A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 3 included a bombshell plot twist and a mind-boggling prophecy that entirely comes to pass in the A Song of Ice and Fire timeline just prior to the events of Game of Thrones. For three episodes, fans followed around Peter Claffey's Duncan the Tall and Dexter Sol Ansell's Egg at Ashford Meadows, and featured them preparing for a tournament that the former was prepared to fight in. However, after Duncan struck a Targaryen prince and it was revealed that Egg was secretly a member of the royal family, everything got turned on its head.
One major moment in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 3 showcased Dunk and Egg coming across a fortune teller who offered to tell them what their futures would hold. After the unnamed fortune teller explained to Dunk that he would be "richer than a Lannister," it seemed as though she was simply giving them generic fortunes to make a quick buck. However, she then laid out a rather detailed prophecy to Egg that nearly shook him to the core.
Specifically, the fortune teller told Egg that he would "be king," and someday "die in a hot fire," and that "all who know [him] shall rejoice" at his death:
"You shall be king, and die in a hot fire, and worms shall feed upon your ashes. And all who know you shall rejoice in your dying."
In short, everything the fortune teller said to Egg is true and could be explored in a future season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Throughout A Song of Ice and Fire, Dunk and Egg go on many adventures and are involved in a lot of the world's lore. Some of which, like Egg's death, directly connect to the events of Game of Thrones and the fall of the Targaryen dynasty.
How Egg Becomes King in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
As the fortune teller mentioned in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 3, Egg (whose real name is Aegon V Targaryen) does, in fact, eventually become the king of the Seven Kingdoms in George R.R. Martin's source material. It is important to understand that Egg was so surprised about hearing this from the fortune teller because he is the fourth son of a fourth son, so he essentially has no chance to ever sit on the throne.
Basically, a lot of death would have to occur, and the stars would have to align just right for Egg to be named king in the line of succession.
However, those stars do align, and a lot of death does occur. Without directly spoiling what happens to other major characters in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, essentially everyone ahead of Egg in the line of succession (other than Aemon, who fans know and love from the Night's Watch in Game of Thrones) dies, leading to Egg ascending the throne.
Interestingly, Aerion Targaryen's son is technically ahead of Egg in that line, but Aerion was so awful that the great council completely bypassed him in the line of succession out of fear that he would grow up to be like Aerion.
Egg's reign as king directly leads to the part of the fortune teller's prophecy that says "all who know you shall rejoice in your dying." While king, Egg puts a lot of emphasis on helping the common people and raising them up to be just as important as anyone else, and that does not sit right with the lords and people of nobility who are often around him.
So, essentially, when he dies, those people who did not agree with the way he ran the kingdom, which was with the small folk in mind first, rejoiced that he was gone. Interestingly, a lot of people rejoiced at the same time that Aegon died because, the same night he perished, a new Targaryen was born.
How Egg Dies: The Tragedy at Summerhall Explained
The event where Egg Targaryen dies is known in Game of Thrones lore as the Tragedy at Summerhall. Essentially, the Tragedy at Summerhall was a fire that killed multiple main characters, including Egg. The fire itself and the deaths cannot be disputed, but how the fire got started remains one of the biggest mysteries in all of Westeros.
Egg had a fairly lengthy reign as king. He was crowned in 233 AC (after Aegon's Conquest), and the Tragedy at Summerhall occurred in 259 AC. For reference, Daenerys' father, Aerys Targaryen, took the throne in 262 AC, Robert's Rebellion happened in 282 AC, and Game of Thrones Season 1 is set in 298 AC. So, all of this occurred around 40 years before Game of Thrones Season 1.
In 259 AC, King Aegon (Egg) summoned his close friends and family to Summerhall in order to celebrate the birth of Rhaegar Targaryen (Daenerys' brother and Jon Snow's father), his first great-grandchild. During the celebration, a fire broke out, resulting in the death of Egg and others. This confirms that the fortune teller's words in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 3 were true, but many still don't know exactly what happened to get the fire started.
One of the most popular theories is that Aegon himself started the fire. According to the source material, as he grew older, Egg became more and more obsessed with bringing dragons back to Westeros. At this time, there hadn't been a live dragon in decades, but, reportedly, multiple dragon eggs were brought to Summerhall.
The theory goes on to say that Egg thought the dragon eggs could be hatched, and that the fire got out of control and killed everyone. It is definitely a possibility, as many Targaryens have fallen victim to becoming obsessed with the return of the dragons.
Another theory suggests that the maesters conspired against Egg and the royal family, and that they started the fires in order to end the Targaryen dynasty. However, Rhaegar Targaryen, Aerys Targaryen (the Mad King and Egg's grandson), and Jaehaerys II (Aegon's son) survived, so their efforts would have been unsuccessful.
One of the most interesting theories, though, is that Egg deliberately started the fire due to seeing the future. Just like other Targaryens (like Helaena in House of the Dragon), Egg has dragon dreams in the source material and sees moments from the future.
Some have suggested that Egg either saw the White Walkers, his grandson, Aerys, trying to burn down King's Landing, or even Daenerys Targaryen going mad, and decided that it would be best for the world if the Targaryens were no more.
No one knows what truly happened and why the fire started, and the mystery will likely remain unsolved until George R.R. Martin either finishes the Dunk and Egg novellas or A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms gets to the Tragedy at Summerhall in the timeline (if the show lasts that long). Most importantly, what the fortune teller told Egg in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 3 was entirely correct. So, if she ever returns, fans should heed her words.
