‘House of the Dragon’ Star Fabien Frankel on Criston Cole’s Suicide Mission and His ‘Nihilism’: ‘He’s Losing the Will to Motivate’

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for Season 3, Episode 5 of “House of the Dragon,” now streaming on HBO Max.

In tonight’s “House of the Dragon” episode, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) proclaims that he’s ready to die — and he’s ready to do so honorably.

As the war to capture the Iron Throne rages on, Criston marches onward with his men, including Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), to put a stop to the Rivermen reaching King’s Landing and aiding Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). But their journey to catch up with the Rivermen proves increasingly difficult, after one of their horses gets caught in a trap. Once they come across a burned-down bridge to cross the river, they realize there is no chance of catching up.

Gwayne and Criston regroup and debate what to do next, now down to half the men they started with. Gwayne says continuing forward “would march us toward certain death.” That’s when Gwayne realizes this was Criston’s goal all along, as Criston launches into a revealing monologue: “I have been a servant all my life. To Green or to Black. I 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 diminish me now. I will not return spurned, rejected. I am the realm’s greatest warrior. And I will die as such.”

While Frankel says he doesn’t read fan reactions much these days, it has become easier to tap into his controversial character’s motivations in Season 3: “I can only understand why people feel how they feel about him as a character. It’s tricky for me as an actor, because obviously, I just don’t see him in that way. It serves no purpose for me to see him in that way. You always have to be the bastion of your character, and I feel very much the bastion of Criston Cole.”

Frankel spoke with Variety to break down Criston’s suicide mission, why being a soldier is “the only honest version of himself,” and what fans can expect — should the series continue to follow George R.R. Martin’s book “A Song of Ice and Fire,” as expected — from the upcoming Butcher’s Ball.

This is a pivotal moment for Criston, proclaiming that he is ready to die an honorable death. Can you talk about his journey throughout this episode, and how he arrives at this point?

It’s something that’s been brewing inside of him so much over the course of the show, probably since about halfway through Season 2. These thoughts of, “What am I going to be, and what’s the legacy I’m going to leave behind? In what way do I want to go out?” I suppose that really comes to a head in that fire scene with Gwayne.

Does he have a specific vision for how he wants his death to play out? How can he guarantee he’s going to go out the way he wants, and that people will remember him?

I don’t know if there’s anything in his head — it’s like he said, “Hell bent in glory,” right? Criston Cole started as a soldier before the 20-year stretch that he spent at King’s Landing — that’s how he started, and that’s how he wants to finish. In his mind, the only honest version of himself is the soldier. Everything else is pretense; the diplomat is pretense; the Hand of the King, there’s a level of pretense; Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, there’s a level of pretense. I suppose they’re all psychological, brain-led jobs. He isn’t that way, he’s very much led by his sword and his fighting instinct. The idea that that’s how he will be remembered, I think, feels honest.

Gwayne eventually figures out what’s really going on. Criston is very upfront about his suicide mission once it clicks.

There’s a genuine fondness that Criston has for Gwayne; there’s a yin-yang aspect to them. Weirdly, I think Gwayne represents — on the surface — everything that Criston disdains in this world. Yet underneath, Criston’s found someone who will go to battle with him, who does have a heart, who does have empathy, who is much more than he appears. So their relationship is built through this, these guys going to war with each other. You hear any soldier talk about their time in the war, in any war, and they’ll say the relationships they formed are closer than anything you can possibly imagine because you’re living through life and death with these people. You’re risking your lives for each other. As a result of that, there’s a profoundness to their relationship.

Why does Criston, then, decide not to tell Gwayne about his suicide mission for this long?

I don’t think he’s waiting for Gwayne to figure it out, it’s not a game. Certainly, I didn’t think of it as a game. I think he just knew that as soon as he told Gwayne, that would create a lack of desire to continue. Gwayne’s dislike of this plan would rub off on the rest of the men, and then Criston would lose an army that otherwise would have a good chance of fighting. There’s undeniably a selfishness to Criston’s plan, right? He’s looking out for himself but I think he’s become so accustomed to a world where every single person is looking out for themselves constantly. Unfortunately, any sort of attempt at selflessness falls on itself. For any of the characters, it’s just a very dog-eat-dog world.

You’ve spoken in previous interviews about not always knowing Criston’s code, or where his motivations lie episode to episode. As the season has continued on, have you been able to tap into these more?

There’s a freedom that comes with nihilism, to a degree. This is a character who, at least at the top of Season 2 and toward the end of Season 3, surrendered himself to the notion that the war is over. That ultimately, we as human beings have no genuinely important part to play in a war that’s ultimately going to be won by dragons or lost by dragons. They are just so much more powerful, and so you meet him at the top of Season 3 in a genuinely kind of — I wouldn’t say nihilistic, because I think that’s a bit reductive. But certainly, there’s an agnosticism to him. He’s losing the will to motivate. He finds that will as the course of the season goes on, and certainly in Episode 4’s planning scene with Gwayne that really gives him the impetus. It re-energizes him and then he certainly has rediscovered his sense of code — not code so much, but a sense of purpose.

This episode comes on the heels of Criston finding out that Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) has left him behind, and he’s once again hit with those feelings of abandonment that he’s felt all his life. How does that play into his actions here?

It’s tricky, man. I want to think there’s a part of him that is intelligent enough — not intelligent enough — but a part of him that certainly recognizes who Aemond is. I just don’t believe it’s all that surprising that Aemond hasn’t shown, even if he’s playing. Sometimes in order to sell a story as people, we go along with notions that feel like the most natural ones. So Criston saying, “He wouldn’t desert us, I can’t believe that,” I almost feel like that’s him playing into the version of this character that needs that piece of information in order to rediscover a sense of self and purpose.

How does he look back on his relationships with Rhaenyra and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) now — does he have regrets? As he’s spending these long periods traveling to battle, ready to fall on his sword, is he reflecting on his decisions, or is he just focused on charging forward?

Haven’t men always done that in history? Just march on, and go to work, “I’m not going to deal with anything that I’m really feeling, I’m just going to go on and get on and do something, and that thing is going to supersede whatever I’m feeling!” But it’s inevitable that Rhaenyra and Alicent are both on his mind all the time. I think Alicent much more than Rhaenyra. Certainly for me, Rhaenyra has become a sort of afterthought. And actually, it’s just the idea of winning the war for Alicent.

Has it become easier to tap into Criston’s humanity, despite him being such a controversial character?

There’s just genuine insight into who this man is, and what makes him tick. Yeah, I think I have found it easier to tap into the humanity of him. It’s difficult, you can’t undo his actions. He’s done the things that he’s done, and those things have been, at times, very morally reprehensible or questionable, to say the least. And so I can only understand why people feel how they feel about him as a character. It’s tricky for me as an actor because obviously, I just don’t see him in that way. It serves no purpose for me to see him in that way. You always have to be the bastion of your character, and I feel very much the bastion of Criston Cole.

How do you look back on your journey on the show and playing Criston?

I learned so much from playing Criston Cole. There’s a stillness to him that I don’t naturally have as a person, and I think I’ve learned so much through that. We’re so different as people, but I look back on the last few years with just a ton of warmth towards the people I’ve gotten to work with. Irrespective of playing the character or making the show, it’s the company that you keep that makes any experience.

Your former “House of the Dragon” co-star, Milly Alcock, is having a big summer with “Supergirl.” Have you had a chance to see the film, do you keep in touch with Milly at all?

I keep in touch with her all the time, yeah! I spoke to her on the phone two weeks ago when she called me from Brazil — I think she was doing press. I’m immensely proud of her, and not in the least bit surprised. I told my agent he should sign her as soon as we did Season 1 of “House of the Dragon” together, and that’s what he did. I’m so happy for her, very proud of her. I haven’t yet had a chance to see “Supergirl,” but I will!

I know fans of the book will be looking forward to Butcher’s Ball, which the end of this week’s episode seems to set up. What can you say about the action scenes coming up?

All I can say is that it was long and arduous choreography to learn, it’s a brilliantly choreographed fight. There are a ton of unbelievable stuntmen in it that make the fight what it is, and I’m just super excited for people to see that side of Criston. It’s the side of him we haven’t really seen at all — what he is like in a man-to-man situation.

This interview has been edited and condensed.