A guide to coping with the latest death on 'Game of Thrones'

An ode to fire made flesh.
 By 
Jess Joho
 on 
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 7, episode 6, titled "Beyond the Wall."

So tonight I learned that my worst nightmare was watching a dragon spiral to his death while spewing fire (and a boatload of blood) like a falling star before sinking down into his icy grave.

Oh, only to then have his carcass dragged out and touched inappropriately by a White Walker.

To those still in shock and horror at the death from Game of Thrones' "Beyond the Wall," we're here to help. Because we suffered much more than just the death of a CGI reptile. In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, we lost a (literal) beacon of hope in the otherwise hopeless war to come.

But all is not lost.

The night might look darker and more full of terrors than ever before. But there are definitely more surprises to come in terms of dragons. And, in all likelihood, they won't be nearly as devastating.

First, let's dig into the logistics of what took down a legend. Dragons are literally "fire made flesh."

So that's probably what we all witnessed burst from Viserion after being hit by a javelin of dragon kryptonite — the extinguishing of the flammable chemicals known to fuel dragonfire.

For what it's worth, too, Viserion was the dragon with the worst namesake. The episode went out of its way to remind us of Daenerys' vile, abusive brother Viserys. So Viserion might've always been destined to fall and turn to the dark side, much like Dany's big bro.

But, listen, your horror at the sight of that gigantic, reptilian blue eye is not unwarranted.

We're not sure what the capabilities of the reanimated wight dragon will be. But creatures known as Ice Dragons (who may or may not be different from zombie wight dragons) are not unprecedented in the Game of Thrones universe.

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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

For now, we can only turn to legend for answers. In the companion book A World of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin describes the Ice Dragons as coming from the Shivering Sea (the ocean between The North of Westeros and Essos):

These colossal beasts, many times larger than the dragons of Valyria, are said to be made of living ice, with eyes of pale blue crystal and vast translucent wings ... [I]ce dragons supposedly breathe cold, a chill so terrible that it can freeze a man solid in half a heartbeat. ... As ice dragons supposedly melt when slain, no actual proof of their existence has ever been found.

Another not so fun fact: Martin wrote a separate children's story decades before (and not officially connected to) his Song of Ice and Fire series entitled The Ice Dragon. In it, an Ice Dragon defeats three fire dragons.

But fear not. For there is canonical evidence to support theories that either Dany or Jon (or both) will raise more little baby dragons to fight alongside them.

Dragons are Daenerys' only children, as she pointed out in episode 6. And, judging from that scene on the boat, it looks like Jon's ready to have all of Dany's babies.

Interestingly, almost every mention of ice dragons in the books comes from Jon. Often, he uses ice dragons as a metaphor to describe Castle Black. At one point he says being on The Wall feels like "walking down the gullet of an ice dragon," and describes "wind gusting, cold as the breath of the ice dragon."

As the child of a Stark and Targaryen, Jon is himself an "ice dragon." And that could prove extremely useful for birthing more dragons to fight for the living of Westeros.

For many years, fans have been speculating about certain prophecies that claim more dragons will be summoned. One comes from none other than Melisandre herself. She often talked about summoning the legendary dormant stone dragons of Dragonstone (hint hint: it's in the name) for Stannis.

She claimed that:

When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone.

For those who need a refresher on Azor Ahai (AKA the Prince that was Promised, and AKA not Stannis), check this out. Based on her recent matchmaking between Dany and Jon, though, it looks like Mel thinks that the two need to join forces -- perhaps in order to awaken those stone dragons.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

How could that be done? Glad you asked.

For one, Melisandre emphasizes that "only a king's blood can wake the stone dragon." We've already seen the power of king's blood back in Season 3, when Gendry's leeched blood seemingly helped destroy Stannis' rivals, Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy and Joffrey Lannister.

And luckily, Daenerys has the blood of an indebted Ice Dragon King in the North right there, currently making sex eyes at her.

There are many other theories regarding potential stone dragon locations. This redditor also believes they could be raised from the ruins of Old Valyria (which Tyrion rowed past in Season 4) by the dormant volcanoes that hatched the original dragons -- and were believed to cause the Doom of Valyria.

Some even speculate Jon might raise the true Ice Dragons of lore from The Wall itself. So watch out, Night King.

Regardless, my fellow Watchers on the Wall, the most important takeaway is: there is a lot to hope for in the future. So let us not wallow in the cries of a dragon mourning the death of his brother.

Let us rally. Because this song of ice and fire dragons isn't over just yet.

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Jess Joho

Jess is an LA-based culture critic who covers intimacy in the digital age, from sex and relationship to weed and all media (tv, games, film, the web). Previously associate editor at Kill Screen, you can also find her words on Vice, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Vox, and others. She is a Brazilian-Swiss American immigrant with a love for all things weird and magical.

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