{"id":2518494,"date":"2026-07-27T02:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T02:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2518494"},"modified":"2026-07-27T02:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T02:05:07","slug":"house-of-the-dragon-episode-6-handles-a-major-death-too-quickly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/house-of-the-dragon-episode-6-handles-a-major-death-too-quickly\/","title":{"rendered":"House of the Dragon Episode 6 Handles a Major Death Too Quickly"},"content":{"rendered":"

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One character was raring to end his time on House of the Dragon<\/em><\/a> last week. He looked around at all the carnage, saw that he was the only one left really fighting for anything, and decided that he would spend his every breath waging war on fate itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been a servant all my life,\u201d Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel<\/a>) told his sidekick, Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox). \u201cI have defined myself by oaths, through unyielding devotion, and the highborn have made much of me while it pleased them to do so. But I will not let them dimmish me now\u2026 I am the realm\u2019s greatest warrior, and I will die as such.\u201d<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t blame him, even though these on-the-ground moments below a war of dragons in the sky were antithetically some of the best moments of season 3 so far. The deposed King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney<\/a>) and Larys Strong\u2019s (Matthew Needham) quippy dynamic out on the road provided the humor that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<\/em><\/a> used to its advantage this past spring. It\u2019s also the closest this series has gotten yet to Game of Thrones\u2019<\/em><\/a>s journey following Arya and the Hound around non-castle Westeros. Same goes for Cole. When the \u201creal plot\u201d of House of the Dragon <\/em>came to a screeching halt after episode 3<\/a>, the few scenes in which Cole was able to reckon with his diminishing place in the war\u2019s grand narrative were another potential gold mine for emotional storytelling.<\/p>\n

That all ends in episode 6. Within the first eight or so minutes, Ser Criston Cole dies by arrow fire after attempting to fight a losing battle. The scene plays out exactly as it\u2019s described in George R. R. Martin<\/a>\u2019s novel, Fire & Blood<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>Cole arrives at a field of dead soldiers only to find that he\u2019s been tricked. The men were simply playing dead, and they jump his army after luring them in. Then, after attempting to surrender and bargain for his men\u2019s lives, they\u2019re all slaughtered by Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) and Roderick Dustin\u2019s (Tommy Flanagan) party in what\u2019s dubbed \u201cThe Butcher\u2019s Ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n
Theo Whiteman<\/span><\/figcaption>

Bye, Ser Criston.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The rest of the episode feels a bit like how Cole felt near the end, watching the story play out before him and realizing that he can\u2019t do anything more to change its course. It\u2019s as he says at the end of episode 5<\/a>, knowing that he\u2019s about to die the second episode 6 begins: \u201cIt will be glorious\u2026 And not in their service, finally. But in my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, Cole does kill roughly two dozen men before his end. His fights include some of the best flail-slinging I\u2019ve ever seen. I mean, how often do you even get to see someone fighting with a flail?<\/p>\n

Tully\u2019s great line here\u2014”I made a promise to the dead, Cole. I told them I would build a sept for them out of traitors’ bones, and I don’t have near enough bones yet.\u201d\u2014is also taken directly from the source material. But the Butcher\u2019s Ball\u2019s placement so early in the episode leaves a little to be desired. The arrows are flung by an actress whom I cannot remember having a single spoken line before this moment. (And she still doesn\u2019t.) Worse, the episode doesn\u2019t return to any of these characters or the impact of Cole\u2019s death again. For a character so certain that they would \u201csing songs\u201d of his campaign, House of the Dragon <\/em>doesn\u2019t even bother to have anyone react to his departure. Maybe this should\u2019ve taken place at the end of episode 5\u2014immediately following his declaration to die fighting.<\/p>\n

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\n
\"house<\/p>\n
Theo Whiteman<\/span><\/figcaption>

What is happening here?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201dWe Cannot Light Our Sconces!\u201d <\/h2>\n

The majority of episode 6 continues to follow the same plot threads that have dragged season 3 along. Rhaenyra (Emma D\u2019Arcy) and Daemon (Matt Smith) continue to lose their grip on King\u2019s Landing after attempting to run a bankrupt kingdom. Rhaenyra has defunded the police, basically, because she can no longer afford to pay them, even though Daemon complains that the streets are full of criminals and assassins.<\/p>\n

Sadly, the real-world conservative talking point is true <\/em>in House of the Dragon<\/em>, thanks to Ormund Hightower\u2019s (James Norton) supporters wreaking havoc on the city\u2019s watchmen. Still, it\u2019s also undeniably strange that season 3 has immediately taken us here following the highs of Rhaenyra taking King\u2019s Landing. Now, the Iron Throne pricks her fingers as she hears out laughable complaints from her citizens: \u201cTallow is scarce! We cannot light our sconces!\u201d<\/p>\n

Season 3 is also spending an awful amount of time with Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Helaena (Phia Saban), even though they\u2019ve been prisoners of war with nothing to do for the past four episodes. Rhaenyra learns two important pieces of information this episode, however: Helaena is pregnant and she had a vision of Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) at Harrenhal. Rhaenyra devises a scheme to send Alicent as a double agent, and Alicent responds with the same face she\u2019s made all season so far: wide-eyed horror.<\/p>\n

Aemond, still out of commission at Harrenhal, begins his affair with Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin). Before they embrace, she reveals that she\u2019s in possession of five dragon eggs. (Are they for real?!)<\/p>\n

Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Alyn (Abubakar Salim) reportedly fly around Westeros occasionally to search for him, but they can\u2019t be looking too well if they haven\u2019t even thought to check Harrenhal yet. Baela hasn\u2019t even discovered that her sister Rhaena rides Sheapstealer yet. And, clearly, it seems kissing is more in their interest. Just don\u2019t bring up that Alyn is basically her uncle.<\/p>\n

King Aegon II is also still up and about in the woods. Larys plans to sail east and hide out in Essos, but newcomer Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) suggests camping out at his house in Casterly Rock. Aegon II tests his honesty. \u201cDo you think I\u2019m a terrible man?\u201d the former king asks. Tyland says, \u201cThere is, in any one of us, I venture, much to admire and much to be deplored.\u201d It\u2019s a cowardly nonanswer. So, \u201cwe sail for Essos, then,\u201d Aegon II decides.<\/p>\n

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\"house<\/p>\n
Ollie Upton\/HBO<\/span><\/figcaption>

It\u2019s about time Ormund planned his next move.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Who Wants to Be King, Anyway?<\/h2>\n

At Tumbleton, Gwayne rejoins his uncle and rejects helping his nephew, Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth)\u2014whom Ormund has brandished as the true king of Westeros. \u201cI hate what I am when I\u2019m with him: a puppet, a fool, a child,\u201d Daeron says. \u201cI will never be king.\u201d Later, they survive an assassination attempt from Rhaenyra after Gwayne realizes that a Baratheon convoy is not who they say they are. The men were not \u201ccomely\u201d and they had slightly different shades of hair than the Baratheons, Gwayne reveals. I don\u2019t know if that was enough to start stabbing them, but he was right anyway.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Hugh (Kieran Bew) fails to win his wife back after abandoning her to claim a dragon. His buddy Ulf (Tom Bennett) is also having a rough time. Rhaenyra banned him from his one true love: drinking himself drunk in the town\u2019s taverns. \u201cNot one ale with the lads!\u201d he complains. Later, when he disobeys her order again, Daemon slaps him to the ground outside of the tavern. I\u2019ll just say this: It\u2019s not a great way to treat dragonriders on your side<\/em> of the dragon war.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, we catch up with Corlys (Steve Toussaint<\/a>). He\u2019s still pouting about Rhaenyra\u2019s choice to not name his bastard sons true Velaryons. \u201cYou take her side, when she yet refuses to grant you legitimacy?\u201d Corlys asks his son, Alyn. He responds with a killer line: \u201cAnd how many years did it take you to do the same?\u201d Ouch! But well deserved. Get your act together, Corlys.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s cliffhanger? Corlys is captured by Ormund\u2019s right-hand muscle: Bold Jon Roxton (Joplin Sibtain). This is a big departure from the source material, so I can\u2019t say I\u2019m not intrigued. Alicent\u2019s mission to Harrenhal is also new territory, as is Gwayne\u2019s presence in Tumbleton. But with only two more episodes to go in season 3, I\u2019m not sure what time is left for House of the Dragon <\/em>to make of it.<\/p>\n

Really, I just wish Cole\u2019s death meant more to the other characters this episode. Or, if it didn\u2019t, that we touched on how they felt at all. Love him or hate him, Cole\u2019s story had been an integral part of this show since the beginning. Now? It\u2019s tougher to tell who, or what, House of the Dragon <\/em>believes deserves the spotlight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.esquire.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One character was raring to end his time on House of the Dragon last week. He looked around at all the carnage, saw that he was the only one left really fighting for anything, and decided that he would spend his every breath waging war on fate itself. \u201cI have been a servant all my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2518496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[447209,497246,274717,497245,285977,466866,285684,444016,390506,497244,488699,440065],"class_list":["post-2518494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-and-interviews","tag-collection-house-of-the-dragon-reviews","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-49683c53-20de-4e9b-b83c-0d4a3ab0a762","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-read_time-7","tag-recaps","tag-shorttitle-house-of-the-dragons-major-death-deserved-more","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-tv"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/House-of-the-Dragon-Episode-6-Handles-a-Major-Death.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2518494"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2518497,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518494\/revisions\/2518497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2518494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2518494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2518494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}