Aegon wants revenge in House of the Dragon. That’s not surprising. His son has been murdered, and he’s sure that his half-sister was involved in it. Even if she wasn’t, there are those rallying behind Rhaenyra and they need to question their loyalty to her through this act.
The problem is Aegon is turning to the wrong people in the aftermath. His grandfather, Otto, is attempting to prevent the Dance of Dragons. That’s not going to happen if Aegon turns to others who want some sort of revenge.
One of those people is Criston Cole. Aegon listening to Criston’s advice is only going to end up getting Aegon killed.
Criston Cole wants revenge against Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon
Criston isn’t able to think without his own emotions getting in the way. He hates Rhaenyra. Back in Season 1, she turned a life with him down for the sake of the people of Westeros. She had to choose duty over love, and he couldn’t take that.
Criston is the epitome of the “alpha male” in today’s world. He can’t take rejection; he can’t see things from Rhaenyra’s point of view. Rather than accepting that he doesn’t get to have his own way in love, he decides that she has to die. How dare she not choose him! To be honest, he’s showing her why not to choose him in this instance.
All Criston wants is revenge against her. He’s been looking for a way to get that since her rejection. Now he has it. He doesn’t care who gets in the way of getting that revenge. He doesn’t care who has to die.
Now he’s found a way into Aegon’s head. Of course, Aegon wants revenge. He wants to see his half-sister suffer, so he’s listening to the other man who wants that. All caution is being thrown out of the window. Aegon doesn’t care about what the people think. Avoiding war isn’t weak, but he thinks it is because his emotions are taking over—yes, men, anger is an emotion, and you are hormonal!
It’s all going to lead to disaster. Otto and Alicent can see it, but neither can do anything about it. Even if Aegon isn’t killed outright, it’s going to lead to some serious issues for him. Maybe he should listen to people with more experience and diplomacy.