“House of the Dragon” killed off Otto Hightower in Season 3, Episode 2, as Rhaenyra Targaryen returned to King’s Landing and took the Iron Throne.
The HBO episode aired Sunday, June 28, and showed Rhaenyra, played by Emma D’Arcy, executing Otto after Daemon Targaryen brought him before her.
Otto, played by Rhys Ifans, had returned in the Season 2 finale after the show revealed that he was alive and held prisoner.
Lord Larys presented Otto as a “gift” for Daemon before the former Hand of the King was taken to Rhaenyra.
Daemon, played by Matt Smith, pushed Rhaenyra to decide Otto’s fate and framed the decision as a test of her rule.
Rhaenyra couldn’t bring herself to behead Otto Hightower, she struck his back/shoulder before being able to strike his head and behead him.#HouseoftheDragon #HOTD pic.twitter.com/cGWFIAdOir
— Gerald (@geraldcreatez) June 29, 2026Rhaenyra then beheaded Otto before sitting on the Iron Throne. Alicent Hightower, played by Olivia Cooke, saw her father dead after she was brought back to the Red Keep with Helaena and Helaena’s baby.
The episode followed Jacaerys Velaryon’s death in the Season 3 premiere, adding another major loss to the show’s opening run.
Read: House of the Dragon Season 3 Promises Epic Events and a Bold New Episode
Ifans previously told Inverse that he did not know where Otto’s story would go after the Season 2 finale.
New episodes of “House of the Dragon” air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
