Criston Cole actor, Fabien Frankel, recently sat down to talk about the future of his character and THAT outburst scene from Episode 5.
House of the Dragon Episode 5 SPOILER WARNING
Fabien Frankel, who plays the Kingsguard knight Criston Cole in House of the Dragons, recently talked about the future of his character and how audiences could be changing their perspective on him in future episodes.
“He’s very much set up as one thing, and as the show goes on, changes a great deal,” he said. “That was what was exciting to me. He’s very much set up as a noble, well-meaning knight there to protect Rhaenyra. And for those who’ve read the book, he isn’t that by any means.”
Frankel then went on to talk about how Criston reacted at the Royal Wedding and what he was feeling before the event.
“I don’t think he’s searching for any form of conflict at this wedding at all,” Frankel said. “If anything, he wants to be as far away as humanly possible. I don’t think it’s because Rhaenyra says she won’t go away with him. I think it’s the way in which she says she won’t go away with him.”
“That scene could so easily have been written [as] he asks her to run away with him, she understands why he feels this way, she can’t give up her role as queen, but what she will offer him is an out if he would like to leave the Kingsguard. That very much could be the scenario that happens. It isn’t. That to me is very interesting. She chose to keep him there. She made him stand through that wedding. That’s where the animosity builds.”
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Frankel lastly gives a tease as to what we can expect from Criston Cole over the remainder of the season, and what we see might drastically change our viewpoint on the character.
“I f—ing love that, in a week’s time, the audience is gonna very much change their opinion of him,” Frankel said. “I think that Criston is, in a lot of ways, a fly on the wall, but without the Machiavellian nature of a character like Otto. You have a very interesting dynamic of someone who is overhearing every conversation that is happening, be it when he’s on the side of Rhaenyra or on the side of any of the other characters. And slowly as the show goes on, Criston Cole I believe will become a very integral part of the Dance of the Dragons.”
