After an extended hiatus, House of the Dragon season 3 will make its premiere sometime in 2026 on HBO, meaning there's still a long wait ahead for our return to Westeros. Leading up to the show's highly anticipated comeback, fans are feasting on the crumbs of teases and spoilers the cast and crew have been sharing, and one of the show's stars just got real about his character.
Fabien Frankel stars in House of the Dragon as Kingsguard knight Ser Criston Cole, a member of Team Green who shares an intimate relationship with Alicent Hightower. It's no secret that throughout the first two seasons, Cole has been met with overwhelming disdain from viewers, so much so that Frankel began to feel the brunt of the hate as life unfortunately imitated art.
While fans wait for Frankel to return as Cole in House of the Dragon season 3, we can watch him in the HBO limited series Task, in which he plays detective Anthony Grasso, another character that (spoiler alert) leaves the audience with a sour taste in their mouths. Frankel previously compared the two characters and revealed his true feelings about Cole's trajectory in House of the Dragon.
In an interview with Esquire magazine, Frankel reflected on playing one of the most hated villains on House of the Dragon and reacted on how Cole has been written. Speaking candidly, Frankel said that he feels Cole's characterization wasn't fully "ironed out" in a way that allows him to be three-dimensional. He found his role as Grasso to be more well-rounded as a villain.
"It never felt like it was ironed out on House of Dragon in the right way. There were moments in season 2 [of House of theDragon] where you got to see more of that three-dimensionality [from Cole], and there will be more in season 3. Not that that’s a spoiler, but it’s something you fight so much for as an actor — especially if you’re playing a villain — is for things not to be two-dimensional. And I felt so lucky that Grasso is such a three-dimensional character," Frankel told Esquire.
Obviously, that's not to say that Frankel doesn't like playing Cole or has any ill will toward his character. He's simply comparing the different ways that his most popular antagonist characters have been written. There's a clear difference in genre that lends to that as well as a methodology that's intentionally designed to allow one character to have a slower burn than the other.
Cole's basically all bad, though he does have his fans who see his better qualities. But Grasso begins as someone we believe we can trust. He's a committed detective who doesn't miss a beat. He's honest and dedicated and seemingly would never lie. But as Task later revealed (again, spoiler alert!) there was a second mole, and that second mole wound up being none other than Grasso.
While Grasso is able to have a full arc across the six episodes of Task, Frankel spoke to how Cole's simply a supporting player and a character that's meant to drive story forward: "Criston is a purpose in a storyline, and House of Dragon is a show that is a bunch of people who are serving a story. At times, I find that that’s difficult as an actor," he further explained to Esquire.
We'll have to wait and see what's next for Cole in House of the Dragon season 3. Some fans might already have an inkling about what's going to happen for the character based on the books and some rumors from filming. But for those of us who have stayed in the dark, it will be interesting to see what's coming. Will he have a bigger arc and maybe even a redemption?
Stay tuned for more House of the Dragon news and updates!