#alicent x criston

[ophelieverse]

“i was abed” yeah sure😒

[heavenhatesme]

Alicent and Ser Crispy Cream having a righteous flirty session.

Meanwhile Gwayne Hightower:

[shuichiakainx]

🤟😂🖤

[cassassinate123]

alicent literally sits like this at the small council

[beetlejuicyy]

criston cole is such a female-experience coded character and it is exactly why he is hated so much hear me out

his whole character is built around the idea that rhaenyra seduced him, had taken his dignity and made him feel like her whore. his vow and his duty are close enough to the idea of women's purity and value. you were sullied, you have to marry the man that devalued you, otherwise you are spoiled and unworthy.

on top of that, his identity as a knight, as kingsguard means he is submissive. he is not seen having a lot of opinions or plans to how things are done, the big guys in the council decide and he has to obey to their orders.

on top of that, when he does act at last, it's portrayed in the form of scheming, behind the backs of people, and it's mostly attributed to his sentimental nature, to his inability to think straight, be logical because of his personal feelings. that's how women have been portrayed for centuries.

another thing that makes his character harder to grasp is the choice to have the same actor play the pre-timeskip and past-timeskip criston. 20 years have passed and yet people see him as the same person who refused to be rhaenyra's whore but now he is hypocritical because he is alicent's whore. 20 years have passed and, even if you can't see it on his face, he's bound to have changed too.

in his relationship with alicent he doesn't talk as much. he is obedient, she's the one in charge. she gets to say when and how things happen, he is just at her service.

his entire character is build up to revolve around rhenyra, like women's lives are supposed to revolve around men. if he refuses to acknowledge his status in his youth he is no longer allowed to later (after 20 years mind you) find some sort of comfort in another master. it's like saying "if you say you hate the system why take part in it"?

his pent up rage and hatred is evil, because what happened to him was behind closed doors where no one saw or heard of it. because if they knew of it he would lose everything, exactly the way women have often refrained from talking about their condition in fear of being villainized themselves. in the meantime, the one in power will keep their dignity and spotless reputation like rhaenyra is not even held accountable for having bastards pushed forward as heirs, not to mention the fling she had with criston.

this rant is in no way trying to portray criston cole as a saint or a good guy or trying to justify his behaviour. this is actually the problem with hotd, the effort to draw a line between the good guys and bad guys. have it be either balck or white. it's not, it can't be. you either have complex, morally grey characters with flaws and mistakes or you go watch marvel or something. even there villains are more humanized than in this petty effort of righteousness.

LE: thank you everyone who mentioned the aspect of criston being a man of colour from dorne and the power dynamic between a royal and a lower born who fought his way into the world! this rant was written in a rush and while i couldn't express the latter as eloquently as most of you in the tags/comments, i completely overlooked the former. i love looking through everyone's tags and comments and seeing your takes. as @jazzyclarinet pointed out in the comments, seeing criston's character in this light does not erase or diminish the injustice other women in the story experience.

on another note, i feel like part of the blame is on the way hbo marketed the season with the pressure to pick a side. however, i think what we've been lacking as a society in the post covid years is actual unbiased analysis of art. swallowing up content without any question and making said content a personality trait is harmful. as i said, i don't like criston as a character, but i can make these points about him simply because i watch the show critically and i don't blindly defend a character while trashing another.

[greenqueenhightower]

The primary reason I love the Greens is that they are so messed up. They are not perfect, they are not disinfected and favored by the narrative, and they are raw to the bone; they are real.

Aegon is as real as a devastated and soul-crushed father gets whose grief translates to anger and violence. Helaena’s silent inner turmoil and anguish haunt the Red Keep. Alicent has become a wreck as she weighs this tragedy the only way she knows how: against her own failed moral compass, holding herself responsible.

Otto sees his strings of power stretch and snap as he pursues the unattainable dream once more. Criston feels unworthy and consoles himself with the deception that he remains unsullied by still bearing a white cloak to his name, having been absolved of his original oath-breaking years before. And Aemond refuses to acknowledge any weakness or softness in front of his family so he seeks consolation elsewhere.

This green family doesn’t know how to process emotions, doesn’t know how to grieve together, and can’t find solace in each other’s suffering despite yearning for comfort. Otto doesn’t know how to comfort Alicent, Alicent doesn’t know how to comfort Aegon, and Aegon doesn’t know how to comfort Helaena.

Larys exerts his influence and puppeteers Alicent to his own liking by giving her a much-desired grasp of agency over political affairs. Alicent finds escape in undiscovered indulgences that give her the intoxicating illusion of control over a lifetime of servitude. Criston succumbs to the addictive drug of being desired and wanted on equal terms. The Greens live in a vicious circle of unhealed trauma, a bottomless pit of fears and insecurities, and a tangled web of deception and control.

They are wounded, dysfunctional, and forsaken, and that makes them so intriguing.

[sialater18]

I find myself agreeing with this woman’s thoughts on Alicent’s character this season. Which is a shame in many ways…

(Tagging those who might be interested in what this video has to say, I apologize if any of y’all have been trying to get this off your mind only for me to tag you here lol)

@alicentsgf , @lemonhemlock , @thewitchqueenofharrenhal , @spacerockfloater , @gwenllian-in-the-abbey , @forgotten-fossilised , @florisbaratheons , @applepie2523 , @tessarionbestgirl , @queenvhagar , @the-daily-dreamer , @chocobroing , @lunamond , @gojuo, @fearthhereaper , @abla-soso

[peachysunrize]

Alicent Hightower & Criston Cole - House of the Dragon S2E2 -> Rhaenyra The Cruel

[annes-andromeda]

Some happy Greens in these trying times featuring:

Alicole eating cinnamon rolls and orange slices together

Helaegon and their kids getting the rest they deserve

Aemond and Daeron having some quiet reading time

S2 didn’t happen nobody tell them

[spacerockfloater]

Look into the eyes of people who mock Alicent because once she finally becomes a widow, after years of enduring marital rape yet performing her duty and taking care of her husband and giving him 4 children, she’s free to love another man, the only man who was there for her all these years, and tell me that’s not pure, blatant misogyny.

[valinoar]

a hunger like no other - sk osborn, the great, akwaeke emezi, the good fight - ada limón, union of souls - max švabinský, the dedication - edmund leighton, coffin heart? bury me - fatima aamer bilal

[ophelieverse]

Alicent: “I like Ser Criston cole.Thoughts?”

Gwayne: “And prayers.Girl what?”

[geek-talk000]

laughing and crying at the same time sjwnfkjwndfv;j

[saintaemond]

rewatching ep5 we light the way and the way the wedding vows are being said over this scene of criston attempting suicide and alicent saving him...the real union of the night being between them. in this episode they're finally disillusioned of the roles they've been playing. they realise they'd been lied to and used. and at the end of the episode, they are just raw mirrors of shame and naivety staring back at each other asking for help. one flesh, whatever may come

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

PHIA SABAN TALKING ABOUT QUEEN HELAENA TARGARYEN IN S2.

"she's essentially the queen."

TEAM GREEN FAMILY.

[weirwooddreams]

A commission I had done by @/debustee on X/Instagram