Otto Hightower Made a Surprising Appearance in the 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Finale (SPOILERS)

This article contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 8 of House of the Dragon, as well as spoilers for Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin.

It's been a bloody and brutal Dance of the Dragons so far, and things are only just beginning to heat up in House of the Dragon. Though the Season 2 finale showcased some significant twists and turns, as well as some deviations from the source material, one of the more shocking moments was Otto Hightower's reappearance.

Despite being absent for much of the season, Alicent's father and the former Hand of the King reappeared in the finale, shown very briefly in a jail cell. But why is Otto in jail — and what happened to him to place him there?

Many episodes have passed since King Aegon dismissed Otto from his position as Hand of the King in Episode 2, and though he quickly departed from King's Landing for his own protection, it seems that he's managed to land himself in a prison cell. Alicent and a couple of other members of the royal court have made one-off comments about Otto's lack of response to their letters, though it's a small detail many may have missed among the other, more important happenings.

Unfortunately, it's not clear exactly why Otto has been locked up in a jail cell (or is it possibly just a cage? It's not clear). This scene of him sitting in the cramped cell, looking mildly confused, is the first time viewers have seen him since he departed from King's Landing, telling Alicent he would head to Oldtown and rejoin the rest of the Hightower family.

Alicent, however, had urged her father to travel to Highgarden, requesting he check in on the Tyrells and ensure they were still fighting for the greens. It's not explained which direction he chose to go in after leaving the palace, and it's even less clear who would've wanted to capture him, as Rhaenyra and the rest of the blacks haven't mentioned the former hand as a part of any of their plans.

It seems Otto's imprisonment may be yet another deviation from the source material that the House of the Dragon showrunners have decided to make, alongside Rhaena's decision to leave the Vale. There's no mention of him being captured in Fire & Blood, leaving even those who have read the book that inspired the spinoff series confused as to what's happening to Otto.

Though Otto's storyline is possibly deviating from the book, it's still possible he'll face the same end he did in Fire & Blood. In the novel by George R.R. Martin, Otto is the first casualty the blacks execute once they reclaim King's Landing. As Otto suspected would happen, he is beheaded as a traitor once Rhaenyra takes the crown, though House of the Dragon viewers have quite a bit of ground to cover before they can expect to see him fully exit the show.