Dragons streak through the skies and swords clash on the battlefield, but one of the most compelling sights in HBO’s fantasy dramaof the show’s second season, Ifans’ Otto Hightower learned that his grandson, the King , ordered every ratcatcher in the kingdom hanged for the crimes of one. This new act of cruelty was sure to backfire horribly against his family, undoing all the painstaking work Otto had put in to gain the public’s support.
In Episode 2, “Rhaenyra The Cruel,” Otto reacted to the murder of his young grandson by persuading Aegon that staging a procession with the body and blaming Rhaenyra for his death would earn them public sympathy. He displayed no outward signs of grief at the horrific death, only ideas as to how he might spin it in their favor. The thought of parading a dead child through the streets is sickening, but Otto’s unwavering conviction in the idea is what clinched it.
By the end of that episode, however, he wore his knowledge of the kingdom and of men wearily. His long-suffering expression put it plainly: He’s surrounded by idiots.as “fun,” given the specter of death and ruin hanging over its characters, but some of its most lighthearted moments are set up through Otto’s authoritative gravitas clashing against Aegon’s vacant airheadedness.