Game of Thrones season 7 episode 6 twist confirms chilling outcome to 'three dragon rider' prophecy

'The dragon must have three heads'

There are many prophecies billowing about the world of Game of Thrones, and the latest episode seems to have messed with people's expectations about a pretty big one in a huge way.

Back in season two, Daenerys had a vision of her brother Rhaegar in the House of the Undying where she was told that “the dragon has three heads” causing many to generate the theory that there will be one rider for each of her dragons, Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion. Many took this to mean that, for Daenerys to win the Iron Throne, three Targaryen riders must be identified in a similar way that occurred with her ancestors Aegon and his two Targaryen sisters generations before.

While Daenerys will clearly be one of the dragon riders, fans have theorised that Jon Snow would be the other (thanks to his very-nearly confirmed Targaryen heritage) with the final spot going to Tyrion whose heritage many are also questioning (no thanks to this moment in season seven, episode five).

The latest Game of Thrones episode, titled 'Beyond the Wall' (read our review here), may have confirmed the prophecy - however, it seems like it won't be for the purpose of securing the Iron Throne with the third dragon rider looking like it could be someone else altogether: the Night King,

This episode saw the White Walker leader bring down one of Dany's dragons - Viserion - and in the closing moments, reanimated the creature, making him part of his undead army. Ahead of the episode, Reddit user Critical Liz believed this plot twist could fulfill the House of the Undying's prophecy in a pretty terrifying way.

“Speculation about how Dany is Fire and Jon is Ice sounds good, but now that the show has stated the obvious and told us what we all knew, we know that Jon is Ice And Fire, so with Dany that would be like two fires to one Ice. And then I thought of some spoilery pictures that have come out leading to speculation that one of the dragons will be killed and raised by the Night King and then it hit me.

“Of course, the Night King IS the third rider. He is the embodiment of Ice.”

The theory goes one step further with the user predicting that the Night King was originally a Stark before becoming a Walker which would tie into the theory that, thanks to the headache of time travel, Bran Stark could be the Night King.

The HBO series' seventh season draws to a close next weekend with a finale that may or may not drop these three revelatory twists.

Game of Thrones airs in the US on HBO every Sunday where it is simulcast in the UK on Sky Atlantic at 2am. It is repeated that same evening on both Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.

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