Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield (Spoilers Extended)

Background

With his appearance likely upcoming in season 2 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, I thought it would be interesting to discuss the character of Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield from The Sworn Sword and see if he might make another appearance in a future novella.

If interested: Hedge Knights of Ice and Fire

History

Bennis rode with Ser Arlan and Dunk back when Dunk was younger:

"I don't need toes to count." Dunk was sick of the heat, the flies, and the brown knight's company. He may have ridden with Ser Arlan once, but that was years and years ago. The man is grown mean and false and craven. He put his heels into his horse and trotted on ahead, to put the smell behind him.

and:

"He used to pinch me, too." Dunk had forgotten that, till Egg's words brought it back. Ser Bennis and Ser Arlan had been among a party of knights hired by a Dornish merchant to see him safe from Lannisport to the Prince's Pass. Dunk had been no older than Egg, though taller. He would pinch me under the arm so hard he'd leave a bruise. His fingers felt like iron pincers, but I never told Ser Arlan.

and was suspected in the death of another knight:

One of the other knights had vanished near Stoney Sept, and it was bruited about that Bennis had gutted him in a quarrel. "If he pinches you again, tell me and I'll end it. Till then, it does not cost you much to tend his horse."

The Sworn Sword

By 211AC he had been taken into Ser Eustace's service at Standfast:

"When m'lord rode to Coldmoat to demand him back, he was told to look for him at the bottom of the moat," Sam had said. "She'd sewn poor Dake in a bag o' rocks and sunk him. 'Twas after that Ser Eustace took Ser Bennis into service, to keep them spiders off his lands." -The Sworn Sword

before causing drama with the Red Widow and then running off:

Bennis, Dunk thought bitterly, bloody Bennis. While Dunk had been making his stand at the stream, Bennis had tied up Sam Stoops and his wife, ransacked Standfast from top to bottom, and made off with every item of value he could find, from candles, clothes, and weaponry to Osgrey's old silver cup and a small cache of coin the old man had hidden in his solar behind a mildewed tapestry.

If interested: Bloodraven & The Sworn Sword

The Mystery Knight

During the Mystery Knight, Dunk thinks on Bennis twice. First at the feast:

There was pease porridge besides, buttered turnips, carrots drizzled with honey, and a ripe white cheese that smelled as strong as Bennis of the Brown Shield. Dunk ate well, but all the while wondered what Egg was getting in the yard. Just in case, he slipped half a capon into the pocket of his cloak, with some hunks of bread and a little of the smelly cheese. -The Mystery Knight

and again while semi-conscious:

Dunk woke upon his back, staring up at the arches of a barrel-vaulted ceiling. For a moment he did not know where he was, or how he had arrived there. Voices echoed in his head, and faces drifted past him—old Ser Arlan, Tanselle Too-Tall, Bennis of the Brown Shield, the Red Widow, Baelor Breakspear, Aerion the Bright Prince, mad sad Lady Vaith. 

The Rest of the Series

While it is possible that we don't ever run into Bennis again, I thought it would be interesting to brainstorm a bit on how he could re enter the story in a future plotline.

Bennis, Dunk thought bitterly, bloody Bennis . While Dunk had been making his stand at the stream, Bennis had tied up Sam Stoops and his wife, ransacked Standfast from top to bottom, and made off with every item of value he could find, from candles, clothes, and weaponry to Osgrey's old silver cup and a small cache of coin the old man had hidden in his solar behind a mildewed tapestry. One day Dunk hoped to meet Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield again, and when he did . . . "Bennis will keep." -The Sworn Sword

• Brown Shields

Worth noting that Bennis is just brown in general. He stinks, his clothes are dirty and the shield is unpainted similar to the ones we would see other poorer hedge knights/sellswords have and not painted brown.

• Locations

While a small sample size, we know Bennis has been from the Westerlands (Lannisport), to the Reach and down through the Prince's Pass into Dorne. The question would be then, does Bennis flee to somewhere that he knows well or try to get as far away from Standfast as possible seeing as he is no longer a hedge knight and is an outlaw (which is a thin line and as we see Dunk consider at one point):

For half a heartbeat, Dunk was tempted. So long as he was armed and horsed, he would remain a knight of sorts. Without them, he was no more than a beggar. A big beggar, but a beggar all the same. But his arms and armor belonged to Ser Uthor now. So did Thunder. Better a beggar than a thief. He had been both in Flea Bottom, when he ran with Ferret, Rafe, and Pudding, but the old man had saved him from that life. He knew what Ser Arlan of Pennytree would have said to Plumm's suggestions. Ser Arlan being dead, Dunk said it for him. "Even a hedge knight has his honor."

• Future Novellas

One day Dunk hoped to meet Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield again, and when he did . . . "Bennis will keep."

While the "Dornish Adventure" is set to take place in between The Sworn Sword and The Mystery Knight, GRRM could have Bennis appear. It would be weird to have him not thought of in some type of resolution in the Mystery Knight, but it is possible.

It is possible that Bennis could appear in almost any of the potential other novellas that GRRM has considered doing (6 to 8 more). We know that other characters from the novellas are expected to pop up again such as Tanselle Too Tall.

Since they were in the same novella, the disappearance of Lady Weber after her marriage to Jason Lannister is at least worth mentioning.

If interested: Speculating on Dunk & Egg

• Main Series

Worth noting that it is possible we could also find out what happened to him in the main series as well. Due to him being older thank Dunk, It is likely that he is long dead by the main series. But we do see some characters still alive (younger than Dunk unlike Bennis) such as Walder Frey, Maester Aemon, etc.

What I think is "more" likely is that we would just hear about it in passing/memory, or we come across a brown shield and a skull with a missing tooth that could be theorized about, etc.

If interested: List of Characters that could appear in Dunk & Egg and the main series

• Fire & Blood II/Blood and Fire

It is also possible that the reader gets a small mention of his fate in Fire & Blood II/Blood & Fire as to an outlaw being hunted down/dying in a war/etc (obviously this would somehow have to be important enough).

TLDR: Just a quick post on Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield from The Sworn Sword and the potential that the reader could see him again.