The biggest surprise of ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 isn’t a dragon fight or a shocking betrayal; it’s the fact that they’re changing the fate of Ser Gwayne Hightower.
HBO has given Alicent Hightower’s brother a second life after he died in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. This means it’s possible to have a completely new story that not even the book’s most avid readers can predict.
‘House Of The Dragon’ Gives Gwayne Hightower A Future Beyond The Books
It’s a bold, creative move, given the series’s reputation for being faithful to its source material. And, as actor Freddie Fox says, it makes Gwayne’s journey much richer. Fox told ScreenRant that it’s been an interesting experience to be one of the few actors to have a character with no set ending.
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Since Gwayne survived the fall of King’s Landing in Season 3, Episode 2, his future is now completely unknown. Fox said that he likes finding out the character’s story when he gets new scripts. “Yeah, it’s really nice, actually. I mean, it’s both a surprise to me because, obviously, when I read the scripts, I don’t know what’s going to happen to me day-to-day.”
He also commended showrunner Ryan Condal and writer Sara Hess for taking Gwayne further than what was written in Fire & Blood. “I think the character that Ryan Condal and Sara Hess are forging, without wanting to in any way throw shade on the book, gives him further to go. It gives him more dimensionality.“
It’s easy to see why the actor is enthusiastic. Gwayne is no longer just a fleeting casualty of the war. He now has the chance to become a much bigger force in the Dance of the Dragons.
The Show Might Change House Hightower’s Story
The most significant impact of Gwayne’s survival is not military, but emotional. In the novels, he dies before he finds out what happened to his father, Otto Hightower. The series does just the opposite. Gwayne survives in Westeros after Rhaenyra slays Otto after seizing King’s Landing.
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He does not know that his father has been beheaded. That makes for an entirely new story arc as the series delves into how he responds to the devastating news. Season 3 is also adding more to the Hightower side with the addition of James Norton as Ormund Hightower, another major Green commander.
It’s not clear if Gwayne and Ormund will meet. However, the family’s power is definitely expanding with the escalation of the civil war. Gwayne’s future is one of the biggest mysteries of ‘House of the Dragon’. Whether he dies in battle or survives longer than anyone expects, one thing is certain: this is now a story that even devoted readers can’t spoil.
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