Game of Thrones has gotten us used to bloody weddings where much fewer guests walk out compared to those who walked in. This doesn’t make the events of the mid-season episode of the fantasy show any less disturbing.
Why Did Sir Criston Cole Kill Joffrey?
Sir Criston doesn’t spell out his motivations for killing Joffrey, the lover of Sir Laenor, though the implication is that he did so because he felt that Joffrey was taunting him about his relationship with Rhaenyra, for which he had come to be bitter and ashamed. During Laenor and Rhaenyra’s pre-wedding feast, Joffrey approaches Sir Criston who was rumored to be Rhaenyra’s lover, smugly suggesting that they take care of each other’s secrets. Sir Criston seems to view this suggestion as a threat, though beating Sir Joffrey to death because of that is very extreme and frankly hard to watch.It’s also possible that Criston was vindictive because Rhaenyra refused to run away with him, and he likely did not wish for her wedding to go smoothly after that.
Why Did Criston Get Away With the Murder?
After murdering Joffrey, Sir Criston, who is somehow not caught, goes to the Godswood where he prepares to commit suicide. However, Queen Alicent, to whom he had confessed his affair with Rhaenyra earlier in the episode, stops him. It is not clear how anyone, even a knight could get away with cold-blooded murder, though the Queen’s support would have likely helped him avoid any charges. Meanwhile, the implication seems to be that Rhaenyra and Laenor couldn’t do much to bring Criston to justice, as doing so would be very hard without exposing their respective affairs and secret agreement to each take their own lovers while married. While Criston’s survival might be backed by book material, the fact that he got away so lightly leaves fans with a bitter feeling; Joffrey and Laenor’s relationship seemed quite heartwarming, and it’s sad that another LGBTQ+ character met such a violent fate.House of the Dragon Episodes 1 through 8 is currently streaming on HBO channel and HBO Max with new episodes released weekly.
