Portraying one of the most vitriol-targeted characters in modern television required thick skin. Actor Fabien Frankel spoke openly following the broadcast about finding peace with Cole’s ignominious demise.
Frankel indicated that granting Criston Cole an epic, sword-twirling last stand would have betrayed the show’s gritty ethos. Fans spent years demanding Cole pay for his hypocrisies, his illicit liaison with Rhaenyra, his subsequent moral descent, his affair with Alicent Hightower, and his political betrayals. Frankel noted that going out under an arrow storm, denied the vanity of a duel, was the most honest fate the character could receive.
Online reaction mirrored the actor's perspective. Discussions across Reddit and X broke out into collective celebrations, punctuated by viewers noting the poetic justice of Ser Pate's dismissal. Frankel's performance succeeded precisely because audiences loved to loathe him, making the quiet thud of his body in the mud one of Season 3’s most cathartic moments.
