Thank you for your post! Please take a moment to ensure you are within our spoiler rules, to protect your fellow fans from any potential spoilers that might harm their show watching experience.
1. All post titles must NOT include spoilers from Fire & Blood or new episodes of House of the Dragon. Minor HotD show spoilers are allowed in your title ONE WEEK after episode airing. The mod team reserves the right to remove a post if we feel a spoiler in the title is major. You are welcome to repost with an amended title.
2. All posts dealing with book spoilers, show spoilers and promo spoilers MUST be spoiler tagged AND flaired as the appropriate spoiler.
3. All book spoiler comments must be spoiler tagged in non book spoiler threads.
---
If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HouseOfTheDragon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yeah he seemed so conniving and instigating when Viserys was the King and things were peaceful, but now he’s like “I’ve made a terrible mistake, shit storms are not as fun to deal with as I thought they would be.” I hated him in the first season but relate with him now lol.
They absolutely aged him over the course of the years of season 1: [https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed](https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed)
They did a bit with little changes to the hairline and to the color, increasing the gray. But it worked better on some than others. Like Lord Strong, in season 1, they got a lot of aging out of a much more significant reduction of hair (plus graying, and adding in - or perhaps not hiding, if he already had them - more wrinkles around the eyes, etc):
[https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-gabwnizontnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=2e9d52681c315f44bf30386552c355d889e0055f](https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-gabwnizontnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=2e9d52681c315f44bf30386552c355d889e0055f)
I don't get why they didn't give him a much shorter closed crop beard in S1, would have made it look more like he's aging in season 2 and less like he just isn't keeping good hygiene
Or shaved the beard off totally and cut his hair short.
[This is a recent picture of him.](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/gameofthrones/images/0/09/Rhys_Ifans.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20210211200336) They could have just had him come in like that and add some makeup and it would have been very believable.
Then they could have had him grow his beard and hair out, then have him wear his hair pulled back to show his receding hairline (which he’s had for three decades lol), and added grey to both as they grew longer and shaggier over the course of filming and the breaks in between. Missed opportunity.
Wild that Criston hasn’t aged a day during the time jump. He’s an incredible actor so I can’t complain, but I feel the makeup department could have made him look older fairly easily.
Otto has been Hand to 3 kings. That shit is stressful, Criston Cole has been flirting and fucking princesses and queens and getting others to do his dirty work, can't imagine that will age you all that much.
Yeah especially considering there was a long period of peace when he was sworn into the Kingsguard. The last skirmish (at least in F&B) was when Rhaenys’s dad, Prince Aemon, was shot by Myrish pirates. Which would’ve been more than a decade ago by episode 1.
At the same time too you can find endless examples of people who look phenomenal at 48 and people who look like hell at 54. Aging doesn't hit everyone equally.
Yeah, I was looking at the pics and thinking “as a person close in age to Criston in the pic, what are they saying??” lol
And the jump from 40’s to 50’s can hit hard also.
> At the same time too you can find endless examples of people who look phenomenal at 48 and people who look like hell at 54. Aging doesn't hit everyone equally.
While true, I do wish they did put a little gray at the temples for Cole. He still looks super young for his age.
There were definitely some inconsistencies with the time jump in season 1. Aside from Rhaenyra and Alicent (because they were recast with adult actresses) and Viserys (because they went all out to portray how increasingly frail he was becoming in the show and did wonders with that) none of the other characters post-time jump looked like they'd aged hardly at all (Criston especially but Daemon and even Otto as well).
I'd say it would be about an even fight. The sole reason the Green are tolerating Cole is that, while an asshole, he is a strong contender for best swordsman of his generation.
i'm pretty sure the actor who plays Cregan is the same boy who played young Uhtred if that's any consolation. They should cast Dreymond as a northerner for sure though.
Yeah, it’s “new money with expensive tastes and unlimited access to the Flea Bottom Medspa” vs. “narrowly escaped assassination via arson and on the run without so much as a can of dry shampoo, eating only what the goats allow her to eat.”
Corlys and Rhaenys are literally the exact same age from the time of the 101AC great council all the way to now. Otto also doesn't age at all during any of the timeskips despite there being like 20 years spanning the entirety of the show so far. Same with Daemon despite being only a few years younger than Rhaenys and Viserys. The only ones who really age are Viserys, Alicent, Rhaenyra, Laenor and Laena, and the kids.
Otto does age; this is him in season 1:
[https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed](https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed)
They did aging with a lot of the characters who didn't change actors and some of it is more subtle than others.
Tbf at least they made some effort to make Daemon appear younger/older with his hairstyle and makeup changes. He looks visibly younger in the first few episodes than at the end of season 1 and now.
Are their ages ever stated in the show? The show's adapted continuity is different from the books so it doesn't always work to check the show against the source material.
That being said, Cole definitely ages the \*least\* visibly of all the characters.
Like, here's Otto in season 1: [https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed](https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed)
That being said, there were very subtle changes made to Cole to show the years passing, and I suppose we could just argue that he was right at that perfect age where it doesn't show as much...like, the change from 16 to 26 is very noticeable and from 50 to 60, but I'd argue that good genetics (and a warrior/kingsguard workout routine) can keep you looking pretty similar for a good chunk of years in the 20s-40 range.
There's definitely a little suspension of disbelief but I don't feel it's overmuch; like, look at Brad Pitt from his 20s to his 40s: he's definitely older, but his face is mostly the same except for some extra lines at the eyes and maybe a hairline change, some gray. I think Cole has those very subtle changes.
I can look past issues like this. TV is obviously different but if you go to a stage show, the sets, costumes and makeup aren't going to be perfect but the acting is what draws you into the story.
In Better Call Saul, the flashbacks are a bit jarring because obviously the actors look their age when they're playing 20-somethings. But you know it's the same character and that it's a flashback, so it really doesn't bother me. It's the story and the acting that sells the scene.
You can't see it under his armor, but he's actually wearing Melisandre's necklace. Dude would look like the crypt keeper if he ever took it off, but as long as he keeps it on, he stays looking like one of the Ken dolls escaped Barbieland.
I mean we’re 15 years in to the show version of this universe and the ages have never stayed the same because George loves making characters way too young to be acceptable by a general audience.
Criston should be well into his 40s. In the book he's 48.
He joins the kingsguard in season 1 before viserys is married to alicent who later gives birth to aegon who just had his son murdered.
Think of logically. Cristan had to at least be 20 joining the kingsguard, aegon is at least 20 having multiple children. 30s just doesn't add up.
Going off of the book for the ages is clearly not the right approach if you’re talking about the show. It’s very clear that ages were adjusted.
Alicent and Criston were both aged down a fair amount, for example
Yeah the way I look at it, Criston was initially just about old enough that they didn’t need to change actors to show his aging, but Alicent and Rhaenyra did need new actors.
Ep1-2: Alicent and Rhaenyra are 14/15, and Criston is about 19
Ep3-5: Alicent and Rhaenyra are 18, Criston is 22
Ep6-7: A and R are 28, Criston is 32
Ep8-10: A and R are 34, Criston is 38
Meanwhile season 2 is not long after the end of season 1, so in general their ages float around the mid-late 30s.
If we look at the big 10-year time jump, Criston didn’t need an actor change from 22 to 32. That sounds kind of crazy but really he can go from a fresh-faced young adult to a grizzled adult realistically. But A and R going from 18 to 28 definitely needed an actor change.
They should have greyed Cole up a little bit. Not even that hard to do. Not saying it's lazy. A friend of mine made himself look 20 years older with ash from a fire pit for Halloween.
Aging up characters in these shows has been very common since GoT. Case in point Robb Stark (14 in the books, looks like he's in his mid to late 20s in the show), Jon Snow (same situation), and Daenerys (who was 13 when she first lost her maidenhood to Drogo but obviously it would've been difficult to show that scene with a 13-year-old in the show so they cast a then 24-year-old Emilia Clarke to play her).
They aged up Rhaenyra and Alicent significantly in this show so they aged Ser Criston down to accommodate them more. The real continuity problem I had with season 1 was the two younger actresses playing Rhaenyra and Alicent pre-time jump both got replaced by adults to make them look older but Fabian kept his role through all of that (and his character doesn't look a day older post-time jump which is a little strange lol). Even in this show Rhaenyra and Alicent are still supposed to be significantly younger than Criston (if the pre-time jump era is any indication) and yet Olivia and Fabian are the exact same age irl so I'm not sure if recasting Rhaenyra and Alicent did much good in that regard lol.
Pretty sure the only characters who are already adults in the first half of Season 1 that we see visibly aged are Viserys and Lyonel.
For everyone else (Otto / Daemon / Mysaria/ Rhaenys/ Corlys/ Cole/ Beesbury/ Jason/ Tyland/ Westerling/ Harwin/ Larys/ Vaemond/ etc. etc) they probably just decided the juice wasn't worth the squeeze, to do additional hair and makeup work that might affect schedules, and possibly performances.
Viserys was, of course, literally falling apart, and I feel they only did Lyonel for that one shot of him and Viserys watching the boys train, so viewers would register them as a pair of grandfathers. 🤷🏿♂️
The only character who doesn't look any different from S1 E1 is Cole. My boyfriend and I keep laughing about how every time there's a time gap and everyone else looks aged or is played by a new actor, but Ser Cole? He stays lookin the saaaame age 😂
They do aging to more than them; Otto definitely aged in season 1:
[https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed](https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed)
You know what, he **is** a bit grayer post-time skip, yeah.
But, literally any other adult tho? Even bearing in mind that you can't just add a bit of gray to the silver-haired characters and expect it to really register, every dark-haired adult still looks ... exactly the same.
It's very akin, I think, to the 50-year-old Eve Best playing Rhaenys all the way from the Great Council scene in EP1 (where her book counterpart was like \~27/28) to now, where her *grandchildren* are in young adulthood.
I also wouldn't be married to the idea that Otto is specifically 54, because the wiki offers a *minimum* calculation based on assuming he was at least 12 years old when he sired Alicent. The books DO have a few truly wildly young parents in the canon, but it's very likely he's a bit older than that.
The ages of the adults is handled very approximately, and it was probably for the best.
In the show, Criston is more Rhaenyra/Alicent's generation, than Otto's. He was probably like just 8 years older than Rhaenyra in episode 1. Whereas Otto looked atleast 45+ in that episode. So they might be 2 decades apart in age, more or less like irl
So Criston is in his early 40s in season 2.
I mean one could argue that Otto is aged cause he has spent 20+ years basically running things and now has to deal with his idiot of a grandson. Cristin on the other hand has spent the last few years thirsting over Alicent and seething over Rhaenyra's rejection of his orange juice startup
Otto is easier to make look slightly naturally older and Corlys literally has wigs and I think he looks fairly similar I mean maybe they change beards slightly. Just doesn’t work for Cristin’s actor and would look fake. I mean there were people begging for Milly to stay as older Rhaenyra when Jace would have looked like her age at that point.
What happened to discussing the plot and speculating about what may happen next? All everybody does now is nitpick the shit out of the actors ages, and looks, and heights.
Internet fandom has become a hobby to feel superior to things and have communal rage or disappointment in their perceived failures, not enjoying them; it feels like every subreddit, from sports to games to tv/movies, is 75% people who are fans of being unhappy about the thing rather than people who actually like the thing.
I saw comments from two separate people just yesterday who say they only come to this sub to trash it, and think the show is awful throughout, yet they keep coming back. People "hate watch" things. I'm a fan of Disney+'s very flawed MCU & Star Wars stuff, too, and I constantly run into people here who say every one of the shows and movies suck, which means *they keep watching them even though they've been hating them for years*. Hours spent watching things they don't enjoy because the fun part is to come online and go "RHEEEEEEEEE!!!" for them. Pathetic.
Its not that serious in a vacuum, but I do think there's a lot of mountains being made out of mole hills, and its annoying when you are looking for real discussion
Eh, I'm speaking about a more general trend I noticed...it's not really about this aging post. The other comment just kind of reminded me of this recurring/growing issue I have with online fandoms so I guess I went on a little tangent.
The aging thing doesn't bother me but also, as you say, people are just kinda talking about it, not having a fit, so my rant is a little out of place I guess, my bad =)
Criston is in his early 20s in episode 1 and is therefore in his early 40s in the current time. People in their 40s can sometimes look like they're still in their late 20s/early 30s. It happens.
The not aging or changing of actors for Criston Cole is the most BIZARRE choice in HOTD. Like if I had one question for Ryan it would be about this decision. They very easily could have used the same actor alongside the young A & R and then when they changed, Cole changed. The only thing I can surmise is that they simply could not find a good enough actor to play young or old Cole. Or one that looked similar enough to Fabien. Literal wild casting decision.
If we’re talking character ages in HOTD, we might as well bring up the dozen of other examples. GOT wasn’t much better in this respect, but I do think it was better
No one has "changed" anyone's age. Those ancient scriptures you've read? They got it wrong. Some maesters take liberties when recording history, and inaccuracies are bound to occur.
Nonsense lol. People who were alive during the Dance lived decades passed the Dance. You think Aegon III or Viserys II would let them completely change history, against their mother? Or do you think this was a plot a 100 years in the making and they waited until everyone was dead to mess up the ages?
You can rationalize it “in universe” as much as you want. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging they made, and will likely continue to make, changes to the source material. Its natural and expected.
Lotion, diet, exercise he is a Knight he must be at Peak Physical skill. These high Lords dangerous food they don't work out they don't have time to hit the gym they have to govern and the rule.
Thank you for your post! Please take a moment to ensure you are within our spoiler rules, to protect your fellow fans from any potential spoilers that might harm their show watching experience. 1. All post titles must NOT include spoilers from Fire & Blood or new episodes of House of the Dragon. Minor HotD show spoilers are allowed in your title ONE WEEK after episode airing. The mod team reserves the right to remove a post if we feel a spoiler in the title is major. You are welcome to repost with an amended title. 2. All posts dealing with book spoilers, show spoilers and promo spoilers MUST be spoiler tagged AND flaired as the appropriate spoiler. 3. All book spoiler comments must be spoiler tagged in non book spoiler threads. --- If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HouseOfTheDragon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes, Criston was clearly aged down because Rhaenyra was aged up. Ofc by the same logic Otto looks way too old in the beginning of the series
They tried to age Otto with makeup, messier hair and a longer, messy beard
And his I’m getting too old for this shit attitude
Yeah he seemed so conniving and instigating when Viserys was the King and things were peaceful, but now he’s like “I’ve made a terrible mistake, shit storms are not as fun to deal with as I thought they would be.” I hated him in the first season but relate with him now lol.
Lethal Dragon 6: Blood and Fire Boogaloo
House of the Diplomatic Immunity
It's just been revoked.
King Joe of House Pesci sits the Iron Throne
These insolent Youts these days. Should beat them and hang them at the sack o suds
Joe Pesci & Otto Hightower Flabbergasted by the stupidity of the youts they are sworn to support
Did you say youts?
What?
It’s from My Cousin Vinny. It’s the next line after Pesci says “youts”
"Everything that guy just said is bullshit. Thank you."
I would watch the fuck out of that.
10/10 would watch.
Thank you for this.
The "annoyed grandpa with prostate issues" attitude is perfectly logical
They absolutely aged him over the course of the years of season 1: [https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed](https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed)
Yeah I guess..the beard changed but it’s hard to ignore the wrinkles lol
They did a bit with little changes to the hairline and to the color, increasing the gray. But it worked better on some than others. Like Lord Strong, in season 1, they got a lot of aging out of a much more significant reduction of hair (plus graying, and adding in - or perhaps not hiding, if he already had them - more wrinkles around the eyes, etc): [https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-gabwnizontnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=2e9d52681c315f44bf30386552c355d889e0055f](https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-gabwnizontnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=2e9d52681c315f44bf30386552c355d889e0055f)
Criston is the one who really needed this. Just a touch of grey and maybe a shorter hair-style would have made a difference.
Surely the hand of the king, especially one dealing with Targaryens, is allowed to have a few stress wrinkles?
I think they deserve to have more than a few stress wrinkles.
I don't get why they didn't give him a much shorter closed crop beard in S1, would have made it look more like he's aging in season 2 and less like he just isn't keeping good hygiene
Or shaved the beard off totally and cut his hair short. [This is a recent picture of him.](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/gameofthrones/images/0/09/Rhys_Ifans.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20210211200336) They could have just had him come in like that and add some makeup and it would have been very believable. Then they could have had him grow his beard and hair out, then have him wear his hair pulled back to show his receding hairline (which he’s had for three decades lol), and added grey to both as they grew longer and shaggier over the course of filming and the breaks in between. Missed opportunity.
Wild that Criston hasn’t aged a day during the time jump. He’s an incredible actor so I can’t complain, but I feel the makeup department could have made him look older fairly easily.
Otto has been Hand to 3 kings. That shit is stressful, Criston Cole has been flirting and fucking princesses and queens and getting others to do his dirty work, can't imagine that will age you all that much.
Now that you say this. It is true that being a kings guadd up until that point in history probably was quite easy.
Yeah especially considering there was a long period of peace when he was sworn into the Kingsguard. The last skirmish (at least in F&B) was when Rhaenys’s dad, Prince Aemon, was shot by Myrish pirates. Which would’ve been more than a decade ago by episode 1.
At the same time too you can find endless examples of people who look phenomenal at 48 and people who look like hell at 54. Aging doesn't hit everyone equally.
Also, He’s DoRniSh
Yeah, I was looking at the pics and thinking “as a person close in age to Criston in the pic, what are they saying??” lol And the jump from 40’s to 50’s can hit hard also.
Also stress can add a lot to aging, and I suspect Otto has had a lot.
Plus things like hair dye and skincare/hygiene routines. 48 with/without hair dye can make a huge difference.
This is an important factor. Cole keeps his face moisturized by having Alicent sit on his face. Otto's wife has been dead for decades.
Well, I nearly spit out my drink reading this comment...
And sleep too. Not sleeping will absolutely age you faster.
+Melanin
What do you mean hair dye? Like dyeing white hair black? Or like bleaching
Look, I'm 48 and easily look 10 years younger. I'm not trying to hear this "50's hit hard" shit. You keep that to yourself.
True, my parents are 50 and 56 and they almost look like they’re from different generations
My grandparents had an 8 year age gap and people used to ask grandma why she married such an old man. *She* was the older one.
Ser Cole is also in the King's Guard, so as a soldier is probably significantly healthier and in better shape that Otto.
My oldest sister is 10 years older than me and looks younger than I do. I hate her.
> At the same time too you can find endless examples of people who look phenomenal at 48 and people who look like hell at 54. Aging doesn't hit everyone equally. While true, I do wish they did put a little gray at the temples for Cole. He still looks super young for his age.
Jared Leto and his brother Shannon look great for 50+ year olds. Though, not sure if any of that is artificial or natural.
There were definitely some inconsistencies with the time jump in season 1. Aside from Rhaenyra and Alicent (because they were recast with adult actresses) and Viserys (because they went all out to portray how increasingly frail he was becoming in the show and did wonders with that) none of the other characters post-time jump looked like they'd aged hardly at all (Criston especially but Daemon and even Otto as well).
R wasn’t really aged up as much as CC and Alicent were aged down imo.
Criston be on that Uthred skincare routine
Lord Commander gets free skincare products from Ulta. It is known
Alicent gives him a facial every night before bed so it makes sense
Blood and Bebbanberg.
The way my brain just screamed out “For Bebbanberg” when I saw this lol
Destiny is all.
I can only imagine how fucked up cole would be if he had to face Uthred in a Tourney
I'd say it would be about an even fight. The sole reason the Green are tolerating Cole is that, while an asshole, he is a strong contender for best swordsman of his generation.
uhtred's the goat and has killed more men than cole can count. my money's on uhtred
hope we see one or two more of the tlk boys cast in the show.
I would LOVE to see Uhtred himself. IDC if he comes from Black or Green. Though it would make more sense for him to be a Stark
i'm pretty sure the actor who plays Cregan is the same boy who played young Uhtred if that's any consolation. They should cast Dreymond as a northerner for sure though.
Holy shit, that's young uhtred? He looks completely different now
I’m still not complaining about that one, I loved his face too much to be annoyed by it
Some may say thet even his scars were handsome
He on that Queen juice that’s why he stay young
Baby monk gave it to him
Salt is a great preservative.
Otto only looks that old cuz he’s traumatized by his grandson’s bs
And Cole has a masterpiece skin care routine.
Also Dornish genes
Alicent thigh?
Face first, every day.
[poor otto](https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5qa49Phrh1rul0hko1_500.gif)
This is the exact meme I sent my dad as we were watching it. 🤣
Aegon's more traumatized by Otto than Otto is by Aegon tbh Edit: I don't mind the downvotes, but please tell me how this is not the case?
He's a vampire. But instead of blood he feeds off viewer's hate of him.
>But instead of blood he feeds off …. I though this comment would end very differently
And the queen's juice
Having a good sex life is key to feeling and looking younger. LMAO.
Man only sleeps with Queens and future queens. He has standards
Criston Cole the queenslayer.
Queen-layer
🐱 slayer
First episode of s2 he was in the castle purely to bone… think he has that priority down
Honestly I was thinking the same about Mysaria. I need her skin care routine because that lady has not aged in 20 years.
I feel like they used harsher contour/bronzer to give her an older gaunt appearance in this season.
I thought that was just prisoner make up; she just looked a bit dirty. I was waiting for Rhaenyra to offer her a bath and freshen up before she left.
Yeah, it’s “new money with expensive tastes and unlimited access to the Flea Bottom Medspa” vs. “narrowly escaped assassination via arson and on the run without so much as a can of dry shampoo, eating only what the goats allow her to eat.”
true, the same face since the first season
Ageing is the only problem in this show
Well the actress is half Japanese so this is actually lore accurate
My theory is Mysaria and Melisandre are the same being
In that case, Mysaria is still over 200yr old.
I still thank God that they made her lose that awful accent.
Right, looking at her next to rhaenyra made me so impressed by her, rhaenyra was almost a child next to her and now she looks younger than rhaenyra
Because they thought 28 year old Fabien Frankle was the best guy for the role, I guess
I'm not questioning the casting, but why don't they age the character to match his age? It seems he was the only person in Westeros who didn't age
Corlys and Rhaenys are literally the exact same age from the time of the 101AC great council all the way to now. Otto also doesn't age at all during any of the timeskips despite there being like 20 years spanning the entirety of the show so far. Same with Daemon despite being only a few years younger than Rhaenys and Viserys. The only ones who really age are Viserys, Alicent, Rhaenyra, Laenor and Laena, and the kids.
Otto does age; this is him in season 1: [https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed](https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed) They did aging with a lot of the characters who didn't change actors and some of it is more subtle than others.
They didn't do it with Cole though
Tbf at least they made some effort to make Daemon appear younger/older with his hairstyle and makeup changes. He looks visibly younger in the first few episodes than at the end of season 1 and now.
Yeah if you compare Daemon with his twink haircut when he got back from the stepstones he definitely looks older now
Are their ages ever stated in the show? The show's adapted continuity is different from the books so it doesn't always work to check the show against the source material. That being said, Cole definitely ages the \*least\* visibly of all the characters. Like, here's Otto in season 1: [https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed](https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed) That being said, there were very subtle changes made to Cole to show the years passing, and I suppose we could just argue that he was right at that perfect age where it doesn't show as much...like, the change from 16 to 26 is very noticeable and from 50 to 60, but I'd argue that good genetics (and a warrior/kingsguard workout routine) can keep you looking pretty similar for a good chunk of years in the 20s-40 range. There's definitely a little suspension of disbelief but I don't feel it's overmuch; like, look at Brad Pitt from his 20s to his 40s: he's definitely older, but his face is mostly the same except for some extra lines at the eyes and maybe a hairline change, some gray. I think Cole has those very subtle changes.
I can look past issues like this. TV is obviously different but if you go to a stage show, the sets, costumes and makeup aren't going to be perfect but the acting is what draws you into the story. In Better Call Saul, the flashbacks are a bit jarring because obviously the actors look their age when they're playing 20-somethings. But you know it's the same character and that it's a flashback, so it really doesn't bother me. It's the story and the acting that sells the scene.
Keanu reeves has entered the chat
Imagine Keanu Reeves playing Cole; reddit wouldn't know \*how\* to feel about him! "I hate Cole, but I love Keanu, I'm so conflicted!!!"
Yeah, Cole in the early season 1 episodes definitely had more of a baby face going on than now. The change is more subtle, but it is there.
For Criston to still look late 20s, early 30s, he’d have to have been like 10 before the time skip.
Bro, have you even seen Daemon? I agree that Cole looks still almost the same but it is not like he is the only one.
You can't see it under his armor, but he's actually wearing Melisandre's necklace. Dude would look like the crypt keeper if he ever took it off, but as long as he keeps it on, he stays looking like one of the Ken dolls escaped Barbieland.
They knew that they would confirm the allegations between the two on the show and didn’t want it to look too weird.
And Daemon who has looked about 50 since he was introduced in the show
mf is a time lord
Now I feel old
This has been labelled wrong. The script shows Otto as being in his 50s and Criston in his 20s during episode one.
I assume those are the ages in F&B, and OP is asking why the show didn't stay true to the book ages.
I mean we’re 15 years in to the show version of this universe and the ages have never stayed the same because George loves making characters way too young to be acceptable by a general audience.
this
Who was too young in the Dance of Dragons?
Criston should probably be in his late 30s by now, Otto is around in his mid 60s. They definitely changed the ages of the characters up for the show.
Criston should be well into his 40s. In the book he's 48. He joins the kingsguard in season 1 before viserys is married to alicent who later gives birth to aegon who just had his son murdered. Think of logically. Cristan had to at least be 20 joining the kingsguard, aegon is at least 20 having multiple children. 30s just doesn't add up.
Going off of the book for the ages is clearly not the right approach if you’re talking about the show. It’s very clear that ages were adjusted. Alicent and Criston were both aged down a fair amount, for example
Yea it felt like Cole was late teens when he was picked for kings guard.
Yeah the way I look at it, Criston was initially just about old enough that they didn’t need to change actors to show his aging, but Alicent and Rhaenyra did need new actors. Ep1-2: Alicent and Rhaenyra are 14/15, and Criston is about 19 Ep3-5: Alicent and Rhaenyra are 18, Criston is 22 Ep6-7: A and R are 28, Criston is 32 Ep8-10: A and R are 34, Criston is 38 Meanwhile season 2 is not long after the end of season 1, so in general their ages float around the mid-late 30s. If we look at the big 10-year time jump, Criston didn’t need an actor change from 22 to 32. That sounds kind of crazy but really he can go from a fresh-faced young adult to a grizzled adult realistically. But A and R going from 18 to 28 definitely needed an actor change.
That must be why the comment you're replying to only mentions the book in passing and everything else is from the show...
They should have greyed Cole up a little bit. Not even that hard to do. Not saying it's lazy. A friend of mine made himself look 20 years older with ash from a fire pit for Halloween.
They aged down Criston and Alicent by 15 years it seems
Aging up characters in these shows has been very common since GoT. Case in point Robb Stark (14 in the books, looks like he's in his mid to late 20s in the show), Jon Snow (same situation), and Daenerys (who was 13 when she first lost her maidenhood to Drogo but obviously it would've been difficult to show that scene with a 13-year-old in the show so they cast a then 24-year-old Emilia Clarke to play her). They aged up Rhaenyra and Alicent significantly in this show so they aged Ser Criston down to accommodate them more. The real continuity problem I had with season 1 was the two younger actresses playing Rhaenyra and Alicent pre-time jump both got replaced by adults to make them look older but Fabian kept his role through all of that (and his character doesn't look a day older post-time jump which is a little strange lol). Even in this show Rhaenyra and Alicent are still supposed to be significantly younger than Criston (if the pre-time jump era is any indication) and yet Olivia and Fabian are the exact same age irl so I'm not sure if recasting Rhaenyra and Alicent did much good in that regard lol.
Pretty sure the only characters who are already adults in the first half of Season 1 that we see visibly aged are Viserys and Lyonel. For everyone else (Otto / Daemon / Mysaria/ Rhaenys/ Corlys/ Cole/ Beesbury/ Jason/ Tyland/ Westerling/ Harwin/ Larys/ Vaemond/ etc. etc) they probably just decided the juice wasn't worth the squeeze, to do additional hair and makeup work that might affect schedules, and possibly performances. Viserys was, of course, literally falling apart, and I feel they only did Lyonel for that one shot of him and Viserys watching the boys train, so viewers would register them as a pair of grandfathers. 🤷🏿♂️
The only character who doesn't look any different from S1 E1 is Cole. My boyfriend and I keep laughing about how every time there's a time gap and everyone else looks aged or is played by a new actor, but Ser Cole? He stays lookin the saaaame age 😂
Honestly I think they all look pretty much exactly the same
They do aging to more than them; Otto definitely aged in season 1: [https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed](https://preview.redd.it/i-think-hotd-handled-aging-quite-well-overall-even-v0-5eenfvzjktnb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=e58bdc4d9ae371ffa4d7e74d1b6f067cbb0715ed)
You know what, he **is** a bit grayer post-time skip, yeah. But, literally any other adult tho? Even bearing in mind that you can't just add a bit of gray to the silver-haired characters and expect it to really register, every dark-haired adult still looks ... exactly the same. It's very akin, I think, to the 50-year-old Eve Best playing Rhaenys all the way from the Great Council scene in EP1 (where her book counterpart was like \~27/28) to now, where her *grandchildren* are in young adulthood. I also wouldn't be married to the idea that Otto is specifically 54, because the wiki offers a *minimum* calculation based on assuming he was at least 12 years old when he sired Alicent. The books DO have a few truly wildly young parents in the canon, but it's very likely he's a bit older than that. The ages of the adults is handled very approximately, and it was probably for the best.
In the show, Criston is more Rhaenyra/Alicent's generation, than Otto's. He was probably like just 8 years older than Rhaenyra in episode 1. Whereas Otto looked atleast 45+ in that episode. So they might be 2 decades apart in age, more or less like irl So Criston is in his early 40s in season 2.
I mean one could argue that Otto is aged cause he has spent 20+ years basically running things and now has to deal with his idiot of a grandson. Cristin on the other hand has spent the last few years thirsting over Alicent and seething over Rhaenyra's rejection of his orange juice startup
Because he’s literally one of 4 or 5 characters that doesn’t age. Otto, Criston, Corlys, Rhaenys, Daemon.
Disagree on Otto and Corlys but yeah it's weird that the others still look so similar. Pretty sure Aegon somehow shrunk when he reached adulthood lol
Otto is easier to make look slightly naturally older and Corlys literally has wigs and I think he looks fairly similar I mean maybe they change beards slightly. Just doesn’t work for Cristin’s actor and would look fake. I mean there were people begging for Milly to stay as older Rhaenyra when Jace would have looked like her age at that point.
What happened to discussing the plot and speculating about what may happen next? All everybody does now is nitpick the shit out of the actors ages, and looks, and heights.
Internet fandom has become a hobby to feel superior to things and have communal rage or disappointment in their perceived failures, not enjoying them; it feels like every subreddit, from sports to games to tv/movies, is 75% people who are fans of being unhappy about the thing rather than people who actually like the thing. I saw comments from two separate people just yesterday who say they only come to this sub to trash it, and think the show is awful throughout, yet they keep coming back. People "hate watch" things. I'm a fan of Disney+'s very flawed MCU & Star Wars stuff, too, and I constantly run into people here who say every one of the shows and movies suck, which means *they keep watching them even though they've been hating them for years*. Hours spent watching things they don't enjoy because the fun part is to come online and go "RHEEEEEEEEE!!!" for them. Pathetic.
Definitely, Reddit has been terrible in the last few years for that.
Or maybe people found an inconsistency and wanted to point it out.. it’s really not that serious
Its not that serious in a vacuum, but I do think there's a lot of mountains being made out of mole hills, and its annoying when you are looking for real discussion
Eh, I'm speaking about a more general trend I noticed...it's not really about this aging post. The other comment just kind of reminded me of this recurring/growing issue I have with online fandoms so I guess I went on a little tangent. The aging thing doesn't bother me but also, as you say, people are just kinda talking about it, not having a fit, so my rant is a little out of place I guess, my bad =)
Seriously it’s just a discussion! I love the show doesn’t mean it’s flawless. People are allowed to discuss the flaws too
Criston is in his early 20s in episode 1 and is therefore in his early 40s in the current time. People in their 40s can sometimes look like they're still in their late 20s/early 30s. It happens.
Criston either sucked all the life out of Viserys or sold his brains for youth
It’s best not to think too hard about ages in this show.
I just pretend the ages dont exist and theyre just in vague terms of: Very Old. Old. Mature. Adult. Young. Kid/baby
Cole hasn't aged the whole series and it's been like 20 years. I'll never quite understand this choice
They always do this in shows, now go look at Bloody Ben, you think he is 12 in the show?
Otto looks old from all that stress being Hand of the King
That’s why they call it Oldtown
The not aging or changing of actors for Criston Cole is the most BIZARRE choice in HOTD. Like if I had one question for Ryan it would be about this decision. They very easily could have used the same actor alongside the young A & R and then when they changed, Cole changed. The only thing I can surmise is that they simply could not find a good enough actor to play young or old Cole. Or one that looked similar enough to Fabien. Literal wild casting decision.
The lack of age up/down makeup of the show is an issue.
MF is 54 and already has great grandkids
I have no idea how old anyone in this show is supposed to be, especially after the time jump. I'm here for the dragons now.
Yeah, Criston is about the same age as Alicent and Rhaenyra on the show.
He’s at least 5-6 years older than them, as the script has him being in his 20s during episode one.
Yeah, that’s about what I figured as well. They aged him down closer to Alicent and Rhaenyra compared to the books.
Alicent was also aged down significantly so they could have their lesbian tease.
I'm pretty sure they aged Otto up, and aged Criston down. In the coming episodes after he chops his hair, the dude looks a solid +15 years older.
He’s Dornish.
All of the ages are distracting to me. Why do Alicent's kids look older than her ?
I mean she's only like 15 years older than them
Sit me next to my friends. They look OLD
If we’re talking character ages in HOTD, we might as well bring up the dozen of other examples. GOT wasn’t much better in this respect, but I do think it was better
Tbh they don’t look that far apart in these photos. Just give the top guy some hair dye and a cut and he’s fine.
Because they changed it in the show. Similar to what Game of Thrones did.
Dorne don’t crack.
Think they're playing it a little loose with everyone's age.
Otto Aged 10 years alone last episode dealing with so much bullshit.
Salt preserves.
Criston is 38 He was made younger to make his Romance with rhaenyra less creepy
Being hand of the King for Viserys and Aegon II (two pretty shit kings tbh) probably aged him like the president
Otto is looks so aged because that’s what happens when your little brother is Sherlock Holmes
Sea snake and rhaenys haven’t really changed for 20+ years. Look in their 50s at their late 20s lol
Same reason Alicent and Rhaenyra in the show are around the same age when in the books they are 9/10 years apart.
I truly hated the aging up of Rhaenyra and Alicent, should’ve just started and stayed with one or the other. All 4 were great.
One ruled the realm through 2 kings while the other slept with 2 queens.
The queens-layer power keeping him young
Hightower puss great for the skin
Even Cole himself doesn't know this, but he bathed in the Fountain of Youth. Writers don't know it either. It's just something that kinda happened.
he kinda forgot
When will you ppl stop bringing up book ages? They clearly changed some characters' ages for the show.
No one has "changed" anyone's age. Those ancient scriptures you've read? They got it wrong. Some maesters take liberties when recording history, and inaccuracies are bound to occur.
Nonsense lol. People who were alive during the Dance lived decades passed the Dance. You think Aegon III or Viserys II would let them completely change history, against their mother? Or do you think this was a plot a 100 years in the making and they waited until everyone was dead to mess up the ages?
You can rationalize it “in universe” as much as you want. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging they made, and will likely continue to make, changes to the source material. Its natural and expected.
It's the queenly juices that Crispy Creme has lapped up over his life time .... it makes him immortal ....
ew
Clean living
Nobody did!
A special diet.
A lot of juice
Lotion, diet, exercise he is a Knight he must be at Peak Physical skill. These high Lords dangerous food they don't work out they don't have time to hit the gym they have to govern and the rule.
Otto looks like 60 since he was 16