'Game Of Thrones' Just Delivered A Game-Changing Twist

No one ever said that being the Mother of Dragons was going to be easy, but before Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones, no one could have really predicted that she'd have to watch one of her dragon children die right in front of her. But is that really what ended up happening? Is Viserion really dead on Game of Thrones? Daenerys' dragon was hit with a pretty epic ice spear thrown by the Night King, but the nightmarish scene didn't end there.

When the weapon connected with the dragon's scales, a burst of fire seemed to escape and Viserion went down fast until he connected with the ice and his eyes closed. While Daenerys watched on, both Rhaegal and Drogon howled at the sight of their dragon brother dead. But since the Night King was gearing up to throw yet another ice spear, there was no time to mourn their loss.

Like the other reanimated wights that the Night King has touched or used his magic to make rise up again, Viserion is likely going to return as an ice dragon who will have a pretty big purpose as the Night King tries to get beyond The Wall.

With Viserion as an ice dragon, it sort of evens up the playing field. It gives the Night King a dragon to ride as he busts through The Wall and takes on Westeros while Daenerys rides Drogon. But, much more than that, the Night King could be the third dragon rider that fans have been speculating about for years.

In Season 2, Daenerys visited the House of the Undying and had a vision of not only the Throne Room in King's Landing, but also of her visiting The Wall. However, in the books, Daenerys also saw her brother Rhaegar, who told her, "the dragon has three heads," leading fans to believe that three people were meant to ride the dragons all along.

Of course, Daenerys has ties to Drogon specifically and Jon might be meant to ride Rhaegal, the namesake of his birth father Rhaegar, but the third dragon's rider was always up for debate. While some claimed that it would be Tyrion, as the seasons went on, it became clear that there was increasingly little time to explain how Tyrion was meant to be a dragon rider.

And since Viserion died on Game of Thrones, the Night King could be the third head of the dragon that was prophesied and has been theorized for so long. Viserion died, but in the final moments of Sunday night's episode he opened his eyes to reveal the icy blues of a wight. So even though his story on the show may be far from over, he's definitely not going to be the same dragon anymore.