‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Star on Baelor Choosing Dunk Over Family: ‘I Can’t Let This Bully Stand’

Note: This story contains spoilers from “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” Season 1, Episode 4.

Baelor Targaryen is far different than the rest of his family – which is why Bertie Carvel was so excited to take on the “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” role.

Whether its fans of the books or fans of the HBO franchise, people know that the Targaryen families carry a certain reputation. They’re cold, they’re prone to fits of anger (read: madness) and they can often feel entitled. But fans of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” have seen that Baelor Targaryen – next in line for the Iron Throne – is a calmer leader with a cooler head. Carvel told TheWrap that’s what excited him about the part right out of the gate.

“That’s what gives this story its moral register, that a character like Baelor is not a given,” Carvel told TheWrap. “He might very well do very differently, and then you’d have a different story, and that’s what gives it its moral center. I cheered when I read it inwardly, it filled something up in me – an appetite for these sorts of stories that one grew up on, where there was such a thing as goodness and heroism.”

He continued: “I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear that story and then to get to bring that to life. But for it to really count, it has to not be a given. You have to believe that Baelor might just as well kill you as smile on you.”

Some of that difference felt toward Baelor certainly has to do with his appearance. While most Targaryens have white hair, Baelor and his son Valarr have a more standard brown. That’s thanks to Baelor’s Dornish mother but the physical distinction led to him feeling different and then acting different than a lot of his family tree traditionally had.

“Everybody has a family, but how you stand in relation to them is, to certain extent, up to you,” Carvel explained. “I think he’s a thoughtful somebody who thinks deeply and seriously about things that might be. That drew me to him. I like that about him. I feel some empathy towards him, because I think to think deeply is to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. As somebody with enormous privilege and power, I think he takes that rather seriously. I like him for that, and I wanted stories about leaders who take their power and responsibility seriously.”

That leadership is on full display in Episode 4. Dunk (Peter Claffey) is forced into a Trial of Seven by Aerion (Finn Bennett) to decide his innocence after striking the Targaryen prince and “kidnapping” Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell). Although Egg comes through and procures most of the knights to help Dunk, he still comes up one short. A plea to the spectators yields no results and the hedge knight is about to be found guilty for not being able to get enough fighters when Baelor rides in clad in his son’s armor. He keeps his speech simple: he fights for Dunk because that’s what’s right.

“I think the decision is made on the merits of the moment,” Carvel said. “I think it’s as simple as it’s the right thing to do – and on that day, that man decides ‘I can’t let this bully stand. I can’t let the good guy stand alone.’ It’s just not the right thing to do. That’s the core of that story, and that’s the story in a nutshell: We can’t do that. You hope that when push comes to shove, we stand up for what’s right and Baelor does.”

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