Editor’s note: This article has been updated to cover the Season 7, Episode 7 of Game of Thrones.
Poor Viserion. Not only was he murdered after the Night King impaled him with an ice javelin, he was resurrected by his murderer and now is just another thrall in the King’s undead army.
But upon resurrection, Viserion has become a wight dragon– a different beast from his still-living brothers.
Wights resurrected by the Night King still retain the injuries they had at the time of death: broken skulls, missing limbs, etc. Viserion was knocked out of the sky after being speared, but he still retained his ability to fly.
He also gained a new ability: the ability to breathe blue flame. This breath attack was used to devastating effect against The Wall, melting large sections and causing it to collapse. The breach finally allowed the Night King and his army to enter the Seven Kingdoms after thousands of years.
The majority of the Night King’s army is made up of highly flammable wights, which suggests that Viserion must breathe carefully to avoid literal friendly fire.
Combined with his giant maw, claws, wings, and tail, Viserion is an imposing presence on the battlefield. Plus, the psychological terror of facing a dragon will strike fear in many soldiers. It’ll be particularly interesting to see Daenerys Targaryen’s reaction when she realizes one of her “children” have been corrupted into the service of her greatest foe.
And how will her remaining dragons — Drogon and Rhaegal — deal with their resurrected sibling? Will they be able to fight him now that he’s turned against them?
Technically, Viserion is not an ice dragon; a mythical beast not yet seen on the show but mentioned in George R.R. Martin’s books. Those dragons are composed of ice; Viserion is still flesh and bone.
To learn about the true ice dragons, check out the video above.
