[BOOK SPOILERS] Gendry's destiny

[BlueDragon]

He'll probably get there in one piece--he's pretty strong and if he goes along the coastline he'll find plenty to eat. I can see him joining Brienne on her travels. I can also see Briennedry as a possibility.

It is central to his persona that he is an astoundingly strong guy, and he hasn't even hit his peak. He will make it to shore, but not sure where. He is basically in Blackwater Bay, not the narrow sea. Depending on how rough the bay is, they vary a lot, I don't see it all that implausible that he makes it. It is quite plausible he comes ashore at Duskendale.

This is what makes the most sense to me. I think Gendry is one of those characters (like Osha and Theon) that D & D want to write into more episodes than they appeared in in the books - basically, that they're popular characters. I definitely don't think we've seen the last of him and I think that whatever plot twist they use, they'll eventually have him back where he was in AFFC. D & D add to/subtract from book events, but they don't make outlandish changes that are totally foreign to the books.

I agree with this analysis. But I think they were planned as important characters and cast appropriately.

Why on earth would they go through all the character buildup and adding extra scenes and storyline that didn't exist in the books if they're just going to push the kid out to sea in a rowboat to never be seen again? That doesn't make any sense at all. Why bother. What a letdown if that's the end of Gendry. Waste of screen time. I don't think that's the end of Gendry.

Precisely. A lot of fans here are into predicting the most dire events because they fit with what they think Martin is doing overall, but you can't kill off every character before the end of the story because the story just keeps going nowhere. If Martin keeps this up, his series will never end.

And I fear he's riding north as soon as he hears about the Red Wedding.

As far as he was concerned, the Brotherhood had already sold Arya to her family by the time the Freys killed Robb.

TV Gendry should be worry sick about her once he hears the news in King's Landing.

Agreed.

It is very likely Gendry will hook up with Brienne somewhere close to KL. I am skeptical of him being safe in KL for long, but he probably could get inside the city and hide for a time. I don't see him working as a smith in KL unless he can hide from his former boss.

It makes plot sense for Gendry to hook up with Brienne and tell Brienne that Arya is alive after he gets to know her well enough.

Gendry is going to be around in this story for a long time.

[silentwanderer]

It is very likely Gendry will hook up with Brienne somewhere close to KL. I am skeptical of him being safe in KL for long, but he probably could get inside the city and hide for a time. I don't see him working as a smith in KL unless he can hide from his former boss.

It makes plot sense for Gendry to hook up with Brienne and tell Brienne that Arya is alive after he gets to know her well enough.

Gendry is going to be around in this story for a long time.

Plus, as of this season, Gendry is one of the few characters alive who can tell which one is the real Arya Stark.

It doesn't matter if she dresses like a boy, joins the Night's Watch, becomes an outlaw or a faceless gal. If someone is trying to find Arya Stark, they are going to need Gendry for that.

[BlueDragon]

Plus, as of this season, Gendry is one of the few characters alive who can tell which one is the real Arya Stark.

It doesn't matter if she dresses like a boy, joins the Night's Watch, becomes an outlaw or a faceless gal. If someone is trying to find Arya Stark, they are going to need Gendry for that.

PRECISELY

[silentwanderer]

I bet Stannis would've thought twice about burning him on the show, if only he would've known Gendry was the only hope to find Jon's little sister.

Then again, aside the Brotherhood without Banners, no one knows Arya Stark left King's Landing.

[silentwanderer]

Has anyone mentioned the possibility that Brienne might run into/ally with Gendry on her journeys? Maybe he gets off course and ends up in Duskendale to join Brienne. This would make more sense in my opinion, as Gendry has been characterized much more than Pod thus far.

Not to mention, Gendry knows the Brotherhood on the show in a way Pod never did so on the books.

[Prince of Dragonstone]

Just because he was directed to KL doesn't mean that is where he's going to end up. Given that he's never rowed a boat before and the Narrow Sea is notoriously treacherous, he could end up just about anywhere. I like what the producers have done with Gendry because they've freed up his character and now he's more of a wildcard. The little surprises that we as book readers don't know is what keeps the show interesting and puts us readers on our toes. How boring would it be if the show followed the books to the letter?

[The Idiots Lantern]

I liked seeing Genry's role get bigger from book to screen. We form an attachment to him that nobody had for Edric Stone.

He is a wildcard, and he could turn up anywhere. I can't see him going back to Kings Landing, no matter that Davos says it's relatively safe. The guards may not know his face, but he'll need to work to live, and the other smiths would know him and could hand him in for the bounty. That's the bad news.

The good news is if he makes it ashore just about anywhere else, he'll probably be alright. He's a smith, and as we saw, everybody everywhere needs some smithing done. So he can find work just about anywhere. I have hope for him....which is probably a bad idea in this show.

[ZeroTheCat]

I feel stupid for thinking he'd end up in the free Cities like Edric.

I agree, the Brienne theory seems very likely. Plus, Brienne looks for Sansa, and likewise he for Arya.

[Dark_Sister]

I think Gendry going with Brienne makes a lot of sense, he knows Arya and it's also a good way to give Brienne's travels a fixed destination, instead of having Brienne going from place to place asking for a red-haired maid, they can go look for the BwB to see if Arya is still with them or if they have any information about her.

[silentwanderer]

I agree, the Brienne theory seems very likely. Plus, Brienne looks for Sansa, and likewise he for Arya.

Someone has to look for Arya on the show, Gendry seems the best candidate for it because he knows how she looks like better than anybody at this point.

[Envie]

Definitely a good quest for Gendry and adds a lot of emotional value since I think the whole "I'll be your family" line in the show was intended to pull heartstrings so that the Gendry/Arya relationship will be one people want to see for the television show that wasn't there in the books but many of us secretly wished was...

[isiman]

Who said we will ever see him again?Is Joe Dempsie expected to return next season?

I doubt he is that important to the story, having him just disappear and make the audience wonder what happened to him is not that bad; indeed one could say that him rowing away represents the fact that he is now free to live his life, away from Lords and their schemes.

[silentwanderer]

Definitely a good quest for Gendry and adds a lot of emotional value since I think the whole "I'll be your family" line in the show was intended to pull heartstrings...

I can also picture the "I could be your family" as a guilty trip of sorts now that Gendry knows he was born a Baratheon.

As Robert's bastard, he was just as high born as the disgraced daughter of Ned Stark so, at the very least, Arya would not be missing right now if Gendry would've stuck with her,

[The Idiots Lantern]

I can also picture the "I could be your family" as a guilty trip of sorts now that Gendry knows he was born a Baratheon.

He's not a Baratheon. He was born OF a Baratheon, but you only get the family name if you're Trueborn, and only the Bastard name if one of your highborn parents acknowledges you. Son of the king or no, the barrier between him and Arya would still be there, although I'd hope he'd see that she's ALSO trying not to be a part of the games the highborn play to get what they want.

But if he'd stayed with Arya, he wouldn't have been there when Melisandre came to buy him.

[silentwanderer]

I thought the whole point of "You would be milady" was to point out their differences.

Arya couldn't be his family because of how Gendry was born, and that is no longer an issue: his father was just as high born as hers.

Therefore nothing is stopping Gendry to go looking for his family once he realizes Arya is missing (hence the guilty trip).

[Envie]

Who said we will ever see him again?Is Joe Dempsie expected to return next season?

I doubt he is that important to the story, having him just disappear and make the audience wonder what happened to him is not that bad; indeed one could say that him rowing away represents the fact that he is now free to live his life, away from Lords and their schemes.

Except that in terms of the show's production time and value, that seems like a really big waste of a character they decided to create an entirely new story arc about that wasn't in the books, don't you think? I highly doubt they're going through all the trouble of having Gendry scenes with Melisandre and then rowing off into the unknown for no reason at all. He's got to have some plot purpose and they're just leaving it open ended for next season.

[AstronautMargaery]

There's no way Lysa could know he's a Baratheon. There are tons of people in Westeros with black hair/blue eyes. Ned only identified him as Robert's son because he did some detective work.

Brienne connected Gendry with Robert and Renly when she first saw him, but Lysa is crazy. Probably if Gendry ever had the chance to talk to her she would say that Eerie is impregnable and little Robert would tell his mom to make him fly and bam! Gendry flies through the moon door, lands on back of a dragon, becomes a consort to Dany and reigns over all Seven Kingdoms and FIN

Bit crackpot, I know

[Weeping Sore]

Warning: TWoW spoilers-

Brienne and Gendry (not Pod) will be searching for Arya instead of Sansa.

Correct interpretation of Bran's vision from book 1 is Jaime & Brienne (wearing the Hound's helm) vs Robert Strong. Brienne will represent the Faith in Cersei's trial by combat. Robert Strong, indeed invincible, will almost kill Brienne, then Jaime will intervene and confess to the treason of twincest. (Cersei executed, hand of the valonquar, etc.)

The High Septon, knowing Tommen to be a Lannister bastard, will be loathe to name Stannis heir because if his religion. The Septon instead legitimizes Gendry (who came with Jaime & Brienne to KL) as Robert's firstborn and The Smith incarnate. (the Septon also expects to be able to manipulate Gendry Baratheon)

Aegon & The Golden Company reach KL about 5 minutes later.

[Janicia]

My issue with the Brienne / Gendry / maybe Pod adventure is that I don't think those characters would be very interesting together. They're all pretty quiet, they have non-conflicting moral codes, they set their minds to doing something and then plod along trying to do it. They'd probably enjoy each other's company, but I don't think we'd enjoy watching them.

[Envie]

Warning: TWoW spoilers-

Brienne and Gendry (not Pod) will be searching for Arya instead of Sansa.

Correct interpretation of Bran's vision from book 1 is Jaime & Brienne (wearing the Hound's helm) vs Robert Strong. Brienne will represent the Faith in Cersei's trial by combat. Robert Strong, indeed invincible, will almost kill Brienne, then Jaime will intervene and confess to the treason of twincest. (Cersei executed, hand of the valonquar, etc.)

The High Septon, knowing Tommen to be a Lannister bastard, will be loathe to name Stannis heir because if his religion. The Septon instead legitimizes Gendry (who came with Jaime & Brienne to KL) as Robert's firstborn and The Smith incarnate. (the Septon also expects to be able to manipulate Gendry Baratheon)

Aegon & The Golden Company reach KL about 5 minutes later.

Wow I really like your plot twist on Gendry - that would fucking rock my socks off.