White Dragon: Why Jon Snow Will Ride Viserion

[Pigeon Pie]

This is another theory that I thought of after watching episode 6, but since it pertains to general things and the future of the show as well, I decided to put it here. The theory is copied from my tumblr where I wrote it first. I hope you enjoy. SPOILERS OF THE SHOW AND BOOKS SO FAR. GO AHEAD AT YOUR OWN RISK. (The title of the theory is originally "ice dragon" not "white dragon" but I replaced it in case this is considered a spoiler for... you know what)

A few things before I start…

1. All credits go to @nobodysuspectsthebutterfly and @joannalannister for coming up with the theory that Jon will ride Viserion. It’s a really interesting and convincing theory that you can read here. This theory is just a buildup on that theory in light of the recent development in which Viserion turned into a wight.

2. For reasons that I will clarify, I think that this theory doesn’t just go for the show, but for the books as well.

1. The Ice Dragon. (or, how does this theory play out in the books?)

Well, in the books, we have too many references to an ice dragon for it to be a coincidence. For instance, there’s a constellation actually named the Ice Dragon. It is mentioned on many occasions, especially in POVs of northern characters.

Quote

 

“Osha,” Bran asked as they crossed the yard. “Do you know the way north? To the Wall and … and even past?”

“The way’s easy. Look for the Ice Dragon, and chase the blue star in the rider’s eye.” She backed through a door and started up the winding steps.

“And there are still giants there, and … the rest … the Others, and the children of the forest too?” - A Clash of Kings, Bran V

 

 

An Ice Dragon also plays into the stories of Old Nan (the majority of which we know shed some light on events from the past and foreshadow the possible future.

Quote

 

A sudden gust of wind set Edd’s cloak to flapping noisily. “Best go down, m'lord. This wind’s like to push us off the Wall, and I never did learn the knack of flying.

"They rode the winch lift back to the ground. The wind was gusting, cold as the breath of the ice dragon in the tales Old Nan had told when Jon was a boy. The heavy cage was swaying. From time to time it scraped against the Wall, starting small crystalline showers of ice that sparkled in the sunlight as they fell, like shards of broken glass. - A Dance with Dragons, Jon VII

 

 

Not only that, but some characters also happen to think of ice dragons a lot, making a lot of similes related to ice dragons. In particular, Jon.

Quote

Jon nodded weakly. The door swung open. Pyp led them in, followed by Clydas and the lantern. It was all Jon could do to keep up with Maester Aemon. The icepressed close around them, and he could feel the cold seeping into his bones, the weight of the Wall above his head. It felt like walking down the gullet of an icedragon. The tunnel took a twist, and then another. Pyp unlocked a second iron gate. They walked farther, turned again, and saw light ahead, faint and pale through the ice. That’s bad, Jon knew at once. That’s very bad. - A Storm of Swords, Jon VIII

 

Quote

The road beneath the Wall was as dark and cold as the belly of an ice dragon and as twisty as a serpent. Dolorous Edd led them through with a torch in hand. Mully had the keys for the three gates, where bars of black iron as thick as a man’s arm closed off the passage. Spearmen at each gate knuckled their foreheads at Jon Snow but stared openly at Val and her garron. - A Dance with Dragons, Jon VIII

 

Isn’t an ice dragon a strange thing to constantly be in the subconscious of the people like that? That’s like naming a constellation The Swimming Bird, or The Vegetarian Lion. It’s a strange contradiction; a paradox. To me, the phrase “ice dragon” is comparable to a “blue flower grew from a chunk in a wall of ice”… it’s not something that sounds regular in the flow of speech; it’s put there for a purpose. Why would such a thing be constantly suggested if it’s not foreshadowing something in the future?

Some have theorized that said ice dragon is actually the wall itself. Personally, I find that interesting, but logistically challenging and difficult to take place. If the entire wall was a dragon, that thing would be hopeless to defeat. It would be hundreds of times the size of Balerion himself. What I personally think is that it’s inevitable that one of Daenerys’ dragons will meet its demise in the books; it’s just inevitable plot-wise. No one and nothing is unbeatable, and to show us that, George will have to take out some people and creatures that we thought of as higher-than-life, i.e. the dragons.

Yes, this is one of the cases (like R+L=J, or the wall eventually coming down) where I think the showmakers stuck to the scenario that they know will happen in the books. A dragon will eventually be killed in the books, and my money’s on Viserion (for reasons that will become clear later, but even now, I feel like just changing the dragon that dies from Viserion to Rhaegal isn’t a change that the showmakers would make. It doesn’t make that big of a difference for them.)

However, because of the whole “three heads of the dragon” thing, I personally don’t believe that said dragon will stay dead. I believe it will be turned into the “dark side” either by Euron  (who now serves the others) using the Horn of Joramun, or the Night King himself, therefore becoming the Ice Dragon; a dragon that, if not literally made of ice, it fights on the side of ice, thus going against what it inherently is: A dragon; fire-made flesh.

2. Fire-Made Flesh

From the very beginning, the magical aspect of the story revolved around the conflict between two magical forces in the universe: Ice and Fire. One of them is portrayed as inherently bad (ice) and the other is portrayed as potentially good, but also volatile and can be quite destructive depending on who’s in control of it (fire.) And this makes sense; ice brings the cold and death and nothing else (please don’t leave me replies about refrigerators) but fire can bring warmth and safety (if you think about it in a more primal sense that makes sense in ASOIAF, you can use fire to scare away predators) but needless to say, fire can also be highly destructive.

When it comes to dragons vs. white walkers, each of them belongs exclusively to one of those two forces. Dragons are described as “fire-made flesh”; they are able, against all laws of physics, to breathe fire. And allegedly, fire cannot kill a dragon.

White walkers bring the cold, frost, death, and they reanimate the dead to do their bidding; however, the only thing that kills them is fire. So, we see that each of the two factors does something exclusive to it and magical; fire magic, and ice magic.

Now; the question is: Can a dragon turn into an undead being animated by ice magic? Wouldn’t that be inherently against its nature?

Again, like previously expressed in the previous point, an “ice dragon” is a paradox. It’s the same thing as an other that breathes fire. And yes, you can kill a dragon and turn it into a wight, technically, and you can’t make an other breathe fire, but because of how that state is contradictory to the dragon’s very existence… would it be a complete state?

The reason why the wights are what they are is because they’re unintelligent. They lose their mind, personality, sense, and become nothing but zombies animated by ice. But a dragon… does it get to keep its intelligence as a wight and serve (whoever) as an independent force that decides what to do? Yes it changes “side”, but does it completely lose its conscious?

Quote

AsoIaF dragons are intelligent. - George R. R. Martin (source)

 

Personally, I believe that a dragon can never fully become what a wight is. It will never only obey the Night King, especially not above its chosen rider. Because before being a wight, it is first and foremost a dragon. So, for the time being, I want you not to think of Viserion as an undead wight that has no control of what it’s doing, but as an Other!dragon; a monster moved by ice that still has a will and intelligence, and that still gets to choose who its rider will be. And I believe that, because Viserion still has his free will, this rider can be a living human.

For the time being, Viserion will do the night king’s bidding, perhaps destroying the wall and killing a bunch of people… until he finds his true rider.

3. The Wolf

So… what would make a person Viserion’s chosen rider?

Let’s ask this question in another way. If being the prince that was promised was simply the matter of being the third child of Rhaegar Targaryen, why would he have it by way of running away with the daughter of a paramount lord who’s also the fiancee of another paramount lord, while he himself is married with two children, plunging the realm into war? He could have had a third child with a washerwoman or servant girl on Dragonstone. Or, if he’s super elitist and picky, he could have had it with a noblewoman from a lesser house who’s not engaged. He’s the crown prince, and noblemen in Westeros had their flings and no one held it against them (even when it became excessive, like in the cases of Brandon or Robert.)

So… why Lyanna? Is there anything special about Stark blood that gives its holder certain power? Why must there always be a Stark in Winterfell? Why don’t we ever hear that there must always be a Lannister in Casterly Rock, or an Arryn in the Eyrie? Is it just family tradition, or the sealing of a protective spell? Old Nan says that the first Night King (a legendary figure that has no relation to the current night king, but we don’t know if it’s truly legendary or if it’s one of *those* legends) was a Stark of Winterfell. We know the wall itself was built by a Stark of Winterfell (and not just any Stark, he founded the house.) Most (if not all) of the current generation of Starks are wargs; warging, skinchanging etc. seem to be magical abilities that come from the children of the forest… the children created the Others and lost control of their creation, and tried to destroy them (something not confirmed in the books yet.) But again… why were those abilities granted mostly to Starks? (they show up in Euron who is Ironborn and Brynden Rivers/Three Eyed Raven whose mother was from the Riverlands though from a house descended from the First Men… but again, most of those who possess those powers happen to be Starks.)

There is definitely a tie between the Starks and the Others. We don’t know the nature of this tie, whether the others were originally Starks/some of them were Starks, whether there was a pact between the Starks and the Others to keep them away from Westeros that was sealed with blood magic (i.e. the magic wardings on the Wall; probably sealed with Bran the Builder’s blood) and though we don’t know what this tie is, it definitely exists. Ice magic (to a lesser degree) has a relation to the Starks. And while I don’t think they can reanimate the dead any more than the Targaryens can breathe fire, having such a relation to a potent type of magic definitely affects you and makes you capable of connecting to it.

So, back to Jon Snow… (or did we ever start talking about him?)

Jon has the magical formula of balance between ice and fire. He has the blood of the kings of winter, of Bran the Builder, of the first men, and the blood of the dragonlords of Valyria. He has the potential to ride a dragon, and the potential to have a link to the others that enables him to make peace with them. And with… an intelligent wight?

But making peace with the others isn’t what we’re discussing here… what we’re discussing is the fact that Jon has ice magic AND fire magic in his blood.

Jon is undead; a “wight animated by fire” as Martin has said recently. And Viserion is undead; a dragon animated by ice. They are both ice dragons; one figurative, the other literal. Add to this all the evidence in the theory by joannalannister and nobodysuspectsthebutterfly that was linked above, and Jon is the perfect rider for Viserion.

4. Conclusion

ِAs much as you can never freeze fire, you can never turn a dragon into a wight and expect it to be completely in service of The Great Other. The two things are as paradoxical as ice and fire themselves. And if a living human being in the ASOIAF universe has the potential to tame an ice dragon and ride it, it can only be Jon Snow; a figurative ice dragon himself, who has magical ties to the others and magical ties to the dragons.

[StoneColdJorahMormont]

Jon snow will ride............. Dany

[SpaceChampion]

Interesting theory.  I never wanted a wight dragon, but a (living) ice dragon that was more like an Other, able to raise and control the dead and could be a rival to the Night's King.  We could then see the armies of the dead divide between the two, with White Walker fighting White Walker in their own game of thrones.  In that scenario, the ice dragon would look like the bigger deal, so Jon would concentrate his efforts on stopping Viserion, and meanwhile the Night's King figures out that to bring down the Wall, he has to get every last man of the Night's Watch, because their vows power the magic in the Wall.  So Jon scores a big victory killing off Viserion, but then the Wall falls as all the crows are assassinated by the Night's King.

[Pacala]

Quote

From the very beginning, the magical aspect of the story revolved around the conflict between two magical forces in the universe: Ice and Fire. One of them is portrayed as inherently bad (ice) and the other is portrayed as potentially good, but also volatile and can be quite destructive depending on who’s in control of it (fire.) And this makes sense; ice brings the cold and death and nothing else (please don’t leave me replies about refrigerators) but fire can bring warmth and safety (if you think about it in a more primal sense that makes sense in ASOIAF, you can use fire to scare away predators) but needless to say, fire can also be highly destructive.

When it comes to dragons vs. white walkers, each of them belongs exclusively to one of those two forces. Dragons are described as “fire-made flesh”; they are able, against all laws of physics, to breathe fire. And allegedly, fire cannot kill a dragon.

how did u decided ice is bad and fire is good depending who use it ?

fire = deaths of starks, kids(people) burned alive by dragons, torment to Sandor, slavery, conquer, war, doom of Valyria > end > death

ice = resurected people > new life, free people, childrens of the forest, WW.

If WW or children of the forest = native americans then from their point of view thats the right things to do, protecting the nature, home.

[Lucius Lovejoy]

15 hours ago, StoneColdJorahMormont said:

Jon snow will ride............. Dany

Lmfao good one.

[LucyMormont]

On 22/8/2017 at 5:26 PM, Pigeon Pie said:

This is another theory that I thought of after watching episode 6, but since it pertains to general things and the future of the show as well, I decided to put it here. The theory is copied from my tumblr where I wrote it first. I hope you enjoy. SPOILERS OF THE SHOW AND BOOKS SO FAR. GO AHEAD AT YOUR OWN RISK. (The title of the theory is originally "ice dragon" not "white dragon" but I replaced it in case this is considered a spoiler for... you know what)

A few things before I start…

1. All credits go to @nobodysuspectsthebutterfly and @joannalannister for coming up with the theory that Jon will ride Viserion. It’s a really interesting and convincing theory that you can read here. This theory is just a buildup on that theory in light of the recent development in which Viserion turned into a wight.

2. For reasons that I will clarify, I think that this theory doesn’t just go for the show, but for the books as well.

1. The Ice Dragon. (or, how does this theory play out in the books?)

Well, in the books, we have too many references to an ice dragon for it to be a coincidence. For instance, there’s a constellation actually named the Ice Dragon. It is mentioned on many occasions, especially in POVs of northern characters.

 

An Ice Dragon also plays into the stories of Old Nan (the majority of which we know shed some light on events from the past and foreshadow the possible future.

 

Not only that, but some characters also happen to think of ice dragons a lot, making a lot of similes related to ice dragons. In particular, Jon.

 

 

Isn’t an ice dragon a strange thing to constantly be in the subconscious of the people like that? That’s like naming a constellation The Swimming Bird, or The Vegetarian Lion. It’s a strange contradiction; a paradox. To me, the phrase “ice dragon” is comparable to a “blue flower grew from a chunk in a wall of ice”… it’s not something that sounds regular in the flow of speech; it’s put there for a purpose. Why would such a thing be constantly suggested if it’s not foreshadowing something in the future?

Some have theorized that said ice dragon is actually the wall itself. Personally, I find that interesting, but logistically challenging and difficult to take place. If the entire wall was a dragon, that thing would be hopeless to defeat. It would be hundreds of times the size of Balerion himself. What I personally think is that it’s inevitable that one of Daenerys’ dragons will meet its demise in the books; it’s just inevitable plot-wise. No one and nothing is unbeatable, and to show us that, George will have to take out some people and creatures that we thought of as higher-than-life, i.e. the dragons.

Yes, this is one of the cases (like R+L=J, or the wall eventually coming down) where I think the showmakers stuck to the scenario that they know will happen in the books. A dragon will eventually be killed in the books, and my money’s on Viserion (for reasons that will become clear later, but even now, I feel like just changing the dragon that dies from Viserion to Rhaegal isn’t a change that the showmakers would make. It doesn’t make that big of a difference for them.)

However, because of the whole “three heads of the dragon” thing, I personally don’t believe that said dragon will stay dead. I believe it will be turned into the “dark side” either by Euron  (who now serves the others) using the Horn of Joramun, or the Night King himself, therefore becoming the Ice Dragon; a dragon that, if not literally made of ice, it fights on the side of ice, thus going against what it inherently is: A dragon; fire-made flesh.

2. Fire-Made Flesh

From the very beginning, the magical aspect of the story revolved around the conflict between two magical forces in the universe: Ice and Fire. One of them is portrayed as inherently bad (ice) and the other is portrayed as potentially good, but also volatile and can be quite destructive depending on who’s in control of it (fire.) And this makes sense; ice brings the cold and death and nothing else (please don’t leave me replies about refrigerators) but fire can bring warmth and safety (if you think about it in a more primal sense that makes sense in ASOIAF, you can use fire to scare away predators) but needless to say, fire can also be highly destructive.

When it comes to dragons vs. white walkers, each of them belongs exclusively to one of those two forces. Dragons are described as “fire-made flesh”; they are able, against all laws of physics, to breathe fire. And allegedly, fire cannot kill a dragon.

White walkers bring the cold, frost, death, and they reanimate the dead to do their bidding; however, the only thing that kills them is fire. So, we see that each of the two factors does something exclusive to it and magical; fire magic, and ice magic.

Now; the question is: Can a dragon turn into an undead being animated by ice magic? Wouldn’t that be inherently against its nature?

Again, like previously expressed in the previous point, an “ice dragon” is a paradox. It’s the same thing as an other that breathes fire. And yes, you can kill a dragon and turn it into a wight, technically, and you can’t make an other breathe fire, but because of how that state is contradictory to the dragon’s very existence… would it be a complete state?

The reason why the wights are what they are is because they’re unintelligent. They lose their mind, personality, sense, and become nothing but zombies animated by ice. But a dragon… does it get to keep its intelligence as a wight and serve (whoever) as an independent force that decides what to do? Yes it changes “side”, but does it completely lose its conscious?

 

Personally, I believe that a dragon can never fully become what a wight is. It will never only obey the Night King, especially not above its chosen rider. Because before being a wight, it is first and foremost a dragon. So, for the time being, I want you not to think of Viserion as an undead wight that has no control of what it’s doing, but as an Other!dragon; a monster moved by ice that still has a will and intelligence, and that still gets to choose who its rider will be. And I believe that, because Viserion still has his free will, this rider can be a living human.

For the time being, Viserion will do the night king’s bidding, perhaps destroying the wall and killing a bunch of people… until he finds his true rider.

3. The Wolf

So… what would make a person Viserion’s chosen rider?

Let’s ask this question in another way. If being the prince that was promised was simply the matter of being the third child of Rhaegar Targaryen, why would he have it by way of running away with the daughter of a paramount lord who’s also the fiancee of another paramount lord, while he himself is married with two children, plunging the realm into war? He could have had a third child with a washerwoman or servant girl on Dragonstone. Or, if he’s super elitist and picky, he could have had it with a noblewoman from a lesser house who’s not engaged. He’s the crown prince, and noblemen in Westeros had their flings and no one held it against them (even when it became excessive, like in the cases of Brandon or Robert.)

So… why Lyanna? Is there anything special about Stark blood that gives its holder certain power? Why must there always be a Stark in Winterfell? Why don’t we ever hear that there must always be a Lannister in Casterly Rock, or an Arryn in the Eyrie? Is it just family tradition, or the sealing of a protective spell? Old Nan says that the first Night King (a legendary figure that has no relation to the current night king, but we don’t know if it’s truly legendary or if it’s one of *those* legends) was a Stark of Winterfell. We know the wall itself was built by a Stark of Winterfell (and not just any Stark, he founded the house.) Most (if not all) of the current generation of Starks are wargs; warging, skinchanging etc. seem to be magical abilities that come from the children of the forest… the children created the Others and lost control of their creation, and tried to destroy them (something not confirmed in the books yet.) But again… why were those abilities granted mostly to Starks? (they show up in Euron who is Ironborn and Brynden Rivers/Three Eyed Raven whose mother was from the Riverlands though from a house descended from the First Men… but again, most of those who possess those powers happen to be Starks.)

There is definitely a tie between the Starks and the Others. We don’t know the nature of this tie, whether the others were originally Starks/some of them were Starks, whether there was a pact between the Starks and the Others to keep them away from Westeros that was sealed with blood magic (i.e. the magic wardings on the Wall; probably sealed with Bran the Builder’s blood) and though we don’t know what this tie is, it definitely exists. Ice magic (to a lesser degree) has a relation to the Starks. And while I don’t think they can reanimate the dead any more than the Targaryens can breathe fire, having such a relation to a potent type of magic definitely affects you and makes you capable of connecting to it.

So, back to Jon Snow… (or did we ever start talking about him?)

Jon has the magical formula of balance between ice and fire. He has the blood of the kings of winter, of Bran the Builder, of the first men, and the blood of the dragonlords of Valyria. He has the potential to ride a dragon, and the potential to have a link to the others that enables him to make peace with them. And with… an intelligent wight?

But making peace with the others isn’t what we’re discussing here… what we’re discussing is the fact that Jon has ice magic AND fire magic in his blood.

Jon is undead; a “wight animated by fire” as Martin has said recently. And Viserion is undead; a dragon animated by ice. They are both ice dragons; one figurative, the other literal. Add to this all the evidence in the theory by joannalannister and nobodysuspectsthebutterfly that was linked above, and Jon is the perfect rider for Viserion.

4. Conclusion

ِAs much as you can never freeze fire, you can never turn a dragon into a wight and expect it to be completely in service of The Great Other. The two things are as paradoxical as ice and fire themselves. And if a living human being in the ASOIAF universe has the potential to tame an ice dragon and ride it, it can only be Jon Snow; a figurative ice dragon himself, who has magical ties to the others and magical ties to the dragons.

Fantastic theory. I don't expect any of this from the show, since all  the symbolism is practically non-existent. But it is a well-founded theory that can have a place in the development of the books (if they are ever published, anyway)