There’s actually a major significance to [spoiler] turning into a White Walker on “Game of Thrones”

With a heavy heart, I must remind you that the following post contains a *lot* of spoilers for the most recent episode of Game of Thrones, “Beyond The Wall.” If you haven’t seen the episode yet, flee to the nearest ship and head for Volantis, ASAP.

While Jon Snow and his ragtag group of misfits marched beyond the wall on a death mission like champs at the end of “Eastwatch,” “Beyond The Wall” saw them quickly realize they were in over their heads, like, in a really big way. As soon as Jon realized that their plan to catch a wight could *actually* be a suicide mission, he sent word for Dany, who flew in to save the day with her three dragons in tow.

Unfortunately, Dany’s decision came at a price and with a beautiful (and really, really evil) ice spear javelin throw, the Night King killed Viserion.

For six seasons, Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons were seen as unstoppable forces. On Essos Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion were unmatched as Daenerys stormed the Dothraki Sea and merchant cities, freeing slaves and building her army. In fact, we got so used to them swooping in unmatched that it was easy to forget that they aren’t, in fact, invincible. We began to see cracks a few weeks ago, when just a few episodes after its unveiling, Qyburn’s massive arrow slingshot — manned by Bronn — struck Drogon in the shoulder during the Loot Train Battle.

But Qyburn’s contraption looked like a children’s toy compared to the icy brutality of the Night King — who, after killing him, turned Viserion into A DRAGON WHITE WALKER..

Because Game of Thrones is nothing if not thorough, there’s a special significance to Viserion being the dragon killed and turned into a wight, and it’s something true fans are picking up on.

If you remember, Viserion is named after Viserys, Dany’s older brother, who used his sister as a pawn in order to jump-start his attempt to retake the Iron Throne. As Dany become a more dominant person, Viserys quickly became her enemy before dying at the hands of Khal Drogo. Months ago, reddit user kaiokenx4, noting that Dany named her dragons after the people close to her, speculated that, like Viserys, Viserion would turn on her.

They didn’t question how the dragon would come to betray its mother, but the “dragon White Walker” theories have been making the rounds for years, so it wasn’t all that far out of left field when a deathly spear and a touch from Night King ended up turning him. Many thought Drogon, Dany’s favorite dragon, would be the one to turn, but it seems the clue was in the name all along.

Even Emilia Clarke commented on how Viserion was the one to “betray” Dany. The actress told Entertainment Weekly, “Of course it’s the rotten egg, of course you’d turn.”

As heartbreaking as it was to see Viserion die (and then get turned into a Walker), we’re dreading the day Dany comes face-to-face with him. It’ll be an incredible battle scene, of course, but definitely emotional. We’re going to need days to recover from that. We may as well begin preparing ourselves now.