Fabian Frankel Is Surprised by the Reaction to Criston Cole's 'House of the Dragon' Demise

You can always count on any Game of Thrones series to have its share of despicable characters. The original had King Joffrey and Cersei Lannister and the dreaded Ramsay Bolton; A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms introduced us to the odiously cruel Aerion Targaryen. House of the Dragon likewise has plenty of people fans love to hate—and at the top of that list, until very recently, was the bitter, grudge-obsessed Ser Criston Cole. Cole, played by Fabian Frankel, entered the story as an upstart tournament champion and was hand-picked by a teenage Rhaenyra to join King Viserys’ Kingsguard. After a brief romance, the princess rejected Cole’s offer to run away with him—a decision based mostly on her duty to the realm as her father’s heir. There was also the issue of Cole being the son of a steward, making him from a class inferior to the ruling Targaryens. Needless to say, he was insulted when she offered to keep him around as her side piece, and his hatred of her only grew as she became an adult. His subsequent affair with Alicent—Rhaenyra’s former best friend and King Viserys’ widow—dovetailed perfectly with his fierce loyalty to Team Green, as did his willingness to lead the Hightower ar