'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon': Is Criston Cole a better fighter than Prince Daemon Targaryen?
The premiere of ‘House of the Dragon’ saw Criston Cole going against Prince Daemon Targaryen during the Tourney. A Tourney is an annual event that takes place in the ‘Game of Thrones’ universe and sees warriors from several houses going against each other to be the greatest warrior. Brutal killings and gruesome fights are pretty ordinary during that event.
Before Cole and Daemon’s fight, we saw some of the warriors fight and kill each other then and there. It is as brutal as it can get out there. Cole (Fabien Frankel) and Daemon (Matt Smith) reached the final after defeating several other warriors. It was time for a highborn Targaryen to fight against a lowborn in a tournament that was being held to honor the upcoming birth of the King and Queen’s child who, if born male, will be the new heir to the throne.
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As soon as they both get into the fight, we realize that Daemon surely has an upper hand because he is clever and uses his unique tricks to obtain victory. However, everyone is stunned when Criston was able to knock Daemon off of this horse. Daemon is embarrassed by that and quickly calls for a sword. A horse fight quickly turns into a sword fight. Daemon has his sword while Criston has a mace and although it seems that the Taragaryen is going to win the fight, Criston shocked everyone when he defeated the Prince and forced him to surrender.
How did he beat Daemon? Was it just a surprise or Criston is also a skilled warrior?
According to the books written by George RR Martin, Ser Criston Cole is not just a lowborn, he is also a skilled warrior who has the potential of defeating the greatest of warriors. During the fight, he was calm and composed whereas Daemon was over-confident and believed that no one can beat him. Well, the premiere episode made it evident that the Prince had a lot of ego in him and was considered to be narcissistic. So, that also played a role in his defeat, but mostly, it was Criston Cole’s skills that outclassed him.
Does that make him a better warrior than Prince Daemon? Well, we can say that and even the books suggest that as the story moves forward Criston becomes Princess Rhaenyra's sworn shield and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. So, there’s no doubt that Cole had all the skills and ferocity of a highly-skilled warrior.
On the other hand, this victory also sets up a relationship arc between Rhaenyra and Criston. It needs to be seen if the relationship will be friendly or something more, but it’ll be interesting if Cole becomes one of the integral parts of the civil war.
‘House of the Dragon’ returns to HBO with a new episode every Sunday at 9 pm EST.