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Who is Ormund Hightower? 'House of the Dragon' Season 3 finally introduces the Tywin Lannister of its world

'House of the Dragon' introduces Ormund Hightower with his massive army and a very important squire

'House of the Dragon' Season 3 kicked off with an action-packed premiere as the Battle of the Gullet led to the death of Prince Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett). Apart from bloodshed, the episode also introduced pivotal characters, such as Ormund Hightower (James Norton). A prominent figure in the Dance of the Dragons, he arrived on the scene when his first cousin, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), sent him a forged message. Alicent, in a bid to prepare King's Landing for Rhaenyra's invasion, asked the Oldtown lord to wait for Aemond rather than march to King's Landing. Lord Hightower, believing the message was from Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) himself, halted his army; however, the messenger's smell piqued his suspicion. 

It is also revealed that Lord Hightower doesn't have a close bond with Aemond or Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney). "One king is as good as another," he says when he learns that Aegon might be dead. His support may be based on his closer family ties to Team Green. However, he does seem to have genuine affection for their brother, Daeron Targaryen, who is his squire. The show doesn't introduce Daeron specifically, but it is hinted that he is present with his uncle and his 15,000-strong army. One of the first things Ormund does after making camp is ensuring that his squire is taken care of. The audience also catches a glimpse of Tessarion, Daeron's dragon, flying over the army.

The closeness between Lord Hightower and Daeron is also evident in George R. R. Martin's 'The Dance of the Dragons.' As per the book, during the Battle of the Honeywine, when Lord Hightower and his forces had all but lost, Daeron and his dragon saved the day. Lord Hightower knighted Daeron with Vigilance because of his bravery, and also named him 'Ser Daeron the Daring.' Does this closeness mean that Lord Hightower will push forward another claimant for the Iron Throne? The book doesn't give such an indication, as he ultimately met his fate at the hands of Roddy the Ruin, a Rhaenyra loyalist. This was a huge loss for the Greens, who lost control of the largest army in the empire. This suggests that even if he wanted to take that route, situations prevented him from doing so.

It remains to be seen how Lord Hightower's fate shapes up in the show, but considering Norton's screen time in the trailer for the upcoming episodes, he will play a pivotal role. Showrunner Ryan Condal is also excited about the character, comparing him with one of the biggest characters in the 'Game of Thrones' universe. "He's the Lord of the Hightower, basically the Tywin Lannister [Charles Dance] of this world," Condal shared with SFX, as per GamesRadar. "He's the richest guy who's not sitting on a throne somewhere. Ormund has the largest standing army left in Westeros and a dragon, so he is going to introduce a big old wrinkle into this. Ormund is really a sketch in the book, and we don't have a sense of who he is, so it was really fun diving in and creating a really deep, complex, and three-dimensional character out of him that introduces a new kind of complication into the world." To see how Ormund impacts the 'Dance of the Dragons,' tune into HBO and HBO Max every Sunday.