House of the Dragon points to Ormund in Gold Cloak killings
Season 3, episode 5 turns King’s Landing into a trap for the City Watch, with clues tying the bloodshed to Ormund Hightower.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
King’s Landing’s Gold Cloaks are being cut down inside the city they are supposed to control, and House of the Dragon Season 3, episode 5 leaves a clear trail toward the person benefiting from the bloodshed.
The trouble lands on Rhaenyra, played by Emma D’Arcy, as her grip on the capital faces another strain. Her City Watch is being targeted in a string of killings, with men found dead in the streets and later in far more pointed displays.
Daemon finds the City Watch under attack
During a Small Council meeting, Daemon, played by Matt Smith, reports that two Gold Cloaks have been discovered dead that morning. He says they were killed by an unidentified attacker.
Daemon wants to deal with the matter himself, but the problem escalates fast. While he is with Ser Luthor, played by Tom Cullen, who leads the Gold Cloaks, two more members of the watch are found dead. The attack has happened in daylight, and the men around Daemon cannot produce witnesses.
The episode then shows Daemon trying to steady the remaining Gold Cloaks with a speech. Soon after, word arrives that a suspect has been caught.
After being tortured, the man confesses to killing, but says he acted alone and did not see the face of the person who hired him. He claims he was told the killings were “the king’s work” and were carried out with “compliments of King Daeron Targaryen” for traitors to Daeron’s throne.
That confession does not end the matter. The assassin is killed, but the episode’s final image makes clear the campaign is bigger than one captured man.
Daemon later finds a group of Gold Cloaks dead around a dining table, including Ser Luthor. On the wall, written in blood, are the words: “A FEAST FOR TRAITORS.”
The clues lead to Ormund Hightower
The episode does not show every killer in Flea Bottom, but it gives enough to identify the force behind the attacks. After the first killings, a young girl is shown approaching a man who has not appeared before and whispering to him.
That man writes a message and sends it by raven. The episode then shows Ormund Hightower, played by James Norton, reading the note.
The message says: “Gold blood spilled. Three marked in the tally. The account lies open.”
Later, Ormund shows Daeron, played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, a gold coin stamped with Daeron’s face. The same kind of coin turns up again when Daemon finds one hidden in the captured assassin’s boot.
Taken together, the episode’s clues point to Ormund using paid killers in Flea Bottom to target the City Watch while attaching Daeron’s name to the violence. The result is a campaign that rattles Rhaenyra’s forces from inside King’s Landing.
The purpose shown by the episode is strategic: weaken the Gold Cloaks, add pressure to Rhaenyra’s rule, and leave the city more vulnerable to disorder. If the capital cannot police itself, Ormund’s position grows stronger while Rhaenyra’s hold looks shakier.
House of the Dragon Season 3 is streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes premiering Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.