I agree with most people here that Ser Criston is being more honor oriented instead of love-oriented, but him expecting Raenyra to give up the throne so he can marry her and redeem himself is an absolute long shot. So asking that question to begin with to me is ridiculous. Then for the wedding feast, him breaking is a good plot point, it's just underdeveloped and the creators decided to make the scene intentionally confusing on top of that. Not to mention some random plot holes being tied to that sequence.

I think it was more about honor for Criston than Rhaenyra honestly. He’s heartbroken because he’ll never restore the honor to his name, not because she won’t just run away. Once Laenor’s lover confronts him and implies he might be stuck in the position he’s in, he snaps. Criston worked his entire life from nothing to where he is, just to throw it away with no ability to regain what was once lost. He might’ve loved her, sure, but I’m fairly certain he just snapped from his honor being taken away.

Criston Cole didn't have this downfall because of his love to Rhaenyra, it's because he's starting to question his honor.. he's always been a guy of morals, he considers his white cloak the highest honor he's ever received and so soiling it made him into the unstable mess he's become. And btw, I love what they have done to his character.. in the books, it's unclear why he had this sudden change of heart when he joined the greens. But now it's pretty clear and it makes more sense that he would abandon Rhaenyra for the greens.

Actually, the "replacement actresses" were cast first then they looked for young actresses who look like them.

I'm not a book reader but I never thought Criston was telling Rhaenyra to flee together out of love, he mentions his honor and cloack immediately when she refuses. People to show their true colours when they you deny them something. Also the reasoning behind killing joffrey seemed to be to silence him fast, no secret has been kept safe so far in the show. Better to take them to his grave.

Criston's confession was the first sign of his suicidality. Naturally Alicent would be aware of this, so it's no surprise when at end she follows him and intervenes. It wasn't a matter of timing.

I loved the music during Alicent’s entrance, Ramin Djawadi always creates individual themes for each character, and to me this moment signifies Alicent finally coming into her own as true player in this game of thrones.

While Criston’s tropy “let’s run away together” shtick might seem simple/unoriginal, I think regarding the character it makes sense. Criston is a knight in the Middle Ages whose grown up on stories of bravery and romantic ideals of chivalry and courtly romance. To him, the suggestion of running off together like that just makes sense as the honorable and noble thing to do. Ofcourse it’s fucking absurd by our modern conceptions of relationships, but to him it’s totally valid.

in the scene where cole suggests his idea, he starts with that rheanyra has "confided in me now and then over the years of our acquaintance". seems to me they had that they have build a pretty personal relationship, and cole knows she is about to marry someone else so in his mind this might be his only shot to marry her. also he is probably fearing his life as he knows once his actions gets discovered he will probably die for them.

I believe he’s under the protection of Alicent so he might have gotten away with this one especially with a lot of the audience not in favour of Rhaenarya becoming queen and in support of Alicent’s son (i.e the lannisters) so maybe no one would testify against him anyways though i agree it was a bit confusing why he had no helmet but in the books it’s left confused why Ser Criston switched to the Greens and the lovestruck and instant decline is clearly why he was so upset and not cared for Rhanaenary having even leave their conversation without any reprimands

I think Criston’s outburst doesn’t have anything to do with his feelings for Rhaenyra. Even when they’re on the boat discussing the prospect of running away he talks about it as a way to “restore his honor,” and talks about soiling his white cloak which is “the only thing I have to my fucking name.” We already know he’s an honor driven character and has spent his whole life trying to be the most honorable he can be so when Rhae rejects him his only chance to restore his honor is gone. He tries to restore it by telling Alicent what he did and then asking to be executed but Alicent just lets him go. So now he has the pressure of Alicent knowing his secret and as we all know ppl with honor don’t play “the game” very well. So when Ser Joffrey figures out his secret he cracks and just murders him. Now that he’s soiled his cloak and murdered an innocent any shred of honor he once had is gone and everything he worked his life up to is gone. Anyone else in the situation would probably try to kill themselves too Also I think the no helmet thing has more to do with him being easy to see for the audience. Ser Harold also doesn’t wear a helmet I’m pretty sure

Ser Criston mistakenly thought HotD was about him. It was once, my guy have several seats! Ser Criston doesn't/didn't love Rhaenyra (he was fond of her at best) he was offering her an out to save *HIS* honor. It had nothing to do with her.

I think Larys acting as the new little finger was a great part of the episode

passage of time was shown through the progression of Viserys's disease... his whole arm is covered now. plus, criston wasn't as head over heels for Rhaenyra as much as he was concerned about his honor.

The way Alicent shudders when Otto mentions war is so subtle and great. The actress is incredible.

I think the sequence that explains cole’s flip out is: He punches him cause hes angry repressed and cracked. The people around are treating it like a brawl to watch for entertainment. Then joffrey pulls out the knife and pulling a knife against a kingsguard is enough to get killed. Its very silly how the other kingsguard dont get involved at all esp when Rhaenyra and Laenor are in danger, however they may think kingsguard cole is dealing with the situation himself. But it does feel a bit off.

Let’s just preface the entire incident by saying that the book’s version of events (naturally) made perfect sense. Killing Joffrey in a tourney melee, while frowned upon, isn’t “wrong.” Beating him to death in the middle of the wedding’s dance floor clearly is.

I think the reason no Kingsguard member stops Criston is because it happens out of nowhere, and from the quickest jump to conclusions, they see another Kingsguard member fighting a common man holding a knife, watching Harwin carry Rhaenyra out of the room, for all they know they think Joffrey was threatening Rhaenyra and Criston saved her

His reaction was believable for me. This woman gave him and his family name and an honor that no one else could give. He owes everything to her and after their encounter he is even more ensnared. He sacrificed everything he holds dear inside, albeit it certainly comprised his integrity, leaving him desperate to justify his actions with her. The rejection on the boat was the final string holding him together and jophrey pulled that dangling thread where he has nothing left. He is ashamed that this now public knowledge and he was played the fool, time to go out with a bang

Also, I just love how people are having different opnions about conflicts in the show. This is just how the Dance of the Dragon should be, there are no good guys or bad guys, it's just a bunch of people doing shitty things for its own reasons.

That moment when you know that if Ser Criston said "These last few months that we've been together..." he would say that it was too hamfisted.

Weird, to me the wedding scene was the highlight of the episode, alicent marching in was fucking badass, and when they started dancing you already knew something was gonna happen. The music was raising the tension beautifully, the feeling of a crammed dance floor and the smalltalk during the dance sequences was really authentic and "alive" to me. Not like in the later seasons of got where the scenes were basically empty. Also the whole ser criston part was fine with me, he clearly holds his honor in high regard and after he failed to save it by running away and even some slimy dude clearly suggests he knows about his secret and threatens him with it he straight up snappes at him To me it was understandable, sorta justified and the camerawork and set design just made the scene amazingly realistic and interesting (Altough the sets and camerawork has been top notch the whole season so far)

Why are people confused by this, it's very simple to me. He threw away his vows and honor when she wanted to have sex with him, then refuses to follow through with that and seems to "abandon him" in his mind.

Tbf, I don't think Otto was manipulating Alisent, I think he actually worried for her. He just do not realize that what he imagines could only happen because he placed his ambitions before the good of his daughter in first place by marrying her to Viserys

Nah I get his love route and why he pushed it so urgently he’s so heartbroken about him breaking his honour of being a knight that he really felt that he has nothing to live for so he on a last reach for life he did this off of love and running away as a means to keep his honour and it finally just got let out after the few days build up after Rhaenarya offered being a side chick

Lastly the Alicent and Cole scene where he blurts out the truth...makes perfect sense it's truly masterful writing...because from Sir Criston Cole's point of view...he thinks she knows...and why lie when he has nothing left to lose...why not be honest and save whatever scrap of honor he had left...this was a truly beautiful episode... don't know what you're on about

I think you're downplaying something they made a lot of effort to show with Criston's inner struggles. He clearly sees what he did with Rhaenerya as a HUGE blow to his honor and character if it stays a "one night stand". He broke his oath to sleep with the princess, at her instigation(power dynamics are important here and would be brought up immediately if it was a prince seducing a maiden). Now if he doesn't make something more of that with her, what was the point? How was besmirching his and her honor(she's supposed to remain pure for marriage) worth it at all if she is just going to have him around for sex/intimacy but remain married to someone else while he has to remain a kingsguard who is breaking his oath repeatedly in perpetuity. I think the gravity of how bad his mistake is when coupled with how idealized his position is for himself(seems to believe its one of the greatest privileges he could have gotten, and had got there by starting with nothing). So while I think they maybe didn't do a perfect job, the pieces are all there as to why this young man is undergoing an intense mental crisis.

Cole has been setup to value the white cloak over everything, from the very 3rd episode...even down to the sex scene with Rhaenyra you could tell he cared about his honor( carefully folding his white cloak as he makes his decision)...so he won't break that vow unless he thought Rhaenyra was serious about him...and why wouldn't he think that? She is always whining about her duty and obligations and how she wants to be free of it all...makes perfect sense he would make the offer to flee to Essos... it's not like there haven't been Targaryen princesses who have done so.

Fully agree. Not wearing the helmet was dumb and contrived, NO ONE stopping him was dumb and contrived and the worst- the fact that he was just allowed to walk out and leave was SO dumb and contrived.

its good that youre keeping a critical stance. I personally really loved the episode, but forming your own opinion on each episode of the show is really important

Finally! Someone calling out the issues in this episode despite our appreciation of the show so far. A lot of “just accept it” sort of writing, as they’re clearly eager to get to the big time jump and eventually the Dance of Dragons.

The scene where Criston asks Rhaenyra to escape together was an idea written by GRRM. The Septon in the book says that Criston, confessing his love, asked Rhaenyra to escape to Essos, while Mushroom the jester says that it was Rhaenyra that approached Criston and Criston rejected her.

This felt very much like "we have these actresses for the younger part through the wedding, JAM EVERYTING IN" I'm hoping that now that we have the new cast in place, we'll go back to better pacing.

Personally I think Criston's change of heart, and the reasoning they provide for it, is actually well executed, since like many have pointed out, it's more about honor and ego, rather than blind love for Rhaenyra; the man after having acheived great success quite literally from nothing is essentialy being degraded to a plaything, so of course he'd be pissed. However they reeeaally shat the bed with his outrage moment, why the hell didn't they show what made him snap? Was it Daemon, Joeffry, or a mix of both? Why are there no consequences directly enforced on him then and there by either the Kingsguard or anybody else ffs? What in the seven hells is happening?!?! That scene would be so easily fixed if he just got seized inmediately and right when he's about to be executed, Alicent saves his life in favour of her purposes, overall really fucking weird last 10 minutes to close an otherwise awesome chapter.

I actually think - this was the best episode yet (combined with the last one) - a simple masterclass… What I so much adore about this show - nothing is really said, but more shown, a lot of things and character‘s motivations are open to interpretations, e.g. the sex scene between Criston and Rhaenyra (last ep): Methaphorically, his armour was the symbol of his honor and duty, hence the time it took to take it off, Criston was scared and unsure, because all he ever had was being a Kingsguard, a greatest honor any Cole ever had (he said that in ep 3), destroying that and breaking his oath meant breaking the very essence of his being… Once he put his armor on the ground, he stands watching it and contemplating his doings and only then after a clear moment of consideration he let himself to Rhaenyra, which shows a couple of things: A) he clearly does love and respects Rhaenyra - but in his mind, there is a conflict between the duty and the love (goes along with the running theme of GoT „love is the death of duty“ or „duty is the death of love“) B) to him, this little adventure was far more worthy of consideration than it was to Rhaenyra (she didn‘t have any noticeable moments of consideration, in fact, she was probably still feeling the infatuation from the encounter with Daemon minutes/hours before)… and this fact solely, shows us, the viewers, the imbalance of their relationship: Criston gave up the very essence of his being: honor, for that one night, Rhaenyra did not. All this sets perfectly the table for the next (5th) episode: where we see, Criston‘s shame, but also love for Rhaenyra, spiraling out of control - he is guilt ridden, but he also deeply cares about her - so in this moral conudrum, for Criston, there are only two ways out: to run away with Rhaenyra (choose love), or to die (choose honor): Rhaenyra rejects him, so he can‘t choose love, and Allicent after hearing the truth from Criston doesn‘t punish him, so he is left dishonored without facing the consequences and basically emotionally abandonded by Rhaenyra - thus, he is deeply unsatisfied, angry and borderline suicidal… The final push is provided by Joffrey, who basicaly reminds him of him breaking the oath, blackmails him indirectly and kinda mockingly brushes of the whole situation - Criston is probably blinded by his emotions and kills Joffrey… Upon realization, he decides to kill himself - having destroyed everythings he cares for - his honor and his relationship with Rhaenyra.

Ehh, I feel like Ser Christofferson held a torch for Rhaenyra for years before she jumped him, and that the only reason he would soil his honor is for love. The strain of tremendous guilt over violating his vows, the sting of rejection, and feeling betrayed probably put him on edge already, causing him to confess really easily to Alicent. I think when Joffrey spoke with him that he thought he was being blackmailed and snapped under the pressure he was already under. None of this is okay, and I agree that this part of the episode felt off in comparison to the rest, but that was what I gathered from it.

Criston doesn't have his helmet because Rhaenyra still hasn't given it back.

Alicent’s entrance gave me goosebumps her presence was incredible. The way she looked at Rhaenyra and called her stepdaughter 🔥 I was so confused when the fight started it came out of nowhere also Daemon suddenly disappeared and left Rhaenyra but I was glad that Harwin rescued her 😍

I just wanna say that im gonna miss Milly and Emily in their roles. I think they made an excellent job and showed a good acting, despite it being their first big show. For me its such a shame that we wont see them ever again as Rhaenyra and Alicent.

im glad you brought up and gave emphasis to the episode's issues. i saw some reviews and most of them ignored the problems, even tho it was really difficult for me to suspend my disbelief when watching - especially at the final minutes.

Yeah its a bit weird with Criston... Why choose to attack Joffrey in particular? Dude was saying "don't worry, I'll keep your secret. Also Laenor isn't your rival as he's gay and in love with me." Did Criston misinterpret that as a threat or something? Did Criston think that if he killed Joffrey, that would keep his secret? (but he thinks Alicent found out on her own... surely he thinks a bunch of people know...) Was Criston just a complete emotional wreck in that moment, due to love and honor and stuff? (A little weird that Joffrey did nothing to provoke him - if anything, what he said should have calmed Criston) Is Criston just a homophobe, and didn't want to be compared to a gay affair? Also why wasn't Criston arrested? The bride's bodyguard got into a brawl with the groom's best friend and killed him, and the mayhem puts the bride and groom in danger. Shouldn't he at least have been thrown into a cell until they figured out what happened? If he's arguing that Joffrey was an assassin, a) he should have said so otherwise this argument is a cope, b) if he was believed, there should have been massive uproar and he should have been reprimanded for not taking the assassin alive, so that he could be questioned about motives and accomplices. That should probably have seen him executed or sent to the Wall, not given free reign of the castle with his weapons to run into Alicent alone. If he'd been carted off to the dungeons instead, and was about to kill himself with a hidden dagger when Alicent interrupted and ordered him freed, that would have worked so much better.

I do like how they handled the green dress here. Its a bit of a stupid plot point in the books, but when they connect it to the piece of lore with green wartime beacon, that casts new light (ha, ha) on that bit in the books. Its a little odd that they didn't intro Rhaenyra's dress at the same time, but I still have faith that they'll do an equally good job with her color.

What I like about Daemon is that I never know what he will do next, all I know is that whatever he does, it will be more memorable then anything else for me

So he decided to restore his honor by murdering a civilian at the wedding?, one that offer to keep his secret? Alicent had already forgiven him and Rhaenyra didn´t force him to continue their realtionship. (For those saying Rhaenyra forced him to have sex, there you have it: He said no this time and she respected it) I´m trying to understand his motives but I don´t get his logic

Finally I saw someone commenting on this! I was displeased and confused by how all the events occurred… I felt that things that should have been showed more was too subtle and things that should be subtle had unnecessary screen time.

I guess book readers know the time difference they're trying to portray. I'd say near a year, maybe more. And even if it just took months, one of the accounts has Cole professing his love, while others say it was Rhaenyra. Overall, I thought the start was fine, it was the wedding that was a little interesting. I think they should've kept the original death - a tourney with an "accident." Would've added more depth to the story and character imo.

It was a great episode despite unanswered questions and awkward situations. Love your snark and breakdown. The Green Wedding wasn’t as horrific as I anticipated it be by GOT’s track record’☮️🐉

I thought at first, Matt Smith was talking to the princess, then the quick motions were someone attacking him, the next thing I see is Crispin beating Joffrey, and thought "Oh, Joffrey just tried to kill her uncle maybe for looking like he was about to do something." But the scene has a cut in it and Matt Smith is just gone. You don't see him wounded or crawling away. He's just gone. I was waiting for it to get to, "And I saw Joffrey with his knife in his hand approach the prince and princess..."

You basically covered most of my sentiments exactly. Criston's descent into becoming a tool is totally inexplicable. The scene with Alicent he could have just told her "yes" and left it at that. He would think he was admitting to his crime and she would think Rhaenyra slept with Daemon. They could have avoided that whole soap-opera melodrama by cutting out everything they did with him and replacing it with just him being unusually stoic, then have Joffrey reveal his observation in a very antagonistic way and have it break out into a fight right then and there over his honor. Alicent could then find him in the courtyard contemplating quitting (or suicide, w/e). He could then clarify/confess his involvement with Rhaenyra at this point and Alicent, as the queen., could offer him redemption in exchange. The one thing you left out that bugged me was how on-the-nose heavy-handed Larys was about... everything. Oof...

I will say that it was pretty big of him to admit the truth of what happened to Alicent. It doesn’t excuse him murdering Joffrey by any means, but it does show what kind of guy he is, or rather WAS.

They needed to set up Ser Cristins pride over his honour in an earlier episode. There was one scene where he mentioned how achieving kingsguard status meant a lot to him but he didn't seem Brienne levels of honourable. We had no idea that him having sex with her would be a big deal to him so I didn't sympathise with his inner conflict since he just burst out emotionally with litte set up.

i love how you describe what was going through my head while watching haha.. I feel like your entire video is my thoughts

Another weird thing with Criston's reaction is the delay in it. It started with him just looking bothered after Joffrey talked to him and cut to different scenes and then suddenly it's back to them again with no buildup to Criston snapping.

I... don't get why people are confused by this. He was all about honor and duty. She fucked him, which robbed him of that, but established a quiet promise that they could at have love instead. Her then being like "Lol nah FWB's tho?" is a massive slap in the face and is very in line with Raenera's character - she is completely oblivious to a staggering degree about the thoughts and feelings of people around her. She is utterly entitled and, yes, has it hard in some ways, but is completely blind to the fact that other people have it worse than her and her actions have consequences. From Christon's perspective - she ruined his life, she took away a defining aspect of who he is, and then revealed that she basically... doesn't care? She doesn't care that she did that and doesn't care how much it hurt him. Then he confesses to Alicent and... has no idea what she's going to do. He's not even there KNOWING what is going to happen to him, because of Raenera, so when Joffrey tries to be like "Ah I know what's up"... he loses his shit, because he feels that he's being mocked and taunted on top of everything else by someone who, from his perspective (cuz homophobia is the norm in Westeros) is an unrepentant sinner. What confuses me is ALICENT. In the original book it was very clear Alicent was, essentially, just kind of a bad person and a political opportunist. In the books her whole deal was getting power and she was kind of a huge manipulator so - it made sense for her to hate Raenera from the start and vice-versa. Making her more sympathetic has been really confusing because she... doesn't really have legitimate reasons to be angry? She has no reason to feel betrayed, she has no real reason to be upset with Raenera beyond how massively inconsiderate she is - and that's NOT why Alicent seems to be upset with her in the show. Idk, it's weird. I did also think it was weird they briefly made Daemon's wife an attractive, likeable, fierce-tempered woman... because... why would he hate her? Spoilers but later in the book the woman he eventually falls in love with is an attractive, likeable, fierce-tempered woman who doesn't take his shit. It's weird that they'd include her and make her... his type, basically. It just doesn't make sense, the implication in the books was that she was boring and ugly - which isn't an excuse to fucking murder her but it at least explains why he would WANT TO.

Was just wondering whether this was out, and lo and behold, 30 seconds ago, it was uploaded. Thank you supercuts for posting this right in time for my dinner ‼️

I'm so happy you're reviewing each episode it gives me something to look forward to after the episode haha

I liked that he was about to commit sepuku, basically trying to restore his lost honor with his own death. It makes sense why he snapped, his honor was the only thing he had to his name, at least with no honor he could have run away with Renyra, but when he lost that too, he had nothing left to lose.

I don't think it had anything to do with love. It was honor. He obviously regretted breaking his vow of chastity and losing, in his mind, any kind of honor he had to his name, and he'd been eating himself up about it for however long was between the episodes. He saw fleeing as the only solution for his name to start over and, as he knows she didn't want to get married, he offered the same escape to Rhaenyra. When talking to Alicent, he asks her to get him executed. he's still obviously devored by guilt and doesn't know how to deal with it because he broke his sacred oath. And then, with the queen already aware of what he did, this random guy comes to tell him that he knows, and that they have to protect eachother secrets. He sees him as a threat to his honor, and to Rhaenyra's honor too, and kills him with the intention of killing himself next, thus getting rid of almost everyone who knows about Rhaenyra's secret and preserving her. At least that's how I see this whole part. Like yeah he's obviously liked Rhaenyra for a while but it's not what dictates his actions. He has nothing to hope with ther and with his honor being disfigured, the only way out he sees is just kill the other guy who could threaten the royal union and then die so that no one can threaten the princess's secret.

This whole wedding thing doesn’t make sense to me either but I thought I was the only one based on other reviews of the show 😮

THANK YOU. I thought I was going crazy thinking how ridiculous this episode was.

In Ser Criston's eyes, he's not destroying his life in this episode, because it has already been destroyed after his affair with Rhaenyra. It feels like he starts acting irrationally and destructively because things don't really matter that much after losing his honor.

I’d personally wait until the next episode to see the fallout before passing judgement, the storyline has fallen into place yet.

I think the only thing that actually bothers me about Ser Criston is that it all happens extremely fast and it may look unrealistic, but everything he did makes sense to me to some degree. I just assumed some months had passed between this episode and the last one since those time skips are quite common in between episodes already. It didn’t bother me and I don’t think it’s that important to make it more explicit. Ser Criston is, over anything, a man of honor, so him telling the queen everything is surely a reaction to be expected from him out of guilt. Hell, he even looked like he felt guilty while having sex with Rhaenyra, so the amount of pressure and despair he must’ve felt due to alicent’s words pushed him to confess. Granted, that scene is quite corny and kinda dumb but it doesn’t bother me that much. And while the whole feast scandal was quite confusing and it’s not very clear why nobody stopped the man on his killing spree or why was everybody fighting each other (I think it’s cheap chaotic effect that is quite unnecessary) I think Ser Criston was already over the edge by seeing Rhaenyra with her “new guy” after being massively rejected. I think Joffrey’s comments came off as a threat to him, and he snapped. I also think that it makes absolutely perfect sense for him to want to kill himself (again, a man of honor having stained his white cloak twice already with unforgivable sins). Was it chaotic and confusing? Yeah. I still think it made sense after all. I have to agree that the best scene is the only one that features Otto though, what an amazing character.

Can’t wait your reviews after every episode🥰

She made him forget his honour and she even mocks him for it.

Why was Crispin Cole not arrested immediately? Suddenly killing someone in a marriage should be reason enough to imprison someone

The other guards probably assumed that Cole was doing his duty and Joffrey was a threat.

Spot on review, very much agree about the jarring pace/transition of time. It feels like this show is moving at a movie's pace.

Big fan of yours Supercuts. And you saying Ser Criston "doing an any% speedrun in ruining his life" has got to be one of the funniest things I've had the pleasure of hearing.

I didn’t mind the Cristen Cole stuff because of the scenes when Rhaenrya previously. Like for example the chase during the royal hunt. they clearly had a connection well before having sex and during the tournament at the start. Yeah it’s a bit odd to ask to get married and leave so fast but their relationship was their different from the start

That episode actually made me like Sir Criston when I didn’t really care about him much before.

In an interview with George RR Martin, he said that 1) the books are not told from a reliable narrator, meaning the books are not credible. 2) he said that the TV show is being told from the perspective from what actually happened

Excellent review.

I feel as if it was pretty obvious that Criston had strong feelings for Rhaenrya from the first few episodes, and him confessing his overall love was a direct result of him and her engaging with each other in the bedroom. That being said, him exploding in the wedding hall was a shock to us, but it was just a big a shock to the characters as well. Also, it is not uncommon in the GOT universe for people to fall in love after only meeting a few times, i.e. Jon and Dany

Ser Criston doesn’t have sex for years and then sleeps with one of the most beautiful woman in the castle. His mental state makes complete sense. He was probably in love with her the entire time he was serving her. I don’t think it’s too unreasonable to believe that’s the case.

There are several things that make HOTD not at par with GOT. 1. Storyline Progression - In GOT the storyline was much easier to connect with than this. Although it should have been the opposite given that we were unfamiliar with the GOT world at that time. 2. Characters - Inspite of so many characters in GOT, there was never a moment in initial seasons where you would think that a character could have been omitted and it wouldn't have affected the story. Here there are several instances where I feel it. 3. Character Development - Be it crabfeeder or princess Rhea, you hear about them two or three episodes and then they are finished in a split second. Not a good idea. 4. Dialogues - One factor which sets apart initial GOT seasons from any other show is the dialogue. Be it from Tyrion, Varys, Littlefinger, Tywin or Ned. The dialogues were such that you could relate to them outside the show in real life. Here it isn't the same. 5. Cast - The cast of GOT was extremely good if not perfect. Danny even though in her first episode looked fragile but in the next moment you could that resolve in her eyes and posture. I hope things get better in coming episodes but till now I am not impressed.

I loved how tense this was episode, specially with the drums in the background

Oooof... The way you're so far from the point he asked her to marry him and run away...

Totally agree about ser Criston... He is a knight, but a lowborn wouldn't even dare talk like that to a princess and heir to the throne. That scene when he proposes her to run away is much more modern, even though it is fantasy, in the Westeros setting, a lowborn would never think of that. Next, the way he killed Joffrey is out of character. He acted like a drunk, not like a cool headed knight. He could have killed him out of sight, without anyone suspecting anything. Anyway, after that lover boy scene on the ship, it didn't seem to me that Criston cares so much about honor, and everything he does next can't be in the name of honor, really, the character is totally unplausible. Be it Bronn, yes...

i don’t think ser criston was asking rhaenyra to run away out of love, but because he’s desperately trying to restore his honour

Crispy cole really dragged down the episode but all the Strongs really grew on me. Then as usual the main cast performed but I’m scared for switching them out next ep

This episode got some people liking his character than hating him as compared to the books He is human with selfish emotions and I finally like that

Great video , commentary is spot on

You perfectly summed up my feelings and It's a huge relief. I don't regret subscribing to this channel, I love your critical thinking. I hope future episodes will fix all these issues.

Finally someone says it, I think the writing was weaker in this episode and did leave me feeling puzzled. The time jumps really do disrupt the flow of the story, and sometimes it feels like not much time has passed when in fact it has, and other times it's vague whether it's been weeks, months or years since the events of the last episode, save for one line of exposition. There are plot holes that are ignored, questions left unanswered, and things that are set up that don't seem to have consequences or conclusions. Of course this is only like 5% out of the overall story and narrative, but they're enough to take me out of the immersion and leave me confused, so much that I have to ask other people to fill in the blanks, because I don't read the books or having much knowledge about the story, if something isn't shown or told in the show itself I'm clueless. I'm surprised at the way things played out at the wedding and not really in a good way, because I was expecting more to happen based on what's been set up and what the stakes are. Instead we got love sick horny Criston beating the ever loving shit out of Joffrey 2.0 and it came across as really random and unsatisfying seeing how we only met the guy this episode, and as you say, it's supposed to be relatively soon after episode 4 and Criston is this madly in love? I get that it has a lot to do with his honour and his vows, which he broke, and his guilt over that, and maybe he thought he was fucked either way, but it just felt so out of place and I was expecting Daemon to do something crazy at the wedding or for someone to announce Rhaenyra and Laenor's dirty secrets and fighting would break out, but no, the conflict that has been brewing for 5 episodes is unresolved before the decade long time jump and a conflict that started 5 minutes ago ends abruptly and unexplained. Idk maybe it's just me but I don't get why people are saying this episode is spectacular. Like it was very good but nothing groundbreaking and I was expecting more to come out of this stage of the story, especially as we're saying goodbye to Milly and Emily

I think Criston has severe PTSD from his fighting in the Dornish Marches and suppression of aggression

Doesn’t this episode take place the same week, or just days after episode 4? Because at the end of 4 Otto loses his position as hand, then he is leaving kings landing at the beginning of 5. So I assume only a few days at most have gone by since the night they first had sex.

It makes sense for me. Sir Criston is a loyal and honorable person. He follows the law and he does his duty as a knight of the kings guard. He broke his vows after years of being faithful. We can see he is questioning his choices and the only thing left that he thinks its true is his love for Raenyra. It makes sense for him to ask her that even if he knows that she will probably decline. He loves her and wants to forget about his vows and everything in the past and focus only on her(at least thats what I got from his impressions and dialog). And at the wedding he is hurting a lot. He doesnt know his fate (because he told the queen) and he is watching the girl he loves marrying somebody else. The last thing he needs is someone telling him he knows the truth( He is feeling so much pain at that point) and thats when he snaps.

The tonality and the ambience of the sad montage to end the pre time jump period, with the cursed marriage with Alicent and Cole uniting into a unbreakable bond with the Djawadi music playing is by far the best shot of the season as of now. It's very Shakesperean, especially given what role Criston Cole is going on to play. Blows any crabfeeder battle out of the water. That scene of Otto pleading with Alicent in the rain was the best acted scene so far. The guy who plays Otto, freaking great actor. As far as I'm concerned there's only one side to support, and it's the Greens.

If what sir Criston did is something acceptable, why was everything canceled and the two most powerful houses in the realm wed their heirs in such a depressing manner? Why in the hell did they cancel the royal wedding and married in the middle of all that horrible gore and filth? Did they literally got married hours after the incident? Why? Maybe i missed something I am genuinely curious Also even if what he did was acceptable, it pissed off the king/ Rhaenyra and most of all Laenor? How does he not face any consequence for making this huge mess and ruining the royal wedding?

Omg that sir criston plot twist blew my whole mind . on one hand we could argue kinda character breaking but on the other hand what made the episode so great and epic and shocking , like my man went full on ham on joffrey which NOONE expected. ser criston had always been a secretive character who showed little to no hint of emotion except with rhaenerya and always felt like he was brooding and his character was being set up for dont judge a book by its pretty cover kinda thing . With all the passive aggressive tension going around every character , it was like the tension popped open . And that scene showing the crowd pushing back and forth in panic without showing the main thing was so well done and left the viewer curious and confused af. This ep was altho a bit messy was just GENIUS IMO. The pacing of the mood of the ep from peaceful to passive aggressive to violent was just masterful

Ser Crisp though he was coerced into sex and lost his honor, the only thing he had, so he went nuts. I thinks its alright, given the scope of things, they had do what they could.

Rhaenyra is such an awful character. Well written but awful. She pressured him into bed using her position of authority over him. He broke his vows and she doesn't give a damn about how that affects him or makes him feel. If she were a man, this would be seen as a disgrace. An evil man taking advantage of a woman. She took advantage of him,used him then tossed him out like trash.

I think some of the events in this episode aren’t chronological? So the part where Ser Criston is gonna commit suicide before Allicent interrupts happens BEFORE the wedding feast and AFTER Rhaenyra rejects him

You just watched a completely different series. Renira spent 4 episodes complaining about how they forced her to live, how they chose her husband, how she didn't like the suitors, how they appointed her replacement. And all this in front of Cole, who appears to be the closest. Not to mention how happy she was in the Flea Suburbs, away from the "full and rich life". Or when she was alone, because she has NONE of the nobles close to her. except Alicent, with whom they broke off relations... Kristen Cole's problem is not love, but honor. He is not in love with Rhenira and nowhere does he say - I love you. He talks about freedom and a new way of life that Rhaenyra supposedly constantly murmured about. In fact, he himself said, "I thought that if we got married, I would regain my honor." Nothing else. When he confessed to Alicent, he spoke only of the consequences to himself and not a word about those that Rhaenyra would have to overcome.

super interesting that my boy is confused by crispin while i’m loving every second of what i’m watching.

Wow, there's no fool like an honorable fool I guess🙄. But Sir Criston didn't even behave like an honorable man, more like a madman🤪. Did he catch Dany's madness from season 8 cause that's what it looked like 😂. He was such an endearing character I was beginning to like but after episode five I hate his guts😤!!

Great review. I felt the same about Ser Criston and Rhaenyra dialogue. Silly and sophomoric. Then the bizarre non-repercussion murder that ruined a royal wedding banquet. They indicated that it can be lawless, but that's ridiculous, especially with his friendship to Laenor. Pretty sure a member of a royal retinue being murdered would only be ok if sanctified by the King. Bizarre and made me think this was the first big miss of the show. Book death is way better. Would've liked a little more about the necessity of the King going to Driftmark. Why is Viserys so desperate? Because of marriage alliance with Braavos? Otto was great. The green dress scene was a highlight. The suicide scene was a head-scratcher and shouldn't have happened.

The way I interpreted his turn in ep5 was that he could no longer live with himself as a knight after breaking his vows, and so after failing to escape his guilt with Rhaenyra he goes on a terrible downward spiral. Joffrey simply poked him at the very worst time.

Criston not wearing his helmet was so silly.