House of the Dragon reveals the reason behind Fire & Blood’s most infamous betrayal

One of the best things about the TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood is the level of intrigue, scheming, and politicking on display. In the latest House of the Dragon episode, we see how Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) placement of Torrhen Manderly (Dan Fogler) as her Master of Coin makes him the target of the smallfolk’s wrath, and how Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) uses her body to appeal to Rhaenyra’s senses. Yet, the biggest schemer of House of the Dragon season 3, episode 7, is none other than Ormund Hightower (James Norton).

Ormund has played plenty of tricks this season, adapting some rather unsavory (and Dornish) methods to pick and tear at Rhaenyra’s rule now that she’s claimed King’s Landing. For one thing, there’s the butchering of the City Watch which led to seemingly all the remaining members resigning. With everyone in the city feeling unsafe, the love that Rhaenyra had earned is evaporating. And as proven by the ending of this week’s episode, not even those close to Rhaenyra can be counted on. There’s one major choice from last season that finally looks like it will come back to bite Rhaenyra in next week’s season finale.

House of the Dragon season 3, episode 7 doesn’t end on a major cliffhanger like last week, but it does put a few pivotal pieces into position as the show creeps toward another explosive season finale. So let’s unpack the most important moments from the episode and what they all mean.

What is Ormund Hightower’s plan in House of the Dragon?

With the Blacks now ruling King’s Landing, the Greens have had to fight dirty. Their latest move, under Ormund’s guidance, was to capture Tumbleton, a market town not too far from King’s Landing. With the townspeople effectively his hostages, Ormund correctly surmises that Rhaenyra won’t attack with her dragons and risk killing innocent smallfolk. This gives him and his army plenty of time to plan.

We’ve seen that Ormund has already been whittling away at Rhaenyra’s rule, but the ending of episode 7 shows he isn’t content to turn only commoners against the queen; he wants her dragonriders too. This makes sense, as the Greens are in a poor position when it comes to dragons — Vhagar and Aemond are missing, Sunfyre and Aegon are presumed dead, and Tessarion (who belongs to Daeron Targaryen) is still too young and small to put up much of a fight.

If Ormund wants to do well against the Blacks when they eventually come to retake Tumbleton, he’ll need to persuade some of Rhaenyra’s newly minted dragonriders to join his side. It’s not the perfect plan by any means, but Rhaenyra losing any dragonrider to her cause is a major loss if Vhagar, the most powerful and largest of all the dragons, turns up to try to retake King’s Landing.

Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) was never well-respected by anyone outside his drinking mates in King’s Landing — making him the perfect target for Ormund to appeal to. Because Ulf is close enough to Rhaenyra to know her plans, Ormund now has a way to anticipate what she will do next and plan around it. When she tries to take Tumbleton, reassured by having dragonriders like Ulf and Hugh the Hammer (Kieran Bew) on her side, she’ll have a nasty surprise waiting for her in Ulf’s betrayal.

Why did Ulf the White betray the Blacks?

Despite being the rider of Silverwing and undoubtedly one of the reasons Rhaenyra felt secure enough to take King’s Landing, Ulf has never been well-liked by Rhaenyra and her Black council. He lacks the grace to properly address the highborn nobles he serves under, often questions orders, and laments to his fellow dragonriders that they deserve more than merely knighthoods.

This all comes to a head when Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) discovers Ulf out in the city — a place he was strictly forbidden to go. Daemon beats him down, making him look a fool in front of the commonfolk in King’s Landing. For a man well-loved by his fellow smallfolk, knowing they’ve seen him roughed up by people who are supposed to respect him is a step too far for Ulf. Furthermore, Ulf has always wanted power — or at the very least the wealth and prestige that comes with it, so it’s little wonder that he goes to Ormund, who promises to make him Lord of the Tides and Master of Driftmark.

Will Hugh the Hammer betray the Blacks?

In George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, both Ulf and Hugh betray Rhaenyra and the Blacks in Tumbleton — thereby becoming known as the Two Betrayers. Their reason for doing so is never given, and though we now know why Ulf did so, Hugh’s reason — if he does indeed betray Rhaenyra — isn’t so certain.

In the show, Ulf is driven by ambition, whereas Hugh went to secure his and his wife’s future. That ends up not working too well for Hugh, since he learns his wife felt abandoned by his decision to become a dragonrider. Though Hugh does get violent, so far there’s not been a reason as to why Hugh would become a traitor and join Ormund.

Image: HBO

However, maybe it has nothing to do with Hugh’s loyalties at all, but with his dragon, Vermithor. Vermithor and Silverwing are bonded together and have been for many years. If Silverwing were to attack on Ulf’s orders, would Vermithor listen to Hugh and attack his mate? We’re not so certain Vermithor’s bond with Hugh is powerful enough to ensure that the dragon would turn on Silverwing, leaving Hugh no choice but to turn his cloak as well.

It would be a particularly sad state of affairs for Hugh, as he seems genuinely loyal to Rhaenyra, but if there’s one thing House of the Dragons excels at, it’s defying expectations. We can’t wait to see how the Battle of Tumbleton plays out for both the Blacks and the Greens.