House of the Dragon is using Ormund Hightower to foreshadow the book’s ‘most brutal’ part

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood. Some may find this content distressing*

Ormund Hightower (James Norton) is shaping up to be the most exciting addition to House of the Dragon season three. He’s a terrifying opponent to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), but it’s nothing compared to what happens in Fire & Blood.

As we previously learned, the reason Ormund sent a fake Daeron to Rhaenyra is that he’s keeping the real Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) to train him up to be the next king. 

Ormund isn’t really on either side of the civil war – he wants his own family, the Hightowers, to take the Iron Throne, believing them to be superior to the Targaryens.

He’s a blunt, ruthless figure in the battle. Last week, he punished his own soldier with a gelding (having his balls chopped off) for attempting to sexually assault a Tumbleton resident. 

This wasn’t due to justice or fairness, as he later forced Daeron to kill the victim’s brother in secret. No, the real reason was to teach Daeron what it takes to be a leader. 

Following this storyline, a number of viewers complained that the Hightower army were painted to be ruthless villains and rapists. But any reader of George R.R. Martin’s books will know that this is accurate to the source material. 

House of the Dragon ‘foreshadowing’ atrocities that follow Ormund’s death

In Fire & Blood, Ormund’s death marks a major turning point for the Hightower’s host. With their commander gone, discipline among the army begins to collapse, and many of the soldiers descend into violence.

This unfolds during the chaotic Battle of Tumbleton. Legend has it that Lord Roderick Dustin, aka Roddy the Ruin, is the one who slays Ormund. You might assume the Blacks get the upper hand, but dragonseeds Ulf and Hugh betray Rhaenyra and turn their dragons against the town. 

The battle was followed by a lengthy sack of Tumbleton by the Greens after they’re left without leadership. As per the book, they went on to rape women throughout the town, including girls as young as eight and the Westerosi equivalent of nuns. 

Homes and shops were looted, men and boys were murdered, wealthy nobles were tortured for their fortunes, and even babies were impaled on spears. 

It’s arguably the darkest stretch of the Dance of the Dragons. One quote from Fire & Blood sums it up: “Seldom has any town or city in the history of the Seven Kingdoms been subject to as long or as cruel or as savage a sack as Tumbleton after the Treasons.”

So when viewers complained about the Hightower’s host being painted in a bad light, readers stepped in to correct it. 

Taking to Reddit, one person wrote, “Do you guys understand that the Hightower host are not good guys in the book? 

“The Ormund scenes are completely consistent with the book. As soon as Ormund dies, the Hightower army goes full mass rape. They gang rape the nuns and put infants on spears in the book. Roxton is going to cleave a man in two in front of his wife and then rape the wife.

“The show is foreshadowing this by making it clear that Ormund’s presence is what is keeping them in check. 

“There are thousands of legit things to complain about the show. The Hightower army being full of rapists is not one of them. That’s foreshadowing for one of the most brutal parts of the book.”

Others agree, but some have defended their stance, saying they feel the HBO series is unbalanced in how it portrays the Greens and the Blacks. 

“The complaint is that they include every negative aspect of the Greens and omit almost everything by Rhaenyra/Team Black or make it an accident/misunderstanding/isolated bad actor, I believe,” said one. 

Another commented, “I mean, we just watched the gold cloaks under Rhaneyra and Daemon kick the sh*t out of the common folk for some graffiti, and it seems pretty clear that they’re showing team black is coming apart at the seams.”

A third added, “They made Aemond and Alicent more innocent in their acts by making Luke’s death accidental and Alicent mistaking Viserys saying Aegon’s name. So the Greens got the same treatment as what you’re saying the Blacks get.”

Either way, it’s clear these scenes serve a bigger purpose. Rather than excusing the Hightower army’s actions, it appears the show is setting up the brutal chaos that unfolds during and after the Battle of Tumbleton.

For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page.

Featured image credit: HBO