Will House of the Dragon's Poster Boy for Toxic Masculinity Die in Season 2?
As one of the most despised characters in House of the Dragon, it's fair to say that Ser Criston Cole's death is something that many fans are looking forward to.
The intense hatred many feel towards Ser Criston is in part down to the fact that he turned full circle on his loyalty to Princess Rhaenyra and switched allegiance to Alicent Hightower. He even earned the nickname "kingmaker" for his part in making sure Aegon succeeded Viserys instead of Rhaenyra.
And he has plenty of blood on his hands too. After dispatching Joffrey Lonmouth in season 1 episode 5, he killed Lord Beesbury in The Green Council after the elder dared to speak up and question whether Viserys really had chosen Aegon as his while on his deathbed.
And with attention now turning to what will happen in season 2 of House of the Dragon, fans are keen to see Ser Criston meet the same fate he does in George R. R. Martin's book, Fire & Blood.
The book sees him march on Harrenhal with a 4,000-strong army to take back the castle. But after a scorched earth tactic is implemented by the Blacks, Ser Criston and his men face supply issues. After arguing with Prince Aemond on how best to proceed, the two go their separate ways, with Ser Criston setting off to meet Lord Ormund Hightower and combine forces.
But with numbers dwindling due to disease and desertion, his army is ambushed by the Rivermen and Northmen just south of the God's Eye.
Ser Criston's attempts at negotiating his way out of the situation turn out to be a failure and he is killed before being decapitated and having his severed head mounted on a spear. It's the sort of thing fans of the show love – and will be seen by many as a fitting end if the show depicts his death in the same way as the book.
As yet, though, we don't know what timespan season 2 will cover and there is a chance that we may have to wait until season 3 before we see Ser Criston get his comeuppance. But with season 4 focusing on the aftermath of the Dance of the Dragons, we at least know we won't have to wait until that airs before we (potentially) see his head on a spike.