Game Of Thrones: Is Gendry Really Cersei Lannister's Son?

2. The Importance Of Gendry

We've known for some time that Gendry was important in some way. In the first three seasons, it was because he was Robert's bastard: wanted for death by Joffrey, wanted for his King's Blood by Melisandre, and crucial to Ned realising the truth. But then he went missing for four years, in a way that didn't hurt the story - it would've been a loose end, but they COULD have just left him out - and yet they brought him back. Why?

The fact he returned after four years, and is now at Winterfell having sex with Arya Stark, might mean there is a grander purpose to Gendry than simply the fact he's good at forging weapons and swinging his hammer. That he is destined for bigger things. Perhaps even the biggest thing, the Iron Throne. While he would have some semblance of a claim as Robert's bastard, he'd have a much stronger, more genuine claim as the trueborn son of Robert and Cersei.

There's also another, oft-overlooked detail, about Gendry's importance, and that is he was an apprentice for Tobho Mott. Mott was no ordinary blacksmith, but the most revered in all of the Seven Kingdoms, and one of the few in the world who knew how to rework Valyrian steel. How did an unacknowledged bastard end up there? As Mott himself notes, someone paid double the apprentice fee for him to take Gendry on. But who, and why?

Robert never seemed to be aware of him, so it's unlikely to be him. It could've been Jon Arryn, who was close to Robert, looking after him. But it could equally have been Cersei, or someone working for her, ensuring that her child had a good job and a secure life. Alternatively, it could've been Varys - the kind of person who'd find out who Gendry really was - and ensuring he was looked after, perhaps even as long-term insurance should his plot to raise a Targaryen to the Iron Throne fail. Varys plays the long game in the books with Aegon Targaryen, so there's an outside chance he did something similar(ish) with Gendry.