Ormund Hightower, played by James Norton, has been one of the most important characters in House of the Dragon season 3.
Since his introduction and invasion of Tumbleton, Ormund has been pulling the strings behind the scenes to overwhelm Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and the Blacks after taking King’s Landing. Eventually, Ormund was going to be challenged by Rhaenyra’s forces, and that’s exactly what appears to happen in the House of the Dragon season 3 finale.
I’m going to share some spoilers for George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, so turn back if you’re not interested in learning about Ormund’s fate.
Ormund Hightower is killed by Roddy the Ruin in the First Battle of Tumbleton
After episode 7, I brushed up on Fire & Blood because it seemed like we were going to get the First Battle of Tumbleton in the season 3 finale. There’s not a ton of information about this battle in the book in terms of what Ormund was doing the whole time. We just get the dragon’s eye view, along with some of the lore about the key players.
So, in Fire & Blood, Ormund leads a massive force to Tumbleton to take the city from the Ser Garibald Grey, who is not in House of the Dragon.
The battle begins in the field with Ormund’s host massively outnumbering those loyal to Queen Rhaenyra. The Blacks meet the Ormund’s forces in the field, but it goes bad rather quickly for the Blacks. Ormund’s force gains major ground, which sends the Blacks retreating behind the castle’s walls.
Ormund looks to be ready to sack the city when Roderick Dustin, also known as Roddy the Ruin, leads the Winter Wolves into the field from another gate and flanks the approaching Hightower army. Again, they are greatly outnumbered, but Roddy the Ruin cuts through the Greens and eventually finds Ormund in the mayhem.
In Fire & Blood, Roddy is said to be covered in blood from head to toe when he eventually makes it to Ormund.
To protect Ormund, Ser Bryndon Hightower actually takes on Roddy and cuts off his arm. It doesn’t stop the Northman. Roddy cuts down Bryndon and Ormund with one arm before dying of his wounds.
Roddy and the Winter Wolves absolutely flip the battle, and it looks like the Blacks will be victorious until Ulf White and Hugh Hammer flip on Rhaenyra and burn Tumbleton along with the forces loyal to her in the city.
Eventually, the Greens do win the day, but they lose their leader, along with other major losses in the battle.
There are some big differences with Ormund’s death in the House of the Dragon season 3 finale
After watching the House of the Dragon season 3 finale, it's clear there are some notable differences with Ormund’s story in House of the Dragon season 3.
In the finale, Roddy (Tommy Flanagan) charges into the city, finds Ormund on the ramparts, and nearly kills him. Ormund, then, stabs Roddy and cuts off his arm before Roddy stabs him in the butt. Then, Ulf arrives and kills them both with Silverwing’s dragon fire.
Ultimately, Ormund dies at Roddy’s hand in the story, but in this version, he is killed by Ulf and Silverwing.
That’s kind of a big difference because it changes, I think, Ulf’s intention from what book readers knew. We don’t know why Ulf flips exactly in Fire & Blood, but in the series, those reasons are very apparent and specific. It seems like he's just had enough of everyone, including Rhaenyra, Daemon, and Ormund.
The other big difference in the series is the location of this fight. In the book, Roddy and Ormund meet in the field, rather than along the wall. I also don’t think Bryndon appears in House of the Dragon at all. So, it's basically just Roddy vs. Ormund.
Other than those key points, many of the other details are similar, I would say.
It’s hard because the big differences with the battle change everything for this scene. In the book, the Blacks hold Tumbleton and the Greens attack the city with a much larger force. In the series, the Blacks have the larger force, and they are attacking the city. So, the landscape of the battle is just very different.
House of the Dragon gets the broad strokes right with Ormund’s death, but I do think I would have preferred if he was killed by Roddy, only, rather than getting killed by a dragon.
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