House of the Dragon season 3 is now in full swing, and it hasn’t held back on the shocking moments. From Jace’s (Harry Collett) devastating death and Aemond’s (Ewan Mitchell) creepy smooch on his mom in the premiere, to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) taking back King’s Landing in episode 2, those who said last season was boring should be holding their tongues now. The third season covers more ground than the last, with a long list of characters to follow in different locations.
As the Dance of the Dragons rages on, we’ll expect the number of storylines to grow. With so many new plot points to engage with, it’s possible viewers might’ve forgotten about one certain character who was a thorn in our sides in earlier seasons. Of course, we’re talking about Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who makes his return in tonight’s season 3 episode 2 — if only for a few minutes.
In case you forgot, Otto is removed as Aegon Targaryen’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) Hand in season 2, replaced by Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) ,and decides, at suggestion by his daughter Alicent (Olivia Cooke) to leave King’s Landing for Highgarden. He’s not seen for most of the second season after this, that is until the very ending, when we see a mysterious shot of him behind bars. Where could Otto be? That’s a question we’ve been asking ourselves until the latest episode.
Why is Otto Hightower in jail?
After Rhaenyra and Daemon (Matt Smith) arrive at King’s Landing in season 3 episode 2, they start to get the lay of the land, with Daemon killing anyone in their way who opposes Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra is determined to find Aegon, though, as we know, he fled last season.
While down in the dungeons, Daemon makes a surprising discovery: Otto is being held prisoner. Honestly, he was one of the last people I’d expect to see there. But there’s an explanation. When Daemon realizes Aegon is gone, archmaester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan) offers up an alternative; someone else he can kill instead. It’s revealed that Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) had Otto captured and jailed before leaving King’s Landing. When Daemon finds him, he’s told that Otto was being held for him specifically, in case he ever came back to the castle.
It’s a terribly fun moment as the show keeps Otto’s identity hidden at first, and instead we just see Daemon laugh hysterically at the sight of him. It’s not until the end of the episode that Otto is brought into the throne room for Rhaenyra. This reveal is shocking for both Rhaenyra and the audience, and it presents a difficult situation for her. With an audience, Daemon expects Rhaenyra to kill Otto for all he’s done against her, but it’s clear Rhaenyra is very hesitant. She even quietly tells Daemon she doesn’t know if she can.
Otto returns, only to die
In the end, however, it’s Rhaenyra who wields the sword and delivers the fatal blow, missing Otto’s neck the first time and beheading him on second try. It’s depicted as a very dramatic moment, delivering a highly entertaining scene for viewers. Though it might be a little silly for Rhaenyra—who has no sword fighting experience and has never killed anyone—to be the one to take Otto’s head, it’s also highly satisfying. Daemon then follows suit, beheading Lord Jasper Wylde (Paul Kennedy).
The tension only escalates when Alicent and her daughter Helaena (Phia Saban) arrive in the Great Hall and find what’s happened. Then the episode cuts to black.
Rhaenyra is not the one to kill Otto in Fire & Blood
Fans had been waiting for Otto’s death for a while now, as a major antagonist to Rhaenyra, but book fans had been anticipating this moment during the Fall of King’s Landing. Though the timeline is pretty spot-on compared to Fire & Blood, it’s not said—or implied—that Rhaenyra is the one to kill him.
Instead, it’s simply written that he is “the first traitor to be beheaded” followed by Jasper. Though the exact circumstances like where they’re killed or who delivers the blow are not disclosed, the mention of “the block,” as in an execution block, has me suspecting it wasn’t a sudden move in the throne room.
Plus, if Rhaenyra is the one to kill Otto in Fire & Blood, surely that would have been explicitly mentioned. It seems details were changed simply for the sake of making the scene more dramatic for TV, and hey, I like it.
I’d definitely consider House of the Dragon season 3 a bit more unhinged than previous seasons, making for a wildly fun—if not unserious at times—viewing experience. Keep watching new episodes every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max.
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