On House of the Dragon, Otto Hightower is Alicent Hightower‘s father and Helaena Targaryen’s grandfather.
Fans of the show have noticed that it seems he treats Helaena much better than he ever treated Alicent, despite the fact that Alicent is his actual daughter.
There are some theories as to why this might be.
Here’s what viewers are saying online.
One social media user launched a Reddit thread to say, “Otto’s only redeeming quality it seems is just letting Helaena be Helaena.”
Someone responded by saying, “I would say it’s not uncommon for people to be bad fathers but good grandfathers.”
A third fan added, “It’s quite sad really cause somewhere across the line Otto realized he F’d up as a father and tried to redeem himself with his grandchild.”
Someone else broke down the nitty-gritty of it all saying, “I think Otto in general served as the father figure for Alicent’s children after he came back to court. Helaena is the only one he could not manipulate or use politically somehow. He wanted to groom Aegon to be heir and he overlooked Aemond, but Helaena is just a pure-hearted girl. I think that he managed to develop a good relationship with her because their relationship was non-transactional, he had nothing to gain from her, so he just automatically became a supportive grandfather.”
Another House of the Dragon fan joined the chat to say, “When one becomes a parent, they want to raise a capable son/daughter and instill their values in their children. When one becomes a grandparent, they just want to enjoy the little time they have left in the world and adore their grandkids.”
The big moment a lot of people are referencing between Otto and Helaena came after she gave a toast about what it’s like to be newly married as a young woman.
Otto clapped for her, smiled for her, and offered his undeniable support.
By contrast, the way he fathered Alicent seemed cold, callous, and heartless. He didn’t care about Alicent’s wellbeing when he told her to pursue marriage with Viserys Targaryen.
He didn’t mind that she would be forced have to have sex with an old man or that she’d be risking her life giving birth to babies at 15 years old.
When it came to his manipulation of Alicent, he only cared about how he could use her as a pawn to make himself more powerful.
With Helaena, his approach is completely different. The night and day contrast between the way Otto treated Alicent and Helaena is impossible to ignore.
Have you noticed the differences? What are your thoughts on Otto’s treatment of Helaena versus Alicent? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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