Ormund's Bloody Feast Rewrites Rhaenyra's Downfall: HOTD Season 3, Episode 5 Ending Explained

Published Jul 19, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones). Warning! Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 5, and Martin's Fire & Blood ahead!Rhaenyra Targaryen's inevitable downfall is slowly approaching in House of the Dragon season 3, and episode 5 just completely shifted the context. This has become a special skill of the Game of Thrones spinoff series. George R.R. Martin's story has certainly been altered in significant ways, but the vast majority of House of the Dragon's changes lean on the unreliable-narrator trope. The source book, Fire & Blood, is constructed like a history textbook, so the idea is that there is so much to the story that historians wouldn't have known about. A prime example of this sort of change is Alicent coming to Dragonstone to tell Rhaenyra that she would open the gates of the Red Keep to her. Naturally, Westerosi Maesters wouldn't have been present for that clandestine conversation, so they wouldn't have known to write about it. Similarly, there are events these historians thought they understood, but House of the Dragon aims to show viewers firsthand that they were wrong. That's where House of the Dragon season 3, episode 5, comes in. This installment of the fantasy series becomes something like a murder mystery as members of the City Watch suddenly turn up dead. The gold-cloaked men die without witnesses and are found with their intestines strung out from their bodies. It's certainly alarming, and Daemon initially blames Rhaenyra for the violence. She sent the City Watch to put a stop to the salacious graffiti around King's Landing, and Daemon assumes that the people are beginning to rise up and fight back. Daemon's theory is a good one, and it's true that this is precisely what was written in Martin's Fire & Blood. Raised taxes and a brutal increase in the City Watch's version of justice lead to uprisings in King's Landing, and Gold Cloaks begin dropping like flies. It ultimately gets so bad that Rhaenyra has to flee the city just six months after taking the throne. House of the Dragon is certainly leading things in that direction, but season 3, episode 5, reveals that there is another layer to all this that Fire & Blood never revealed—Ormund Hightower is behind everything. Ormund Hightower's "Feast For Traitors" Explained In the final moments of House of the Dragon season 3, episode 5, Daemon comes around a corner to discover nine corpses grotesquely set around a table. It's not very often that we see this Targaryen prince look so utterly disturbed. He is typically unshakeable, but the sight of these Gold Cloaks with their own intestines set out on plates before them leaves Daemon speechless. The centermost corpse belongs to Lord Commander Ser Luthor Largent, and above his head are the words "A Feast for Traitors." Daemon still has no clue who is doing this to his Gold Cloaks, but House of the Dragon season 3, episode 5, already showed us what is going on. This is the work of Ormund Hightower, who is doing all he can to weaken Rhaenyra's rule so that he can put her youngest brother, Daeron Targaryen, on the Iron Throne as a symbolic Hightower ruler. While the full details of Ormund's plan and influence are still unclear, it's confirmed that he has his own agents in the city with whom he is in constant communication. Ormund's "feast for traitors" message is a direct reference to the City Watch's choice to turn against the Greens and welcome Rhaenyra Targaryen back into the Red Keep. It was thanks to these men, especially Ser Luthor, that Aegon's King's Guard was forced to put down their swords. Ormund has officially gotten his own revenge. Perhaps Rhaenyra and Daemon will recognize this as an act by the Greens. Or else, they may continue to believe that the people of King's Landing are rejecting their queen. What The Attacks On The City Watch Mean For Rhaenyra's Downfall Rhaenyra fought endlessly and sacrificed just about everything she loved for the Iron Throne, but she is doomed to lose it after only half a year. It's tragic, but Fire & Blood suggests that Rhaenyra's rejection from the throne was her own doing. In the canon story, this queen's paranoia and desperation lead her to mistreat the small folk, and it costs her the crown. So far, House of the Dragon's version comes with quite different implications. Rhaenyra fears in House of the Dragon season 3, episode 5, that her enemies are stalking her from the darkness—an evil force watching her every move. While Daemon disregards these statements and emphasizes that these attacks are retribution for the queen's cruel orders, he isn't wholly correct. Rhaenyra behaved rashly, but Ormund Hightower purposely escalated the situation further. It means that Rhaenyra's downfall won't be the result of her own madness or cruelty, but the actions of further Green enemies. She can't catch a break. Alicent & Helaena's Story Has Also Gone Through A Massive Shift Rhaenyra and Daemon aren't the only ones facing shocks in House of the Dragon season 3, episode 5. Throughout this installment, Alicent has been making desperate attempts to free herself and her daughter Helaena. It was revealed in the previous episode that this younger queen is pregnant, and as Helaena refuses to end the pregnancy, Alicent must get them both out of the Red Keep. Naturally, it doesn't go particularly well. While Alicent's original plan falls through, she and Helaena discover a shocking gift in their own room. There is a secret passageway that seemingly leads out of the Red Keep, right there next to the bed. Without much thought, the pair head into the passageway, shut the door behind them, and move toward what they hope will be their freedom. Unfortunately, luck isn't on their side after all. Alicent discovers that the way is blocked just as Helaena drops their only light source. This leaves Alicent and Helaena trapped in the dark within the passageway. They closed the secret opening in the room, and it seems it can't be reopened from within the tunnel. Come morning, the attendants may conclude that the two queens successfully escaped, and no one will know that they are, in truth, stuck in the walls. None of this happened in Fire & Blood, so at this point, we can only guess how all this will play out. How House Of The Dragon Season 3, Episode 5 Sets Up The Remaining 3 Episodes There are just three episodes left in House of the Dragon season 3, and this installment appears to do a lot of work to set the stage for its next act. Rhaenyra is at her breaking point. Her desire for revenge is eclipsing every other need. She refuses to visit her third son and heir, Joffrey, and, as far as she knows, the people are turning against her Gold Cloaks. While her own cruelty isn't the sole cause, as it is in Fire & Blood, she isn't likely to react well going forward. Rhaenyra is sure to feed right into the reputation Ormund is constructing for her. By the time Ser Luthor dies in Fire & Blood, Helaena is supposed to have died as well. The fact that she is now trapped inside a wall with her mother does little to suggest that Helaena will have a different fate in House of the Dragon. Of course, starving to death by Alicent's side would be almost too tragic for even the Game of Thrones franchise. Still, we can assume that this event will somehow seep into whatever it is that causes Helaena to take her own life. Then there is Aemond Targaryen and Criston Cole, both of whom are either figuratively or literally wandering lost and blind. Aemond has developed an unlikely friendship with Alys Rivers and even risks his own life to protect her. It will be interesting to see how this show of humanity will play out as Aemond approaches the fated Battle Above the Gods Eye. Criston Cole, on the other hand, is headed to face the Rivermen and Roddy the Ruin's Winter Wolves, eager to die in his own service for a change, but that, too, might not work out how he hopes. Only time (and House of the Dragon's next episode) will tell. Release Date August 21, 2022 Network HBO Directors Clare Kilner, Geeta Patel Cast Fabien Frankel Ser Criston Cole Writers Gabe Fonseca Franchise(s) Game of Thrones Creator(s) George R. R. Martin