House Of The Dragon Just Fixed The Weirdest Subplot From The Book
Bend the knee! This article contains major spoilers for the latest episode of "House of the Dragon."
Fiction has taught us that war typically begins after epic events and first strikes from which there's no coming back. "The Lord of the Rings" had the Battle of Helm's Deep usher in Middle-earth's second and decisive war against the Dark Lord Sauron. "Game of Thrones" kicked off the bloody War of the Five Kings after the one-two punch of King Robert Baratheon's death and Ned Stark's brutal killing, both of which plunged the Seven Kingdoms into blood and chaos. "House of the Dragon," however, has taken a noticeably different approach to its central Dance of the Dragons — the civil war that's closer than ever to erupting in earnest among the Team Green and Team Black factions of House Targaryen.
Last season's dragon-fueled aerial battle between the two rival princes seemed to act as the first shot fired in this conflict, but the premiere threw a curveball at fans by taking a step back and resisting the temptation to rush headlong into spectacle. Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy), still mourning the loss of her young son Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), speaks in the heat of the moment about wanting revenge on the prince's killer, the one-eyed Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), but never actually orders the horrific act of barbarism committed at the end of the episode. Yet, one ill turn leads to another, as the saying goes, and this time it's Rhaenyra who winds up on the receiving end of another assassination attempt.
This one involves Ser Criston Cole's (Fabien Frankel) latest reckless gambit, two loyal twins on opposite sides of the Kingsguard, and, most importantly of all, another major change from the source material. Here's how "House of the Dragon" improves on the book's weirdest subplot.
Criston Cole's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea
Perhaps even more so than in the original series, "House of the Dragons" is filled to the brim with conniving characters, dangerous schemers, and brilliant strategists, all of whom have exactly what it takes to play the game of thrones ... and then there's Criston Cole. Everybody's least-favorite himbo has spent the last several years nursing a grudge against his former lover Rhaenyra, going so far as to switch sides to Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) entirely out of feelings of personal resentment and jealousy. He's not exactly the most ambitious man in the Seven Kingdoms, seemingly content to serve as the Queen's plaything, but indulging in some of the most pathetic levels of horniness Westeros has ever seen is one thing. Becoming an active detriment to the war effort because he can't help but fly off the handle at the slightest provocation is another thing entirely.
The latest stunt by the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard — actually, make that the new Hand of the King, as if he didn't have too much influence already — is so brilliant that it was the central premise of Lindsay Lohan's 1998 classic "The Parent Trap" (not that he would know that, but still). Yep, his master plan revolves around Kingsguard knight Arryk Cargyll (Luke Tittensor) impersonating his twin brother Eryyk (Elliott Tittensor), who is loyal to Queen Rhaenyra, infiltrating her stronghold of Dragonstone, and killing her in a brazen attack that would surely end the war before it even starts. There are several reasons why this would be doomed to fail, and it's hardly a surprise when it does. The two Cargyll twins inevitably run into one another, draw swords, and fight each other to the death.
Way to go, Criston.
How the Cargyll fight differs from the book
War might be fought on the battlefields, but it's won or lost depending on whether the loudest and most buffoonish decision-makers in the room end up prevailing.
In both "House of the Dragon" and the George R.R. Martin book that the HBO series is adapting, "Fire & Blood," Cole is the sole brainchild behind the Great Cargyll Fiasco; the main difference, however, is that the live-action series seems well aware of just how ridiculous of a scheme this really was. Granted, as an historical retelling documenting events long after they actually happened, the novel doesn't have much time or space to spare on editorializing the wisdom (or lack thereof) regarding specific moments in the plot. But by opting not to offer any additional commentary on this ploy, the book lays out this sequence "objectively" and leaves it up to the reader to interpret one way or another.
Creator/showrunner Ryan Condal and his writers take a much different approach. Cole's recklessness is explained by him having seen the dead Prince's bloody bed, a tragic reminder of Blood and Cheese's attack. Moreover, the soon-to-be-replaced Hand Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) spends several glorious minutes scorning both King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Cole for their terrible plan, ensuring an escalation of the war and undoing all the hard work he'd done to win the commoners to their side in one fell stroke. It costs him his position and likely guarantees that Aegon will continue making rash and unadvisable choices, sure, but boy is it cathartic to watch. "House of the Dragon" has already proven itself to be a shrewd and clever work of adaptation, but season 2 has upped the ante even more.
"House of the Dragon" airs new episodes every Sunday night on HBO and Max.