Pros and cons of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' pre-finale flashback

Episode 5, "In the Name of the Mother," opens with Ser Duncan the Tall striking Aerion Targaryen in defense of puppeteer Tanselle and being forced into a Trial of Seven. As Dunk falls in combat, showrunner Ira Parker cuts to a 25-minute penultimate-episode flashback that follows Dunk from orphanhood after Daemon’s Rebellion through a pivotal moment with Ser Arlan Pennytree.

Vulture critic Kathryn VanArendonk called the device a "full-blown scourge," arguing that before the payoff viewers often must sit through a "stupid, homework-like flashback" about how everyone got here. The flashback has merits. It expands on material the Dunk and Egg novellas mostly leave unexplored, depicting life in Flea’s Bottom and introducing Rafe, a streetwise orphan who becomes a mirror and catalyst for Dunk.

Her presence and the focus on smallfolk help address the season’s scarcity of women in roles of plot significance, and her insistence that Dunk pursue a family for himself clarifies why he chases Ser Arlan rather than staying put.

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