stephcurtis2142 :
I genuinely don't get the Cole hate. He was seduced by Rhaenyra, had feelings already, later confessed them, and got rejected with, "You can still be my sidepiece, though." He had enough self-respect to say no. We praise people in our own world for setting the same boundary all the time, so why not him? From his perspective, his life was ruined. He broke his vows for the heir to the throne, and if she ever turned on him or accused him, who would've believed him over the future queen? After that, he spiraled. He became bitter, hated what his life had become, and by the end he was basically just looking for a meaningful death. You don't have to like Cole, but acting like he's some one-dimensional villain ignores that he was also a victim. A lot of the reaction to him feels like people dismissing a man's emotions because the person who hurt him was a woman.
2026-07-27 15:26:55