The penultimate season of Game of Thrones has already given us plenty of memorable moments (spoilers incoming), among them Arya slaughtering the entirety of House Frey; a bad Ed Sheeran cameo; a massive, gruesome-as-all-hell naval battle; a good sexy bit; Sansa’s long-awaited reunion with emo, all-seeing Bran; Daenerys and Jon Snow meeting for the first time – and several poisonings.
But, look, all of that stuff will pale into insignificance when the true showcase event of Season 7 finally materialises. We’re referring, obviously, to the return of Gendry.
The last time we saw the bastard son of the late King Robert Baratheon was way back in Season 3, as he rowed away from Dragonstone, seemingly destined to live out the rest of his days as a meme.
But even since actor Joe Dempsie confirmed his character’s imminent comeback, the internet has been speculating on how he might fit into the narrative, and some people reckon what transpired towards the end of Episode 3 could be key.
In case you’ve forgotten (or haven’t yet watched it, in which case step away from the glowing screen immediately) after Jon and Dany’s fiery initial meeting, the Mother of Dragons agreed to let Jon and his men start mining dragonglass in preparation for the eventual arrival of the White Walkers.
Thing is, without someone who can forge the substance into useable weapons, it’s pretty much a wasted endeavour. No, Jon needs a skilled blacksmith, and it just so happens that young Gendry is one of the best Westeros has to offer. It almost makes too much sense for it not to happen. This obviously begs the question as to what exactly he’s been doing for over three seasons of the show, but that’s for the writers to figure out.
As far as the internet is concerned, the destiny of one of GoT’s cult heroes is now clear.
It should be pointed out Gendry isn’t the only blacksmith in the Seven Kingdoms, and Jon would probably have no shortage of applicants if they were able to add “SAVED ALL OF HUMANITY” to their CVs, but here’s the important thing: Gendry’s former mentor Tobho Mott knew how to rework Valyrian steel, which, along with dragonglass, is one of the few substances that can fuck up the Night King and his mates. If he passed that wisdom on to his protégé then you could reasonably expect he’ll be able to do a similar thing with dragonglass.
(Lead image: HBO)
