3 major deaths in House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2 — and how they diverge from the book

If your threshold for violence is a bit delicate, you might want to look away during House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 2. Or you might just have to get over it, because this episode, 'Queen's Landing', pulls no punches on the beheading front. The body count is climbing fast – and we're only in episode two. Rhaenyra Targaryen finally gets her backside on the Iron Throne, but there's far more to it than a royal buttock shuffle: the Red Keep isn't exactly welcoming, and Prince Aemond Targaryen's having his own grim housewarming up at Harrenhal. Both takeovers go from zero to decapitation in record time.

If you thought the Battle of the Gullet was bloody, that was just the warm-up. We lose three major characters in this one, and they don’t go quietly. It’s all very Dance of the Dragons: relationships smashed, heads rolling, and, frankly, loyalty meaning sod all if you’re inconvenient. Here’s what actually happens – both in the show and how it goes down in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.

Who Dies and How

• Ser Simon Strong
  Harrenhal's resident castellan, last seen surviving Season 2 by keeping his nose fairly clean, doesn't last long when Aemond Targaryen turns up with Vhagar and a murderous attitude. Rather than a tense stand-off, Simon basically holds his hands up and offers the castle – says he’s too old for swords, peaceably enough. That cuts no ice: Aemond challenges him to a duel anyway. Simon tries pleading his case, but Aemond isn’t having it – ends up stabbing the poor bloke. Simon’s two sons try for revenge and are swiftly dispatched as well, though one gets a shot in before he drops, leaving Aemond limping off to Alys Rivers for patching up. In the book, Simon doesn't even get the token opportunity to negotiate. Aemond, convinced Simon’s a traitor for surrendering to Daemon back in the day, throws him a sword, quotes something pious, and then slaughters him, feeding the remains to Vhagar. House Strong is basically wiped out, except for Alys (spared) and, eventually, Larys. The book’s word-for-word delight:
  'First to suffer for it was Ser Simon Strong. Prince Aemond had no love for any of that ilk, and the haste with which the castellan had yielded Harrenhal to Daemon Targaryen convinced him the old man was a traitor. Ser Simon protested his innocence, insisting that he was a true and loyal servant of the Crown. ... Aemond commanded that Ser Simon be given a sword. "Let the gods decide if you speak truly," he said. "If you are innocent, the Warrior will give you the strength to defeat me." ... the prince cut the old man to pieces, then fed his corpse to Vhagar.'
  Not subtle.
• Lord Jasper 'Ironrod' Wylde
  Jasper, never one for tact or decency, gets his comeuppance after barging in on Alicent Hightower and trying to strong-arm her; he’s interrupted before things escalate (Grand Maester Orwyle with the assist), but not before Jasper gets himself arrested for assault. He’s dragged from the cells, refuses to pledge loyalty to Rhaenyra, tries to send a final message to his wife, and gets his head lopped off by Daemon before he can string two words together. The book spares us the grim sexual assault drama – Jasper gets executed, but his scene is chiefly him having a last-minute rant about succession law before losing his head.
• Ser Otto Hightower
  Otto has seen off a few monarchs in his time but doesn’t make it past episode two. After Aegon legs it out of King’s Landing with Larys, Orwyle suggests a fallback: punish one of the council instead. Daemon is given Jasper to behead, but then told Larys has left him a present – Otto, imprisoned in the black cells since his dismissal in season two. Daemon parades Otto in front of Rhaenyra, pushes her to swing the sword herself – ‘behead him, become queen, simple as.' Otto argues Daemon should do it, as he at least knows his way around a sword. Otto’s final words: a bitter one about Viserys not approving of this bloodbath. Rhaenyra fluffs the first blow (not the swiftest executioner) but finishes the job on the second attempt, leaving poor Otto headless as she strolls up to the Iron Throne. In the book, Otto also gets the chop straight after Rhaenyra’s victory. Alicent is imprisoned but spared – partly for old times’ sake – while Otto doesn’t get so lucky, a prediction he himself made on the night of Viserys’ death.