Diksha Sundriyal
Things get increasingly turbulent in King’s Landing, as Rhaenyra tries to grapple for control in the third season of HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon.’ Thanks to Alicent Hightower, she easily took over King’s Landing, but running the place has turned into quite a migraine-inducing exercise. To make it worse, now the commonfolk are turning against her. It started with slanderous graffiti on the wall, but in the fifth episode, things escalate to the point of murder in broad daylight. Shockingly, the people getting killed at the Gold Cloaks, and even the Commander of the City Watch, don’t seem to be exempt from this danger. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Ser Luthor Largent Meets a Brutal and Shocking End
Rhaenyra and Daemon would have died when they came to King’s Landing to take the throne if it hadn’t been for Ser Luthor Largent and the Gold Cloaks’ loyalty to Daemon. Their support turned the tide in the Queen’s favor, but now, the city is in turmoil, and the City Watch is bearing the brunt of it. The royal coffers are empty, and whatever gold Daemon scraped from the Vale is being used to feed the public. The Gold Cloaks are told to wait a bit for their next payment, and they would have done so happily if things hadn’t gotten any direr than ever. Following Rhaenyra’s command to find the people who wrote the “Queen of Bastards’ graffiti on the wall, the City Watch handled the whole thing with a bit of a heavy hand.
It was so bad that even Daemon chided Rhaenyra for not having thicker skin and Luthor Largent for not showing more restraint. In any case, the damage is done now, and their focus is on curbing the problem. Someone has been cornering lone Gold Cloaks and murdering them in broad daylight. Daemon knows that this can’t be the work of a single person. And yet, they finally catch a man, and he claims he worked alone. He shows them the gold coin he was given. It bears the likeness of Daeron Targaryen, who has been declared king by Ormund Hightower.
This proves that the Hightower in Tumbleton is working behind the scenes to cause turbulence in the city, making things more difficult for Rhaenyra and potentially causing a situation where her own people will start to turn against her. The Hightower scheming is getting to Daemon, but he is determined to solve the issue. It would have been easier to do so with his loyal Commander by his side. Unfortunately, at the end of the episode, he finds Luthor Largent and some of his men murdered and put on display. As danger increased, the Gold Cloaks were instructed never to travel alone. They would always be in a group so they could fight back and protect each other.
It seemed that this technique would slow down, if not entirely stop, the murderers. But they turned out to be horribly wrong. Somehow, these murderers found a way to kill not one or two but half a bunch of Gold Cloaks, including their leader. This means that Daemon grossly underestimated the enemy, and it clearly was not the work of two or three people. It is likely that everyone in Flea’s Bottom is complicit in one way or another, courtesy of Hightower Gold. Because it would have taken someone freakishly strong to kill Luthor Largent and his group of men. But then again, the attacker doesn’t seem to be working on brawn. Their tactics are unconventional, which is why they are so difficult to catch.
Luthor Largent’s Death Marks a Dangerous Omen for Rhaenyra’s Reign
Those familiar with George R.R. Martin’s ‘Fire and Blood’ or those who paid attention to Joffrey Baratheon’s spoilers in ‘Game of Thrones’ know that Rhaenyra’s reign doesn’t last for long. In the books, the situation keeps getting worse, and eventually, another shocking death tips the scales completely in another direction. This is the point of no return for the Black Queen as the commonfolk finally rise against her with all they’ve got. This is where the City Watch, under Luthor Largent’s command, tries to temper the situation.
However, they fail spectacularly as the crowd holds a particular hatred for them and tramples them before marching towards the Queen and her castle. This is where Ser Luthor Largent dies in the books, and his death is just as brutal. However, the change made by the show rewrites the whole thing, but it still paves the way for the riots as Rhaenyra’s grip loosens on an increasingly chaotic situation. It remains to be seen how it will all unfold, but it is clear that Luthor Largent’s death sends a terrifying message to Daemon and Rhaenyra. No one is safe in King’s Landing, not even the nobles in their high castles. And the dragons will fall soon.
Read More: House of the Dragon: Who Plays the Real Daeron? Why Does He Have Red Hair?
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