A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5, “In the Name of the Mother,” delivered one of the most brutal fight scenes in HBO’s Game of Thrones franchise. The Trial of Seven put the might of some of the best warriors to the test. In the end, Ser Duncan (Peter Claffey) went ballistic on Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett) and made him admit defeat. In a new interview with The Wrap, Bennett discussed the intense filming for the episode.
Quick read:
- The fight scenes were the most memorable for Finn Bennett.
- The British star did not find acting out Aerion’s exhaustion too hard.
- Bennett is proud of the Trial scenes in episode 5.
Finn Bennett recalls the gritty Trial shooting for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5
Dunk and Aerion in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (Image: HBO)
While Dunk has a significant height advantage over Aerion, he is not as skilled in combat as the Targaryen prince. Even so, by the end of the fight, both of them are pretty exhausted. During his chat with The Wrap, Finn Bennett said, “It was just rolling around. I remember being dragged through the mud, on like a pulley, and Pete’s got one of my legs and he’s dragged me. I remember just kind of looking around me like, ‘Remember this moment, this is a good thing that’s happening to you.’”
Aerion gave up in the end and took back his charges against Dunk, but the damage was already done.At the end of the episode, Baelor Targaryen dies from an injury inflicted by his brother Maekar during the fight. His death marks not only a devastating blow to Dunk but also a profound loss for the Targaryen family.
Finn Bennett on the director’s note that helped shape the final fight scenes between Dunk and Aerion
Aerion was relentless in combat. Viewers already got a glimpse of his cruelty in episode 3 when he drove the lance through a horse intentionally. That cruelty only manifolded during the Trial. However, there came a point when he could no longer escape Dunk.
Director Owen Cooper had told Bennett and Claffey that showing how exhausted they were was the best way to sell off the scene. The True Detective star recalled, “You really do get a sense of how brutal things are. I remember Owen saying, ‘What’s really going to sell this moment is how tired you both are. You start standing up and look at each other again when you’re going back to fight again.’ Like, how exhausting. I’m really proud of that section.”
For now, the fight is over. Dunk is free of the charges against him, and Aerion must be humiliated and, at least, a little devastated about his Uncle Baelor’s death. Episode 6 will depict the Targaryens grieving their fallen crown prince, while Dunk faces a difficult decision of his own.
Read more: Can Prince Baelor’s death on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms be compared to Ned Stark’s execution?
