One of the tensest moments in last week’s House of the Dragon on HBO had nothing to do with dragons, but a grown man violently reacting to bad news. Almost as soon as Lord Ormund Hightower’s (James Norton) eyes scan a small scroll from Harrenhal, his ward and squire, Prince Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) is on edge. He whispers to another page that he should leave. Seconds later, Ormund erupts, taking his rage out on a poor dinner table.

Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) might believe she did her youngest son a service by sending him to be raised in Oldtown instead of King’s Landing, but Daeron’s obvious familiarity with Ormund’s mood swings tell a different story.

When DECIDER recently spoke with House of the Dragon star James Norton, we asked if the audience should intuit that Ormund has abused Daeron in the past.

“I think so,” Norton said. “That is a moment which is kind of dramatic and, as I say, it speaks to Ormund’s — the various kind of layers on which he exists.”

“But, if you are looking at it slightly deeper, you’re also recognizing that Daeron doesn’t have a father figure in Oldtown, doesn’t have a mentor, apart from Ormond, and has been groomed essentially, and so the moment when he dismisses the servant and says, ‘Get out of here,’ he’s protecting the servant because he knows what will happen when Ormund loses his mind.”

For Norton, Daeron’s instinct to send the other boy away hints at deeper levels in the characters’ “very complicated — and let’s be honest — abusive, toxic relationship.”

“I think there’s also that thing when children become their parents’ carer. Why doesn’t Daeron leave the room?” Norton asked aloud. “And I think possibly it’s because he’s protecting Ormund from himself.”

Norton went on to explain that although Daeron has been “the victim of that rage and the target of it,” it was important that it was obvious that some sort of love also had to be present in their relationship.

“One of the very first conversations I had with [showrunner Ryan Condal and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth] was that this relationship has to have love in it, and in that sort of Stockholm syndrome way,” he said. “Daeron is almost a prisoner, and yet when I grab him by the shoulders after the end of Episode 4, of that terribly distressing scene, I’m genuinely so proud of my boy.”

“What was amazing was having Ben — fabulous actor by the way, so good — he was looking at me and his eyes were welling up. He was almost crying, and he was looking up with such love because all he wants is to be held, is to be loved. He’s just desperate for a parent, and in that moment, it was very real. It was like, he’d just won the race at sports day,” Norton said. “There’s so much complexity in that relationship, which was really wonderful to eke out.”

So what does this mean for Ormund’s plans for Daeron and Tumbleton? You’ll just have to tune in to an all-new episode of House of the Dragon tonight at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max to find out…

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.