What Happened To Otto Hightower?

This article contains spoilers for the “House of the Dragon” season 2 finale.

“House of the Dragon” has reached the conclusion of its second season, leaving us with many open questions and storylines that are just beginning. Indeed, like so many “Game of Thrones” season finales before it, the latest “House of the Dragon” episode moves the pieces across the board and sets up for some delicious drama and intrigue to come in the season ahead. There’s the nascent conflict between the new dragonriders, especially Ulf and his disrespect toward his liege, but also the preparations for war from Aemond, Criston Cole, and both Rhaenyra and Daemon, with the latter’s spooky little magic adventure at Harrenhal resulting in Daemon once again swearing his loyalty to his wife.

With season 2 of “House of the Dragon” having fewer episodes than usual, the finale feels more like build-up and set-up than a proper conclusion. Among the many open-ended questions, there is one regarding a rather important character that we hadn’t seen in a few weeks. So far, it seems everything is coming up Rhaenyra, as she has a bunch of dragons, her husband is both loyal to her and has amassed an army, and her archenemy Alicent promised not only to let Rhaenyra enter King’s Landing and deliver the Iron Throne to her, but to also let her kill Alicent’s eldest son, Aegon II.

Team Green is in trouble, and it seems there is infighting going on, what with Alicent betraying her son the king, Aemond also trying to kill his brother, and Larys Strong escaping with Aegon before anything happens. And yet, there is another big player the show has kind of forgotten about until now (one who’s been suspiciously missing for weeks): Ser Otto Hightower, former Hand of the King.

Otto Hightower has had a rough time this season on “House of the Dragon.” First, he butted heads with his king as Aegon became hostile and eager to go on the offensive and wage war against Rhaenyra. After the murder of Prince Jaehaerys, it was Otto who came up with the idea of parading the young boy’s corpse for the town to see, in order to wage a propaganda war against Team Black. When Criston Cole went behind Otto’s back and ordered the failed assassination of Rhaenyra, Aegon fired Otto for being an old man and speaking back to him. Without a job, Otto decided to go back to Oldtown, though Alicent urged him to swing by Highgarden first to make certain the Tyrells still support the Greens, to which Otto agreed. That was the last we saw of him.

Until now. In the final moments of the season 2 finale, we see Otto Hightower in what looks like a cell on a wagon headed … somewhere. What’s more, he appears to be in pretty bad shape. This seems to be yet another scene that was invented for “House of the Dragon,” as its source material, “Fire & Blood,” makes no mention of Otto being kidnapped. As for his captor? That’s difficult to say, seeing as virtually everyone wants Otto out of the picture at the moment. Larys Strong, for one, bitterly fought him in an attempt to steal his job back when Otto was on the Small Council. Meanwhile, Criston Cole definitely wants Otto out of the game, now that Cole has his former job. Aegon II doesn’t want him around either, having dismissed Otto from court himself. Truly, Otto’s only allies in King’s Landing right now are his daughter Alicent and the new King Regent Aemond, who wants Otto to return as Hand.

There are three likely suspects who could’ve had Otto Hightower captured: Larys Strong, Ser Criston Cole, and House Beesbury. 

Larys Strong is a very obvious choice, having butted heads with Otto for a while in his attempts to attain power. Then there’s the still-mysterious fire that killed Strong’s family back in season 1. We were led to believe someone on Team Black did it, but what if it was Otto? He was highly skilled at maneuvering without drawing attention to himself in “House of the Dragon” season 1, and killing the Strongs to prevent further rumors of Rhaenyra’s children being fathered out of wedlock is definitely something he’d do. Perhaps Larys had Otto captured and is torturing him for his role in the death of his family.

As for Criston Cole, we know he is the second biggest buffoon in the Seven Kingdoms right behind Aegon II. Is it possible Cole would be so blundering as to have Otto captured in order to secure his job as Hand, keeping one of the craftiest men in Westeros out of the larger war for absolutely no reason? Of course it is. This is the guy whose grand idea to end the war involved sending a Kingsguard disguised as his twin brother to assassinate Rhaenyra.

Then there’s the Beesburys. We know that the Tyrells are staying out of the war despite being bannermen to the Hightowers and expected to fight for Team Green. Nevertheless, their own bannermen fought for both sides on the Reach, including House Beesbury which is involved in an important battle in the show’s source material. It’s conceivable the series is making a big change from “Fire & Blood” by having House Beesbury kidnap Otto in order to prove their loyalty to Rhaenyra (for whom they fight in the book). Presumably, we’ll get a clearer answer to that question when the show resumes.

“House of the Dragon” will return for season 3 at a yet-to-be-announced date.