“House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 4, “Tumbleton,” begins with a bit of a head fake as Hightower soldiers go through the homes of the common folk, forcing families to quarter them. However, it quickly gets to the point, with Ormund Hightower in a bath in the home of Tumbleton’s lord and lady, who have come to complain about his army moving in. They bent the knee to Rhaenyra and believe she is the rightful ruler. Ormund, standing up from his bath, dismisses her as “a b***h with a dragon” and makes it clear his purpose is to put what he sees as a rightful line on the Iron Throne.
The conflict between Ormund Hightower and Rhaenyra is real, and if you remember, the last episode ended with him fooling her with a fake Daeron Targaryen while his army took Tumbleton. Now he holds the town, right on the doorstep of King’s Landing. In the meantime, there are problems in the city, and there is still no money in the treasury. Mysaria urges Rhaenyra to name a master of coin, someone the people can blame when they discover how little gold is left, and Rhaenyra picks Ser Torrhen Manderly. Do you believe Ormund Hightower or the lack of gold poses the greatest threat?
Ormund Hightower is counting on Aemond and his dragon, Vhagar, to arrive soon, which would reunite Aemond with his younger brother, Daeron Targaryen. Ormund seems to be driven by some force we do not understand and says the gods will his dealings. He intends to make Daeron king. “House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 4 sets up a battle between Ormund and Rhaenyra that is still to come.
The Coming Battle With Ormund Hightower
Rhaenyra seeks counsel about her foe from Alicent. She is puzzled why Alicent sent her son away, but Alicent, citing the mess her other two sons became, says sending Daeron away may have been her truest act of motherhood. She tells Rhaenyra that Ormund is very sensitive to strong smells. It seems the relationship between the two is improving. After Hugh asks to go, Rhaenyra decides to send Hugh and Ulf to watch the town on their dragons.
In Tumbleton, Ormund tries to run a calm occupation. A fight breaks out at the house where a soldier named Garrick is billeted. That is what occupation looks like for the people of the town. Garrick attempts to rape Kat, who is actually the wife of Hugh, the dragonrider. Members of her family intervene, and her brother, Leo, fights back. As a result, the matter is brought before Ormund, who publicly declares that Garrick is to be gelded and have his arm broken. He intends to have order, he says.
In the last scene of “House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 4, Ormund tests Daeron by forcing him to kill the commoner who got into the altercation with the soldier. Ormund wants to make Daeron king, so he orders him to kill Leo, Kat’s brother, for striking a Hightower soldier.
Daeron pleads for mercy, but he does kill him, despite Leo having only protected Kat from Garrick earlier. Daeron stabs him with Ormund’s sword, which Ormund hands him, after which Tessarion, Daeron’s dragon, burns the body. Ormund is deliberately exposing Daeron to violence in order to prepare him to become king. He intends to be the puppet master. As the episode ends, he says: “Now we begin.”
Aegon and Larys on the Road to Rook’s Rest
Meanwhile, Aegon and Larys are still traipsing through the woods. They happen upon the dragon Sunfyre. He seems dead, but Aegon believes he is alive. Larys passes himself off as a septon to keep the locals from robbing them, and the pair eventually head for Rook’s Rest, posing as homeless smallfolk. Once they arrive, Aegon is none too happy to be assigned to collect human excrement. He must do this, Larys says, to get a place to sleep. Aegon is outraged when he does not get food. Aegon confronts Janos, the man running the camp, who pulls a knife and threatens to kill him if he does not kiss his filthy boots. They do not realize that he is King Aegon. He seems unable to forget it.
Daemon Shows Up With Gold and More
Daemon returns to King’s Landing with gold from Lady Jeyne Arryn of the Vale. He makes quite an entrance at the small council, interrupting the new master of coin, Torrhen Manderly, and tossing the charred head of a shepherd onto the table. He claims it belongs to the rider of Sheepstealer, the wild dragon blamed for Jace’s death. Rhaenyra is not satisfied, and Mysaria clearly suspects something is off. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra dispatches the gold cloaks into the city to root out those who are writing “Queen of Bastards” on the walls. The unrest of the people seems to be a growing problem in “House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 4.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
