Thumbnail Otto Hightower and King Viserys
A lot happened in Season 4 of House of The Dragon. We see Deamon returned victorious from Stepstones, with Princess Rhaenyra rejecting a room full of suitors eager to woo her, and King Viserys stripping Otto Hightower of any control the latter had over him.
We saw in the first episode that Viserys sided with Otto when his own blood demon alleged that the man was a snake and would betray you at the first opportunity. Viserys called Otto a “loyal and unwavering hand”.
So what made Viserys so mad that he fired Otto from his job? Let’s find out.
Why Viserys stripped Otto of his power
Spies working for Otto High Tower discover the romance of Daemon and Rhaenyra. Hightower tells Viserys, and Viserys blames his adviser for trying to discredit Rhaenyra in order to advance his grandson’s candidacy for the crown. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra tells Alicent a lie whenever she asks if she’s been with her uncle.
When the king and daughter finally exchange glances after learning that Rhaenyra sneaked out of her room last night dressed as a page, Viserys presents her with the knife that once belonged to Aegon the Conqueror. The lines on the blade read, “From my blood comes the prince that was promised, and he shall be the song of ice and fire.” which Rhaenyra recited aloud. For Viserys, the truth was irrelevant; the only thing that mattered was how he was perceived.
He claims to have placed a huge burden on his shoulders when he told him about Aegon the Conqueror’s vision. As we have seen, Viserys saw himself as a visionary and had great respect for such predictions. While Rhaenyra challenges the biased and unfair assumptions of others.
She explains to Viserys that if she was a guy, no one would ever question her behavior. The problem was that Viserys wasn’t going to entertain his daughter’s rebellion this time. He explains that he intended for her to marry Ser Laenor Velaryon, but he was unwilling to put up with her defiant behavior this time around.
Rhaenyra was appalled to learn that she was once again being exploited for political gain. His father’s goal was to merge the two most powerful kingdoms. While talking to her father, Rhaenyra accuses Otto Hightower of being a selfish man who wants his blood to rule the Seven Kingdoms.
Otto gets a demotion and Rhaenyra gets a birth control potion
For a long time Viserys had ignored the inevitable; nevertheless, in this case, the news provided by Otto was more than just a hoax. Otto High Tower receives a call from Viserys, who reveals that he has deduced the man’s true motives. He said he planned for the king to marry his own daughter in order to distract himself from his grief at the loss of his wife.
Viserys complies without argument, informing Otto that his goals “no longer correspond to the needs of the kingdom”, since he doesn’t want to upset his daughter. To prevent Rhaenyra’s activities from undermining the partnership Viserys hoped she would join, he demotes Otto Hightower from the position of Hand of the King and offers his daughter a birth control potion.
Viserys was resolved. He was in no mood to take risks. How these new factors affect future events will surely be interesting. While Viserys may have thought Laenor Velaryon was a good fit to marry his daughter since he’s the son of his sister and half a Targaryen (you know the Targaryens like to keep him in blood), he was oblivious to the fact that his lover’s inclinations went against the norms of his society.
