Ormund Hightower's Plot Unveiled in House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 4

Episode 4 (“Tumbleton”) of HBO’s House of the Dragon shows Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton) seizing the town of Tumbleton with a force of about 15,000 men and imposing a harsh occupation on its residents. He manipulates his ward, the secretly‑born Daeron Targaryen, and unveils a scheme to install Daeron as king, using a false‑identity swap that leaves Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) paranoid about his intentions.

Rhaenyra struggles to govern a fractured King’s Landing, facing an empty treasury, food shortages and the need to appoint a Master of Coin (She names Torrhen Manderly). She also learns that Helaena Targaryen is pregnant, a development that could threaten her claim.

The episode confirms the death of Sunfyre, Aegon II’s dragon, as Aegon (Tom Glynn‑Carney) discovers the corpse at Rook’s Rest and takes a golden scale as a keepsake. Aegon is further humbled when a commander forces him to clean latrines.

Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) lies to Rhaenyra about the murderer of Jace, presenting a skull as proof, while his own dragon Caraxes behaves erratically, leading him to a hidden cave where he meets Rhaena and her wild dragon Sheepstealer.

The episode also highlights several divergences from George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, notably the fate of Sunfyre and the expanded role of Ormund Hightower as a new chief antagonist.