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a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-hard-salt-beef-review - dunk and egg
Television

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms – Hard Salt Beef review S1 E2

Jeffrey Lyles , , , , , , , ,

Hard Salt Beef progressed the story of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in a significant manner for a series’ second episode.

Not that this series needs to rush to some big cataclysmic battle as Hard Salt Beef again showed how is a completely different kind of Westeros story. One that can lean harder on humor and likable characters instead of loathsome awful people who do terrible things to the characters we actually enjoy watching.

Dunk still needed someone to vouch for him so he could compete in the tournament. He’s running out of viable options as no one seems to remember Ser Arlan of Pennytree. Egg wonders if that’s due to Ser Arlan simply being a lousy knight. Hard Salt Beef further establishes the dynamic of Dunk and Egg with a reversal on the old and wiser mentor and the naive kid mentee.

a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-hard-salt-beef-review - dunk with ser arlan

The show could become a chore if every interaction was Egg making Dunk look and sound like an idiot. Instead, Hard Salt Beef explores their dynamic as more of a brotherly bond where Dunk is a good-natured protector while Egg brings his guile with a mature beyond his years demeanor. He’s not taking advantage of Dunk because he thinks he’s a moron so much as someone who could certainly benefit from his assistance in certain aspects of life.

One is knowing the backgrounds of the important houses and all the major players as they arrive for the tournament. Hard Salt Beef seems to foreshadow a very important development as Egg doesn’t seem thrilled to see the Targaryen crew arrive. They’re led by Prince Baelor (Bertie Carvel) and his easily agitated brother, Prince Maekar (Sam Spruell) and their sons.

While he struck out repeatedly with other lords, Baelor does actually remember Arlan and his formidable talents in tournaments even if he never won any of them. Dunk is greatly appreciative that Arlan was respected by at least one prestigious lord.

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Baelor is fine with Dunk competing in the tournament but tells him that since he wasn’t a blood relative of Arlan, he needs to get his own armor and sigil. One is far easier to accomplish than the other. Dunk takes Egg with him to see the latest puppet show from Tanselle and her troupe. Recognizing that Dunk is crushing hard, Egg tries to help him navigate through the conversation to get Tanselle to paint a new sigil for his shield.  

a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-hard-salt-beef-review - egg, dunk and tanselle

Outside of a few characters and a random subplot to an unimportant character, there wasn’t much room for humor in Game of Thrones. With A Knight…, the humor isn’t just accidental as it is welcome. Dunk’s quest to become a knight for an important house is a laudable goal. He doesn’t have some insidious ulterior motive and quickly took Egg under his wing to make him his squire and ultimately a knight.

With the sigil settled, it’s time to procure some armor. Dunk meets a blacksmith willing to give him a discount on custom armor, but he needs more money to finalize the deal. With no other valid options, Dunk reluctantly sells one of his three horses though he takes the pawn shop approach of aiming to win it back after winning the tournament.

Dunk and Egg find themselves (literally) roped into Lyonel’s latest war — a game of tug of war. While Dunk is the anchor, Egg is first in line to go into the mud if the team fails. Lyonel gets parched midway through and walks off to get a drink but returns to rally his side for a win. Hard Salt Beef continues the streak of Lyonel having at least one laugh out loud worthy moment each episode.

a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-hard-salt-beef-review - prince baelor

As the sun sets and the initial round of revelry is done, the tournament starts. Egg is hyped about the jousts while Dunk seems noticeably melancholy. Back at the campsite, he tells Egg of Arlan — how he wasn’t perfect, but he was a good knight and father figure to him, yet no one remembered him. Dunk has to win the tournament if for no other reason than to ensure Arlan’s legacy isn’t lost. That’s a hero’s quest worth backing.

Hard Salt Beef was another very solid episode for a series that’s packing something a GOT show hasn’t in the past — plenty of earnest heart. It’s making for a show worth getting excited about each week.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Photo Credit: HBO Max

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