Who Is Black Aly? Meet the Legendary Alysanne Blackwood, Who Ends Ser Criston Cole’s Story in ‘House of the Dragon’
‘House of the Dragon’ has spent three seasons building toward a moment that fans have wanted since the character first betrayed his oath, and season three finally delivered it. Ser Criston Cole, the White Sword turned traitor turned architect of the Green faction’s cruelest choices, has been at the center of some of the show’s most bitter storylines.
Episode six finally gave viewers his ending, staged as an ambush known in George R.R. Martin’s source material as the Butcher’s Ball. Cole found himself surrounded by Riverlands bannermen and the Winter Wolves, led by Oscar Tully and Roderick Dustin, in a sequence that plays out with brutal, grounded intensity rather than any dragon fire.
The character responsible for finally ending Cole’s story is Alysanne Blackwood, a Riverlands noblewoman better known by her nickname Black Aly. In the show, it is Alysanne who delivers the killing blow, a moment that has sent fans scrambling to learn more about the fierce warrior who just became one of the season’s breakout characters.
Alysanne has been quietly introduced across season three as a member of the Blacks’ army fighting through the Riverlands. She appeared earlier in the season during the Battle by the Lakeshore, where she took part in the slaughter of Lannister forces loyal to the Greens, and her striking black eyeliner has made her instantly recognizable in a cast full of new faces.
In Martin’s ‘Fire and Blood’, Black Aly is the daughter of a Blackwood lord and the aunt of Lord Benjicot Blackwood, and she becomes a legendary fighter for Rhaenyra’s cause during the Dance of the Dragons. The novel eventually has her marry Lord Cregan Stark, cementing her place in House Stark lore long after the war ends.
The show has already made a notable departure from that source material. In the books, Alysanne does not kill Cole directly, and the character who finishes him off in that version is instead a different fighter named Red Robb Rivers, using a bow rather than a blade. Giving that moment to Alysanne instead is a change that reshapes one of the more satisfying beats of the war for television audiences.
Alysanne Blackwood is played by Australian British actor Annie Shapero, whose casting was first reported as an exclusive by Deadline, which revealed that Shapero had been cast in the role while the season was already filming in the United Kingdom. That same report noted that Blackwood was expected to appear in five of the season’s eight episodes, a number that lines up with how gradually the character has been folded into the story.
Shapero’s credits before joining ‘House of the Dragon’ include the Israeli series ‘Red Skies’, the FX pilot ‘The Border’, and the film ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ alongside Jacob Elordi. She has also been cast in the upcoming Australian horror film ‘Saccharine’.
Since Cole’s death aired, reaction across critics and fans has been largely celebratory, with several writers noting that Alysanne’s introduction may be one of the strongest new character debuts of the season. Some have pointed out that the show even gave her a moment of levity earlier in the season, referencing an in-universe song nicknamed after her exploits in battle.
How did you feel about Black Aly being the one to kill Ser Criston Cole?
With Cole gone and Alysanne firmly established as one of the season’s most compelling new additions, fans are eager to see how much more of her arc from the books makes it to screen before the season ends. Given how much of her book storyline still lies ahead, Black Aly may be far from finished.
What did you think of how ‘House of the Dragon’ handled Criston Cole’s death and Alysanne Blackwood’s introduction? Share your thoughts in the comments.
