Why Does the Worst ‘House of the Dragon’ Character Have to Be So Hot?
Warning: This post contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 2.
Whenever Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) appears on my screen in HBO’s House of the Dragon, I am gripped by a familiar, tortuous inner conflict. On one hand, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard is objectively the absolute worst—he’s impetuous, makes horrible decisions left and right, and, perhaps worst of all, is still insufferably self righteous. But, ah, here’s the rub: he’s also ridiculously good looking, which perhaps explains how he’s able to break his vow of celibacy left and right.
In the world of Game of Thrones, it’s frankly unusual for a villain to be this hot. We’ve had our share of smoldering antiheroes, like Nikolaj Coster-Waldeau’s incestuous Jaime Lannister, but most of the time, characters coded as outright villains are also pasty and unappealing. In that sense, Ser Criston breaks the mold; at this point, he’s pretty irredeemable, but have you seen those doe eyes? What’s a girl to do?!