Why I'm Glad Cristen Cole Got a Dishonorable Death

Cristen Cole finally met his end on the last episode in House of the Dragon. He bravely marched forth toward the Rivermen, aware that he is was walking into his doom. Both he and his men stumbled upon a gravesite filled with dead Rivermen and animals. This turned out to be a very clever trap, and the Rivermen were only pretending to be dead. They attacked Cole's group, but he was successful in killing each of them.

After the battle is over, the men come to realize that was not the real fight. The rest of the Rivermen show up, a massive army that completely surrounds Cole and his small army. The youngest member from the Rivermen tells Cole that he will die, and Cole appears glad of this, happy that he will go down swinging after all. He takes out the handkerchief that Alicent had given to him, and he wraps it around his sword, preparing for one last stand.

But it was all for nothing, because Cole is straight up shot with three arrows, almost mirroring the death of Jace, Rhaenyra's first-born son. It was such an unexpected death, but I think the Rivermen purposely killed him in this way.

They did hear about Jace's death from Prince Daemon, so maybe they decided giving Cole this death would be fitting for him, after they gave him a mini battle, making him believe that he would go down with a fight.

It was so satisfying to watch him bite the dust in this way.

It was even more awesome to watch his death, knowing that he gave a great monologue to Gwayne Hightower in episode 5, telling him that he will be set free after his death, and he will die happy, knowing that he fought to the death.

Cole never deserved an honorable death.

He has been the worst character by far in House of the Dragon.

While the other villains from the Hightower family were annoying or cruel, Cole was the biggest hypocrite. He constantly blamed Rhaenyra for breaking the laws of a knight, even though it was his choice to spend time with her for one night. He went crazy shortly after this, and killed a random good person, leading to the worst downfall of his character over time.

He kept on spending time with Alicent, continuing to go against the laws of what he supposedly stood for as a knight. He was willing to do the evilest things to ensure that Rhaenyra would never get back the Iron Throne. He lied to Alicent's face, not willing to admit why Aemond chose to burn up Aegon, who was made king for the throne.

The worst scene that took place with his character was when he straight up ignored the torture of a woman from a small village, from his own men. Gwayne confronted him about this vile action, but Cole did not bother to care. His excuse was that all men go mad over time, and I thought this was such a stupid argument. Gwayne was nothing like Cole or his men, and I wonder if Cole disliked Gwayne deep down, for the good he stood for.

Cole was truly a piece of crap. He never deserved a happy ending, and I didn't really feel bad for him when he still carried the small gift that Alicent had given him. Even she was blind to the kind of man that he was, or maybe she chose to ignore it.

Giving Cole a whatever death was the perfect end for his character.

Now no one will bother to give him a proper burial, nor will history ever remember him.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn