Editor's note: The below recap contains spoilers for 'House of the Dragon' Season 3 Episode 5.The Game of Thrones universe has a new villain in town, and he's already proving to be popular, as evidenced by all the memes comparing him to Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton) from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Ormund Hightower (James Norton) has made a big impression with his House of the Dragon debut, not just for his propensity for unique smells and over-the-top outbursts, but also because of the threat he represents. With both Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) missing, Ormund seeks to raise Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as the rightful heir to the throne, but even in their absence, Rhaenyra's (Emma D'Arcy) grip on the newly occupied King's Landing is slipping. From rats throughout the Red Keep to a rapidly depleting treasury, things aren't going well for the new Queen, and those troubles only continue in the show's fifth episode. It's another chapter that maintains the slower, more methodical pace of last week, though it moves the needle a bit more with new character dynamics that could very well turn the tide of the ongoing conflict. With no sign of Daemon or his dragon Vhagar at Harrenhal, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), his companion Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), and their soldiers are left with no true leader. Sure, Ormund has a foothold and a potential new heir to the Iron Throne, but he is miles away and not easy to reach. While they earn a small victory in ambushing a Stark camp, the men are tired, and they soon engage in more than a few difficult elements, such as some traps that leave their horses completely incapacitated. Each dragon in 'House of the Dragon' represents some aspect of their riders' respective personalities. The soldiers might have been better off had they stayed at Harrenhal, because it turns out Aemond has been residing in the derelict castle the entire time, being nursed back to health by the resident witch, Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin). While he's now being plagued by visions in the same way Daemon (Matt Smith) was, he is in relatively good health, as proven when he saves Alys from some bounty hunters who thought they could easily claim his head. Now all that remains is for Aemond to track down his faithful dragon Vhagar, whom he feels like he is nothing without. Little does he know that Rhaenyra is already on the hunt for the beast herself. Another family member who wants to see the Kinslayer dead is his own brother Aegon, who lost his throne and even parts of his body to Aemond's intentional attack on him and his beloved dragon Sunfyre. The former king will stop at nothing until his traitorous, power-hungry brother is dead, but that puts a bit of a dent in the plans of his travel companion, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham). Larys is also more than tired of their current circumstances, and he immediately levels with Aegon, telling the king what he really thinks of him. The two ultimately return to Rook's Rest, but Aegon is forced to stab the rogue soldier who discovers the crown he's been carrying around in his satchel. They also reunite with a loyal ally to the Greens in Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), who somehow survived the Battle of the Gullet after being thrown overboard by Admiral Lohar (Abigail Thorn). Back in the not-so-peaceful hamlet of Tumbleton, Ormund is continuing his lessons in cruelty and power with young Daeron, priming the relatively innocent young ward to become a bloodthirsty killer. Ormund's notorious temper flares once again when Daeron beats him in the Westeros equivalent of chess, but then he tells the boy prince to never apologize for claiming a victory. In the Red Keep, Rhaenyra is still "awash" with all manner of difficulties, with her chief concern being the location of Aemond and his dragon. However, a schism begins to form between her and Daemon when two Goldcloak guards turn up dead while patrolling the streets, and in a particularly gruesome manner at that. Despite being given a direct order from his queen and wife to find Aemond and Vhagar, Daemon refuses in favor of hunting the people responsible for the murders (who, it turns out, have been receiving orders from Ormund via raven). You know the conversation is serious when Rhaenyra and Daemon are arguing while speaking only in High Valyrian. Following the revelation of Helaena's (Phia Saban) pregnancy, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) is trying to do everything in her power to find a way out of their predicament, even going as far as to terminate it by requesting the same tea from Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan). When Helaena refuses to drink it, Alicent then hatches a plan to escape by any means necessary, only for them to be caught by Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) while attempting to sneak out of the Red Keep dressed as maids. The episode ends with a speech from Criston trying to rouse his tired and struggling soldiers amid their doomed campaign. Back in King's Landing, Helaena finds a secret passage that could serve as her and Alicent's way out of the Red Keep, but they soon find themselves trapped inside the castle's walls when they reach a dead end. Meanwhile, Daemon stumbles upon the horrific sight of a dozen Goldcloak soldiers slaughtered and staged around a dinner table, with the ominous message of "A feast for traitors" written in blood behind them.