the Seven Kingdoms.
From there, it ties the idea directly to Game of Thrones. The logic is that Bran Stark can enter minds as he did with Hodor, so someone could theoretically “enter Maekar’s mind to end Baelor’s life.”
The video’s answer is blunt: “But who could it have been? The Three-Eyed Raven himself.” It then folds in Brynden Rivers, aka Bloodraven, a figure from the Targaryen era who later becomes associated with the Three-Eyed Raven mythos.
The theory suggests Bloodraven’s role in later conflicts including the Blackfyre Rebellions – which Egg was seen singing about in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 3 – hints at a long game, speculating that “his influence will begin to be seen in the next episodes.”
None of this is confirmed by the Dunk and Egg books, and it’s a stretch to treat Maekar’s muddled memory as proof of mind control rather than battle chaos, guilt, or trauma.
Still, with Episode 5 about to stage the Trial of Seven on screen, it’s an interesting concept, and one that was considered long before the HBO series made its debut.
Dunk and Egg fans shut down theory
As asked by one Redditor eight years ago, “Did Maekar really kill” his brother? “Bloodraven, of course, would be the likely culprit for the mastermind behind this assassination,” they added.
“Within a year Aerys I is on the throne and Bloodraven is appointed Hand, all four people who stood in the way having died. (Baelor in the melee, his sons and father of the Great Spring Sickness. Surely I needn’t spell out that it might have been poison?)”
However, others weren’t sure about this leap, with one replying, “I always read it as Maekar striking his brother without killing intent yet it just so happened that the blow carried more weight than expected.
“One of those things where the results of a simple action without forethought tends to tip towards the worst possible conclusion, that sort of thing. Poor Mekky. Nothing magical or sinister, just an uh-oh he can’t take back.”
Another pointed out, “It’s pretty clear that Bloodraven didn’t exist at the time The Hedge Knight was written – at least, not beyond George’s vague notion of the Three-Eyed Crow. The Great Bastards of Aegon IV are not mentioned before A Storm of Swords.
“I take Baelor’s death at face value. It’s a pretty touching tragic note without any deeper conspiracy behind it.”
It’s also worth mentioning that while Baelor’s fate is sealed in the books, we won’t know how the battle plays out in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms until Episodes 5 and 6 air on February 15 and 23, respectively.
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