Diksha Sundriyal
The war between the Greens and the Blacks intensifies in the third season of HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ as both sides suffer heavy losses. After the slow build-up of Season 2, things escalate quickly, and the fates of some major characters find a fitting, albeit shocking conclusion. One of the major characters since the beginning of the show has been Criston Cole. He started out as a seemingly insignificant person, but quickly became one of the major players, especially instigators, of the war that is now tearing through Westeros. In the sixth episode of the season, he finally meets his fate, and it’s nothing like he had imagined. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Criston Cole’s Death Wish Comes True
In Season 2, when Criston Cole left King’s Landing, with Gwayne Hightower by his side, he was rather hopeful about his prospects. While he was walking towards a battle, he had Aemond on Vhagar in the skies, and for a minute, it seemed the Greens would surely come out winning. But then, the tide started to change, and the plans that he and Aemond had made to reunite in Harrenhal fell through. From here, Gwayne repeatedly advised him to regroup in Tumbleton with his cousin, Ormund Hightower, who surely has some plan in the works. Cole, however, rejected the idea of showing his back to the enemy. It isn’t until much later that Gwayne realizes that Cole never meant to survive this, so he decides not to suffer for his delusions anymore.
And it turns out to be a rather timely decision. Shortly after Gwayne parts ways with his friend and reaches Tumbleton, Cole and his remaining soldiers find a Tully encampment. It is in tatters with the dead bodies of Tully soldiers lying around. The state of the camp is puzzling, and when Cole and his unsuspecting men walk into the middle of it, they are caught by surprise. It turns out that the Tully soldiers were just playing dead, and it was a trap to hack away at Cole’s remaining forces. The skirmish ends with all the Tully soldiers dead, but Cole also loses more men. In the end, only a handful of them remain, but Cole takes it as a victory. He cheers and chants the Hightower slogan, but he shuts up as soon as he sees the Rivermen and the Winter Wolves surrounding them.
No matter how great a fighter Cole is, he knows his handful of men cannot stand against hundreds of people. So, he tries to make a deal. He asks Oscar Tully and Roddy the Ruin to fight him. This way, they can settle on the winner and spare the lives of the men on both sides. However, neither the young Lord Tully nor the leader of the Winter Wolves is ready for it. So, Cole prepares to fight his final battle. He brings out Alicent’s handkerchief, ties it to the hilt of his sword, and prepares himself for the battle they will write songs about. Except the battle never comes. Instead, he is hit by three arrows and dies on the spot, receiving a shockingly underwhelming death.
Criston Cole’s Thirst for Glory Became His Undoing
Criston Cole had never been the brightest of the bunch in Camp Green. Ever since he was jilted by Rhaenyra, who refused to sell oranges with him in Essos, he was fired up by the desire to bring her down once and for all. However, he wasn’t entirely as one-dimensional as it might seem. Underneath his anger and jealousy for Rhaenyra, there was the stubbornness to prove that he was on the right side of history. Having come from nothing, becoming a knight and then becoming the sworn protector of first the princess, then the Queen was a huge deal for him. So, it wasn’t just about money or position for him; it was about the honor and the glory of being a knight.
He wanted his name to go down in history, and this desire amplified once the war broke out. While he hadn’t fought any battles before, he knew enough to understand that there was a good chance he wasn’t going to come back from it, no matter how many men and dragons. Hence, the only thing he thirsted for was glory. The moment he discovered that Rhaenyra had taken King’s Landing and Aemond was nowhere to be found, he knew his fate had been sealed. Even as Gwayne presented him with the option of Tumbleton and Ormund, he thought it would be cowardice to turn back now.
The only thing he could hope for now was to die in a glorious battle, one that people would talk about for ages, that they would remember for centuries through songs. This is what he tells Gwayne, who is deeply disappointed to discover his true intentions. So, when the enemy surrounds him and there is no chance of survival, Cole tries to get his moment of glory. He asks for a duel, fully confident that he would easily kill Oscar Tully and Roderick Dustin. It is also his rather weak attempt to save the lives of his men after he is the one who led them into certain death.
Had they left with Gwayne, they would have lived to fight another day. But in service of his ego, Cole marched them through the Riverlands to no end. This is why it is so ironic that he dies the way he does. He never gets to swing his sword and claim a place for himself in the list of the best and bravest knights of Westeros. He is robbed of his chance at glory through Alysanne Blackwood’s three arrows, and he dies in the insignificance that he had wormed his way out of all those years ago. It is a deeply underwhelming way to go, and that’s what makes it such a fitting and satisfactory death for Criston Cole.
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