Get Up, Ser
There’s been a lot to watch these past couple weeks.
I’d argue that the two best things on TV recently have been the Olympics and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
It may seem like there’s not much in common between these two, but I’ve found a very moving through-line between the pair: falling and getting back up again.
This post will contain spoilers for the 5th episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, so if you plan on watching that, maybe bookmark this post and come back later.
Be Vigilant; Don't Die
The 5th episode of AKOTSK finally sees Dunk in action. Facing a Trial of Seven, Dunk and the knights on his side must take on the Targaryens and their allies. I’m intentionally not going into a lot of detail here to avoid some spoilers.
The fight begins, and we’re immediately thrust into a flashback, which admittedly was a little frustrating. Once we return to the present, we see the battle through Dunk’s perspective, mostly focusing on his fight with Aerion Targaryen.
Honestly, Dunk gets the shit beaten out of him. He gets stabbed, hit, punched, knocked off his horse. Things don’t look great for our hero. Every time Dunk gains a little bit of traction, he seems to get knocked right back on his ass, which leads to this pivotal moment:
This scene has been going viral since it aired last Sunday, partially because of Dexter Sol Ansell’s acting as the little Egg, but I also think there’s something powerful about the “get up” moment.
Dunk is as close to giving up as one could imagine. He’s lying in the mud and on death’s door, yet somehow with Egg’s motivation and the memory of his fallen knight, he’s able to find a little bit of gas in the tank to keep going.
I absolutely love this scene. It’s hard not to be moved as Egg yells and Dunk slowly rises, the commonfolk chanting for him in the background. This scene is up there with my favorites in the Game of Thrones universe.
I also found it reminding me greatly of the Olympics.
Let the Games Begin
I love when the Olympics come around every two years (I’m not picky about summer vs winter, although I’d say I prefer the Summer Games if I had to pick).
There’s something incredible about watching the world come together to compete on the same playing field (or ice rink or slope, etc.). It’s also nice having whole countries stand behind their athletes.
With each Olympics comes the storylines as well. If you watched any of the coverage early on in the Games, there’s a good chance you heard about Ilia Malinin. As the only skater who’s performed a quad axel, Ilia was a clear-cut favorite going into the men’s figure skating competition at the Games.
Until he made a couple mistakes in the free skate.
Ilia didn’t let those mistakes keep him down, though.
Yesterday, the Olympics hosted a figure skating gala to showcase the Olympic skaters one last time. Ilia put together a short performance and skated once more in front of the crowd.
Instead of letting his mistakes be his last moments on Olympic ice, Ilia decided to skate one more time. He literally fell and got up to skate again, a real-life echo of Dunk’s moment in the show.
(Many also expect for him to be a contender in the next Winter Games. His redemption arc might yet have a better ending.)
There were some stumbles on the women’s side as well.
Amber Glenn, another US skater favored to make the podium, made a small mistake in her short program that left her well outside of medal contention. Just like with Ilia, she didn’t let that performance define her experience at the Olympics.
Instead, she went back out there for the free skate and scored a season high.
She too is just like Dunk.
Even the gold medalist, Alysa Liu demonstrated resolve.
Alysa retired after the last Winter Games where she failed to medal. She took two years off from skating before returning to the sport, which led to her winning the gold at this year’s Olympics.
Maybe we’ll see the same from Ilia or Amber in the coming Olympics. Maybe not. Regardless, each of these skaters faced incredible setbacks that they didn’t let define them.
When they were knocked down, they stood back up.
We Come to This Place for Magic
Oftentimes, we come to stories as a form of escapism. It’s easy to get caught up in the wonder of a story. Star Wars takes you to diverse planets. The Avengers showcases incredible heroes saving the world.
These fantastical stories are oftentimes grounded in emotional truth, though.
Dunk might be fighting princes in Westeros, but his emotional experience is something we can all relate to. Just as Dunk rises when everything looks bleak, so did the skaters at the Olympics.
We come to these stories for enjoyment but also for a connection. (I might have strayed a little too close to sounding like Nicole Kidman there.)
Stories are all around us, real and fictional. They can inspire us or bring us to tears. This past week, I was feeling more of the former watching not only the fictional Dunk rise but also the figure skaters taking Olympic ice.
We will all get knocked down at various points in life. The important part is that we get back up.
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