Is Viserion an Ice Dragon on 'Game of Thrones?'

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Season 7, Episode 7 of Game of Thrones.

At the end of the Season 7 finale of Game of Thrones, the Army of the Dead showed up for an epic final scene: an undead version of Viserion the dragon tore down a portion of the Wall, allowing the undead to walk through into Westeros.

When he was introduced in last week's episode, fans immediately called Viserion an “ice dragon.” This is understandable, since he breathes blue flame, and George R.R. Martin has written about ice dragons before. But there are several important distinctions between the new Viserion and an ice dragon—and it could make a huge difference to the future of the show.

George R.R. Martin has described ice dragons as larger than living dragons, and made of solid ice. They don’t breathe fire, but instead a cold so potent it can freeze a man to death instantly. But Business Insider points out that the undead Viserion breathes blue flames that seem to melt the wall, rather than freeze it. They may be magical flames that cause more damage than either fire or ice.

HBO

In general, ice dragons are a different breed of dragon, while Viserion is simply an undead version of a dragon, like a wight is an undead version of a human. But Viserion definitely has similarities to Martin’s past creations. For one, he is able to be ridden, by both humans and undead creatures (e.g. the Night King). Additionally, ice dragons are not immortal, which means they can be defeated. It’s unclear whether that also applies to the new Viserion, though it’s likely the same rule as the other wights: if you kill the White Walker who created it, in this case the Night King, Viserion’s a goner.

It’s still unclear how the dragon managed to destroy the Wall, which is partially held up by magic. PopSugar theorizes that since Viserion was born by magic, and dragons themselves might be considered magical creatures, Viserion’s magic counteracted the Wall’s forces.

“The Wall has kept these things out for 8,000 years, there’s no real reason that it can’t keep doing that, unless something puts a hole in the Wall,” showrunner D.B. Weiss said in this week's “Inside the Episode” segment. “There’s one thing on the board from the beginning that is now big enough to do that, and that’s a dragon.”

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