āI hope to show it to you one day. You could make a home at Oldtown.ā sers we are at war!
He was trying to not get dragged into a suicide mission and offering him an out based on the information Criston gave him last episode bc he hadnāt quite accepted that Criston was absolutely adamant on getting them all killed.
Sorry I get so many asks along this vein but I simply do not do shipping goggles ever, I feel like the scene is more effective if Gwayne is disturbed by this man but still feels obligated to reach out to him (that āfriendā rang false, he was trying to coax Criston) even though deep down he knows itās futile but he still feels disappointed when heās unable to get through to him. Despite everything Gwayne has seen heās ultimately an optimist who tried to put a stop to all this until he was quite literally out of ground and despite his clear issues with Criston, it says something about Gwayneās character that he was aware he was indebted to Criston for having saved him from Baela and clearly took that very seriously.
Gwayne fundamentally does not understand why Criston is choosing to do this or anything else because he has a place in this world and has had one since birth but he honest to god listened to Cristonās point about how he and his father lost everything after the Dondarrions fell and used that information to offer him what he thinks is the equivalent of a place, despite clearly not really wanting him at oldtown. The position is in actuality more temporary and tenuous servitude and it would never be enough, honestly meant or otherwise.
Criston chose to die 15 years ago and he will not be swayed from it with that kind of promise again but I think he did sincerely appreciate that someone talked to him about it and just listened for once. Even if Gwayne was always arguing and often revolted heās also the only person who actually tried to understand why Criston feels like he has to do this without immediately cutting him off or pulling rank, something which even Alicent has done. Thatās the reason why he just laid everything out plainly and let him desert without argument. Criston is a violent and often impulsively cruel man, he is Gwayneās commander, and he knew Gwayne was trying to coax him with a hollow prize at the end of a string, by all accounts he could have publicly killed Gwayne for desertion. Execution would have been his first response with almost anyone else and it would have even been legal, but I think Cristonās very last true act of humanity is showing mercy for the man who was willing to finally let him recite his suicide note. Maybe thereās even a part of Criston from long before he put on that white cloak that sees a knight who for some reason still believes in his vows and canāt bring himself to be the one to kill him and so, resigning the rest of himself to death, he lets it go with Gwayne.
