【Ireland】

All that rowing seems to have Irelandpaid off for Gendry -- and we don't just mean because of his beefy upper body muscles.

The actor behind the blacksmith/Baratheon bastard, Joe Dempsie, confirmed in an interview with Digital Spy that he'll play a bigger role in the last season of Game of Thrones. Most tantalizingly, he said Gendry will be there at the final climax (though that doesn't mean he'll survive it).

That could mean a lotof different and hugely important things for the end plot for Season 8, according to many theorists.

Dempsie was obviously tight-lipped about the circumstances, but said he'd been filming "a fair bit," and that shooting extended "well out of it this year, for sure." Then, he dropped this bomb:

For me personally, the only real hope I had for the character was just that he would be there when the reckoning came. You got the sense – even back in season 3 – that this was a show that was building towards some incredible climax, so you just wanted to be there when it all happened... Not even necessarily just from a character point-of-view, [but] from a personal point of view – to be stood there on the set when they're making that ending... that end game.

What could it mean? Well, let's put on our Game of Thronestin foil conspiracy hats, and get into the most popular theories on why Gendry is an important player.

1. Gendry's mom could actually be Cersei

This one has been going around for a while, and only gained more traction in Season 7.

Like a certain other bastard with plot-twisting parentage, the identity of Gendry's mother has always been kept a mystery. There are a few key clues sprinkled throughout, leading redditor ronizato an eye-opening conclusion:

[Everything] About Gendry's real mother from r/gameofthrones

This Season 8 reveal would be the perfect way to solve the Cersei problem from last season, while staying true to her character. Reuniting with her long-lost child (and, technically, one of the best claims to the throne after Jon) would give Cersei reason to fight alongside everyone else to defend Westeros against the White Walkers.

And here's one question you probably never thought to ask: Isn't it suspect how Gendry was "sent away" by his master for no reason, then sentenced to the Wall like a daybefore Cersei purged King's Landing of Baratheon bastards? Hmm.

There's lots of other evidence for this one, which you can check out in this Winter is Coming post.

2. Gendry will forge the weapons to defeat the Army of the Dead

As we all know, only one thing can kill White Walkers: Valyrian steel. And coincidentally, Gendry's blacksmith master Tohbo Mott is called out as one of the last remaining people in the world who knows how to reforge Valyrian steel.

In fact, that's how Season 4 starts: with Mott breaking Ned Stark's Valyrian sword Ice into two swords (which become Oathkeeper and Widow's Wail) on Tywin's orders. Valar_Morghulis7 even resurfaced a vague but leading response from George R. R. Martin when asked whether Mott ever taught Gendry this skill:

(spoilers all) Gendry forging Valyrian Steel? from r/asoiaf

Now, forging newValyrian steel is verydifferent from reworking it. Still, it's clear Gendry's apprenticeship came with some special knowledge about the mysterious metal.

Also, eagle-eyed fans noticed that in Season 7, a book Sam is reading in Oldtown mentions eastern tales about dragon glass and Valyrian steel. It states that, "dragons would thaw the stone with dragonflame until it became molten and malleable."

That's a huge damn deal! It means the reason no one could create more of it was because a) They didn't have enough dragonglass, and b) The dragons weren't around to shape it into steel. But now Daenerys is sitting on a pile of dragonglass, along with two dragons.

Add a Gendry, and you've got yourself an entire human army equipped with Valyrian weapons!

Relatedly, he could also forge the legendary flaming sword of Azor Ahai (AKA the Prince/Princess Who Was Promised), Lightbringer, which is prophesied to banish darkness and night from the realm.

3. He marries Arya

We're sailing this ship sohard.You might even say we're rowing it to shore as fast as we can.

So basically, this theory relies on a couple hard pieces of evidence from book lore, but also the undeniably adorable relationship between Gendry (the stag) and Arya (the she-wolf) in Season 2.

Here it is in full:

(Spoilers Extended) The Wedding of the Stag and the She-Wolf from r/asoiaf

Here's the TL; DR: Gendry is the only Baratheon left to continue his line. And Jon Snow (who's real name was revealed to be Aegon Targaryen in Season 7) will mirror the story of the most famous Targaryen ever: Aegon the Conquerer. Aegon was seen as remarkable because he chose to make peace with the son of the man who killed his own father. And Jon could do the same, since Gendry's father Robert Baratheon killed Rhaegar Targaryen at the famed Battle of the Trident.

So: What's the best way for Jon to foster that peace with Gendry, rebuild House Baratheon, and also ensure that his beloved sister Arya gets to marry a good man that she likes?

We're going to be crossing our fingers for Garya until our dying day.