House of the Dragon co-creator answers a big time jump question: why is Ser Criston still alive?

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The knight in shining armor is still alive and kicking

Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) in House of the Dragon
(Image credit: HBO)

Thanks to its 10-year time skip, House of the Dragon episode 6 found itself answering a lot of questions about events that happened in the past decade. One significant moment it didn’t find time to address, however, was why Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) was still walking around as a free man in King’s Landing.

As a refresher, Ser Criston ended up killing Joffrey (no, not that Joffrey) at Rhaenyra’s wedding banquet after it was revealed that multiple people knew about the knight’s liaisons with the heir to the Iron Throne. With his honor lost, Criston attempted to stab himself – but was stopped by an approaching Alicent.

Despite his very public act of murder, Criston not only escapes a date with the gallows but, by the time we see him again in the sixth episode, is installed as Alicent’s personal protector and confidant. Viewers are similarly confused, asking for a "possible explanation" as to why Criston is still alive.

"There were mistakes made. It was a different time. Alicent saves his life. That's what that final scene is telling you," Condal said. "Alicent goes in there and saves his life and begs for his life and honor with the king and wins. And then he is absolutely, as we see in episode 6, 100 percent devoted to her."

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.