Only one season is left in the epic saga of Game of Thrones, and there aren't enough episodes left to bring all the characters' stories to a close. In fact, some characters reportedly won't even be back for the final season. Fortunately, we have some news about none other than Gendry in the eighth and final season. Actor Joe Dempsie has confirmed his return as Robert Baratheon's bastard son, going so far as to say that he's filmed "a fair bit" of Season 8. He went on to say this about his participation in the final batch of episodes:
I've done well out of it this year, for sure. As with all these things, we never shoot in chronological order -- so you might have people coming in at the beginning and at the end, but it doesn't necessarily mean they make it all the way through!
Now, on one hand, Joe Dempsie obviously couldn't spill any details about what's in store for Gendry in Season 8. On the other hand, we have confirmation that Gendry will indeed be back and has enough of a role that Dempsie believes that he's "done well," which could indicate that Gendry has a much larger part to play in Season 8 than in Season 7. We likely won't find out for sure until the episodes finally hit the airwaves thanks to HBO's measures to avoid spoilers leaking, but Gendry having a larger role in Season 8 would make a great deal of sense after his story in Season 7.
Admittedly, he didn't have the largest part to play in Season 7. Fans who spent years waiting for Gendry's fate to be revealed after he rowed off at the end of Season 3 only got him back for two episodes, and he was last seen collapsing from exhaustion at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. That said, his appearances in Season 7 set the stage for what could be a key role in Season 8. He's the last surviving member of the Baratheon bloodline, even if he is technically a bastard. That status could make him quite important, especially after he formed a bond with Jon. It would certainly be interesting to see how Dany reacts to the son of Robert "the Usurper" Baratheon in the mix.
Gendry could also be a key part of Game of Thrones for reasons that have nothing to do with his status as a Baratheon bastard. He's currently somewhere in the North, and his return for Season 8 likely means that he wasn't at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea when it was breached by the Night King and undead Viserion. The grand battle between the living and the dead is shaping up to take place in the North, and Gendry very well might be in the middle of the action in the battle at a certain major location. Give him a warhammer, and he'll be good to go! He's a notable enough character for fans to be invested in his fate but not so notable that he couldn't be killed off. Besides, Game of Thrones needs to keep him alive and up North long enough to reunite with Arya, right? Right?!
Joe Dempsie went on in his chat with Digital Spy to say this about what he wants out of the final season:
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. So yeah, I'm very happy to be involved and be on set for season 8.
There's no way Joe Dempsie was going to admit whether or not Gendry will survive to the finale, but he's clearly been hoping to see the show through to the end. Maybe he'll be lucky enough to make it to the last episode, which definitely wouldn't necessarily mean that he's survive to the very end. A lot of characters are apparently going to die in the finale. We'll have to wait and see.
Unfortunately, we will be waiting a while, as Game of Thrones won't be back for Season 8 until next year. For what has been confirmed about what's to come, check out our rundown of what we know so far about Game of Thrones Season 8. If you need some shows to watch while we wait for Season 8, our midseason TV premiere guide and summer TV premiere schedule can help you out.
