Days After House Of The Dragon Showed Ser Criston’s True Colors, Roasting The Character Is Now An Internet Pastime

MAJOR spoilers for House of the Dragon Episode 5 ahead!

To put it simply: Ser Cirston Cole messed up big time in the latest episode of House of the Dragon. During the episode, fans had big reactions to what Criston Cole did at Rhaenyra’s wedding. Now, a few days after Episode 5 dropped, we are all still reeling and meme-ing over the stupid decisions (that’s right there were multiple) Rhaenyra’s sworn protector made. 

Before we get into the tweets, here is a brief recap of Episode 5 and all the dumb things Ser Criston did in the episode: 

• One: The guy professed his love to the princess and asked her to run away with him after sleeping with her once. She then declined but said they could be together in secret. 
• Two: He had a major identity crisis over breaking his king's guard vows and without hesitation confessed what he did to Alicent when she asked about the rumors regarding Rhaenyra sleeping with her uncle Daemon.  
• Three, and this one’s the doozy: Criston was found out by Ser Laenor’s lover Ser Joffrey Lonmouth. He then beat Joffrey to a pulp in front of everyone. 

So, now that we’ve reviewed and you understand why people aren’t the biggest fan of Criston Cole right now, I present to you the memes:

Starting with this fun one from @FreeFolkMemes that calls out Criston for his instant confession regarding breaking his vow. 

The Twitter discourse every week always involves fans' complex love for Prince Daemon, despite his conniving nature. @vasillisonka decided to post their love for all Rhaenyra’s men (including her uncle) but made sure to cross out Criston, noting that he’s “the weakest fucking link.”

My personal favorite memes are the ones that call back to the show that started it all. This one by @DRAC4RYS throws it back to the days of Arya’s kill list on Game of Thrones, notably calling out Rhaenyra’s sworn protector:

@JasmineLeeC brought out a classic meme as they questioned why Criston felt the need to give up his entire life for a woman he slept with once. However, I will come to the character’s defense on this one, it’s been clear to me that he loved the princess since Episode 1. Nevertheless, this meme is hilarious, check it out: 

Obviously, this poor boy was torn up by Rhaenyra turning him down, causing all his dramatic actions. @luville_slugger compared Criston’s dramatic tendencies to another one of HBO’s popular shows Euphoria. They posted a clip of Sydney Sweeney’s character Cassie crying in the bathroom, low key, I feel like this is how Criston probably felt before the wedding. 

To go out with a bang, the last tweet I chose, from @silvcrwings, aggressively calls out Criston for having “an incel temper tantrum.” I think a temper tantrum is an accurate way to describe Criston’s actions in the last third of the episode. His rage got the best of him and ultimately turned the celebration into a disaster, very Game of Thrones of him. 

The memes and reactions of House of the Dragon seem to get better with every episode. As one of the most popular shows of 2022, it makes sense social media is filled with comments about the biggest moments days after the episode airs. These posts set the bar high for memes moving forward, and I’m so excited to see what fans come up with after next week's episode, which airs Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET or can be streamed with an HBO Max Subscription.