4 min readThe following story contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 5, “Unbowed and Unbent.”
THERE ARE SO many characters participating in the backstabbing, world-spanning political intrigue of House of the Dragon that it can sometimes be a challenge not only to remember who’s who, but also to further remember which ambitious would-be ruler they’ve aligned themselves with. It can be helpful, then, to think of the show as a huge chessboard, with each character as a piece fighting in favor of one king or another queen. That made things easy enough in seasons 1 and 2, when the show was simply the Blacks (Rhaenyra, Daemon) going against the Greens (Aegon, Otto, Alicent). But as season 3 moves along and brings the sinister Ormund Hightower into the mix, it’s making our chessboard even more complicated than it already was.
It also adds an air of intrigue to the show, however. For much of season 3, episode 5, titled “Unbowed and Unbent,” Daemon (Matt Smith) was investigating the deaths of a couple members of the City Watch. Daemon spent years as commander of the City Watch (when his brother, Viserys, was king), and they remained aligned with him even when Aegon took the throne. This eventually helped the Blacks storm the city and for Rhaenyra to ultimately take control. But “Unbowed and Unbent” shows his grip on that important arm of King’s Landing loosening, as men are being picked off and he doesn’t know who’s responsible.
At first, he suspects the killings were ordered by Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), who’s fled the city and is believed dead (although no one in power really believes that). But eventually Daemon and Ser Luthor Largent (Tom Cullen) find one of the killers and torture information out of him, making the truth clear: Ormund ordered their deaths, has declared Daeron king, and is even distributing coins and currency with his likeness on it. Daemon has Aegon and the Greens under control, but Ormund is an unknown evil to him.
As if the new mystery of what Ormund is capable of wasn’t enough, the episode concludes with something even more frightening: Daemon discovering an underground display that resembles “The Last Supper,” with even more City Watch members—including Ser Luthor, one of his closest allies—brutally murdered and sat at the table. Not only is this a violent sign sent from Ormund, but it’s a way of picking Daemon’s allies off—and perhaps replacing them with people against his cause, and for Ormund’s.
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What actually happened to Ser Luthor in House of the Dragon season 3, episode 5, and what does it mean going forward?
Ser Luthor, along with more members of the City Watch, was murdered by unknown assailants fighting for Ormund Hightower. It doesn’t need much more explaining than that—Ormund is launching a guerrilla campaign on King’s Landing, taking out vital pieces of Daemon and Rhaenyra’s power systems. He is already proving to be a dangerous opponent, as he’s taken on Ser Luthor—one of the most important figures in orchestrating Rhaenyra’s rise in the first place.
What did it say behind Ser Luthor’s corpse?
Behind the dead bodies of Ser Luthor and other City Watch men, a message written in blood read “A Feast for Traitors.” It was dark, but visible by candlelight (and by brightening after the fact). And it once again marks Ormund’s aggression toward Rhaenyra, Daemon, and King’s Landing.
Ser Luthor had a different fate in George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book
Ormund’s offensive on King’s Landing is a major part of season 3, but the specific ordeal we see in season 3, episode 5, wasn’t as defined in the Fire & Blood book.
Now, given that the Fire & Blood book is essentially a Westeros history book that’s recounted through the accounts of a few different fictional historians of Westeros, it always makes perfect sense when the things that we see on screen in the HBO show don’t quite line up with the history recounted in the book. Because that’s how real history goes! Stories aren’t always perfectly translated, and can change over time.
In this case, things are pretty different. In Fire & Blood, Luthor dies during (Spoilers for upcoming House of the Dragon events!) the revolt on the throne toward Rhaenyra, when riots break out due to the common folk hating Rhaenyra (which we’ve already heard about due to lack of money, lack of food, and the general sentiment that we’ve heard of through graffiti and word-of-mouth via Ulf).
Luthor’s death instead comes a bit earlier, but those riots still seem like a sure bet to come sooner rather than later. And it’s going to make for some major House of the Dragon fireworks.
