Last night, the Game of Thrones nation was rocked by a surprise, heartbreaking twist. The cast is speaking out. Beware SPOILERS for “Beyond the Wall” below.
In last night’s episode, the dragon Viserion died, shot down by the Night King. It marked the first time we really saw that her dragons are mortal creatures, rather than unstoppable sky gods. Now he’s one of the wights. Does that mean the White Walkers are White Flyers now? (Too soon?)
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Emila Clarke talked about the loss of one of Daenerys’s children. Not only did she lose her dragon, she lost it to “the other side,” as she puts it. “It’s a heartbreak,” she said, although it does mean that Daenerys will be more eager than ever to take down the Night King.
My dragon could not have died for nothing, so this is now so important. For the first time, you’re starting to see her defenses broken.
But Clarke does see some grim humor in the fact that it was Viserion, who was named after Daenerys’ abusive brother Viserys, was the one to flip. “Of course it’s the rotten egg, of course you’d turn,” she joked.
Right now, many people are talking about whether Dany is on the way to becoming the Mad Queen. Throughout seven seasons, we’ve seen her grow from a timid girl to a dragon, but she hasn’t always made the best choices. As Tyrion pointed out in this episode, there have been moments, such as the choice to kill the Tarlys, where she’s shown impulsive behavior. “The biggest question this season for Dany is what side of the coin she’s on,” Clarke said. “The unequivocal nature in choosing to be this aggressive is something you haven’t seen before. She’s practiced patience and has this savior-like quality, but now it’s game on.”
The loss of Viserion could either calm her down or accelerate her journey down this path. This likely won’t be the last time we see the dragon, as he’s now a full fledged wight, but it is the last time we’ll see him as we knew him before.
RIP Viserion. We loved ye well.
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