Game of Thrones fans are a passionate bunch who share their opinions on the show's storylines and characters. It's not out of the ordinary for the conversation to be honest (especially when it comes to the final season) and sometimes veer on too much. HBO's prequel spinoff series House of the Dragon got a taste of that during its second season when a villain inspired a lot of hate.
The fandom's hatred of House of the Dragon season 2 villain Ser Criston Cole carried over to the character's actor Fabien Frankel, who was forced to disable comments on his Instagram. Criston's actions, which include causing the deaths of Arryk and Erryk Cargyll among other heinous things, caused fans to flood Frankel's comments with hate for him that was directed at Criston.
But if you're still holding onto deep disdain for Criston Cole ahead of House of the Dragon season 3, you might like a teased storyline that's supposedly coming up. You should also consider watching the new HBO crime drama miniseries Task to watch Fabien Frankel in an exciting new role that will help fans further separate the actor from his very hated villain.
Fabien Frankel is one of the best parts of HBO's crime drama miniseries Task
Task comes from Mare of Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby and stars Mark Ruffalo as FBI agent Tom Brandis. When the Dark Hearts gang members are continuously robbed outside Philadelphia, the FBI places Brandis as the leader of a task force seeking to track down the thief and the increasingly violent robberies. Tom Pelphrey co-leads as Robbie, the family man and robber.
Frankel co-stars as Anthony Grasso, a detective from Delaware County who joins the task force's investigation and becomes Tom's obedient and steadfast righthand man. Obviously, Grasso is everything that Criston is not, so if you're in need to see Frankel play a character who isn't cruel and a downright villain, Task will give you that exact opportunity.
Although Ruffalo and Pelphrey are the real stars of the show and are the reason people are tuning in, Frankel has easily become one of the best parts of Task. Considering this is a show full of unlikable characters, and how you're rooting for changes minute by minute, Frankel's character can be our North Star. Grasso's innately likable, and that has everything to do with Frankel.
His talent is so sharp that he's able to make us absolutely hate him in House of the Dragon, but in Task, we're basically giggling and kicking our feet when he's telling Lizzie (Alison Oliver) about his past as DJ Grassanova, singing a bit, and flirting by calling her Snickerdoodle. He's able to be unbelievably charming one minute and then lock in and be the best detective on the team the next.
Currently only two episodes into its seven-episode run on HBO, Task could totally flip a switch and reveal Grasso to be not exactly as we expect him to be, but that's honestly unlikely considering what we already know about him. He's smart, caring, and by-the-book, all things that Criston really isn't in most cases. Put your loathing for Criston aside and welcome a new side of Fabien Frankel.
Task airs new episodes Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. Catch up now on HBO Max!