Game of Thrones: What does Gendry's return mean for the show

Rebecca Hawkes
15 AUGUST 2017 • 10:30 AM
Warning: contains spoilers

This season of Game of Thrones has specialised in long-awaited meetings and reunions – and this week, it was the turn of Gendry (Joe Dempsie), bastard son of King Robert Baratheon, who was sought out by Davos Used-To-Be-A-Top-Smuggler Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) during a brief, secret trip to King’s Landing.

Gendry was last seen rowing away from the clutches of the royal-blood-hungry Melisandre back in season three, and, thanks to his long absence, many online wags quipped ahead of his return that he had probably been rowing ever since. The ongoing joke even received a sly little nod in the show.

In the event, however, it transpired that Gendry had not spent the last three seasons adrift at sea; instead, he’d resumed his former trade as a blacksmith, and had been working in a city forge, presumably occupying himself with forging things, and with concealing his true identity as the only surviving child (in the TV series, at least) of the late King Robert.

He's back! Joe Dempsie as Gendry
He's back! Joe Dempsie as Gendry CREDIT: HBO/SCREENGRAB
Fed up with all this metalwork, and ready for some, erm, mettle work, he readily agreed to travel back with Davos and join him in serving Kit Harington’s Jon Snow. Fans, naturally, were delighted – and the sight of the character heading beyond the wall with Jon, Thoros of Myr, Beric Dondarrion, Tormund Giantbeard (sorry, Giantsbane), the Hound and a newly de-scaled Jorah, coupled with a trailer for episode six that showed them all together, led to an outbreak of enthusiasm.

So far, they have been dubbed the Magnificent Seven, the Game of Thrones Avengers, and (possibly more accurately, at least in a literal sense) Jon’s Suicide Squad.

But, nice as it is to see far flung characters come together, there’s a part of us that’s a little worried by such a fan-pleasing turn of events. The Thrones showrunners always intended that seasons seven and eight would be shorter and more action packed than previous years, and have so far delivered on their promise with some horrifically compelling battle scenes, and a pronounced escalation of the White Walker threat.

But, that said, there’s something a little too abrupt, and perhaps even narratively clumsy about the sudden collating of various plot lines, and the way in which Gendry has been brought back into the action and bundled together with several other disparate characters.

Daenerys and Jon look stern in this week's episode
Daenerys and Jon look stern in this week's episode CREDIT: HBO
Will Gendry’s return ultimately prove to be a good thing for Game of Thrones, as well as just a good thing for ardent Gendry-fans? The real test will be whether the character turns out to have a wider purpose in the story arc.

Many viewers, for instance, have speculated that his blacksmith background will have a crucial role to play: author George RR Martin has previously hinted that Gendry may have acquired the prized ability to work with Valyrian steel, thanks to the fact he trained under skilled armourer Tohbo Mott.

The art of making the precious metal, which has the super-useful quality of being deadly to White Walkers, has long been lost, but, as we have seen in the show, a few talented smiths are able to reshape pre-existing weapons.

Plus, with a mountain of dragonglass to mine, Gendry’s weapon-making skills might also come in useful in a different way (although dragonglass, as the name suggests, is really more of a volcanic glass than a metal).

Another aspect of Gendry’s past that could prove significant is his Baratheon heritage. While his cheerful acceptance of the fact that he is a bastard means he’s probably not going to challenge Daenerys for the iron throne any time soon, his unwillingness to hide his heritage and decision to ignore Davos’s advice and reveal himself to Jon felt important.

The show also went out of its way to demonstrate a clear connection between Robert and his unacknowledged son: the war hammer, that Gendry wielded so skilfully, was always Robert’s weapon of choice. (That Baratheon stag decoration was also a nice touch.)

Gendry is the illegitimate son of King Robert Baratheon
Gendry is the illegitimate son of King Robert Baratheon CREDIT: HBO
While it’s unclear exactly how significant Gendry’s background will be, some fans have pointed out that the Baratheon family is related to House Targaryen, meaning that the young smith will therefore have a few drops of “dragon blood” in him, and could perhaps forge (sorry we’ll stop using that word) a relationship with one of Dany’s dragons.

With Secret True Targ Jon already on the scene, however, this development would perhaps feel a little redundant: if too many people start getting chummy with the three fire-breathers, they’ll stop being intimidating altogether.

It has also been suggested, by some romantic diehards, that the character may one day end up marrying either Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), with whom he was previously friends, or her sister Sansa (Sophie Turner). There’s a neat symmetry to this – Robert always wanted “his son” to marry Eddard Stark’s daughter – and, consequently, some people are fervently “shipping” Gendry and Arya.

Arya inspects the mystery note she discovers in Littlefinger's room
Arya inspects the mystery note she discovers in Littlefinger's room CREDIT: HBO
As theories go, however, we’re not too keen on this one. For one thing, it’s a little creepy: wasn’t Gendry always more of a big brother figure to Arya, who was very young when they first met? More importantly, the damaged, recently returned super-assassin clearly isn’t exactly in the right headspace for any kind of romantic tryst right now.

The books, alas, also offer few clues as to Gendry’s future. He has only a brief appearance in A Feast For Crows, in which he is working as a smith at an inn, and does not appear at all in Martin’s most recent A Song of Ice and Fire novel A Dance With Dragons, which is focused on events elsewhere.

Readers, too, are split on whether he was always intended as a relatively minor character, or whether Martin has big plans in store for Gendry. (Some even swear he’ll one day sit on the iron throne.)

Either way, let’s keep our fingers crossed that the show will give the likable character a storyline he deserves, and fully justify his surprise comeback