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Major spoilers for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 follow. 

After six action-packed and surprisingly heart-warming episodes, the latest Game of Thrones spinoff has come to an end. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 introduced us to both Ser Duncan the Tall, House-less Hedge Knight and infallible do-gooder, and his unexpected squire, Prince Aegon Targaryen, AKA Egg. At the end of episode 5, Dunk had been forced to defend his honor in a deadly Trial by Seven, after the wicked Prince Aerion accused him of assault. 

(In reality, Dunk had been defending a woman called Tanselle, who Aerion had actually assaulted.)

The bloody Trial by Combat+ went down in the penultimate episode of season 1, episode 5, split up along with flashbacks of Dunk's life before his curmudgeonly mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree, rescued him from a life of abject poverty. Now, the Trial is over, Ser Dunk's backstory has been fully revealed, and you might be left wondering how everything was gong to wrap up before the painful wait for season 2.

Fortunately, Popverse's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 ending explained is here to tell you just that.

How does A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms season 1 end?

After the devastating conclusion to the Trial of Seven (more on that in a moment), Dunk is left battered, beaten and ostracized. Slowly healing from his many wounds, Dunk is summoned before Maekar Targaryen with an offer. Maekar understands that his son and the knight have formed a special bond, and offers Dunk a position in his House, should he agree to let Egg continue as his squire. Regretfully, Dunk declines the Targaryen's offer, saying he's "done with princes." Just as it was beginning, it appears that the Dunk & Egg duo is no more.

Egg, meanwhile, is about to prove that he desperately needs good mentors in his life. Sneaking into the chambers of his brother Aerion (himself healing from the intense combat of the Trial of Seven), Egg appears to be ready to go all "Red Wedding" on his own kin, unsheathing a dagger and preparing to pay his brother back for all the pain he caused. Only Maekar, hiding himself in the corner of the room, stops young Egg from becoming a murderer. With sympathy in his eyes, Maekar embraces his young son.

In the camps outside, meanwhile, Dunk is lamenting the loss of one of the men who stood by him to Ser Lyonel Baratheon, but the Laughing Storm is having none of it. Cursing the Hedge Knight for standing up for those who wouldn't stand up for him, Baratheon gives Dunk an angry lesson in self-respect before telling him that they'll be parting ways. The pair get on good terms before splitting, though, and it's clear Dunk will have an ally in Ser Baratheon for his future exploits.

Then, speaking of future allies, Dunk is suprised to find Egg meeting him on the path away from the tourney. Maekar Targaryen, says Egg, has agreed to allow Egg to continue squiring under Dunk, even if it's not within the confines of House Targaryen. The unlikely pair set off into the wild again, and before the credits roll, viewers are treated to a heartwarming vision of Dunk, Egg, and the deceased Arlan of Pennytree riding side by side.

Ah, hold on though - the episode's not quote over yet. With a few of the credits already onscreen, we jump back briefly to the Targaryen caravan as it leaves the city, where Maekar Targaryen is wondering why no one can find his son.

Uh oh.

Who dies in the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 finale?

For a full season of a Game of Thrones spinoff, there were shockingly few deaths in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1, but what deaths there were hit hard. We watched Dunk lose his childhood friend Rafe in flashbacks, and his mentor Ser Arlan in the first episode, but perhaps most devastating of all was the death of Baelor Targaren, the one Targaryen who stood with Dunk at the Trial, going so far as to defy his family. Unfortunately, this would mean his doom, as the noble Baelor would be slain by his own brother's hand in episode 5.

Rewinding a bit here - this was what the majority of Dunk's conversation with Maekar covered at the beginning of episode 6. The prince tells Dunk that not only will Maekar himself be blamed for his brother's accidental death in combat, but that he, too, will be hated because of it. Whenever the people morn that Baelor would never be king, he says, they will whisper among themselves: "But the Hedge Knight killed him."

In a show that was surprisingly hopeful - especially for something that took place in Westeros - this moment was surprisingly bleak. Dunk's entire character is built around doing what was right, and in sticking to that internal nobility, he's now earned the hate of not just some members of a powerful family, but of the people they rule as well. It's a major part of the reason Dunk turns down an offer to serve a Great House, and something we expect to see factor into the story in the next two seasons.

And speaking of future seasons... 

What will happen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2?

As you know if you've been spending any time with Popverse over the course of these past six episodes,  A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on The Tales of Dunk and Egg, a series of novellas written by George R.R. Martin. The first season was based on the first novella - The Hedge Knight - so it stands to reason that A knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 will draw form the second novella - The Sworn Sword.

If that is the case (spoilers incoming, folks), then A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 will find Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg in the service of Ser Eustace Osgrey of Standfast, a noble who hails from Reach. Much of the season's plot will likely spring from Ser Eustace's involvement in the Blackfyre Rebellion and the disastrous consequences thereof. 

As of this writing, though, HBO has not confirmed official plot details for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2, and as you also probably know by now, there's more to the story brewing in George R.R. Martin's mind. But does that mean we won't be keeping an eye out for a Ser Eustace Osgrey of Standfast casting notice? Not a chance.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 is streaming in full now on HBO Max. Season 2 is expected in 2027. 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has brought Westeros back to HBO Max, and Popverse has got more Game of Thrones articles than could fit on a spiky chair. We've got everything you need to dive into the series, including:

• Popverse's Game of Thrones watch order 
• How to read George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series in order 
• The biggest differences between The House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones
• The history of Westeros's greatest houses & families
• Every single dragon in The House of the Dragon so far

Plus much more coming as it gets announced!