After the epic Battle of Winterfell, which was the centerpiece of "The Long Night," the latest episode of Game of Thrones, fans are eager to see Arya Stark reunite with all the surviving characters after she defeated the Night King.
While we know Arya’s family and allies will be extremely proud of the little assassin for saving the Seven Kingdoms from the army of the dead and its steely-eyed leader. But fans are also anxious to see her reunite with Gendry specifically.
Audiences were surprised when the pair had a love scene in season 8's second epiosde, just before the battle began. Was it a one-time thing? Well, the teaser for the fourth episode proves this romance likely isn’t over, as a quick shot shows the two characters kissing. And this might mean major things for Arya’s future.
Even before Arya and Gendry got together this season, fans had been theorizing they might be the series's endgame. Besides their undeniable connection earlier on in the show, many have taken one line from season 1 into account. In the scene where Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon are down in the crypts of Winterfell, Robert asks Ned to be his Hand. “I have a son, you have a daughter. We’ll join our houses,” the King says. He’s referring to Sansa and Joffrey, but what if this was simply foreshadowing Arya and Gendry’s relationship? As we all remember, Joffrey was killed at his own wedding, and considering he’s not actually Robert’s child anyway, it wouldn’t have worked.
Arya and Gendry’s relationship progressing in the next episode of season 8 supports the long-rumored idea that the couple will have a child who will win the Iron Throne. Redditor tonyvanreijn recently posed this possibility, theorizing that Gendry (along with many other characters) will die. And when looking to the next ruler, we’ll learn that his royal blood will live on through his and Arya’s unborn child.
While some have discounted this theory by saying that since Gendry is a bastard, and his and Arya’s child would likely be as well, he or she would have no claim to any title. Others addressed this with another theory: maybe Gendry is actually the son of Robert and Cersei.
There’s clearly a ton of speculation going on here, but one fact remains: Arya and Gendry are seemingly in a full-blown relationship, if the next episode teaser tells us anything. Is this just an unnecessary love story, or will it matter in the finale? We’ll have to keep watching to find out.