A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has unmasked a major character as a historical figure whose arc figures into Game of Thrones. Like the death of Ned Stark or the Red Wedding, the true identity of Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) is an open secret to anyone familiar with the backstory of George R.R. Martin’s Westeros—and it’s not something the Thrones spin-off has tried to keep hidden.
Throughout the first few episodes of the series, creator Ira Parker and his team of writers have dropped plenty of hints that the bald boy is in some way descended from nobility. But this week’s reveal—that he’s been lying about being royalty, namely a Targaryen—brings a delicious bit of drama to Seven Kingdoms. Doubly so, as Dunk (Peter Claffey) likely just caused quite a stir by punching one of Egg’s Targaryen brothers, Prince Aerion (Finn Bennett) while defending the puppeteer Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford).
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, it turns out, isn’t the first time Game of Thrones viewers have heard about Egg—but we’ve heard him referred to as Aegon V, the name he takes when he becomes king. In the books, we’re told, after the adventures with Ser Dunk depicted in Seven Kingdoms, a 33-year-old Egg will find himself crowned Lord of the Seven Kingdoms after a Great Council of nobles nominates him for the Iron Throne. This decision comes after Egg’s older brother, Maester Aemon, decides that he doesn’t want the crown—and declares for the Night’s Watch, so as to ensure he can’t be used as a pawn to usurp his brother in any way. (We meet Aemon at Castle Black in the first season of Thrones; in the penultimate episode of that season, he reveals his true identity to Jon Snow.)
The decision to select Egg as king goes down in Westeros history as an odd move; as the fourth son of a fourth son, he’s not directly in line for the throne. But those who often seek anything other than power (see also: Bran Stark) make for the best rulers. As such, Egg/Aegon will become colloquially known as “Aegon the Unlikely.”
Throughout his reign as king, Egg is a benevolent ruler. It’s said that his time spent among the smallfolk with Dunk (who eventually becomes Lord Commander of the Kingsguard) brutal winter, and he sends large shipments of food and resources to the North, where people have been hardest hit. In fact, his deference toward commoners often draws the ire of noblemen who felt that their power to rule was restrained. Outside of that, he faces several uprisings and frequently rides into battle to face them, with Dunk alongside him.
Egg’s attachment to the smallfolk will eventually be his undoing. Facing increased scrutiny from other Westerosian noblemen over his policies, Egg retreats to the Targaryen castle of Summerhall. He also becomes obsessed with the idea of bringing dragons back into the world. His passion for the creatures is something audiences have seen already in Seven Kingdoms and carries through his life. He commissions massive expeditions around the globe to discover all the possible resources and texts about dragons, seeking to find the knowledge required to make the House of the Dragon fearsome once more.
In the end, Egg’s fixation with dragons seals his fate; although details are scarce on this, his efforts involving the collecting of seven dragon eggs and his experimentation with pyromancers and wildfire (you know, that green stuff Cersei used to blow up everyone) leads to a massive fire at Summerhall, a castle in the Stormlands—and the deaths of everyone gathered there, including Dunk and Egg. To add insult to injury, the protections Egg put in place for the smallfolk are eventually undone by none other than Tywin Lannister, when he serves as hand of the king to Aerys II, aka the Mad King.