Neil DeGrasse Tyson Weighs In On The Dragon Science From ‘Game Of Thrones’

Neil deGrasse Tyson has been on a quest to eradicate ignorance surrounding science, and lately that quest has taken him to some unusual places. He’s been taking on flat-earthers and climate change deniers, always a worthy cause. And then there’s his habit of picking apart popular entertainment for flaws, tearing big holes in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 and picking fights with Star Wars fans.

Now he’s back with more thoughts on the scientific validity of Game of Thrones‘ seventh season. Surprisingly, he seemed pretty okay with the show for the most part, given how fast and loose the show played with movement across geography. Maybe that’s because Tyson isn’t a heavyweight when it comes to maps of Westeros. He does, however, know his combustion physics.

Taking magic out of the equation, that could help explain why the Night King’s wight dragon was able to cut through the Wall with such ease. A lot of debate has gone into what the deal is with the undead Viserion and whether he’s an ice dragon that breathes freezing air instead of fire or what. Considering the breath looks like fire and melts like fire, we’re going to stick with it being fire. And now you can drag Neil deGrasse Tyson’s say-so into any future drunken debates on the subject!

Here’s some more from Tyson on the science seen in Game of Thrones:

Come on, Renaissance artists! Get it together! Leonardo da Vinci had that stuff theoretically pinned down since 1485.

On the negative side, Neil seemed to agree with us that the big undead dragon reveal near the end of season 7 was a bit unrealistic, what with the wights somehow dragging Viserion out from the bottom of the lake with chains.

The sight of a chain with questionable tension is exactly the kind of thing I can see driving Neil nuts. And now that he’s mentioned it, it’s the kind of thing you’re probably not going to be able to unsee. Damn you, Neil deGrasse Tyson! Why must you use science to ruin everything!