The latest baddie of House of the Dragon season 3, Ormund Hightower, is a villain of the worst kind: one who believes himself to be a man of honor and distinction, but who is — in reality — a vicious thug. He quickly became one of the series' best (or worst) antagonists that fans love to hate, highlighted by the added humor of his sensitive schnoz.
WARNING: Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3 finale ahead!
In the explosive season 3 finale, we saw Ormund meet his well-deserved end by way of dragonfire at the battle of Tumbleton. The episode also showed Prince Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) — whom Ormund attempted to place on the Iron Throne — pull a runner and abandon his uncle's ambitions. In a recent interview, James Norton discussed Ormund's iconic death scene, and also revealed some surprising thoughts about how he thinks the character may have felt about his nephew's betrayal.
James Norton believes that Ormund Hightower would have admired Daeron's nerve
While the final episode of House of the Dragon season 3 depicted Ormund Hightower's death in a similar way to R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood, the TV series went a step further by having Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) sic his dragon, Silverwing, on the pompous Lord Hightower after he was stabbed by Ser Roderick (Tommy Flanagan). In his interview with Variety, James Norton talked about how Ormund's death could have been even bloodier.
"I knew it was going to be a big, delicious death," Norton said. “It happens a lot with this show where they push it to the extreme. When they realize where the boundary is, they pull it back a bit. So there was originally a version where Ormund gets impaled like 20 times!”
While it's not a shock that the creatives behind House of the Dragon would find more and more extreme ways to kill off its characters, what might be surprising are Norton's thoughts on how Ormund may have handled Daeron's betrayal — had he survived, that is.
“On some level, Ormund would have probably been proud of Daeron for standing up on his own two feet and making that decision,” Norton told Variety. “Obviously, I think he would have probably initially beaten him up to a pulp, and then maybe had the chat afterwards!”
I have to admit, Norton's assessment of Ormund is actually kind of believable, considering how irrational the lord of Hightower could be. The fact that Daeron actually had the guts to turn against his uncle proved that he wasn't the pawn that Ormund initially thought he was, and if Ormund respected anything, it was a Hightower who stood his ground.
All eight episodes of House of the Dragon season 3 are streaming now on HBO Max.
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