The episode opens with Ser Duncan burying Ser Arlan of Pennytree, the knight he served as a squire since childhood. Dunk speaks aloud as he digs the grave, recalling their itinerant life together and stating that Arlan knighted him shortly before his death. There were no witnesses. Ser Arlan was largely unknown, and almost no one in Westeros seems to remember him.

After the burial, Dunk continues on the road toward Ashford Meadow, where a jousting tournament is about to take place. He talks to his horses about proving himself and securing work as a knight. At this moment, the score begins to suggest the Game of Thrones theme, only to be abruptly cut off when Dunk needs to relieve himself in a deliberately anti-epic, bodily scene. A bird watches from nearby, visually reinforcing the later idea of a “witness.”

The episode cuts to flashbacks of Dunk with Ser Arlan. Dunk recalls his former master as a good man who rarely punished him unjustly, while a montage shows repeated slaps and physical corrections. The series establishes Dunk’s upbringing early on: raised harshly, but still deeply attached to an idealized notion of honor.

Upon arriving near the tournament grounds, Dunk introduces himself to the master of the games, who is immediately suspicious. Dunk is told that princes are present and that not just any knight can be allowed to compete. When questioned about who knighted him, Dunk names Ser Arlan. Asked for a witness, he answers that only a bird saw the moment, which results in immediate disbelief.

Lacking formal validation, Dunk seeks out Ser Manfred Dondarrion, since Manfred’s father once employed Ser Arlan during a campaign in the Red Mountains of Dorne. Dunk finds Manfred drunk and surrounded by prostitutes. Manfred shows no interest in helping him and does not appear to remember Ser Arlan at all.

As Dunk moves through the tournament camp, he encounters several figures who help establish the social hierarchy at Ashford Meadow. Two women mock his status and define a hedge knight as “like a knight, but sadder.” Dunk is visibly hurt by the remark, highlighting his emotional vulnerability and insecurity.

Dunk then meets Ser Lyonel Baratheon, known as the Laughing Storm. Lyonel initially appears hostile, clearly amused by Dunk’s size and obvious naivety. The sequence becomes a prolonged social test: Lyonel intimidates Dunk, mocks him, and then gradually shifts into a strange mixture of curiosity and rough camaraderie. They engage in aggressive dancing and mock combat, creating an unstable but not openly violent dynamic. Lyonel makes it clear that if Dunk loses in the first joust, he will not have enough money to ransom back his horse or armor.

Meanwhile, the episode introduces Egg. Dunk encounters him earlier at an inn and assumes he is a stable boy. Egg follows Dunk without invitation and later reappears at Dunk’s makeshift camp outside the main tournament grounds. Egg proves himself capable by building a fire and preparing food. Dunk reluctantly accepts his presence.

Egg insists on becoming Dunk’s squire despite his young age and small stature. The episode does not yet reveal Egg’s true identity, but it strongly suggests that he knows far more about the world, nd about Westeros than he initially lets on.

The episode ends with Dunk and Egg sitting outside at night, looking up at the sky. Egg points out a shooting star and comments that the other knights are likely inside their tents, staring at the ceiling instead of the sky. Dunk initially dismisses the idea of luck, but ultimately allows himself the moment. The scene establishes the central partnership of the series and closes the episode quietly, without resolving the tournament conflict or staging a dramatic cliffhanger.