'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms': Why Egg Suddenly Seems So Important To Prince Maekar

WARNING! SPOILERS for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms 1x06, 'The Morrow'.

After a successful debut, the first season of Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has come to an end. The series season one finale, 'The Morrow', mostly deals with the fallout from the tragic death of Prince Baelor 'Breakspear' Targaryen, unintentionally killed by his own brother, Prince Maekar, during the Trial of Seven between Ser Duncan the Tall and Prince Aerion Targaryen.

With Maekar's youngest son Prince Aegon Targaryen, aka Egg, refusing to serve any Knight but Ser Duncan, Maekar reluctantly offers Dunk a place in his own residence, Summerhall, allowing Egg to Squire for Dunk while also keeping him under royal watch. Dunk initially refuses, but later presents a counter offer to take Egg on the road with him, to train in the way of a Hedge Knight and hopefully become a better man than his brothers.

Maekar, clearly afraid to lose Aegon, refuses. This surprised some fans, as Maekar had never seemed an overly attentive parent in the series' earlier episodes. However, their are some valid reasons why Egg is now especially important to Maekar.

Maekar believes he has failed his eldest two sons

If Maekar somehow hadn't realised it already, the events that transpire during the Tourney at Ashford meadow would have made it abundantly clear that his eldest two sons, Daeron and Aerion, are not the best the House of the Dragon has to offer.

Prince Daeron is a deeply troubled individual, regularly drinking himself under the table, and Aerion has more than a touch of that good ol' Targaryen mental instability.

While there is probably little chance that Maekar could have changed things for Daeron (his troubles stem mostly from the horror of his cryptic but prophetic Dragon Dreams), his decision to send Aerion away to the Free Cities suggests that he at least takes some of the blame for how Aerion has turned out. Maekar likely sees Egg as his last chance at a positive contribution to the Targaryen family tree.

Prince Maekar has already had one son unwillingly taken away from him

King Daeron II, aka Daeron the Good, the reigning King at the time of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms first season, was a Father to four sons. Maekar was the youngest of the four, and eventually went on to have six children of his own, four of them being sons. Two of Maekar's elder brothers, Daeron II's heir Baelor and third son Rhaegel, also have sons.

Due to the Dance of Dragons and the more recent Blackfyre Rebellion, largely caused by his predecessor, King Aegon IV, legitimising all his bastard-born children on his deathbed, King Daeron believed there was danger in having an over abundance of heirs to the Iron Throne. So, he orders Maekar's third son, Prince Aemon, be sent away to the Citadel to be trained as a Maester.. the same Maester Aemon we eventually meet in Game of Thrones. Maesters give up all names and titles, which technically removes Aemon from the line of succession. Maekar is unhappy with this decision and argues against it, but ultimately cannot go against the will of the King.

To Maekar, sending Egg away with Dunk may well feel like losing him the same way he lost Aemon.

Prince Maekar has recently lost his Wife

Egg was not lying to Dunk in episode one when he says his Mother was dead. Earlier in 209 AC, the same year that the Tourney at Ashford Meadow takes place, Prince Maekar's Wife, Lady Dyanna Dayne of Dorne, had passed away in unspecified circumstances.

Maekar is far enough down the line of succession at this point in time that he, unlike King Viserys I in House of the Dragon, is not obligated to try and produce more heirs. When he tells Dunk that Aegon is 'his last son', it is not because he has lost the others, although tragedies along those lines do come. It is because he does not expect to have anymore children.. and he doesn't. Even when he ascends the throne as King Maekar I, he does not remarry. Egg is one of the last untainted pieces of his lost wife.

Maekar truly does love his family, he just struggles to show it

It is true that Maekar was jealous of his eldest brother, Baelor, but not of his proximity to the throne. Rather, he was envious of Baelor's ability to charm and connect with others in a way that Maekar, a notably prickly individual, was not capable. The truth was that he loved Baelor, bitterly regretting his death, marking it's anniversary every year for the rest of his life. In later Dunk and Egg stories, Egg often passionately defends Maekar against the expected accusations that he had killed Baelor on purpose, and further whispers that he would be willing to kill his brother Rhaegel and nephew Aelor to move himself up the line of succession (Rhaegel and Aelor do both die, but in tragic accidents that have nothing to do with Maekar.

When Maekar does eventually ascend the Iron Throne, one of the first things he does is summon Aemon, by then a fully trained Maester, to serve House Targaryen, obviously eager for the opportunity to have his sons close.

The truth, at it's heart, is that Egg is important to Maekar because he is his son and he loves him, but the Targaryens exist in an environment where that love is difficult to show. While Maekar may not have technically allowed Egg to leave with Dunk on his new adventure, we can only hope he will come to understand, in time, that it was truly the best path for him.