HBO's House of the Dragon has drawn criticism for its handling of Ser Criston Cole's demise in season three, episode six, with many viewers and readers of George R.R. Martin's source material, Fire & Blood, feeling the adaptation significantly botched a key moment. The episode's portrayal of Cole's death during the "Butcher's Ball" has been called nonsensical and a betrayal of the original narrative.
In the books, Cole, after a tense parlay with opposing Northern and Riverlands soldiers, proposes a one-on-one duel with Roddy the Ruin and Oscar Tully. Before commanders can accept, he is struck by multiple arrows. The killer is identified as Alysanne Blackwood, who delivers a scathing line referencing the tens of thousands of deaths Cole is responsible for. This moment was intended to be a stark fulfillment of Cole's earlier boast to Gwayne Hightower that he would die in a blaze of glory, with songs sung of his bravery.
However, the television adaptation deviates significantly. While Cole still makes a similar proposition, he is unceremoniously killed by arrows, but the identity of the archer and her motivations are obscured. The show does not include Blackwood's pivotal line, nor does it clearly establish her character or her reasons for killing Cole. This omission is particularly galling for fans who noted that the preceding episodes had already set up Cole's desire for a legendary death, making the deviation feel like a missed opportunity for narrative symmetry.
The decision to sideline Alysanne Blackwood, a fierce archer avenging her brother in the books, has been cited as a major point of disappointment. Despite an arresting costume, the show fails to identify her, leaving her role in Cole's death ambiguous. While the series still has two episodes remaining in the season, the narrative focus appears to be shifting elsewhere, making a meaningful exploration of Blackwood's character unlikely at this late stage.
This departure from the source material has fueled broader discussions about House of the Dragon's adaptation choices. While some changes, like the emphasis on Rhaenyra's relationship with Alicent, have been points of contention, this alteration to Cole's death stands out as a particularly jarring misstep for many. The scene concludes with Cole dead, holding Alicent's handkerchief, a symbolic moment that feels diminished without the context and confrontation provided in the original text.