Wait, who killed Criston Cole? House of the Dragon season 3 made a ‘baffling’ mistake

*Warning: House of the Dragon season 3 episode 6 spoilers ahead*

Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) meets his unceremonious end in House of the Dragon’s latest episode, and while readers of Fire & Blood saw it coming, many TV viewers were left with a completely different question: who actually killed him?

In season three episode five, Cole revealed his true intentions to Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox). Essentially, he’s leading their men on a suicide mission, paving the way for the brutal Butcher’s Ball. 

Episode six, ‘Faceless Men’, picks up with Cole and the remnants of the Green army marching into the Riverlands, where they stumble across what appears to be an abandoned military camp littered with the bodies of fallen Rivermen. 

Realising something isn’t right, Cole’s suspicions are confirmed when many of the “corpses” leap to their feet, revealing themselves to be Black soldiers lying in wait as part of an elaborate ambush. 

After fighting through the first wave, Cole and his men discover they’ve been lured into a trap and are completely surrounded by a much larger force led by Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) and Roddy the Ruin (Tommy Flanagan). 

Refusing to surrender, Cole challenges the opposing commanders to a final duel, determined to die with a sword in his hand rather than be taken prisoner. 

But before he can take a single step, Alysanne “Black Aly” Blackwood (Annie Shapero) cuts him down with a series of arrows, ending the former Hand of the King’s story in abrupt, unheroic fashion.

Who the heck is Alysanne ‘Black Aly’ Blackwood?

Little has been shown about her in the Game of Thrones prequel so far, but Alysanne “Black Aly” Blackwood is well known to Fire & Blood readers as a fierce archer from House Blackwood and aunt to the young Lord Benjicot “Bloody Ben” Blackwood. 

She is one of Queen Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) most loyal supporters during the Dance of the Dragons and quickly earns a fearsome reputation on the battlefield.

Black Aly first appeared briefly in the House of the Dragon season three premiere and in episode two as Daemon’s (Matt Smith) army celebrates and sings. Although she’s seemed very insignificant before Criston Cole, the books give her a much larger role in the war.

Without spoiling too much, Alysanne survives the Dance and remains one of the conflict’s most prominent Black commanders. After the war, she marries Lord Cregan Stark and eventually becomes Lady of Winterfell.

House of the Dragon viewers have the same complaint after Criston Cole’s death

The problem for many viewers right now is that the HBO show has barely introduced her. She has yet to be properly named on screen or given any meaningful backstory, leaving many non-readers confused when she killed one of the show’s biggest characters. 

Taking to Reddit, one asked, “In the scene where Cole dies, is that Alysanne Blackwood or a random female archer? Not sure if we have any other hints.”

In response, one person wrote, “Yes, the casting has been known since before the show aired. Why Black Aly hasn’t been given an actual introduction scene so casual audiences know who tf she is, I have no godly idea.”

Some believe it speaks to a wider issue with House of the Dragon’s writing, something George R.R. Martin himself spoke about in his now-deleted blog post slamming the changes made to the source material. 

“The fact that people have to ask is such an indictment on the writers,” wrote one, while another quipped, “Yes she is but I don’t know why they decided to put a Zorro mask on her.”

In a separate thread, a fan asked, “Okay, but who was the person who fired the arrow? Do we know her?”

After confirming it’s Aly, another said, “I had the same question. Apparently she was in S3E1 at Daemon’s opening battle but I don’t think she had any lines.

“Edit: I was wrong, she had one verse in their victory song after the Fish Feed in S3E2. I feel like maybe there’s a deleted dialogue scene which introduces the new Riverlands bannermen who weren’t at Harrenhal in S2?”

A third added, “The show has done a hilariously awful job at establishing the new characters. Neither Black Aly or Roddy the Ruin have been name dropped yet which is absolutely baffling. 

“But to answer your question, you should know who Black Aly is, unfortunately for you the writers do not possess a singular grain of competence and have failed at their one job.”

Despite these grievances, many viewers have celebrated how Cole was taken out. 

“I loved that he tried to challenge an old man and a young boy to hand-to-hand combat in a last ditch hail mary at dying honorably in battle and they were just like haha no man, you’re defeated already,” wrote one. 

“Thank god they didn’t take him up on his ridiculous demand and just shot him dead instead smh.”

Another said, “Good job Criston Cole, you got your wish. Good riddance.” Ouch. 

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Featured images credit: HBO