Episode Title And Podrick’s Song

Published April 24, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hey,

I have listened to your westworld and true detective podcasts as well as shat the movies for a long time, and your thoughts and analysis really help me appreciate good TV even more.

This is the first time I’ve written in to your show, because i want to expand a little bit about Big D’s analysis of Podrick’s song. The song is, as Big D says, called Jenny of Oldstones, and is a song about Prince Duncan Targaryen casting aside the crown for his love of Jenny of love. While this tale possibly foreshadows the Jon/Dany-struggle for the throne, as Big D comments on, it also has a significance regarding the knighting of Brienne of Tarth, as well as the title of the episode – A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

“The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is a story in the Tales of Dunk and Egg, written by GRRM which is a (sort of) prequel to A song of Ice and Fire. These stories are about Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Aegon “Egg” Targaryen. Later, Egg would ascend to the throne as Aegon V Targaryen, and Ser Duncan the Tall served as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard under his former squire. Egg later named his son – Prince Duncan Targaryen – after Ser Duncan the tall.

It is heavily implied in A song of Ice and Fire that Brienne is a descendant of Ser Duncan, which threads the song Jenny of Oldstones, the episode title and the knighting of Brienne of Tarth together. The fact that she is knighted by a former Lord Commander of the Kingsguard (Jamie), strengthens the connection between Brienne (and her heritage) and the song, making the scene even more powerful.

Anyway, knowing your listeners, this probably just scratches the surface of what this song means in terms of connections between the characters and the history of Westeros. I just thought it was too cute a connection not to be mentioned.

-Martin from Norway

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