House of the Dragon's season 3 episode 6 depicted the death of Criston Cole differently than the source material Fire & Blood. In the books, Cole is killed at the Butcher's Ball by Alysanne Blackwood, a skilled archer, who confronts him with dialogue about the thousands who died as a result of his actions. The show version shows Cole shot down by an unnamed woman archer after he proposes a duel to his attackers, but never identifies her or includes the crucial exchange between killer and victim.

Fans and critics point out that the show's writers had established the narrative setup for Cole's desire to die gloriously in battle, making Blackwood's assassination and her pointed words a thematically complete counterpoint. By omitting both the character identification and the dialogue, the adaptation removes the moral weight of the scene and loses an opportunity to develop Blackwood as a character with clear motivations tied to the larger conflict.