Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) spent two entire seasons of House of the Dragon aspiring to sit on the Iron Throne and fighting against the Greens for what was rightfully hers. Unfortunately, there's a reason why people usually say "Be careful what you wish for."
The new queen was known for being merciful, refusing to go headfirst into war, and for finding peaceful solutions to the problems surrounding her. However, power has a funny way of getting into your head, especially if there's someone you think is undeserving of your compassion. For Rhaenyra, Ormund Hightower (James Norton) just happens to be that person.
Ormund publicly swore loyalty to the new queen, yet he also deceived her behind her back. This act of treason will be the spark that sets aflame Rhaenyra's descent into paranoia, as revealed by the cast of House of the Dragon.
Ormund's deceit will make Rhaenyra suspicious of everyone around her in House of the Dragon
Ruling the Seven Kingdoms is no easy task, especially when you can't trust anyone around you. During the events of House of the Dragon season 3 episode 3, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) brings Ormund Hightower to his knees and makes him surrender Daeron Targaryen (the fake version played by Charlie Gordon). After all, Daeron could claim legitimacy to the Iron Throne, as he is one of the sons of the previous king, Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine).
Ormund seemingly accepts and gives a kid with white hair to Daemon and the queen. However, it is later revealed that this was all just one big ruse. The kid wasn't really Daeron, but merely someone with bleached hair posing as him. The queen was betrayed during her very first days at the helm, and that will mark her moving forward.
During an interview with Variety, D'Arcy opened up about how this act of treason will haunt Rhaenyra for the rest of House of the Dragon season 3:
"I think there’s something interesting happening with the Ormund deception broadly, and I think it marks the beginning of a kind of paranoia for Rhaenyra," D'Arcy stated. "Ormund is a totally unknown quantity; he’s this kind of erratic element. And I think increasingly, and we see this as we go forward, he sort of becomes the boogeyman for Rhaenyra, and fuels a broader distrust of her council, her allies, her court at large (...) that act does a lot [to] intensify a distrust that Rhaenyra is feeling. A lack of stability in her position."
Rhaenyra is not only dealing with a poor, distrusting kingdom that's in complete disarray and an act of high treason, but also with the recent passing of her son, Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett). She even sees his ghost throughout the events of season 3 episode 3, making it clear that she hasn't been able to properly mourn and accept his passing. Unfortunately, this also adds to the sense that Rhaenyra isn't truly in control of herself or the Kingdom she now rules, as revealed by D'Arcy:
"I think Rhaenyra’s feeling of instability, of having no safe harbor, no psychic safety, and the accompanying desire for legitimacy, a growing obsession, actually, with sort of legitimizing her standing — I think that’s quite possibly the workings of grief. I think it’s possible that if Jace were at her side, she would feel steady and at home and in control."
House of the Dragon season 3 episode 3 culminated with Rhaenyra watching as the Hightowers' sigils scattered across the Red Keep are set on fire. This dark moment could be a tease of devastating events to come, as teased by D'Arcy in an inside-the-episode video by HBO:
"There's maybe like a lesson in that fire, that violence perhaps is necessary, and that we don't get the new regime without destroying the old."
We're about to see a whole new side of Rhaenyra that was largely absent from the first two seasons of House of the Dragon. While she won the war for the throne, a new fight to keep it may be on the horizon. So, who's to say the new queen won't just decide to burn everything in her path with this newfound sense of paranoia?
New episodes of House of the Dragon season 3 air every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
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