Why does Criston kill [SPOILER] in House of the Dragon Episode 5?

If you’ve just tuned into the fifth episode of House of the Dragon, “We Light the Way,” there’s probably a lot on your mind to unpack and discuss. After the juicy episode we got last week when Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) got intimate with her uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) and turned her relationship with her guard Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) physical, nothing is the same! And Episode 5 takes things even further as we deal with the aftermath.

When King Viserys (Paddy Considine) hears the gossip that Rhaenyra and Daemon were seen “coupling,” he’s quick to decide that his daughter must marry right away. And in Episode 5, we travel to Driftmark to get the wedding festivities going. Rhaenyra is to marry Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) and Rhaenys Targaryen’s (Eve Best) son Laenor (Theo Nate), who also happens to be her cousin. But this match actually works out pretty well for both parties, as they come to an understanding they are happy to agree to.

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon Episode 5!

After the decision is made by Viserys, Corlys, and Rhaenys that their children will wed, Rhaenyra and Laenor walk on the beach together and discuss the reality of their situation. Laenor doesn’t like women — he actually has a male love interest we learn about a little later on — and Rhaenyra has her own interests elsewhere. That would be Daemon, but also Criston, who she’s basically formed a friends-with-benefits type of situation with.

Rhaenyra thinks this could be used to their advantage, however, and she tells Laenor that they’ll marry simply to fulfill their duties, but they’ll still be free to do whatever they want with whoever they want behind closed doors. This is pretty much the best-case scenario for Laenor, considering he wouldn’t be able to marry a man, and we later see him discuss this with his boyfriend, Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod).

Joffrey is a new character we meet in Episode 5, and sadly for Laenor, we won’t be seeing him in any future episodes. “We Light The Way” comes to a head during the wedding festivities for Laenor and Rhaenyra, when a fight breaks out that turns fatal. Everything escalates so fast and it’s hard to believe the outcome, so let’s explain what happens.

What happens between Criston and Joffrey in House of the Dragon Episode 5?

While Laenor and Joffrey are aware Rhaenyra wants someone else, it’s not until the wedding that they realize who it might be. Joffrey takes notice that Criston can’t keep his eyes off the princess during the entire event, and he decides to confront him about it.

It’s also important to note that Criston and Rhaenyra have a really important conversation earlier in the episode where Criston proposes they run away together. “Let’s leave it all behind and see the world together! We will be nameless and free,” he tells her. It’s obvious he’s in love with Rhaenyra, but he’s also motivated by his guilt. He broke his oath by sleeping with Rhaenyra, and he just wants to escape the world of royalty altogether.

But Rhaenyra doesn’t want to leave. She breaks Criston’s heart by turning him down, and he carries that pain with him to Driftmark.

Fast forward to the wedding, and Criston is feeling a lot of things. And when Joffrey strikes up a conversation with him, telling him they know about each other’s secrets and almost threatening him to keep them, Criston is unable to remain calm.

The ongoing tension in the episode all leads to this moment, where Criston beats Joffrey to death. He has so much anger and sadness inside of him and he doesn’t stop until Joffrey’s face is no longer recognizable. He goes way further than he needed to, and he ends up brutally killing him.

So…why does Criston do that? Though I certainly don’t agree with his actions, I can kind of understand what might be going on in his head at that moment. Honestly, I think he’s been a ticking time bomb ever since he slept with Rhaenyra in Episode 4. He no longer has his honor, the woman he’s in love with will never be with him, and he might feel like he has nothing else to live for. When Joffrey comes up to him, it’s the last straw for Criston, a reminder of the political madness he’s living in that he can’t escape.

Check out some of our thoughts on the murder here:

Does Criston die in House of the Dragon Episode 5?

Though we barely get to know him, Joffrey’s death is super upsetting. Especially after seeing Laenor’s reaction to it and then watching the sad wedding ceremony he and Rhaenyra have to go through with afterward. In the final moments of Episode 5, we see Criston come to terms with what he did and almost take his own life. However, Alicent (Emily Carey) then shows up, stopping him from committing the act. Criston doesn’t die, in this episode at least, and we’re extremely curious to see where his storyline goes from here.

We’ve reached the halfway point in House of the Dragon, and I have a feeling the action’s not going to slow down anytime soon. Be sure to watch new episodes of the Game of Thrones spin-off every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max.

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