Fabien Frankel says Criston Cole has found purpose in a death march

Ser Criston Cole is no longer just marching into battle on House of the Dragon. In Season 3, Episode 5, he appears to be steering himself and his men toward a death he can call honorable.

Fabien Frankel, who plays Criston on the HBO series, told Variety that the character’s bleak new direction has been building since around the middle of Season 2. The actor said Criston has been wrestling with what he wants his legacy to be and how he wants his story to end.

The episode, now streaming on HBO Max, follows Criston as he moves with his force, including Gwayne Hightower, played by Freddie Fox, to stop the Rivermen from reaching King’s Landing and helping Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by Emma D’Arcy. The mission starts to fall apart when a horse is caught in a trap, and the group later finds a bridge burned down, leaving them unable to catch their targets.

By then, the company has lost half its men, according to the episode. Gwayne warns that pressing on would mean walking toward death, and he realizes Criston intended that outcome.

In the scene, Criston says he has lived as a servant to both sides, defined by oaths and devotion, and declares himself the realm’s greatest warrior. He says he will die that way.

Frankel sees Criston as a soldier first

Frankel told Variety that Criston began as a soldier before spending two decades at King’s Landing, and that the battlefield is where he wants to finish. In the actor’s view, Criston sees the soldier as his only truthful identity.

Frankel described Criston’s other roles, including diplomat, Hand of the King and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, as carrying some level of pretense. He said Criston is driven by his sword and fighting instincts rather than by cerebral work.

The actor also said Criston hid the suicidal nature of the mission from Gwayne because revealing it earlier could have cost him his army. Frankel called the plan selfish, while adding that Criston has grown used to a world where characters are constantly protecting their own interests.

Despite that, Frankel said Criston has real fondness for Gwayne. He described their bond as one formed through war, with soldiers risking their lives for one another.

A character running on purpose and exhaustion

Frankel told Variety that Criston has been shaped by a kind of surrender to the scale of the war. He said the character understands that dragons, rather than ordinary people, may decide who wins or loses.

The actor stopped short of labeling Criston purely nihilistic, but said there is an agnostic streak to him and that he has been losing the drive to motivate himself. Frankel said Criston regains purpose as the season develops, especially through planning scenes with Gwayne in Episode 4.

Episode 5 also follows Criston after learning that Aemond, played by Ewan Mitchell, has left him behind. Frankel told Variety he believes Criston recognizes who Aemond is, and that the abandonment helps Criston rediscover a sense of self and purpose.

Frankel said Alicent Hightower, played by Olivia Cooke, remains more present in Criston’s mind than Rhaenyra. For him, Criston’s focus has become winning the war for Alicent.

The actor acknowledged that Criston remains a controversial figure for viewers and said he understands why people react strongly to the character. Still, Frankel said his job is to defend Criston from the inside, even while recognizing that the character has done morally questionable things.

Looking ahead, Frankel told Variety that the episode appears to set up the Butcher’s Ball, a major event for readers of George R.R. Martin’s books. He said the coming fight required long, difficult choreography and will show Criston in a man-to-man combat situation viewers have not really seen from him before.

This story draws on original reporting from Variety.