Which of Daenerys' Dragons—if Any—Will Survive 'Game of Thrones'?

Out of all the terrible and gruesome deaths in Game of Thrones history, many fans surprisingly find themselves getting upset the most at the murder of a creature: Daenerys Targaryen’s dragon Viserion, who is shot by the Night King in season seven. The episode, titled “Beyond the Wall,” ends with the Wights dragging the dragon’s body out of the frozen water, only for his eyes to turn blue, signalling he’s now part of the Night King’s army of the dead.

This leaves Daenerys with two dragons remaining—Drogon and Rhaegal—reiterating the fact that Cersei Lannister and King’s Landing actually are not the biggest threats in Westeros. The dead are.

A new article from Jess Joho at Mashable details two main factors regarding the three dragons which might see one victorious over the rest: their size and connection to their rider. In George RR Martin’s latest book, Fire and Blood, which serves as a history of the Targaryen house, he makes it known that dragon size matters. As for Dany’s three, Drogon is the biggest, followed by Rhaegal and then Viserion. The article points out different reasons why Drogon is the size he is, such as that his egg was always the biggest, and that his growth wasn’t stunted like the other two’s potentially were when they were caged and he was flying free in Old Valyria.

The connection the dragon has to its owner might be more significant, however, as Mashable points out that speed and age also could override the size factor. Daenerys is arguably the closest to Drogon, while the Night King now has an extreme connection with Viserion, because, you know, he brought him back from the dead and everything. While we don’t know for sure if the dragon is now a Wight or White Walker, just the fact that he’s in the Night King’s control is huge. That now leaves Rhaegal. Most fans are positive Jon Snow will be riding the last dragon, as he was named after his father, Rhaegar Targaryen.

It’s all, of course, up for speculation then if these factors will actually matter, but so far Drogon and Viserion are seeming to be the most powerful. But Mashable also points out another major possibility: more dragons. “Maybe one's been hiding out in the crypts of Winterfell,” the article reads. “Maybe another native Westerosi dragon has been holed up elsewhere for all this time, since dragons live very, very long. Maybe Melisandre will come back from her trip in Season 7 with a dragon from Asshai.” Ultimately, it would be a mistake to forget that other dragons could absolutely be featured in the final season.

But what does this all mean in the end? Well, potentially bad news. The Mashable piece concludes that fate may see all three dragons dying, as to restore the peace. They point out how it can’t be a coincidence that the White Walkers returned after thousands of years right around the time the first dragons also came into the world after a long period of time, believing history must repeat itself. “What could be more bittersweet than the realization that to save the world, magic must die,” they write.

The Game of Thrones cast has promised us the finale will divide fans, and what better way to do that than having to kill the beloved dragons just to defeat the Night King once and for all? At the very least, we must consider every possibility.