The Tragedy at Summerhall is one of the most mysterious events in Game of Thrones history. Very little is known about the tragedy other than the fact that sorcery was involved in some capacity, Rhaegar was born as Summerhall burned, and that both Ser Duncan the Tall and King Aegon V Targaryen burned to death in the flames. The only known record of Summerhall’s burning comes from Maester Corso, who wrote in a letter before his death,
"The blood of the dragon gathered in one …… seven eggs, to honor the seven gods, though the king's own septon had warned … … pyromancers … … wild fire … … flames grew out of control … towering … burned so hot that … … died, but for the valor of the Lord Comman …"
Although A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is still 50 years out from the Tragedy at Summerhall where both Dunk and Egg will ultimately lose their lives, Episode 3’s prophecy has not only spoiled their fates, but seems to have confirmed a long-standing fan theory: Egg becomes yet another Targaryen Mad King and is responsible for the Tragedy at Summerhall.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Quietly Confirms 28 Year Old Game of Thrones Theory
28 years after The Hedge Knight's release, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 1 quietly confirmed Dunk was not knighted by Ser Arlan of Pennytree.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Confirms Egg's Fate in Episode 3's Prophecy
In a brand new scene that wasn't in the books in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 3, Dunk and Egg are accosted by a fortuneteller who predicts their future. For Dunk, the fortuneteller reveals that he “shall know great success and be richer than a Lannister.” While the claims about becoming richer than a Lannister are skeptical at best, anyone who’s watched Game of Thrones or read the A Song of Ice and Fire books knows that Dunk does indeed know great success as he eventually becomes the greatest Lord Commander of the Kingsguard in Westeros history. Dunk being Dunk, however, just laughs her off and tells the fortuneteller to read Egg’s future.
“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 passing.”
Egg's prediction is far more chilling, and gives away the ending to A Knight of the Seven Kingdom’s final season. Egg will become king (known as Aegon the Unlikely), and will die in a fire (the Tragedy at Summerhall). Neither of this is new information, but what is new is that everyone who knows Egg “shall rejoice” in his death. This is not just a throwaway line or a coincidence, especially in an episode that dedicates an entire scene to Raymun Fossoway warning Dunk about the dangers of Targaryen madness. Egg was a well-liked King, especially by the smallfolk, so for everyone who knows him to welcome his death means he had to do something awful to earn such scorn – and that something awful realistically happened at Summerhall.
The Tragedy at Summerhall Was a Dragon Revival Ritual Gone Horribly Wrong
In the books, it’s revealed that Egg becomes obsessed with dragons near the end of his reign, trying to learn as much as possible about Valyrian lore and even expeditions to Asshai in order to learn more about dragon history. Due to the fact Summerhall burns down in a hot fire and costs both Dunk and Egg their lives, many fans have theorized that Egg was trying to revive dragon eggs in a magic ritual that went wildly out of control, likely involving human sacrifices. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ new prophecy seems to lend credence to this idea.
Notably, Rhaegar was born during the Tragedy at Summerhall. If one takes the ritual sacrifice theory at face value, then Egg burning down Summerhall actually parallels the birth of Dany’s dragons. In Season 1 of Game of Thrones, Daenerys burns Drogo’s still-living comatose body and intends to die with him. Instead, she survives the flames and her three dragons are born out of a blood-sacrifice. It's also worth mentioning Mirri Maz Duur incanted a spell while burning alive which likely enhanced the blood magic’s effect.
Rhaegar is known as the Last Dragon in-universe, and is the father of whom many believe to be The Prince That Was Promised – Jon Snow. Egg may not have been able to revive dragons, but his ritual led to the birth of the man who would father the person responsible for uniting most of Westeros against the Long Night and stopping Daenerys at the height of her madness. Unfortunately, it's likely Egg meant to sacrifice baby Rhaegar considering how much everybody hates him upon his death. To quote Stannis, "Sacrifice is never easy, Davos. Or it is no true sacrifice."
Egg May Have Had a Good Reason to Burn Down Summerhall
While Summerhall's burning is more than likely an accident on Egg's part, his motivations may not have been entirely cruel. King Aegon V Targaryen was beloved by the smallfolk, but was not particularly liked by lords and nobles due to his pro-smallfolk policies. It's entirely possible the reason Egg tried to revive the dragons was to give himself a power source that would prevent future kings and lords to undo all the good he'd done for the smallfolk in his reign. That said, the prophecy's wording makes it sound as if even the smallfolk grew to hate Egg, lending more fire to the idea he tried to sacrifice his own family, further sullying the Targaryens' reputation.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Could Run For 10 Seasons, Longer Than Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin gave A Knight of the Seven Kingdom's showrunner 10 to 12 outlines so HBO can finish the series before GRRM writes more books.
House of the Dragon famously introduced the Prophecy of Ice and Fire, which stipulates that the realm must be united under a Targaryen for the incoming Long Night: the invasion of the White Walkers from Beyond the Wall. While the prophecy is lost by the time of Game of Thrones, it's possible the prophecy was lost with Egg. In a desperate bid to hatch dragons for the Long Night, Egg's sacrifice goes wrong. Both Dunk and Egg will visit the Wall in future seasons of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, so there's a high chance Egg learns of the White Walkers long before he's king. Regardless of his motivation, though, Egg is destined to go down in history as a villain who cost the realm its greatest knight in a needless tragedy.
- Release Date
- January 18, 2026
- Network
- HBO
- Showrunner
- Ira Parker
- Directors
- Owen Harris
- Writers
- George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker
WHERE TO WATCH
- Cast
- Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, Daniel Ings, Henry Ashton, Edward Ashley, Shaun Thomas, Sam Spruell, Finn Bennett, Bertie Carvel, Ross Anderson, Danny Collins, Daniel Monks, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Carla Harrison-Hodge, Jenna Boyd, Danny Webb, Tanzyn Crawford
- Franchise(s)
- Game of Thrones
- Creator(s)
- George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker
