The latest episode of Game of Thrones had some truly memorable character moments and quotable one-liners, but it was mostly filler as the show sets up next week’s critical battle at Winterfell. In the meantime, things are moving at a steady pace, and some very intriguing plot threads are barreling toward their conclusions.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 8.
After some heavy flirtation on Season 8’s first episode with Gendry, Arya Stark — staring down death — decided she wanted to experience sex for the first time… with Gendry. With the pair reunited, Arya had something else in mind when it came to how they should spend what could be one of their final “normal” nights before the White Walkers’ impending arrival at Winterfell.
“We’re probably going to die soon,” Arya told Gendry. “I want to know what it’s like before that happens.” With that, it was off to the races: Arya began to kiss Gendry while stripping off her clothes (but not his because he can do that for himself).
One camp of viewers were excited to see Arya finally finding romance after dealing with hardship and loneliness for so long, and took to social media with excitement and hilarious memes celebrating her latest “accomplishment.”
One point of contention was the perceived age difference between the couple. Arya stated in an earlier episode of the first season, she was around 11 when the show began. With seven years having passed between the beginning of the show and season 7, it’s estimated that Arya is about 18 onscreen (actress Maisie Williams is 22). Gendry’s age is a bit harder to pinpoint, but according to the books, as PopSugar confirms, he’s about 16 when the story begins. Judging by those guidelines, he could be around 23 by now. Actor Joe Dempsie, who portrays Gendry, is 31.
Others were cautious or uncomfortable watching the characters have sex after viewing Arya as something of a “little sister” figure over the years. Some fans just weren’t that thrilled with seeing her in this kind of position, period.
On that infamous scene, Williams stated that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss gave her full control over how Arya would actually appear onscreen with Gendry, since this marked her first Game of Thrones sex scene.
“David and Dan were like: ‘You can show as much or as little as you want.’ So I kept myself pretty private,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t think it’s important for Arya to flash. This beat isn’t really about that. And everybody else has already done it on the show, so…”
What’s next for Arya and Gendry? With six episodes left in the final season, it’s hard to say what will happen, but we know our eyes will be glued to the TV as bombshell after bombshell continues to drop with each new installment.
Game Of Thrones Fans Are Split Over That Arya And Gendry Scene
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