Er, Why Was Otto Hightower Locked in a Cell in 'House of the Dragon'?
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House of the Dragon season 2 ended on a major cliffhanger, leaving us with more questions than answers—the most prominent being: Why is Otto Hightower locked up in a cell?
The final montage scene of episode eight, "The Queen Who Ever Was," features major players gearing up for an ensuing battle. We see the new dragon riders getting dressed in armor, Corlys (Steve Toussaint) heading to his fleet of ships, and Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carey) scurrying away from King's Landing. And in a blink-or-you'll-miss-it moment, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) gets locked up in a cell.
So who put him there? And what's going to happen to him next? Here's your 101 on Otto Hightower.
Why is Otto Hightower locked up in a cell?
Okay, in order to answer this question, we need to rewind to earlier in the season. When season 2 kicks off, Otto thinks he's in a position of power as the Hand to the King—aka his grandson Aegon.
However, in episode two, he is fired from the position by Aegon and decides to leave King's Landing and head to Old Town where the rest of his family resides, including Alicent's (Olivia Cooke) youngest child Daeron. Alicent encourages him to travel to Highgarden instead to speak with the Tyrells, and that's the last we see of him.
Later on in the season, Aemond asks Larys (Matthew Needham) to track down his grandfather so he can resume his position of the Hand. Alicent mentions Otto to her brother Gwayne (Freddie Fox), saying she hasn't heard from their father despite writing him numerous letters. We all think he's just ghosting her, but it turns out he may have been preoccupied...aka locked up in a cell.
So, who locked him up? Right now in the season, we don't have any official answers, but there are a few suggestions as to what could have happened.
During season 2, we find out that House Beesbury is waging war on the Hightowers, so the most likely explanation is he was either captured by them or one of their allies before making it home.
There's also the very realistic possibility that Larys has something to do with it. I mean, does anyone trust this man? He was responsible for tracking Otto down and yet doesn't find him. Instead, he's loyal to Aegon, so perhaps in continuing his support for Aegon, he arranged to have Otto kidnapped.
What happens to Otto Hightower in the books?
While the TV show won't give us any answers until season 3 (see ya in 2026!), we can look to the book Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin, which the series is based on, to give us some ideas. But beware: You may be reading some potential spoilers for the TV series.
In Fire & Blood, there is no mention of Otto being kidnapped and locked away. His position as the Hand is taken away from Aegon and given to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). Rather than Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) traveling to the Triarchy, it is Otto's earlier efforts that get them to agree to participate in the war, and therefore set in motion the Battle of the Gullet.
FYI, Otto's story comes to an end soon after the battle, when Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) takes King's Landing and quickly beheads him for being a traitor. Maybe he'll survive longer in the TV series?
'House of the Dragon' seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Max.
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