‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Episode 4 Review Ormund Hightower Shines Amidst Chaos
As ‘House of the Dragon’ enters its third season, the show has found a rhythm that requires balancing multiple storylines across various locations. This week’s episode, set in the newly occupied town of Tumbleton, manages to navigate this complexity, largely due to a standout performance.
The spotlight in this episode belongs to Lord Ormund Hightower, portrayed by James Norton, who has emerged as the season’s most intriguing character. Ormund leads fifteen thousand soldiers into Tumbleton, a town loyal to Rhaenyra, fully aware that she cannot retaliate without harming her own supporters. His cold, calculated villainy is portrayed with a calm confidence by Norton, making each of his scenes feel increasingly perilous.
What stands out is how the show explores Ormund’s relationship with young Daeron, revealing uncomfortable truths about how cruelty can masquerade as guidance. Ormund claims he wants Daeron to lead with fairness, yet his lessons are steeped in dominance disguised as decency. When he hands Daeron a sword and instructs him to execute a man for striking one of his soldiers, the tension built throughout the episode makes this moment resonate powerfully.
Norton has described Ormund as a pushy parent, driven by self-interest rather than genuine affection for Daeron. This perspective aligns perfectly with his on-screen portrayal; Ormund appears less as a loving figure and more as someone who views Daeron as a useful pawn.
Outside of Tumbleton, the episode struggles to maintain its momentum. Rhaenyra’s small council scenes continue to create real tension regarding her tenuous grip on power, especially as she navigates a fabricated story about a wild dragon rider, allowing a lie to persist for political convenience. Meanwhile, Daemon’s detour into the Vale provides Matt Smith with some sharp dialogue, and the reveal at the end of that storyline is well-executed, even if it feels a bit abrupt.
The weakest moments involve Aegon and Larys, whose disguised journey through the Crownlands has potential but tends to repeat themes of humiliation without significant progress. While the intent may be to strip Aegon down to rebuild him into a more relatable character, it feels like the narrative is stalling rather than advancing. Additionally, a subplot involving an attempted assault on a soldier’s family is handled with a bluntness that overshadows its potential for nuance, serving primarily to illustrate Ormund’s performative justice.
Visually, the episode remains impressive, with the dragons feeling like authentic characters rather than mere special effects. A subtle, wordless moment between Daeron and Tessarion conveys more about the boy’s internal struggle than any dialogue could, highlighting the care that continues to go into the show, even during busier sequences.
Overall, this episode is a strong installment that occasionally falters under its own ambition. It is significantly enhanced by a new villain who seems crucial to the season’s direction. The Tumbleton storyline alone could carry a weaker episode, while the surrounding narratives range from solid to merely adequate. I would rate this episode an 8 out of 10, reflecting how Norton’s performance and the dynamic between Ormund and Daeron elevate an hour that sometimes struggles to keep all its plates spinning.
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