Everything You Need To Know About House Of The Dragon Season 2's Ser Gwayne Hightower
This article contains spoilers for "Fire & Blood" and this week's episode of "House of the Dragon."
Given the many surprises in the latest "House of the Dragon" episode, it's easy to overlook the sudden arrival of Alicent's brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox). He shows up to accompany Ser Criston Cole on his way to Harrenhaal, even though Cole clearly doesn't want him there. Luckily, Gwayne's arrogant, summer child ways are quickly snuffed out of him by the threat of a dragon attack up above, which Cole averts by having them ride into a nearby forest. Gwayne tells Cole he's in his debt, implying a more friendly relationship between the two in the episodes to come.
It might seem weird for this barely-mentioned-before brother of Alicent to so suddenly get all this screentime, but in light of all the complicated family trees on "House of the Dragon," we should probably get used to this sort of thing. (After all, Alicent also has a fully-grown third son who's still never been properly introduced.) So, what exactly is the deal with Ser Gwayne, and what can we expect from him going forward?
We've actually met Gwayne already
Gwayne was introduced as a knight in the king's tournament back in the first-ever episode of "HotD," picked to joust against Prince Daemon (Matt Smith). We don't get to see much of his face, but we do get to see him knocked off his horse and face-planting into the mud. It's not Gwayne's finest hour as a young knight, but at least he lived to tell the tale.
This appearance is easy to forget, seeing as the scene is less about Gwayne himself and more about foreshadowing the divisions between the Hightowers and the Targaryens. Although young Rhaenyra and Alicent are both friendly and supportive of each other throughout the match, there's still an underlying tension due to how Rhaenyra is rooting for her uncle Daemon, while Alicent is rooting for her brother Gwayne. The fact that Daemon's a total jerk at this point, showing zero concern over potentially killing his opponents, only makes thing worse.
The scene's most memorable moment is when Daemon asks Alicent for her blessing after he unhorses Gwayne. Alicent clearly doesn't like him, but she plays nice and offers him flowers anyway. Otto seems disappointed in her for this, and Alicent seems to know she's let him down. It would be another few years before Alicent and Rhaenyra become enemies, but here you could already see the rivalry brewing.
Gwayne's fate in Fire & Blood
In the show's source material, "Fire & Blood," it's established that Ser Gwayne was named second-in-command of the City Watch by his father, Otto Hightower. Otto told Gwayne to keep an eye on the City Commander, Luthor Largent, for any signs of disloyalty towards Aegon II. Gwayne must not have been very good at his job though; it turns out Luthor was indeed a disloyal servant, secretly serving Daemon the entire time. As the historian narrator in "Fire & Blood" recounts near the end of the chapter "The Dying of the Dragons: The Red Dragon and the Gold," Gwayne's failure to sniff out a double agent was his fatal undoing:
"Queen Alicent's brother Ser Gwayne Hightower, second in command of the gold cloaks, rushed to the stables, intending to sound the warning; he was seized, disarmed, and dragged before his commander, Luthor Largent. When Hightower denounced him as a turncloak, Ser Luthor laughed. 'Daemon gave us these cloaks,' he said, 'and they're gold no matter how you turn them.' Then he drove his sword into Ser Gwayne's belly and ordered the city gates opened to the men pouring off the Sea Snake's ships."
On the bright side, there is no mention in the book of Gwayne going on a trip to Harrenhaal with Ser Criston Cole, which means Gwayne's journey on "House of the Dragon" is already starting to diverge from his path in "Fire & Blood." And while it's still unlikely Gwayne will make it out of the series alive, the character's fans watching at home can at least hold out hope for a more dignified exit. Rather than be outwitted and slain by a trusted co-worker, perhaps this Gwayne will get the chance to make his father proud.
Where have we seen Freddie Fox before?
Freddie Fox is an English actor who got his start playing the 1980s pop star Marilyn in the 2010 British TV film "Worried About The Boy." He's since gone on to play King Louis in "The Three Musketeers," Finnegan in "Victor Frankenstein," and James "Spider" Webb in the Apple TV+ show "Slow Horses." As fans of that last show have noted, Fox seems to have carved out a niche for himself playing arrogant guys with punchable faces, which Gwayne's final scene in this week's episode seems to have subverted. (At least for now.)
Back in May, Fox spoke to Radio Times about "House of the Dragon" season 2. He didn't say much about his own character or his experience on the show, but he did give his own pitch for what we could expect from the season as a whole: "A lot of dragons! Developing, dark, machinating relationships, brilliant acting, an increase in the battles and fighting as war begins." Granted, we probably could've figured that out on our own from the trailer, but it's nice to see Fox is enthusiastic about the project. We don't know exactly what season 2 has in store for Gwayne, but it sounds like it'll be a bit more substantive for him than the book's version of events.
New episodes of "House of the Dragon" season 2 premiere Sundays on HBO and Max.