The fifth episode of House of the Dragon took the show’s death toll up several notches. It opened with a surprising homicide and closed with a cliffhanger that teases a major death later on. There was another death in the episode and, on the surface, it feels like it may not be that large of an arrangement in the long run. That couldn’t possibly be more off-base.

House of the Dragon’s fifth episode, “We Light the Way,” features the wedding between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon. This is a simply political move, as the two have no feelings toward each other, yet they go with an understanding as to how their marriage will function. They will attempt to create heirs, yet both will permit the other to have love lives outside of their marriage. Rhaenyra can move things along with Criston Cole, while Laenor can continue on with his sweetheart, Joffrey.

Cole is upset about the game plan, preferring instead to leave Westeros with Rhaenyra and live unreservedly together, away from the show of her loved ones. At the wedding festivities, Joffrey moved toward Criston to say they should cooperate to safeguard each other’s secrets. Still ashamed of his actions, Criston is upset by the entire thing, and ultimately attacks Joffrey at the party, beating his face until he doesn’t have much of a face left. A brutal homicide sets up large things to come.

Cole is shown later in the episode preparing to end his own life. He just stops because he’s interrupted by Sovereign Alicent, who definitely knows about his secret relationship with Rhaenyra. That’s the last time we see either one of them in the episode, however thanks to Fire and Blood, we know a tad about what will occur straightaway.

In George R.R. Martin’s book, Alicent convinces Criston not to off himself, instead taking a position working with her. Over the long haul, he becomes a vital individual from the guards who watch over her and her kids. At the point when Viserys dies, Rhaenrya is away from King’s Landing, and Alicent crowns her son, Aegon II, as the new king. Criston Cole is placed responsible for the King’s Watchman, making him quite possibly of the most important figure in the lives of Alicent and Aegon.

Aegon and Rhaenrya in the end do battle over the Iron High position, and Criston Cole ends up on the opposite side of the lady he once cherished, whom he’d trusted would take off with him and carry on with a day to day existence liberated from politics.