Rhaenyra's Relationship With Criston Soiled His White Cloak In "King of the Narrow Sea", Rhaenyra seduced Ser Criston after she herself was denied by her uncle Daemon (Matt Smith). She and her paramour spent the night together, and she was warm towards Ser Criston afterward.
He didn't want Rhaenyra to run away with him because he loved her despite his claims to marry “for love.” Nor was he heartbroken over her refusal.
Criston objected to Rhaenyra Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone, or her husband, Prince Daemon Targaryen, holding power, and he also repeated the rumor that Rhaenyra's children from Ser Laenor Velaryon were bastards. Instead of Rhaenrya, the greens wanted to crown her younger half-brother, Prince Aegon the Elder.
(Spoilers Extended) Criston Cole was coerced into sleeping with Rhaenyra.
Rhaenyra took advantage of him. She came back home hot and heavy and used ser Criston to quench her hornyness. He might like her but he made a vow of chastity that he meant to keep.
Ser Criston Cole: According to Martin's The World of Ice and Fire, Ser Criston was born in 81 AC, making him 16 years Rhaenyra's senior. But Dragon's Ser Criston is likely much younger: Fabien Frankel, who portrays the knight onscreen, is 28 years old, only 8 years older than Alcock's young Rhaenyra.
And like anyone with a crush on a celebrity, the euphoria from it is exhilarating. But he cannot see that Rhaenyra only slept with him because she was sexually frustrated with her uncle, the true object of desire for her. To her, he was a stick she could use to scratch an itch.
According to the accounts of Septon Eustace, prior to her turning sixteen, Rhaenyra lost her virginity to her uncle, Prince Daemon, after he seduced her.
We last saw her find out the truth in "We Light the Way" that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).
While the unreliable narrative of Fire & Blood has another character state that it was Rhaenyra who confessed her love to Cole and was rejected, the outcome remains the same, with Criston beginning to hate Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra then leaves for Driftmark with Harwin Strong as her new sworn shield.
While House Of The Dragon episode 4 showed Daemon was able to seduce Rhaenyra by kissing and undressing her, he couldn't fulfill the act due to impotence.
"House of the Dragon" star Emily Carey explained one reason why Alicent felt betrayed by Rhaenyra. She told Variety that Alicent was actually in love with Criston Cole before Rhaenyra slept with him. Alicent's feeling of betrayal by Rhaenyra was a focal point of episode five.
Daemon is really angry because Rhaenyra is being passive. In his mind she wants to make peace with the greens when they possibly killed or poisoned Viserys (we see him checking for poison in ep 8 and he accuses Alicent of killing Viserys in ep 10) and they usurped the throne. Something that he very much wants.
8 Rhaenyra Loves Her Uncle
In Fire & Blood, however, Rhaenyra is in love with Daemon from a young age. Things change after she meets Criston Cole. Nevertheless, George R. R. Martin's books show that Rhaenyra's first love was Daemon, whereas House of the Dragon has a slower build-up between the two.
Rhaenyra sleeps with Ser Criston Cole, Otto Hightower spills
He initially tells the princess to stop but soon accepts her advances, and the two sleep together. The two have been great friends and Ser Criston is one of the few people Rhaenyra trusts so, can't say we didn't see this coming!
So yeah, he will always love Rhaenyra. Cole certainly did not take Rhaenyra's rejection well; in fact, he beat a man to death because he was so salty about it.
He ended up getting carried away but eventually stopped himself from going too far. So Viserys' only problem is that he thinks Daemon took Rhaenyra's virginity. But he didn't. So in Daemon's mind, he probably doesn't see much of what he did as being that wrong to begin with.
Rhaenyra's children are bastards, and Vaemond finally let everyone know in Episode 8, as loudly as he possibly could.
Yes they did actually love each other. He definitely loved Rhaenyra that much is clear and I honestly believe he loved her until the end (his death). He wasn't faithful but he did love her more than any other woman he has ever been with.
The moment that causes the break in Rhaenyra and Criston's relationship is when Criston offers to elope with Rhaenyra, and she turns him down to pursue her ambitions. They break up after this and their love turns into bitterness and hatred. Most accounts in George R. R. Martin's books agree that this is what happened.
Yet, after finding his proposal of elopement rejected by lover Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock, then Emma D'Arcy) in the fifth episode, Ser Criston was furious that he had betrayed his vow of chastity in the Kingsguard for the Princess and was more disgusted when she suggested they continued their affair ...
While Rhaenyra did go on to sleep with Criston Cole — the big problem of the episode — Viserys (Paddy Considine) was made more cautious of Daemon. In confronting him, instead of denying that he had sex with Rhaenyra and telling the truth, he instead asks Rhaenyra's hand in marriage.
By House of the Dragon's fourth episode, Rhaenyra is around 18 years old and Daemon is 34. "The idea that a teenage girl is in any way able to consent to that sexual interaction is a mess.
While Daemon and Rhaenyra never actually slept together (though she did secretly lose her virginity to Ser Criston Cole that night), the now banished Daemon Targaryen refuses to disprove the accusation.