Warning: Contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3, episode 2.
It’s always nice to see a familiar face in House of the Dragon, even if said face is rolling across the floor of the Great Hall minutes after reappearing on our screens.
We’re talking, of course, about Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the former Hand of the King who’s had quite the spectacular fall from grace since Season 1.
But what exactly happened to him, and where has he been all this time? It’s been a while since we last saw him, so let’s recap.
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What happens with Otto Hightower in Season 3, episode 2?
After Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Daemon (Matt Smith) stroll into King’s Landing to seize control, the latter pays a visit to the dungeons.
“If you would, my prince,” says a man holding a torch. “A gift for you, if you ever returned, from Lord Larys Strong.”
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Daemon follows him deep into the bowls of the Red Keep, then reappears in the Great Hall with a familiar face: Otto Hightower, looking very much the worse for wear.
Otto is brought to kneel before Rhaenyra, and Daemon advises her to behead him in the place of on-the-run Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney).
“If your father could see what it’s come to,” mutters Otto. “He would never have imagined it.”
Otto’s final words, before Rhaenyra starts hacking away at his neck? “I did my best…”
When did we last see Otto Hightower?
It’s been a while, but we did briefly see Otto in the Season 2 finale. Back then, he was already in his jail cell, although at the time we didn’t know where he was being held or why.
Prior to last season’s finale, we last saw a very different Otto all the way back in Season 2, episode 2. After being fired as Hand by Aegon, Otto told his daughter Alicent (Olivia Cooke) that he planned to leave King’s Landing to return to Oldtown. Alicent advised him to go to Highgarden instead so he could stop the Tyrells from “wavering” in their support for Team Green, but it looks like he was waylaid before he could get very far at all.
And finally, now, we know what happened to him: He was captured at the request of Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), who clearly planned to use him in order to buy favor with Team Black, should they ever reclaim power. Sneaky.
