One Rejection Changed Everything for This Man

On House of the Dragon, Criston Cole’s entire arc traces back to a single moment of rejection — and the season’s latest episode delivered the ironic end to the path that moment set him on.

Criston Cole and Rhaenyra had an affair during House of the Dragon season 1. Once she got engaged to Laenor Velaryon, Criston begged her to flee with him to Essos. She didn’t even flinch.

Rhaenyra made her position crystal clear: she had no interest in running away, as she is the future of Westeros and she isn’t going to throw that away to be a nobody across the narrow sea.

That rejection broke him, and he turned the heartbreak into something ugly. He called her every name imaginable, bullied her sons, helped crown Aegon II instead of the rightful heir, and devoted himself to a war that denied a woman the Iron Throne.

The best irony? His end came at the hands of yet another powerful woman: Alysanne “Black Aly” Blackwood, an archer in the Black army.

What did you think of Criston Cole’s death on House of the Dragon?

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