House of the Dragon has returned with a thrilling turn in Season 3, Episode 6, particularly for those rooting for House Hightower. Fans are greeted with the much-anticipated arrival of Ser Gwayne Hightower, played by Freddie Fox, in the strategic town of Tumbleton. His entrance couldn’t have been more timely, stepping up to assist Prince Daeron Targaryen, portrayed by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, just as Lord Ormund Hightower, played by James Norton, becomes unavailable for action.
In a recent conversation with DECIDER, House of the Dragon star James Norton offered some intriguing insights, hinting that Gwayne not only shows up in the nick of time but also draws out a side of Ormund Hightower we’ve yet to witness. This new dynamic promises to change the landscape of the HBO sensation.
**Spoiler Alert for House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 6, available now on HBO Max**
The latest episode delivered one of the most unpredictable moments yet, when Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) nearly succeeds in outmaneuvering her chief adversaries, Ormund Hightower and her younger sibling, Daeron. Demonstrating her cunning, Rhaenyra devises a plan to eliminate the Tumbleton issue by setting assassins upon Ormund and his closest allies. In a bold move, she borrows attire from a Baratheon envoy that visited King’s Landing, disguising her hired swords as Baratheons. Desperate for allies, Ormund is almost duped by the ploy, despite being distracted by the unseemly smell of the disguised men.
Thankfully, Gwayne’s expertise in guerrilla warfare and his familiarity with Westeros’s elite allow him to see through the deception. Recognizing the impostors, he prevents a potential disaster, keeping the delicate balance of power intact… for now.
After this, Ormund softens a bit, in private, with Gwayne in a scene that sees the master strategist finally open up to his cousin.
“In a way, you don’t really get to see Ormund’s true authentic self until you see him interacting with Gwayne, I think. Well, actually both of them in a way,” Norton said. “I think in a way, Gwayne is the one who brings out the most authentic versions of both of them.”
“You know, he’s Daeron’s uncle, and there is a truth and authenticity to that conversation, that relationship where you see how disingenuous and how much of a sort of performance Daeron is putting on with Ormund. But similarly with Ormund, their history is —” Norton began to chuckle.
“The reason I laughed is because Freddie and I are old friends and we had a lot of fun — and it was important as well as fun —but it was also fun, imagining Ormund and Gwayne as kids, and what went on what went down, and I think a lot went down. I think that they were friends, I don’t know, we nodded to sort of a very complicated history, we nodded to it in a couple of moments.”
We’ve heard from Alicent (Olivia Cooke) that as children Gwayne thought Ormund was cruel, and we’ve heard from Gwayne himself how he had to let Ormund beat him at games to prevent catastrophe. Now, as adults, there is still a rivalry, but it’s about Daeron.
“Gwayne’s relationship with Ormund is in itself a very complex, rich place to delve, and we did, and it allowed me a way into my history, imagining where they interacted,” Norton said.
House of the Dragon returns next Sunday, August 2 at 9 PM ET on HBO and HBO Max.