House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 6 moves away from the setup and delivers not just one of the biggest deaths in the show so far—but also betrayal anyone could have seen coming, and a cliffhanger that could change the course of the show.
But even the Butcher’s Ball only feels satisfying because the show had built up to it. It’s been a long time since Criston Cole has been the most despicable character on this show, and though he never really recovered from the fit he threw after Rhaenyra told him she wouldn’t go be poor with him, by this point his death isn’t as satisfying as it should be.
Make no mistake, it’s still something we were looking forward to. But, as with everyone in this show outside of the main trio, it feels in many ways as if we’re just checking some boxes before the big events, the one we will actually be invested in.
MORE: Read our review of House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 5
The Death He Never Wanted
If anything, the most satisfying part of Criston Cole’s death is that after years of styling himself the best knight in the Seven Kingdoms and pretending that he’s on a noble quest, Criston Cole dies in the most pathetic way possible. There will be no songs written about him, or if they are, there won’t be any that remember him fondly.
He deserves absolutely nothing better than to die by a woman’s arrow without his enemies, who have him surrounded, letting him fight his way out of the mess he got himself and his men in. A one-on-one or even one or two duels he might have won. But Criston Cole never had a chance to win this battle, and in battle there’s no greater honor than surviving.
The thing about Cole is that, at this point, he’s so removed from the main narrative that even his death feels like an afterthought. Gwayne Hightower, who at this point in the book is very much dead, survives by leaving him, making it obvious how pointless Cole’s fight is. All things considered, though, perhaps this is what the character deserves, in universe and out.
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Save Us From This Romance
One of my issues with House of the Dragon in general has been the show’s unwillingness to let characters do morally questionable things. Aemond doesn’t want to kill Lucerys; that’s Vhagar’s fault! Alicent isn’t trying to usurp Rhaenyra’s throne; she thinks Viserys named Aegon his heir! Jace doesn’t just make a bad decision by going to the Gullet; it’s all Rhaena’s fault! And now, Aemond and Alys Rivers’ relationship is turned from a situation where consent isn’t possible because Aemond has all the power, into a dark romance.
It might be an interesting choice for the show if they hadn’t consistently tried to flatten characters—and made them way less interesting as a result. And ironically, Aemond is the one who has suffered the most for it. He’s a caricature with an eye patch, not a fully realized character we can understand. In fact, his only interesting decision has been to attack his brother Aegon, and even that wasn’t really emphasized as it should.
Aemond doesn’t have to be morally grey to be a good character. But the show took the message of Fire & Blood, a book that basically showcases that there are many sides to every story, to mean that they had to give “depth” to every single dynamic. The problem is, when you try to make everyone likeable, you make absolutely no one likeable.
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Betrayal
“Kick this dog, and it will bite your hand,” reads the message Rhaenyra got from Tumbleton, the setup to the first Battle of Tumbleton. I’m not going to spoil what happens here, but I will say that even without any book knowledge, the show has made it pretty clear who the outsiders in Team Black are: Ulf and Hugh.
In many ways, it was always going to happen. They have no personal loyalty to Rhaenyra, unlike Addam and Alyn. And claiming a dragon comes with a substantial hero. You are no longer just a nobody; you deserve deference. Rhaenyra and Daemon have given them very little. So, the rest feels pretty obvious.
Of course, believing that the other team would have treated them better is also a mistake for Ulf and Hugh. Rhaenyra hasn’t always been the best at governing (let’s blame her father for this, as he never really prepared her), but she’s tried to think of her people first, and she’s not really responsible for the lack of gold. Aegon, well… he’s an even worse king than she could ever hope to be. And he knows it.
MORE: Here are the reviews for House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 2 and Episode 1
Now, That’s a Cliffhanger
Is Corlys dead? The show doesn’t make it clear, but I will err on the side of assuming he isn’t, as that would be a big departure. But Corlys being a captive of Ormund, which is the alternative, and no Velaryon men coming to King’s Landing, leaves Rhaenyra in a very precarious position.
All season we’ve been putting off attacking Tumbleton. Now, Rhaenyra basically has no choice. And, if one or two of her dragonseeds have betrayed her, then the battle becomes something very, very different. Sure, she has a dragon, but she’s the queen. She shouldn’t be in battle.
That leaves Baela, Addam and Daemon. Not bad odds, but not as great as they were before. And with two episodes to go, the question is, do we end at Tumbleton? There’s still a lot that comes after and presumably only eight episodes in Season 4 to wrap up the story.
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Things I think I think:
- A lot of Rhaenyra’s decisions in this episode are actually good decisions that don’t end well because of bad luck, including sending men disguised as Baratheons to Ormund.
- Like, that Alicent gamble? Why not? At this point, she’s got nothing to lose.
- Someone should just let Daemon be chaotic, just saying.
- Also, let him talk to his daughter!
- Yeah, that thing with Alyn and Baela happened.
- Mysaria is the most useless Master of Whispers I’ve seen.
- Also, that kiss last season was for… what reason? Another thing the show threw in for shits and giggles and forgot about.
- Alysanne Blackwood gets to kill Criston Cole, and then we won’t see her again till we see Cregan, I guess.
- Let’s not even go into the dragon eggs Alys Rivers has. Please, don’t let me go into that.
- What is Ormund’s plan?!
- Run away, Gwayne. Run away. I wish you could take Daeron with you, but we know you can’t.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 6? Share with us in the comments below!
House of the Dragon airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
