This Game Of Thrones Season 8 Scene Is Even Better After A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms

Rewatching "Game of Thrones" in 2026 is an ... interesting experience. We all know how controversial the show's eighth and final season proved to be. It's one of those TV show endings that fans still argue about to this day. But as bad as season 8 may be, it still wound up giving us some spectacular moments. And without a doubt, the best of these was Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) making Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) the first female knight in the Seven Kingdoms.

This particular scene takes place the night before the big battle between the living and the Army of the Dead. Everyone is either making peace with their likely deaths, saying goodbye to loved ones, or crossing items off their bucket lists just in case. When Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) hears that Brienne is not a knight despite all her incredible accomplishments, he gets furious. Then, Jaime offers to knight her.

It's a touching moment that both challenges the idea of what being a true knight means in Westeros while also recognizing that Brienne has always embodied the values of a knight, titles or not. The fact that Jaime, one of the most despicable men in the show before being (briefly) redeemed by spending time with Brienne, is the one who knights her makes this scene that much better. Jaime, after all, is infamous for breaking his most important vow as a knight. Now, here he is, recognizing and rewarding the truest knight in Westeros.

However, thanks to the show's prequel/spin-off "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," this interaction has become all the more poignant. Why? Because it's when Brienne accomplishes what Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) — her ancestor and the protagonist of "Seven Kingdoms" –  apparently never did and is made an official knight.

In "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" season 1, we never find out for certain whether Duncan, aka Dunk, was actually knighted or not. The show's source material doesn't provide a clear answer, either, so the series pokes fun at this by hinting at either possibility without ever fully confirming one or the other. Think of the scene where Duncan has a vision of his mentor, Ser Arlan (Danny Webb), shrugging his shoulders as if to say "tough luck" to Dunk for not getting knighted ... unless he was.

It's quite likely that Dunk is lying about his knighthood, but that lie wouldn't tarnish his character — quite the opposite. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is all about interrogating what it means to be a "true knight." As we saw throughout "Game of Thrones," knighthood is closer to a type of social status than anything else. It's basically a way for the most powerful families in Westeros to make themselves seem better and more important than anyone else, even as they behave like monsters. This, in turn, makes the idea of Dunk acting the most like a true and pure knight without technically being one that much more powerful.

Even the season 1 finale playfully acknowledges that the title of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" is based on a lie. There aren't seven kingdoms, and Dunk is probably not a knight. What really matters is the collectively agreed-upon story and the good it does for the realm. That goes double for Dunk, who is the only truly noble warrior on the show. The same thing could be said for Brienne, who has clearly inherited Dunk's spirit.

Back in 2016 (via Vanity Fair), Westeros architect George R. R. Martin confirmed at a convention that Brienne of Tarth is indeed Ser Duncan the Tall's descendant. Knowing that, the moment where Brienne is knighted on "Game of Thrones" brings things full-circle for the two characters.

You see, Brienne not only inherits Dunk's values and spirit of knighthood, she also finishes what he started. More specifically, she's (correctly) rewarded for her ideas and values by being made a proper knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Not that either Brienne or Dunk needed the title, of course, as both of them manage to do a whole lot of good without it. Still, Brienne succeeding in this regard is the rare case of something wholly good happening amidst the general bleakness of Westeros.

Again, though Dunk may not have been knighted, that didn't stop him from doing extraordinary things in his lifetime. In time, he even goes on to become Lord Commander of the Kingsguard for Aegon V and gets four whole pages dedicated to his deeds in the White Book of the Kingsguard. Moreover, it's possible (if somewhat unlikely) that Dunk might have lived long enough to see Brienne in person or, at the least, know of her.

Recall that Peter Claffey's "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" co-star Dexter Sol Ansell, aka the Egg to his Dunk, may have accidentally spoiled what Martin has planned for Dunk in the long run. So, if we assume that Ansell's comment was correct, then it's plausible that Dunk was able to live long enough to see what Westeros was like for himself when "Game of Thrones" takes place.

"A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" and "Game of Thrones" are streaming on HBO Max.