Fans have been sharply divided over the depiction of Criston Cole in House of the Dragon Season 2, and that division has fueled intense speculation about how his story ends. Cole's reckless, disruptive choices have made him one of the show's most compelling antagonists — and many viewers are now asking whether he will ever face the consequences.
Why Fans Love to Hate Criston Cole
House of the Dragon has never shied away from unexpected deaths, and audiences have learned not to count on any character's survival. Still, the visceral satisfaction of watching a villain like Cole finally meet his reckoning is hard to resist.
In Season 2, Cole functions as the scheming Hand of the King for Aegon II Targaryen, conspiring alongside Alicent Hightower and Prince Aemond behind the scenes. He is also sleeping with Alicent — even as he shirked his Kingsguard duties the night young Jaehaerys was murdered. These layers of hypocrisy have deepened viewer contempt and made him a focal point for the Dance of the Dragons.
His campaign through the Crownlands, culminating in the Battle of Rook's Rest, marks a turning point. Cole witnesses dragons clash in the sky and the aftermath leaves him irrevocably changed. The Season 2 finale delivers a rare moment of honest self-reflection from the character — a stark contrast to the callousness he had shown before.
What the Lore Says: The Butcher's Ball
In George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, Criston Cole's fate is sealed at the Butcher's Ball. While marching from Gods Eye toward Blackwater Rush, Cole and his remaining troops are ambushed by a Black army led by Ser Garibald Grey, Ser Pate of Longleaf, and Roderick Dustin. Cole offers to yield in exchange for his men's lives — but the offer is refused. Roderick Dustin orders Cole cut down with three arrows: one each to the belly, the neck, and the breast.
The Blacks then decapitate him and carry his head on a spear to the First Battle of Tumbleton.
The show has adapted the lore with its own variations, but the general arc has followed the source material closely enough that a Butcher's Ball death remains the most expected outcome.
Fabien Frankel and the Making of a Great Villain
Actor Fabien Frankel has spoken openly about the difficulty of playing Cole — a character whose moral compass collapsed early and whose redemptive arc, if any, is narrow. The show has nevertheless built a fully realized antagonist around him: dutiful, ambitious, self-deceived, and lethal.
Whether Season 3 delivers Cole's book-faithful end or charts a different course, House of the Dragon has given Frankel's character enough runway to make the payoff — when it comes — genuinely dramatic.
