'House of the Dragon': Where Was House Hightower in 'Game of Thrones'?

House of the Dragon depicts a power struggle between House Targaryen and House Hightower – two of the most influential noble houses in Westeros at the time of its story, but 170 years later during the events of Game of Thrones, both are essentially absent from the main conflict. Obviously, fans know that House Targaryen is almost wiped out by that point in history, but House Hightower is more mysterious. Read on for an explanation about why, but fair warning – there are spoilers for A Song of Ice and Fire ahead.

House Hightower as hardly even mentioned on HBO's Game of Thrones, and they are pretty deep in the background in George R.R. Martin's books as well. The Hightowers' home is Oldtown – a wealthy port city near the southern end of Westeros, so they don't participate much in the War of the Five Kings. The only character seen in the books is Alerie Hightower, mother of Margaery Tyrell, who visits King's Landing for her daughter's wedding and some other formal events. However, she was not portrayed on HBO at all.

The Hightowers' absence from the story is largely due to the recent history that preceded it. During Robert's Rebellion, House Hightower supporter "The Mad King" Aerys Targaryen up until the last moment, while Ser Gerold Hightower apparently remained loyal Daenerys' older brother Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. The Hightowers knelt to Robert when the war was over and continued to amass wealth, but were understandably wary of getting involved in the political trials of the realm.

Martin's books describe the current lord of Oldtown, Leyton Hightower, as a reclusive man interested in alchemy, magic and arcane knowledge. At the time of the war he has not left the High Tower at all for over a decade and is reported to spend all his time up there with his eldest daughter Malora "The Mad Maid" Hightower researching ancient spells and trying to work them. This may be a factor in the ending of Martin's books, though it was left out of the show altogether.

Martin has written a bit about the history of House Hightower between the events of House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, though more detail is coming in future books. Without spoiling the ending of the war too directly, suffice it to say that House Hightower as an institution survives, though the fates of specific characters are different. In the century and a half that follows, House Hightower rebuilds its immense wealth – partially through the founding of a bank – and stay out of conflict as much as possible. They also develop strong bonds with other noble houses through marriage.

As a reminder, Martin's books left off with Jon Snow being killed by the Night's Watch mutineers. Game of Thrones began adding new material starting in Season 5 when it surpassed Martin's point in the story. Like the show, the books took Sam Tarly to Oldtown to convene with the maesters of the Citadel, but his experience there is much different in the books. He hears about Lord Leyton's efforts at magic and also meets with a character named Archmaester Marwin who plans on trying to treat with Dany.

House Hightower of Oldtown, The Reach. #asoiaf #GameOfThrones #GoT #SongIceFire pic.twitter.com/iLDiBQL8f3

— Ice and Fire Quotes (@songicefire) December 17, 2013

In the books, the southwestern coast is a battlefront for Euron Greyjoy and the Iron Fleet – though this conflict was downplayed on the show, where Euron simply sailed straight to Cersei. Many fans expect Oldtown to be the site of an epic battle in the upcoming books – perhaps even a magical showdown between Leyton Hightower and Euron, who possesses magical knowledge in the books. This could bring House Hightower into the main story more directly, strengthening its connection to the history described in Fire & Blood.

For now, we can only speculate about A Song of Ice and Fire. However, House of the Dragon provides fans with a perfect opportunity to dig for insights on House Hightower and the mystical knowledge they may possess. The series is streaming now on HBO Max, and Season 2 is expected sometime in 2024.