Inside ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3’s Best Storyline: “It’s a Bit Like a Boxing Ring”

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with James Norton, Freddie Fox and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth about their work on the 'Game of Thrones' prequel and the big changes made from the book, now that the finale is released.

[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the House of the Dragon season three finale.]

House of the Dragon took some big swings away from the book in season three — for example, the entirety of Tumbleton, the besieged town at the heart of the storyline this year. 

Author George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, the in-universe history tome from which HOTD draws its inspiration, depicts not one but two massive battles at Tumbleton, both of which contain meaningful differences from the encounter shown on screen in the season three finale that released Sunday.

Daeron Targaryen, one of the most anticipated characters in the show’s franchise (played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, set to star as Link in the upcoming Legend of Zelda movie), rides his dragon and makes a daring move — in the book. Instead, here on the show, Freddie Fox’s Gwayne Hightower stops him from making said move, which is a bit of a bummer. It never could have happened in the book at this point, because Gwayne isn’t at Tumbleton in Martin’s work; indeed, show creator Ryan Condal has given Gwayne a much longer lease on life altogether.

The list goes on; suffice it to say, there’s a wide gulf between Book Tumbleton and Show Tumbleton. And while not all among the book-first faithful will agree with me on this, allow me as a card-carrying member to meekly put it out there: Tumbleton was the best story of season three, by far. The reason? Three names: the aforementioned Benjamin and Freddie, with a final dash of James Norton. 

I’m sorry, were you getting bored of the Tagaryen family politics? Look no further for a wake up call than these three actors representing House Hightower, powerful and imposing in their own right, but just as catty and petty as the Lannisters at the end of the day. The in-fighting, the arrogance, the unexpected levity of Ormund’s plight… it’s akin to that unassailable Tyrion quality that made early Game of Thrones so fun, and had been missing for much of HOTD. 

Sadly, we won’t get a repeat on the Tumbleton vibe in season four, based on the finale’s events: Ormund, the peacocking villain at the heart of this tale, is dead, felled by a lethal combination of scents, stab wounds and dragon-fire. Daeron appears to be missing in action, perhaps to allow his real-life performer some time to trade in Westeros for Hyrule. It’s only Gwayne — the most heroic of the trio, and a contender for the most likable character on House of the Dragon — who is decidedly still in the mix. Whatever lies ahead for him, and whatever lies ahead for his nephew Daeron, it will all occur without Norton huffing and puffing his way through the scenery as Ormund. 

As season three fades away into memory, let’s take one last look at the heroes of Tumbleton. Below, The Hollywood Reporter presents snippets of three separate conversations with Norton, Ainsworth and Fox about their work in season three, now that it’s come to an end. 

Ormund is in the book, but he’s very thinly written compared to your take. What was your initial reference point for the character?