What you need to know about the 'ice dragon' in the 'Game of Thrones' season finale

HBO

Viserion right after he's been turning into a White Walker or wight by the Night King.

In the final scene of the epic, nearly 90 minute long "Game of Thrones" season finale, we finally see what has become of Viserion. 

Viserion was killed by the Night King in last week's episode of "Game of Thrones," and was then turned into a White Walker or wight dragon by the Night King.

In the finale we got a look at how the Night King has begun to utilize Viserion as a weapon of his own. The Night King rode on Viserion's back to The Wall, where Viserion proceeded to breathe blue fire upon The Wall, eventually causing it to melt and topple to the ground - allowing the White Walker and wight army to cross the barrier that's kept them out of Westeros for centuries.

But some "Game of Thrones" fans, it seems, are a bit confused about what Viserion actually is following his reanimation, and have been referring to him as an "ice dragon." 

But, contrary to what fans might believe, Viserion isn't actually an ice dragon.

The confusion makes sense. The blue flames coming out of Viserion's mouth could easily be confused with ice, but these aren't ice flames - they're just blue flames.

George R.R. Martin has said in the past that ice dragons are a completely different species of dragon altogether - unlike the "common dragons" that we've come to know on the show. 

Here's what Martin had to say about ice dragons in "A World of Ice and Fire":

"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 through which the moon and stars can be glimpsed as they wheel across the sky.

Whereas common dragons (if any dragon can truly be said to be common) breathe flame, ice 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."

So it's important to note that turning Viserion into a White Walker or wight dragon did not in fact change the type of dragon he is, despite the icy blue color of his flames. Viserion is now merely an undead dragon with blue pigmentation that mirrors that of an ice dragon.