House of the Dragon is back, and the Dance of the Dragons is underway. The Targaryen war of succession will come down to control—who can control their impulses, their sycophants, and, yes, their dragons. With each passing episode, The Ringer will examine how Westeros’s key players are aligning their pieces on the board.
As the saying goes, chaos can be a ladder. Welcome to the House of the Dragon power rankings. The most hated man in Westeros just keeps winning.
As hesitant as I am to bestow this honor on him, Ser Criston Cole is going back-to-back with the top spot in our weekly power rankings. In Episode 3, Criston has a new haircut and a new swagger about him, as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard adds a fancy necklace to his suit of armor to signify his added responsibility as the hand of the king. And Criston wastes little time putting his newfound power to the test.
In his first Small Council meeting as hand, Criston cooks up an aggressive plan to take Harrenhal, and we can see him slowly slipping out of Alicent Hightower’s control as he leverages the king’s favor to his advantage. Criston’s strategy may be flawed, but his brash, shortsighted view of the war perfectly aligns with King Aegon II’s bloodlust and desire for quick revenge. Criston even manages to win over Alicent’s brother, Gwayne, who goes from openly insulting the new hand in front of the Dowager Queen when they first meet in the episode to cowering before Criston and being in his debt by t.
