SPOILERS FOR A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS
I really like Dunk, but I have to say this about Tanselle.
Dunk literally put his entire life on the line for this girl. He knew Aerion was a Targaryen prince, knew exactly how dangerous the situation was, and still stepped in because he believed that was what a true knight was supposed to do.
And honestly, that was one of the most knightly things we've seen from him.
But then Tanselle just... disappears.
That's it?
Dunk risks everything to protect her, gets himself dragged into an absolutely massive mess, and Tanselle is basically gone from the story.
I'm not blaming her for what happened to her. She was the victim, and Dunk absolutely did the right thing by standing up for her.
But it still feels a little frustrating from Dunk's perspective.
This guy barely knew her and was willing to risk his **life** for her. He didn't know whether he was going to survive the consequences of standing up to Aerion, and he did it anyway.
And what makes it even better is that Dunk wasn't expecting some great reward for it. He wasn't thinking about becoming a hero or getting anything from Tanselle.
He saw someone being mistreated and thought:
“I'm a knight. I have to do something.”
That is what I love about Dunk.
Meanwhile, Tanselle really just said “well, goodbye”and vanished 😭
I know she didn't owe him anything, but I still wish the story had given us more of her after everything Dunk went through for her.
Dunk deserved at least a little more closure than that.