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Given how much the internet obsesses over him, there are more than a few Gendry-related Game of Thrones fan theories that may take you buy surprise. It's true that, for the most part, the best of the theories developed by the bright sparks on Reddit have already been regurgitated in the media. These, however, might be the exception to the rule.
It's hard to blame the fans for focusing so hard on a character who enjoys relatively limited screen time. It was pretty mysterious that we haven't had a detailed explanation of where Gendry has been for the past few years, and it seems increasingly likely that he's returned to play a vital role in future events. Why else introduce Genry at the very moment when Jon Snow has not only figured out that he needs dragonglass to fight the White Walkers but has a good source of the stuff, having got Dany's permission to mine it from her land?
After all, we know that Genry was trained by Tobho Mott, who, according to Vanity Fair, is one of the few armorers to still be trained in the lost art of forging Valyrian steel. (We know this since we see him re-forge Ned Stark's Valyrian steel blade.) So, it seems likely that he's back to forge some great Valyrian steel weapons for Jon Snow or to create dragonglass weapons. But could there be a totally different explanation for the return of Gendry? Absolutely.
1Gendry Could Just Be There To Develop The Other Characters
According to Reddit user emid04 (who is writing about the same character in the series of novels A Song Of Ice And Fire), Gendry could be "a minor character used as a literary device to further other characters' plotpoints and characterization" and, in short, "not having an ultimate grand purpose beyond that, much like 90% of secondary minor characters in the series."
While this theory has been developed about the character in the books, it still seems relevant to Game Of Thrones. After all, it seemed strange that Season 7 closed with us not knowing whether or not the blacksmith had survived the Night King's attack on The Wall. Perhaps he really isn't there (just?) to forge weapons, but to give us a deeper insight into the other characters through his conversations with those holding more minor roles, like Davos, or will give us a chance to see Arya dealing with her first romance.
2Gendry Will Ride A Dragon
According to Moviepilot, in Season 2, Daenerys enters the House of the Undying and has a vision in which Rhaegar Targaryen says, "There must be one more... the dragon has three heads," which fans took as an indication that her three dragons would eventually get one rider each. Sure, the fact that the Night King now has an undead dragon could contradict this. But, given how Thrones usually operates, this could easily be reversed (like Jon Snow's death, The Hound's ostensible death, or Ser Jorah Mormont's seemingly deadly disease). Given the fact that Jon Snow's dad is Rhaegar Targaryen and how calm Dany's dragons are around him, it seems more than likely that the King in the North is going to ride a dragon at some point.
But, according to Reddit user @abandoningeden, Gendry will be the third dragon rider. The fan reminds us that the blacksmith's father, Robert Baratheon, is part Targaryen (it's true, according to NME, "Aegon V Targaryen is Gendry’s great-great-grandfather"). The third dragon rider "would have to be at least part Targaryan because only Targaryans who have 'dragon blood' whatever that means, can actually ride dragons" and points out that Gendry "may look like a Baratheon because the seed is strong and all that, but he may also have the dragon blood necessary to ride dragons."
3Gendry Is The Prince That Was Promised
Reddit user @the_potato_hunter argues that Gendry is Azor Ahai. He, like most of the internet, believes that Gendry will start forging dragonglass weapons and that Jon, Dany, and her dragons will perish while fighting the White Walkers. There'll be only one person who can save the world. After all, according to Viralshack, one version of the Azor Ahai prophecy explicitly states "our champion will be reborn to wake dragons from stone and reforge the great sword Lightbringer that defeated the darkness those thousands of years ago." And, really, if that's literal, then who else has the capacity to reforge the great sword?
But it gets darker. The prophecy continues: "If the old tales are true, a terrible weapon forged with a loving wife's heart." The fan argues that "this is literal. Gendry will make a very powerful sword by sacrificing Arya, and will awaken dragons again, one last time." But it's not all sad: "He will use this sword to defeat the Night King, and this will end all the White Walkers."
4Dany & Gendry Marrying Would Be A Win For Almost All The Houses
Reddit user @regardingwestworld starts by alluding to the theory that Cersei is Gendry's mother. If you haven't seen the popular theory, according to winteriscoming.net, it kicks off in Season 1's “The Kingsroad,” when, during a conversation between Cersei and Catelyn Stark, the blonde mentions that she had a first-born son who was a "black-haired beauty,” who died shortly after his birth, and that he looked a lot like his father, Robert Baratheon. Bear in mind that Ned Stark immediately recognizes Gendry as Robert's son in Season 1's "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" because of the resemblance.
@regardingwestworld points out that, if there was ever a time for Cersei to acknowledge Gendry as her son, it's now. She's lost all her other children (aside from the one she claims to be pregnant with), after all. His legitimization would make the blacksmith a "prime candidate for Dany to marry." And think about the implications. It would see the Mother of Dragons uniting "with not only the child of a Baratheon, but a Lannister too, then it would be exactly the anti-arrangement we should be expecting from a story this thoughtful and complex." If the pair made it to the throne, basically every major Westeros house beyond the Starks would feel represented.
If the fans are right, Gendry's character arc is going to be far more nuanced and interesting than dragonglass and romancing Arya.
