Black Aly puts House of the Dragon's most insufferable character in their place

There are so many good new characters in House of the Dragon season 3, but we might have just seen the best introduction of the season so far in episode 6.

Ormund Hightower (James Norton) is a fascinating, brilliant weirdo. Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) has been a breath of fresh Targaryen air. Roddy the Ruin (Tommy Flanagan) has only been in the series sparingly so far, but he’s super fun. 

Finally, House of the Dragon gave its most interesting new character a tiny bit more screentime in a very important scene. Of course, I’m talking about Allysanne Blackwood (Annie Shapero), also known as Black Aly in the Butcher’s Ball. 

House of the Dragon season 3 episode 6 pulled off a moment fans have been waiting for years to see, and it was just about perfect. 

Ser Criston Cole, the most insufferable character in the House of the Dragon, finally got what he deserved, a couple arrows in the torso and face courtesy of the best archer in the riverlands. I have been waiting for so long for someone to kill this dude, and it finally happened in a beautiful flurry of arrows. 

How Black Aly killed Crison Cole

After Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) departed at the end of episode 5, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) led his ragtag army across the riverlands before he walked into a trap set by Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) and Roddy the Ruin. 

The Tullys and Winter Wolves lured Criston and his men into a fight by staging a camp that had been attacked. Among the dead, the Tullys hid men who jumped out and attacked Criston and his men. 

For a moment, it looked like Criston had proved to be victorious once more before the full force of the Tullys and Winter Wolves emerged from the hills and woods to surround Criston. As Criston tries to get his hero moment and tries to convince Roddy and Oscar to fight him together, Black Aly shuts him up with three arrows. 

In the same moment we say goodbye to Ser Criston, we get to say hello to Black Aly. 

So, who is Black Aly?

House of the Dragon fans don’t know a lot about Black Aly yet, but eagle-eyed fans spotted her and her black eyeliner that looks almost like a mask as a member of Daemon’s force who slaughtered the Lannisters at the Battle by the Lakeshore. 

Black Aly is a fierce warrior and the daughter of Lord Blackwood. She’s been with the Blacks’ army in the riverlands wiping out the Lannisters and others loyal to the Greens.  

In George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, Black Aly’s ruthlessness and heroics in battle and unique ideas earn her quite the reputation. Obviously, we’ve only seen her in two scenes in the show, but this is an impressive introduction. 

I wrote about her in Winter Is Coming when she was introduced, and I mentioned that it seems like the show has bigger plans for Black Aly earlier in this story than her role in Fire & Blood. Ryan Condal and the writers made some massive changes to the Butcher’s Ball that make me think we will see more of Black Aly sooner rather than later. 

Black Aly doesn’t kill Criston Cole in Fire & Blood

Black Aly firing the arrows that kill Criston was not on my bingo card for the episode. Having known the Butcher’s Ball was around the corner, I had some thoughts about how it would play out. There were obviously some surprising moments, especially considering how different the scene happened in Fire & Blood. 

Aside from Criston’s force being larger and Oscar Tully being present in place of some other characters, the biggest change was that Red Robb Rivers didn’t kill Criston. In this version, Black Aly shoots the arrows and kills Criston. It appears some of Red Robb Rivers' story has been given to Black Aly in season 3.

For me, it appears that Condal and the writers are getting started early on setting up Black Aly’s arc and the big part that she will play. 

Without going into too many spoilers, Black Aly does have a major, major part to play as the civil war continues, notably in the Battle of the Kingsroad and what happens after with Cregan Stark, who has also yet to make much impact in the series yet.

It’s going to be interesting to see just how much of the story the show is willing to tell as it moves away from other key characters. 

Obviously, for me, this was an excellent decision to get Black Aly involved this early. She has a major notch in her belt for killing the self-described best warrior in Westeros. 

I hope this means we’re going to see more of Black Aly in the rest of season 3. There’s still so much uncertainty, but I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

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