This article contains spoilers about Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones.
Of all the things I thought was going to happen on Game Of Thrones Sunday night, the death of one of Daenerys' (Emilia Clarke) dragons was not one of them. I was more prepared for Jon Snow (Kit Harington) to drown and die a second time than I was for Viserion to go plunging to an icy death (not to mention his icy resurrection at the end of the episode). Turns out it wasn't just fans who had a hard time dealing with the creature's demise — Clarke, who has spent the past seven seasons with her baby dragons, is reeling from the loss as well.
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"It’s a heartbreak," she told Entertainment Weekly. "Not only losing it but having that being given to the other side."
Of course, if we had to pick a dragon to know, we're not exactly surprised that it's Viserion. That particular dragon was named after Viserys Targaryen (Harry Lloyd), Daenerys' horrible brother.
"Of course it’s the rotten egg, of course you’d turn," she joked.
The dragon death, however, is arguably the first real loss that Daenerys' has faced — other than that of her husband and child in season one. For the most part, the past handful of seasons have been kind to her as she slowly rose to power. Now, however, she's stumbling.
"My dragon could not have died for nothing, so this is now so important," she continued. "For the first time, you’re starting to see her defenses broken."
This just further complicates Daenerys' internal struggles with how exactly she's going to approach taking control of the kingdoms. Now that she's a dragon short, her options are even more limited.
"The biggest question this season for Dany is what side of the coin she’s on," she explained. "The unequivocal nature in choosing to be this aggressive is something you haven’t seen before. She’s practiced patience and has this savior-like quality, but now it’s game on."
We could not be more ready.