A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5 explained: What is the Blackfyre Rebellion?

Finn Bennett as Aerion Targaryen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — (Image credit: HBO)

We have just one episode left of Game of Thrones spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and things are looking pretty bittersweet for our favorite hedge knight.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5 gave us our first look at the Blackfyre Rebellion, depicting the bleak aftermath of the impossibly brutal war. Though the war is regarded as important in the books, we've only seen a quick nod to it in Game of Thrones itself – in which a season 1 scene involving Ned Stark sees him reading the book Lineages of the Great Houses and sees an entry for Daemon Blackfyre.

What is the Blackfyre Rebellion?

Dexter Sol Ansell as Egg and Peter Claffey as Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — (Image credit: HBO)

At the very beginning of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5, we see young Dunk, then living in the slum of Flea Bottom, looting the corpse of a dead knight. He then attempts to sell some leather that he took, but the merchant refuses to buy. "Daemon's rebellion is over," he says. "Keep your blackfyre leather."

Taking place in 196 AC (13 years before the events of the show), the Blackfyre Rebellion was a brutal war fought between the loyalist military of King Daeron II Targaryen and the rebel forces of his half- brother, Daemon I Blackfyre. Daemon was the "bastard son" of King Aegon IV Targaryen (one of the many Aegons that our boy Egg is named after). Though only a half-blooded Targaryen, Daemon still claimed the Iron Throne from his older brother Daeron, who then sent the Kingsguard after him. Daemon managed to escape – and a civil war ensued. This divided the Seven Kingdoms, ripping through them and leaving many dead in its wake.

Daemon was ultimately slaughtered by Bryndon Rivers, aka Lord Bloodraven, during the final conflict of the war, which came to be known as the Battle of the Redgrass Field. As the war was declared in favor of the loyalists, Daeron chose to punish each and every rebel who sided with his half-brother. Rather than torture or kill them, he financially bankrupted them, taking away their titles, deeds, and land, among other important possessions.

Since Dunk's fateful meeting with Ser Alan of Pennytree took place in the aftermath of the Blackfyre Rebellion, it's likely that we'll see a true flashback to when the conflict was still ongoing. Though there is only one episode left of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, showrunner Ira Parker seems to be hinting that there's still time. Though sparsely cryptic, Parker responded "Stay tuned," to a fan who inquired about flashbacks to the Blackfyre Rebellion during a recent Reddit AMA.

The Blackfyre Rebellion is enormously important in the world of Game of Thrones, but we've yet to see it on screen until now. My best guess is that we'll learn more about Ser Alan of Pennytree (though we've learned plenty about his drinking problem) regarding the Blackfyre Rebellion, and how the conflict brought him all the way to Flea Bottom.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms airs weekly on HBO. You can keep up to date with our A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms release schedule, or see our 4-star A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review for our spoiler-free thoughts on the entire show.