the future of gendry

[starlight5]

Here is my completely off the wall theory about Gendry: knowing Cersei's hatred of Robert and disgust at birthing a black haired baby (her first child), someone--Varys--switched that babe or otherwise saved it so the first born baby Cersei told Catelyn Stark she'd borne and which subsequently died (in the first book), did not in fact die, and that baby was Gendry, who therefore is legitimately born and the true king. Even if Gendry didn't want it and abdicates to someone else, as long as Cersei was still alive it would be wonderful to see the dilemma wrought by a) her rage at a true borne black haired Robert heir being alive to cheat her golden haired offspring out of the throne, despite all her scheming, and B) her obsession with being connected with a king and hoping to wield some sort of power through that connection. Of course, if my memory is off and that first baby was a girl, forget all that or switch it to Mya! :drunk:

oops, sorry, in the book Cersei tells Eddard she was pregnant by Robert once, and Jaimie found a woman to "cleanse" her; it was in the show where Cersei talks to Catelyn about the baby who died as an infant; i'll have to watch the episodes to catch that part again. . . this would fit in with the show altering some things slightly for better effect down the road. it fits in with Varys knowing a lot more about and protecting Gendry, if he'd been in on the truth since the beginning. Or maybe I'm remembering it all wrong! it's been known. . .

[Sheena]

Here is my completely off the wall theory about Gendry: knowing Cersei's hatred of Robert and disgust at birthing a black haired baby (her first child), someone--Varys--switched that babe or otherwise saved it so the first born baby Cersei told Catelyn Stark she'd borne and which subsequently died (in the first book), did not in fact die, and that baby was Gendry, who therefore is legitimately born and the true king. Even if Gendry didn't want it and abdicates to someone else, as long as Cersei was still alive it would be wonderful to see the dilemma wrought by a) her rage at a true borne black haired Robert heir being alive to cheat her golden haired offspring out of the throne, despite all her scheming, and B) her obsession with being connected with a king and hoping to wield some sort of power through that connection. Of course, if my memory is off and that first baby was a girl, forget all that or switch it to Maya! :drunk:

Haha, I totally had a theory similar to this before. But the more I thought about it, the more I just thought it couldn't be true. But who knows? It could happen :P

[brut]

I am doing some research on Thoros currently, and here's some curious conversation that I stumbled upon:

He was turning red again. “What are you doing here, then?” he demanded. “A brothel’s no place for no bloody highborn lady, everybody knows that.”

One of the girls sat down on the bench beside him. “Who’s a highborn lady? The little skinny one?” She looked at Arya and laughed. “I’m a king’s daughter myself.”

Arya knew she was being mocked. “You are not.”

“Well, I might be.” When the girl shrugged, her gown slipped off one shoulder. “They say Kind Robert fucked my mother when he hid here, back before the battle. Not that he didn’t have all the other girls too, but Leslyn says he liked my ma the best.”

The girl did have hair like the old king’s. Arya thought; a great thick mop of it, as black as coal. That doesn’t mean anything, though. Gendry has the same kind of hair too. Lots of people have black hair.

“I’m named Bella,” the girl told Gendry. “For the battle. I bet I could ring your bell, too. You want to?”

“No,” he said gruffly.

“I bet you do.” She ran a hand along his arm. “I don’t cost nothing to friends of Thoros and the lightning lord.”

“No, I said.” Gendry rose abruptly and stalked away from the table out into the night.

So, Bella tells a story of Robert's presence at the Inn, claiming that she just might be his daughter, and Gendry - hearing this - refuses her caress and absquatulates. And his "No, I said" is more like "Stop it!".

I do like stretching conclusions, and this conversation seems to hint that Gendy actually knows who he is.

[The Snowman]

I am doing some research on Thoros currently, and here's some curious conversation that I stumbled upon:

So, Bella tells a story of Robert's presence at the Inn, claiming that she just might be his daughter, and Gendry - hearing this - refuses her caress and absquatulates. And his "No, I said" is more like "Stop it!".

I do like stretching conclusions, and this conversation seems to hint that Gendy actually knows who he is.

Cool theory. Gendry actually knowing or heavily suspecting that he is King Bob's bastard would certainly be interesting

[Fred Stark]

he had to be really dumb if he doesnt suspect he is someone important.Kingsguard are loooking for him,two Hands of the King had visited him before they died and his apprenticeship is paid evevthough he is a baseborn(in his head).

Gendry is the minor character which I would like to see more.Hope he gets a POV in the next book.

[whitters23]

I've always wondered if deep down he maybe has an inkling of who his father is. He seems to have a deep dislike for Robert, especially considering he has nothing to do with him. Always calling him a drunk and a sot. And then when asked who his father is (I'm pretty sure this was in the books and not the show) he says 'Some drunk'. I think it's possible that he does suspect he's Robert's son (why else would he be running from the Queen) but he's too stubborn to admit it. He doesn't respect Robert so I could see Gendry trying to deny his relation to him.

[Lady Wylla Manderly]

I don't think Gendry will have a HUGE part to play, but he'll still be a part of BWB and he'll most likely discover his true parentage. But I don't think he'll ever be legitimised or become nobility or whatever. Quite the opposite, I think he'll continue championing for smallfolk.

Well, we guess he already had some... times..., hehe, with a half-sister! =D

Haha that Bella girl, right? xD I remember thinking "ewwww grosssss" at that part. But I thought he went all "NO, I SAID!!" on that?

But whatever, this is A Song of Incest and Fucking xP

So, If his role is becoming some form of lord, do you think he will end up romantically with arya? I know that they are young and its a bit creepy but still. I mean g.r.r martin originally planned a gap and skip in time. perhaps they were meant to be set up and then skip forward until they were reunited. and thats taking longer than planned. IF a stark does win the iron throne or at least the north, perhaps they will legitimise gendry and arya's request/ hmm this seems all too hopeful though. Or perhaps arya wont care that he is lowborn and not legitimised and will live a commoners life with him (since she never much liked being a lady anyway_

I would LOVE for Arya and Gendry to end up together, but this is GRRM troll, and I don't think it'll ever happen :/

[starlight5]

Ok, so I just watched episode 2 of season one, where the queen comes in to visit Catelyn at Bran's side. The queen talks at length about the first child she lost, a beautiful baby who looked just like Robert with black hair, and how she couldn't bear to look at the baby after "they" took him away. Robert pounded his fists on the walls till they drew blood, she said. Well. She hates Robert, hates his black hair, and either (i submit) she told him the baby was dead and sent it off to be "made so", or killed the baby herself, or planned to kill the baby and someone found out and switched the live babe for a dead duplicate or surrogate (One Life to Live in the 60s, anyone?). In any event, I'm gonna ride my "Gendry is a trueborn son of Cersei & Robert" horse until Martin bucks me off. Yes, it's a different horse than in the book, but what else is new? If they aren't gonna write it this way, they should have! But, I'm still ok with Gendry staying a blacksmith and ending up with I-won't-be-a-royal-Arya. The two of them could keep the peace for a whole nook in the kingdom, surreptitiously killing all the baddies and opening up a bar-be-cue stand on the side, a la Fried Green Tomatoes . .. .

[Jolene Brown]

When it comes to the books, it doesn't matter what the show said. In the books, there is no possibility that Gendry is trueborn so it doesn't make sense to speculate on what the show said as if it impacts Gendry's plot in the books.

[starlight5]

I am not speculating on the future book's/(s)' plot--I am commenting on the show. I enjoy the anticipating and speculating on each. But, I am new here, so if this is only restricted to book speculation, I'll go quietly with many mea culpas!

[Jolene Brown]

It's not restricted to book speculation, but this is the book part of the forum... there's a separate part for the tv show. Sometimes the tv show appears to give insight into what will happen in the books, but not here, where the books directly contradict the info from the tv show.

[Valkyrja]

Yeah, unfortunately, I think that was just something the Tv writers made up in order to try to make Cersei seem more sympathetic in the first season.

But I could be wrong. :dunno:

[Alia of the knife]

I think he will be reforge Ice, and I think he will end up a wealthy, happy landowner, and hero married to someone like Willow, becoming the man his Father never was.

I also think if Aegon is real, Arya will end up with him, but NOT to re-ship Rhaegar and Lyanna, but for these reasons.:

- The naming of the Stark Direwolves mean something, and I think Arya naming hers Nymeria is signifigant, so I think her fate is centered around Dorne, or the Dornish, which Aegons Mother was.

- Aegon will have get the North back. It's the size of all the Seven Kingdoms put together. Even if Jon is his half-brother, and becomes King in the North, marrying Arya truly solidifies it. ( I say Arya, because I think Sansa will end up married to someone like Willis Tyrell, remain unmarried after all she's been through, or shock us all by staying with Tyrion).

- Per Maggie the Frogs prophesy, Arya as the younger, more beautiful, (and I think she will end up even more beautiful than Sansa), Queen to replace Cersei has more impact, because Cersei has already seen Sansa, Margery, Dany will go mad like her Father, so Cersei will be more impacted by the woman who looks like the one who took the two men she wanted.

They have had issues from day one. It was really Arya that Cersei initially wanted punished.

And Arya will end up as Queen simply because thats the last thing she dreamed of being, and thats the way this story rolls.

But, I think Gendry will have a role in helping put the Starks back together, since it was the Stag that originally tore apart the wolves.

All IMHO. :)

[Lady.]

Pretty sure Gendry doesn't sex it up with Bella - his reaction to her at the inn, from my reading, very much had to do with Arya being there and his obvious attraction (sexual or otherwise) to her. Don'tCallMeLadyFluff - I completely agree with your characterization of the arya/gendry relationship. I don't get why more people don't see their obvious chemistry but :dunno: Just wondering if you could expand upon your comment re: Willow? I didn't get quite follow that.

I think it's interesting the thought that Arya could end up with some connection to Dorne, but I think the Nymeria naming has more to do with who Nymeria was as a person, as a warrior and as a leader, than where she came from.

[Faint]

- The naming of the Stark Direwolves mean something, and I think Arya naming hers Nymeria is signifigant, so I think her fate is centered around Dorne, or the Dornish, which Aegons Mother was.

Aegon is fake but your theory doesn't have to die there. Trystane Martell is only one year older than Arya and much more suitable for her anyway.

[Alia of the knife]

Aegon is fake but your theory doesn't have to die there. Trystane Martell is only one year older than Arya and much more suitable for her anyway.

I tend to agree that Aegon is a fake, or at the least, a Blackfyre.

(He's a Dragon, just not Rhaegars).

So, it's a toss-up between Trystane, or Ned.

Gendry didn't like Ned, so maybe some jealousy there.

[ARYa_Nym]

There are tons of parallels b/w Nymeria and Queen Nymeria and Arya and both of them. I'm not sure how far it will go but if it's meant to be complete then I think that does mean Trystane Martell because Queen Nymeria married Mors Martell.

I'm not sure if Arya will even see Gendry again.

1. Queen Nymeria was a warrior queen. GRRM said that she was more of a commander than a combatant. Nymeria the wolf is the queen of her pack and they could be used as an army of sorts. Arya isn't really a combatant either in the way that Asha or Brienne are but she could command Nymeria's army through warging which could explain why Catelyn saw Arya as a Warrior in ACoK.

2. Queen Nymeria gathered people from different city-states along the river Rhoyne. Nymeria gathered her pack along the Trident.

3. Queen Nymeria had to flee from the Valyrians. Nymeria and Arya had to flee from the Lannisters.

4. Bran called Queen Nymeria a witch queen. Arya could be called a sorceress in the same way BR was-warging.

5. Queen Nymeria didn't have a home for her people. Nymeria doesn't either. Arya went to the FM in part because she felt that she had no where else to go.

6. Queen Nymeria was a Rhoynar. They were associated with ships. Arya in Braavos prefers to hang around sailors the most and her favorite place is the Ragman's Harbor. According to wiki the Rhoynar are:

The Rhoynar are a culture of river-faring people who dwelt on the banks of the immense River Rhoyne

Nymeria is currently living in the Riverlands.

7. The story of Queen Nymeria is one of breaking ties with the past and starting anew. She burned her ships so she could not go back. Queen Nymeria never returned home. Arya is trying to become No One. There will be a point where she can't go back to her past. Nymeria has acquired a new pack. It's unlikely that she will go back to being a domesticated wolf again since she's become so wild and feral.

8. Nymeria and Arya have become ruthless killers.

9. This quote highlights the similarities well:

Nymeria is not only a warrior queen, she's a leader of a people without a home. Arya has a pack. Despite her self-sufficient nature, despite always forging her own path forward, she makes friends wherever she goes, and always has people there protecting her. She's also always moving forward. The longest she's stayed in one place is Braavos, but even her situation kept changing. She'd live with a clam-seller, or in the house of the faceless men, or on the streets...

[Alia of the knife]

There are tons of parallels b/w Nymeria and Queen Nymeria and Arya and both of them. I'm not sure how far it will go but if it's meant to be complete then I think that does mean Trystane Martell because Queen Nymeria married Mors Martell.

I'm not sure if Arya will even see Gendry again.

1. Queen Nymeria was a warrior queen. GRRM said that she was more of a commander than a combatant. Nymeria the wolf is the queen of her pack and they could be used as an army of sorts. Arya isn't really a combatant either in the way that Asha or Brienne are but she could command Nymeria's army through warging which could explain why Catelyn saw Arya as a Warrior in ACoK.

2. Queen Nymeria gathered people from different city-states along the river Rhoyne. Nymeria gathered her pack along the Trident.

3. Queen Nymeria had to flee from the Valyrians. Nymeria and Arya had to flee from the Lannisters.

4. Bran called Queen Nymeria a witch queen. Arya could be called a sorceress in the same way BR was-warging.

5. Queen Nymeria didn't have a home for her people. Nymeria doesn't either. Arya went to the FM in part because she felt that she had no where else to go.

6. Queen Nymeria was a Rhoynar. They were associated with ships. Arya in Braavos prefers to hang around sailors the most and her favorite place is the Ragman's Harbor. According to wiki the Rhoynar are:

Nymeria is currently living in the Riverlands.

7. The story of Queen Nymeria is one of breaking ties with the past and starting anew. She burned her ships so she could not go back. Queen Nymeria never returned home. Arya is trying to become No One. There will be a point where she can't go back to her past. Nymeria has acquired a new pack. It's unlikely that she will go back to being a domesticated wolf again since she's become so wild and feral.

8. Nymeria and Arya have become ruthless killers.

9. This quote highlights the similarities well:

Agree with all the above.

I think everyone wants to see the series end with the characters happy, a sense of resolution and justice, but it may not look like what we think it will.

I think Winterfell will be rebuilt, and the Wolve a pack again, but they will be very different Starks.

- Bran is on his own path which looks to be a metaphyiscal one since his body will fail him.

- Sansa may be the one who decides to live her life in oblivion with a decent, but decidedly unglamourous Lord, having learned that chasing Princes only hurt her.

- If Rickon returns as the Lord of Winterfell, he most likely will be one of the most ruthless Starks in the history of the family.

- The story of Arya is how she makes her future, and finding new happiness with a new people, though she will always be a Stark, as I don't think she can ever forget that part of herself.

They say that you can never really "go home" again, and I think that will be the poignant reality for Arya.

She will have to forge her own family and dynasty, and a Dornishman will most likely be her best bet, whoever that Dornishman is.

[Pomp & Happenstance]

I think his next "major" role will have to do something with Stannis. Sure, he could root around the Riverlands a while under service of Uncat-> from Dondarion... but the only person that is worthwhile recognizing him I think would be his dear uncle.

[Jeremy Stark]

It's not restricted to book speculation, but this is the book part of the forum... there's a separate part for the tv show. Sometimes the tv show appears to give insight into what will happen in the books, but not here, where the books directly contradict the info from the tv show.

I think sometimes the show does have correct - though added - foreshadowing. It's no secret that GRRM, fearful of dying before finishing the series, told the writers how the story is supposed to end for the most part. It's possible they knew something about Gendry as early as season 1 and included this hint. It's also possible that him telling them occurred after the first season and had nothing at all to do with Gendry. In any event, I think it's a good idea to also look at the clues the show provides, whether or not they appear in the books.