Will Gendry be back this season?

[Liz Stark-Targaryen]

How do you know what was intended? Did D&D or GRRM tell you? You can interpret scenes however you like, but "I can be your family" does not mean "let's get married, have sex, and have a bunch of babies" I have always interpreted Gendry as a way to show the difference in the quality of lives that bastards can live. As a way to compare how different Gendry and Jon Snow are even though both are bastards. If you interpreted Gendry and Arya as a sexual relationship and more than just brother and sister that's fine, but you don't know what was intended. Only the show writers and GRRM know and if you can find me a link where one of them has said that they intended to have Gendry and Arya have a romantic relationship then you can say intended instead of interpreted.

Arabian said they had a romantic vibe. That's it. How on earth do we get from Ron and Hermione like bickering and sparks... to Disney?

I don't know if they'll meet again in the books or on the show. I don't know if they'll have a romance, or if Faceless!Arya will kill him, or if they'll fight on opposing sides of the wars to come. Who knows?

What I don't get is the objection to anything happening ever between the two. So what if it does? GRRM is not Walt Disney. This is not a fairy tale.

Relax.

[Monoman32]

Arabian said they had a romantic vibe. That's it. How on earth do we get from Ron and Hermione like bickering and sparks... to Disney?

I don't know if they'll meet again in the books or on the show. I don't know if they'll have a romance, or if Faceless!Arya will kill him, or if they'll fight on opposing sides of the wars to come. Who knows?

What I don't get is the objection to anything happening ever between the two. So what if it does? GRRM is not Walt Disney. This is not a fairy tale.

Relax.

Arabian is saying it as a fact rather than an opinion. He is saying that regardless of my opinion, there are romantic vibes between Arya and Gendry and that D&D and GRRM intended for them to have a romance. He can speak for himself, but he can't speak for the show writers and GRRM because we don't know what they intended unless they speak about it to us. We can only interpret the scenes, give our opinions, and have discussion about our opinions. If I came off a bit prickly, I apologize, as that wasn't my intent.

[Liz Stark-Targaryen]

Arabian is saying it as a fact rather than an opinion. He is saying that regardless of my opinion, there are romantic vibes between Arya and Gendry and that D&D and GRRM intended for them to have a romance. He can speak for himself, but he can't speak for the show writers and GRRM because we don't know what they intended unless they speak about it to us. We can only interpret the scenes, give our opinions, and have discussion about our opinions. If I came off a bit prickly, I apologize, as that wasn't my intent.

Gotcha. No apologies necessary.

As convinced as I am that there's romantic subtext in the books, I definitely think it's not there on the show. All that shows up on screen is a tiny bit of pre-crush on Arya's part (the Harrenhal forge scene when she's checkin' shirtless Gendry out while eating an apple, and the way she says "I can be your family.") I just don't think that Gendry returns her feelings on the show.

Later he might, especially since show!Gendry is sort of a Gendry-Edric combination. But that's a very big "might" since we're getting to the end of everyone's book material, and as the stuff in the North and at the Vale is showing, we're kind of going off the deep end into uncharted waters.

I just want Arya to live. And I would love to see Gendry again, especially after Mel leeched the guy for blood. I loved his interactions with Davos especially and could have watched much more of that, so maybe he'll turn up at the Wall somehow.

[Christi84]

I think theyre going to make Gendry somehow make it to Arya

[arabian]

Arabian is saying it as a fact rather than an opinion. He is saying that regardless of my opinion, there are romantic vibes between Arya and Gendry and that D&D and GRRM intended for them to have a romance. He can speak for himself, but he can't speak for the show writers and GRRM because we don't know what they intended unless they speak about it to us. We can only interpret the scenes, give our opinions, and have discussion about our opinions. If I came off a bit prickly, I apologize, as that wasn't my intent.

First of all, I'm a she, not a he. Secondly, I stated it as fact, because it IS fact. You asked where I get that the show (thus D&D who have overall control) intended and GRRM intended, I already said it:

Maisie Williams said flat-out that the line "I can be your family" which SHE originally interpreted as you said to be about siblings/family and that's how she acted the line but was then told specifically by the director to say it like "I LOVE YOU." And that was the take they used. * And, obviously, Gendry had to react to that. Also, Joe Dempsie said that the reason he was shirtless in the Harenhal scene when he's practicing swordplay and Arya is watching him was specifically done to show Arya's burgeoning womanhood. **

That right there is fact. We know that, yes, the show intended you to see a romantic vibe between Arya and Gendry. Not that there is something now, but a potential something. Otherwise, Maisie Williams would not have been told to sell the line that way, that take would not have been used, Dempsie would not have responded as Gendry that way (sadly). And The whole 'hey, let's have Gendry shirtless and looking hot as hell for Arya to notice and start to get all hot and bothered about' would not have been included. These things were done deliberately to set up a romantic vibe for potential future possibility. And they wouldn't have been done if they were supposed to just be perceived as brother and sister. That is fact and that is why I said clearly the show intended it as such. You don't have directors and scripts directing and writing such scenes otherwise.

As for GRRM, go back to Liz Stark-Targaryen and what she wrote on page 2, look at this post and what she pointed out from the books. These were the things I was talking about when I mentioned:

GRRM wrote scenes of them rolling around on the floor together fake-wrestling, Gendry sniffing her and Gendry jealous of Arya and a young lord, and Arya of Gendry and some girl whose "bell he might go ring" to the point that even several chapters later she was still seething about it.

Clear romantic vibes that point to non-sibling interaction and potential romantic possibility. These are facts that are in evidence. Not opinion, but actual facts. You don't need direct quotes from D&D or GRRM to prove intention when you have canonical proof in the books and on screen (with quotes from the actors to back up those actions).

* he obviously has family on her mind in this episode. But when she tells Gendry "I can be your family," it sounds like she might mean something very different – even if she herself barely realizes it yet.

When I first read that scene, it really got to me. I always knew that Arya and Gendry were going to take separate paths, but when you actually see it. . . I was really getting on well with Joe [Dempsie], and it was just like "Oh, this is going to end now." Then you go in do it. At first I read it as "You can come to Winterfell, I'll show you how everything goes, and you can come and sit at the table with us." I thought it would be a bit like Theon. But when I was doing the scene, [director] Alex Graves said "When you say that last line, 'I can be your family,' say it like 'I love you.'" And that's the take that they used. On the day, we didn't cut in between. We kept going, and going, and going again, which I really liked; otherwise, you get out of it and you have to try and build yourself back up to that point again. Sometimes I was really crying, and then we'd pull it back. I don't know how many we did, but the last one we did…We settled on the one when I said it like "I love you," and it really works.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/game-of-thrones-q-a-maisie-williams-on-arya-starks-trial-by-fire-20130501#ixzz3YTKdR9Io

** That scene where I'm forging the sword, I'm saying that it's gratuitous, but the idea they wanted to convey was that . . . it was more for Arya than anything to do with my character. It was them trying to imply that Arya's becoming a woman now and she's dealing with feelings that she's maybe not experienced before. I think they just want to hint at that – I'm saying "subtly," but . . . [Laughs]

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/game-of-thrones-q-a-joe-dempsie-on-gendrys-long-strange-trip-20130606#ixzz3YTLQmDA8

[Monoman32]

First of all, I'm a she, not a he. Secondly, I stated it as fact, because it IS fact. You asked where I get that the show (thus D&D who have overall control) intended and GRRM intended, I already said it:

Maisie Williams said flat-out that the line "I can be your family" which SHE originally interpreted as you said to be about siblings/family and that's how she acted the line but was then told specifically by the director to say it like "I LOVE YOU." And that was the take they used. * And, obviously, Gendry had to react to that. Also, Joe Dempsie said that the reason he was shirtless in the Harenhal scene when he's practicing swordplay and Arya is watching him was specifically done to show Arya's burgeoning womanhood. **

That right there is fact. We know that, yes, the show intended you to see a romantic vibe between Arya and Gendry. Not that there is something now, but a potential something. Otherwise, Maisie Williams would not have been told to sell the line that way, that take would not have been used, Dempsie would not have responded as Gendry that way (sadly). And The whole 'hey, let's have Gendry shirtless and looking hot as hell for Arya to notice and start to get all hot and bothered about' would not have been included. These things were done deliberately to set up a romantic vibe for potential future possibility. And they wouldn't have been done if they were supposed to just be perceived as brother and sister. That is fact and that is why I said clearly the show intended it as such. You don't have directors and scripts directing and writing such scenes otherwise.

As for GRRM, go back to Liz Stark-Targaryen and what she wrote on page 2, look at this post and what she pointed out from the books. These were the things I was talking about when I mentioned:

Clear romantic vibes that point to non-sibling interaction and potential romantic possibility. These are facts that are in evidence. Not opinion, but actual facts. You don't need direct quotes from D&D or GRRM to prove intention when you have canonical proof in the books and on screen (with quotes from the actors to back up those actions).

Thank you for providing links it is much appreciated. I was wrong. If the shirtless scene was to show that Arya is becoming a woman then it was poorly done. The "I can be your family" scene I can see a bit more. Regardless, I was wrong, you were right.

[Edmure's Floppy Fish]

I got the "summer crush " feeling while reading the scenes with Arya and Gendry and interpretered the show accordingly but I think it takes away from the books when a reader tells another reader "this is how you should interpret X." However in this case, it looks like you had author facts to back up your position. Most of the time artists won't comment on how something should be interpretered because they specifically write things to have dual meanings. I always thought Arya/Gendry was one of these "interpret it however you see fit" scenerios, but apparently I was wrong. At least I know I interpretered it right!

[arabian]

Thank you for providing links it is much appreciated. I was wrong. If the shirtless scene was to show that Arya is becoming a woman then it was poorly done. The "I can be your family" scene I can see a bit more. Regardless, I was wrong, you were right.

Thanks. I would have pulled out the quotes earlier, but I didn't have them at hand. As for the shirtless scene, I dunno, it was pretty clear as this gifset shows (this is actually where I first saw the quotes about both scenes myself and went digging):

http://fyeaharyagendry.tumblr.com/post/94660891542/momotaromikoshiba-rolling-stone-interview

ETA:

I think it takes away from the books when a reader tells another reader "this is how you should interpret X." However in this case, it looks like you had author facts to back up your position.

I don't ever try and do that because I do feel that everyone should be allowed to have their own interpretation, but this was a case of having the author/showrunners making it clear enough (I think) what their position was based on canonical proof in either the books or the show. If I was just giving my opinion, I would have stated it as such and not tried to debate that my opinion was right and someone else's was wrong because everyone is entitled to their own opinion/interpretation.

[Liz Stark-Targaryen]

The way the books present Gendry's feelings about Arya is sort of like this:

-- She's his friend. He admires her.

-- Both of them differentiate each other from the others, even Hot Pie, in the second book (ACOK). From the books:

ACOK: "Arya was given a whole leg, since it was her rabbit. She shared it with Gendry. The rest of them each got a spoonful, even the three in manacles."

ACOK: [Gendry to Arya] "You’re the only one of the bunch who’s good for anything. Even if you are a girl.”

ACOK: [Arya, about Gendry] "Only Gendry was different, the queen wanted him too."

ACOK: "It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that they had Gendry. Even if he was stubborn and stupid, she had to get him out.

--Most of the stuff that made me notice the crush was in ASOS, the third book, when they had escaped Harrenhal with Hot Pie, only to get recaptured by the Brotherhood without banners.

--Also in the books,

I don't know that the Acorn Hall or Peach scenes, or Gendry's reaction to Ned Dayne, can be interpreted as just friendship or siblinghood. That's not me being mean, that's me just feeling that GRRM is spelling it clearly out in the text. Both seemed to indicate budding interest, but in different ways.

Gendry seems to become increasingly frustrated by their class differences. Arya gets upset by his behavior and (because she's so young) is confused by it.

What I came away with in the books was that Gendry can see the young woman that Arya will be in a few years. While he'd never be inappropriate with her, he is both protective of her innocence and upset that she's not only a Lord's daughter, but also (at the time of their travels with the Brotherhood), an actual princess. (She's the sister of the King of the North.)

At Acorn Hall, he almost gets punished for wrestling with her. At the Peach, they have a misunderstanding around him calling her his sister to keep her away from the lechers who think she's one of the whores. When it comes to Ned Dayne, Gendry's at his wit's end while the boy is just

talking to her... he didn't act like that when she was talking with Lommy or Hot Pie.

Since the show cut out all those scenes where Arya's washed up and forced into a dress, and because the age difference was twice as huge, I think they changed things accordingly. But I have to say arabian had some points about that I'm not aware of...

First of all, I'm a she, not a he. Secondly, I stated it as fact, because it IS fact. You asked where I get that the show (thus D&D who have overall control) intended and GRRM intended, I already said it:

Maisie Williams said flat-out that the line "I can be your family" which SHE originally interpreted as you said to be about siblings/family and that's how she acted the line but was then told specifically by the director to say it like "I LOVE YOU." And that was the take they used. * And, obviously, Gendry had to react to that. Also, Joe Dempsie said that the reason he was shirtless in the Harenhal scene when he's practicing swordplay and Arya is watching him was specifically done to show Arya's burgeoning womanhood. **

That right there is fact. We know that, yes, the show intended you to see a romantic vibe between Arya and Gendry. Not that there is something now, but a potential something. Otherwise, Maisie Williams would not have been told to sell the line that way, that take would not have been used, Dempsie would not have responded as Gendry that way (sadly). And The whole 'hey, let's have Gendry shirtless and looking hot as hell for Arya to notice and start to get all hot and bothered about' would not have been included. These things were done deliberately to set up a romantic vibe for potential future possibility. And they wouldn't have been done if they were supposed to just be perceived as brother and sister. That is fact and that is why I said clearly the show intended it as such. You don't have directors and scripts directing and writing such scenes otherwise.

Very interesting. I do wonder if they'll try to write a romance into the show if they're to meet again. I think I read that the guy who played Gendry was so not having it in an interview a few seasons ago, but now that Maisie is 18, anything is possible, I guess. I just wonder how it works with Arya training at the HoBaW, and her character taking a dark turn. I'd just hate for him to be one of her victims! And I wouldn't put anything past these showrunners, especially after tonight's episode.

(I did think the actors had great on screen rapport and I enjoyed their scenes.)

[arabian]

Very interesting. I do wonder if they'll try to write a romance into the show if they're to meet again. I think I read that the guy who played Gendry was so not having it in an interview a few seasons ago, but now that Maisie is 18, anything is possible, I guess. I just wonder how it works with Arya training at the HoBaW, and her character taking a dark turn. I'd just hate for him to be one of her victims! And I wouldn't put anything past these showrunners, especially after tonight's episode.

(I did think the actors had great on screen rapport and I enjoyed their scenes.)

Joe Dempsie said when first asked about that he thought it was implausible (which was pretty much about the age difference which was so obvious then), but he's backed down from that whenever asked since. Basically now he just says that he knows how many and how much the fans love the idea of Arya and Gendry and it's nice that they care. But ultimately he knows that neither he nor Maisie have any say in what is going to happen; it's up to showrunners. (It should also be noted that Dempsie has never read the books so he isn't aware of how more romantically subtextual the Arya/Gendry relationship is in the books.)

I don't see Gendry as being one of her victims, but rather being someone who could help remind her that she's Arya Stark of Winterfell. After all, he was the only person she felt she could trust in telling that to when she was hiding her true self from the rest of the world. Her family and Gendry are literally the only people she trusts who are still alive. Yes, he stayed with the BWB, but she understood why, he wasn't deserting her, he was finding a family of his own, a place to belong where he wasn't a servant... and then he was betrayed by them. So, yeah, Gendry and the Starks, they are the only ones who could pull Arya from No One.

[Dronuspk]

I'm a bit confused how this character is so popular, but I liked the actor and I'm interested where his storyline is going to go. I'm thinking it may be a lot larger than people are thinking, considering he isn't dead yet and played a pretty minor role so far.

[arabian]

I had a thought... I wonder if when Gendry comes back, he will have been captured and is a slave that winds up where Tyrion and Jorah are (if D&D keep that part)?

[BrojenReed]

He could be making his way to the Wall. As a bastard with nowhere else to go, the Watch is more attractive than dying homeless and alone. Could make for an interesting plot twist, considering:

-He'll run right back into his former captors, or at least Melisandre (who will almost surely want to burn him)

-Jon won't allow another innocent to be burned, especially one who wishes to join the NW

-Gendry can tell Jon that Arya is alive once he learns who Jon is

-Ned's bastard and Robert's bastard at the end of the world, fighting the good fight. Seems poetic

Well, at least...

until the shit hits the fan and Jon gets shanked.

[Polo]

I'm not expecting him to return. I dont think it'd be surprising to see D&D completely forget about him and let him be a plot-hole.

[Stonehearted Snake]

I can only see him returning to take over someone else's role that they've cut. I don't see them inventing an entirely new plot line from him considering how hard they are trying to streamline even the main characters. And I don't think we will see the BwoB again in the show. Even if we did, Gendry wouldn't go back to them as they were the ones who sold him. I don't have any idea whose plot line he could take over though on the show.

[Weeping Sore]

I think the High Sparrow will take it upon himself to legitimize Gendry because he's a salt-of-the-Earth type, the "Smith" incarnate. Once it's proven to him that Tommen and Myrcella are bastards and the result of incest, and presuming he's aware that Stannis is an apostate demon-worshipper, he will claim the right to legitimize Gendry as Gendry Baratheon, a useful puppet on the Iron Throne.

[AryaNymeriaVisenya]

You are grasping at straws to say that at 15/16 year old dude would be into a 10/11 year old girl who also has been described as not much to look at.

It was typical for marriages to be planned in advance for several years back in the middle ages. just cause robert was betrothed to lyanna doesn't mean they were ready to have sex. Their offical marriage would probably have taken place a little later than when she was kidnapped, so either late 15 or 16. which while still too young for our modern day standards isn't that creepy cause lyanna would have been more or less a fully grown woman by then.

What rhaegar did doesn't change much, the guy was obsessed with prophecy, and that certainly doesn't make it ok and 14 still is not equal to 10/11!!

Finally Lyanna was a pretty girl, and that's why robert was excited about his marriage, that and the fact that she was ned's sister. Ayra isn't described as pretty and she is much younger, I see no reason for gendry to have a crush on her.

You really need to look at the text. Really.

Cat, Sansa and Jeyne think Arya is ugly. She is however compared to Lyanna Stark who is always called beautiful. Bran mistakes his vision of Lyanna at the same age as Arya. Arya recalls Ned and Jon calling her pretty. Lady Smallwood called her beautiful. The Kindly Man says that men would give everything they had to sleep with her at the age of 11. Then says she has a pretty face when given another 'as pretty as her own'.

Robert's father was dead. He died in a shipwreck with his mother. Robert was Lord of Storm's End fostered with Ned at the Eyrie. In this time he met Lyanna and was so taken with her he asked Rickard himself to have her hand in marriage. Their age gap was the same as Arya and Gendry. This was all before Harrenhal when Lyanna was very young.

Obviously, this is not what we consider great today but its what is written in the text. Obviously you don't like 11 year olds, I should think not but that doesn't mean you can ignore the text to fit your worldview. Disagree with the morality of it all sure but that above is stated explicitly, no opinion, just straight up said in the text.

I had a thought... I wonder if when Gendry comes back, he will have been captured and is a slave that winds up where Tyrion and Jorah are (if D&D keep that part)?

Maybe catching up with Brienne? She's the person he was last with in the books. If his plot in the books is tied with her for a while, they could get them together

The way the books present Gendry's feelings about Arya is sort of like this:

-- She's his friend. He admires her.

-- Both of them differentiate each other from the others, even Hot Pie, in the second book (ACOK). From the books:

ACOK: "Arya was given a whole leg, since it was her rabbit. She shared it with Gendry. The rest of them each got a spoonful, even the three in manacles."

ACOK: [Gendry to Arya] "You’re the only one of the bunch who’s good for anything. Even if you are a girl.”

ACOK: [Arya, about Gendry] "Only Gendry was different, the queen wanted him too."

ACOK: "It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that they had Gendry. Even if he was stubborn and stupid, she had to get him out.

--Most of the stuff that made me notice the crush was in ASOS, the third book, when they had escaped Harrenhal with Hot Pie, only to get recaptured by the Brotherhood without banners.

--Also in the books,

I don't know that the Acorn Hall or Peach scenes, or Gendry's reaction to Ned Dayne, can be interpreted as just friendship or siblinghood. That's not me being mean, that's me just feeling that GRRM is spelling it clearly out in the text. Both seemed to indicate budding interest, but in different ways.

Gendry seems to become increasingly frustrated by their class differences. Arya gets upset by his behavior and (because she's so young) is confused by it.

What I came away with in the books was that Gendry can see the young woman that Arya will be in a few years. While he'd never be inappropriate with her, he is both protective of her innocence and upset that she's not only a Lord's daughter, but also (at the time of their travels with the Brotherhood), an actual princess. (She's the sister of the King of the North.)

At Acorn Hall, he almost gets punished for wrestling with her. At the Peach, they have a misunderstanding around him calling her his sister to keep her away from the lechers who think she's one of the whores. When it comes to Ned Dayne, Gendry's at his wit's end while the boy is just

talking to her... he didn't act like that when she was talking with Lommy or Hot Pie.

Since the show cut out all those scenes where Arya's washed up and forced into a dress, and because the age difference was twice as huge, I think they changed things accordingly. But I have to say arabian had some points about that I'm not aware of...

Very interesting. I do wonder if they'll try to write a romance into the show if they're to meet again. I think I read that the guy who played Gendry was so not having it in an interview a few seasons ago, but now that Maisie is 18, anything is possible, I guess. I just wonder how it works with Arya training at the HoBaW, and her character taking a dark turn. I'd just hate for him to be one of her victims! And I wouldn't put anything past these showrunners, especially after tonight's episode.

(I did think the actors had great on screen rapport and I enjoyed their scenes.)

And other people see it too. Lem Lemoncloak keeps his eye on Gendry.

Harwin took one look at them and burst out laughing, and Anguy smiled one of his stupid freckly smiles and said, "Are we certain this one is a highborn lady?" But Lem Lemoncloak gave Gendry a clout alongside the head. "You want to fight, fight with me! She's a girl, and half your age! You keep your hands off o' her, you hear me?"

"You must be a lackwit, boy," said Lem. "We're outlaws. Lowborn scum, most of us, excepting his lordship. Don't think it'll be like Tom's fool songs neither. You won't be stealing no kisses from a princess, nor riding in no tourneys in stolen armor. You join us, you'll end with your neck in a noose, or your head mounted up above some castle gate."

But when the day came, she woke to the barking of dogs.

Arya sat up yawning. Gendry was stirring on her left and Lem Lemoncloak snoring loudly to her right, but the baying outside all but drowned him out.

Lem is Arya's chaperone!

However Tom o'Sevens is downright encouraging it.

[After the Acorn Hall wrestling]

Tom winked at her as he sang:

My featherbed is deep and soft,

and there I’ll lay you down,

I’ll dress you all in yellow silk

and on your head a crown.

For you shall be my lady love,

and I shall be your lord.

I’ll always keep you warm and safe,

and guard you with my sword.

And how she smiled and how she laughed, the maiden of the tree.

She spun away and said to him,

no featherbed for me.

I’ll wear a gown of golden leaves,

and bind my hair with grass,

But you can be my forest love,

and me your forest lass.”

Thank you for providing links it is much appreciated. I was wrong. If the shirtless scene was to show that Arya is becoming a woman then it was poorly done. The "I can be your family" scene I can see a bit more. Regardless, I was wrong, you were right.

Its a very close adaptation of this:

As she passed the armory, Arya heard the ring of a hammer. A deep orange glow shone through the high windows. She climbed to the roof and peeked down. Gendry was beating out a breastplate. When he worked, nothing existed for him but metal, bellows, fire. The hammer was like part of his arm. She watched the play of muscles in his chest and listened to the steel music he made. He's strong, she thought. As he took up the long-handled tongs to dip the breastplate into the quenching trough, Arya slithered through the window and leapt down to the floor beside him.

I don't see how people don't see the sweetness of it. Its a young girl, new to her sexuality, feeling weird feelings. Here is a boy she likes and she's peeking, I love that word, its so illicit. She is peeking on him, its total female gaze. I also love that its showing Arya's very wolfish nature. She likes his strength. Later we get this:

"Some will tell you that they are demons. They say the pack is led by a monstrous she-wolf, a stalking shadow grim and grey and huge. They will tell you that she has been known to bring aurochs down all by herself, that no trap nor snare can hold her, that she fears neither steel nor fire, slays any wolf that tries to mount her, and devours no other flesh but man."

Nymeria is killing wolves who try to mate with her, she's fighting them, they aren't strong enough. People think this means that Arya is averse to men, that is not true. You can say its a bit wilding, she's often called for her wildness, its about strength in a mate.

Its a key part of a girl growing, maturing and we never see it in fiction without exploitation. Arya is owning her burgeoning sexuality. Its great.

[Liz Stark-Targaryen]

-Ned's bastard and Robert's bastard at the end of the world, fighting the good fight. Seems poetic

I actually need this to happen more than I want Arya and Gendry to reunite in the future! I always thought that Jon and Gendry could have been good friends, once they got over their class differences. And visually, it would be Ned and Robert all over again.

And other people see it too. Lem Lemoncloak keeps his eye on Gendry.

Harwin took one look at them and burst out laughing, and Anguy smiled one of his stupid freckly smiles and said, "Are we certain this one is a highborn lady?" But Lem Lemoncloak gave Gendry a clout alongside the head. "You want to fight, fight with me! She's a girl, and half your age! You keep your hands off o' her, you hear me?"

"You must be a lackwit, boy," said Lem. "We're outlaws. Lowborn scum, most of us, excepting his lordship. Don't think it'll be like Tom's fool songs neither. You won't be stealing no kisses from a princess, nor riding in no tourneys in stolen armor. You join us, you'll end with your neck in a noose, or your head mounted up above some castle gate."

But when the day came, she woke to the barking of dogs.

Arya sat up yawning. Gendry was stirring on her left and Lem Lemoncloak snoring loudly to her right, but the baying outside all but drowned him out.

Lem is Arya's chaperone!

However Tom o'Sevens is downright encouraging it.

[After the Acorn Hall wrestling]

Tom winked at her as he sang:

My featherbed is deep and soft,

and there I’ll lay you down,

I’ll dress you all in yellow silk

and on your head a crown.

For you shall be my lady love,

and I shall be your lord.

I’ll always keep you warm and safe,

and guard you with my sword.

And how she smiled and how she laughed, the maiden of the tree.

She spun away and said to him,

no featherbed for me.

I’ll wear a gown of golden leaves,

and bind my hair with grass,

But you can be my forest love,

and me your forest lass.”

Its a very close adaptation of this:

As she passed the armory, Arya heard the ring of a hammer. A deep orange glow shone through the high windows. She climbed to the roof and peeked down. Gendry was beating out a breastplate. When he worked, nothing existed for him but metal, bellows, fire. The hammer was like part of his arm. She watched the play of muscles in his chest and listened to the steel music he made. He's strong, she thought. As he took up the long-handled tongs to dip the breastplate into the quenching trough, Arya slithered through the window and leapt down to the floor beside him.

I don't see how people don't see the sweetness of it. Its a young girl, new to her sexuality, feeling weird feelings. Here is a boy she likes and she's peeking, I love that word, its so illicit. She is peeking on him, its total female gaze. I also love that its showing Arya's very wolfish nature. She likes his strength. Later we get this:

"Some will tell you that they are demons. They say the pack is led by a monstrous she-wolf, a stalking shadow grim and grey and huge. They will tell you that she has been known to bring aurochs down all by herself, that no trap nor snare can hold her, that she fears neither steel nor fire, slays any wolf that tries to mount her, and devours no other flesh but man."

Nymeria is killing wolves who try to mate with her, she's fighting them, they aren't strong enough. People think this means that Arya is averse to men, that is not true. You can say its a bit wilding, she's often called for her wildness, its about strength in a mate.

Its a key part of a girl growing, maturing and we never see it in fiction without exploitation. Arya is owning her burgeoning sexuality. Its great.

I never even noticed that Lem and Tom are engaged in a shipper war while reading ASOS! It's like Tom's a total Gendrya fangirl, and writes songfic for them, while for Lem, Arya and Gendry are his NOtp... :lmao:

Its a very close adaptation of this:

As she passed the armory, Arya heard the ring of a hammer. A deep orange glow shone through the high windows. She climbed to the roof and peeked down. Gendry was beating out a breastplate. When he worked, nothing existed for him but metal, bellows, fire. The hammer was like part of his arm. She watched the play of muscles in his chest and listened to the steel music he made. He's strong, she thought. As he took up the long-handled tongs to dip the breastplate into the quenching trough, Arya slithered through the window and leapt down to the floor beside him.

I don't see how people don't see the sweetness of it. Its a young girl, new to her sexuality, feeling weird feelings. Here is a boy she likes and she's peeking, I love that word, its so illicit. She is peeking on him, its total female gaze. I also love that its showing Arya's very wolfish nature. She likes his strength. Later we get this:

"Some will tell you that they are demons. They say the pack is led by a monstrous she-wolf, a stalking shadow grim and grey and huge. They will tell you that she has been known to bring aurochs down all by herself, that no trap nor snare can hold her, that she fears neither steel nor fire, slays any wolf that tries to mount her, and devours no other flesh but man."

Nymeria is killing wolves who try to mate with her, she's fighting them, they aren't strong enough. People think this means that Arya is averse to men, that is not true. You can say its a bit wilding, she's often called for her wildness, its about strength in a mate.

Its a key part of a girl growing, maturing and we never see it in fiction without exploitation. Arya is owning her burgeoning sexuality. Its great.

The bolded is definitely foreshadowing for

the Mercy chapter of TWoW, where we see Arya first using her sexuality to lure a man in for a kill

.

Although I dislike bickering romances in my fiction, I do like the contrast between Arya's sigil of the direwolf, and Gendry's dual sigils of a bull (personal) and a stag (father's house). He's big and strong, but ultimately harmless, while she's small and fierce... and can and will take you out. Size differences are awesome. And Arya is going to be the alpha in any future relationship she's in, so she'll need someone strong enough not to be a pushover, but laid-back enough not to mind the fact that she wants to lead, and will never adhere to traditional gender roles.

I can see it in the books if Martin decides to play it that way, but who knows where the show will be going? This season is a game changer.

[arabian]

Yes, the series is taking some different routes, but aren't the key stories all supposed to wind up at GRRM's intended finish lines? So wherever Arya and Gendry (if he does have a significant role in the books moving forward) wind up in the books in the end, they should be there in the series as well, even if the journey may differ here and there.

[Liz Stark-Targaryen]

Yes, the series is taking some different routes, but aren't the key stories all supposed to wind up at GRRM's intended finish lines? So wherever Arya and Gendry (if he does have a significant role in the books moving forward) wind up in the books in the end, they should be there in the series as well, even if the journey may differ here and there.

Don't forget that show!Gendry = book!Gendry + book!Edric Storm. So Gendry returning on the HBO series might not necessarily mean anything for the books, since as a minor character, his plot is one of those that deviates the most.

I will be genuinely surprised if the show's endgame is Jon/Arya, because I feel that they would have cast those parts differently. I don't know that we'll see a romance for Arya in the series since GRRM scrapped the five year time jump (which I honestly wished he'd done).