SPOILERS: How will these two returning characters fit into Game of Thrones Season 7?
We’ve been getting a lot of spoilers about Game of Thrones Season 7 lately, from plot descriptions to casting hints and more. On top of that, cast members keep flowing into Belfast, long the production hub for the show. Earlier today, we reported on two biggees.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES SEASON 7 FOLLOW
The news: both Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) and Joe Dempsie (Gendry) have been spotted in Belfast. The last time we saw Jorah, Daenerys sent him on a quest to cure his greyscale. At the time, we thought that might be the last we see of him, but it looks like we’ll join him on his journey.
The last time we saw Gendry was in “Mysah,” the Season 3 finale. Davos freed him from the dungeons on Dragonstone, and he was trying to keep the shoreline on his left while rowing in the general direction of King’s Landing. Dempsie’s return is more unexpected than Glen’s, but both raise questions. How will these two fit into Season 7?
Let’s tackle Jorah first. A couple of months ago, I theorized that Jorah would seek out Quaithe, the masked woman he met in Qarth, in an attempt to cure what ails him…and I’m still sticking to that theory. The pair of them have a previously established relationship, she clearly has deep knowledge, and she’s a dangling thread the production would probably love to tie up. But assuming he cures his greyscale, either with Quithe’s help or by some other means, what then?
Quaithe
Odds are he would head to Westeros to find Daenerys. And it seems to me that Daenerys could make could use of him. After all, Jorah used to be heir to House Mormont, a powerful house in the North. If Daenerys needs to make inroads with Jon Snow, the new King in the North, Jorah would make an ideal ambassador. And, as an added bonus, Jorah is little Lyanna Mormont’s cousin, so we could see that reunion.
Jorah and Jon actually have a lot in common, more than either of them realize. Most obviously, they share a father figure: Jeor Mormont. The old Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch hadn’t seen his son Jorah in years when Jon came to Castle Black a new recruit (Ned Stark banished Jorah across the Narrow Sea for getting involved in the slave trade years before the series started), but you got the idea that he was expending some of the fatherly wisdom he wanted to use on Jorah on Jon. Jeor even gifted Jon with Longclaw, House Mormont’s Valyrian steel blade, a gift that was supposed to go to Jorah. Whether Jon and Jorah battle or bond over this stuff is anyone’s guess, but they have a lot to talk about. (Incidentally, this paragraph is brought to you by the letter “J”.)
It’s harder to guess Gendry’s possible story arc in Season 7. In the books, he’s hanging out with the Brotherhood Without Banners, and stays on after the leadership changes. This likely won’t happen in the books. For one thing, the original leader, Beric Dondarrion, is still alive. (Or un-alive, or whatever he is. You get the idea.) For another, Gendry wasn’t with the Brotherhood when we caught back with them in Season 6. So that avenue seems closed.
But I can think of another role he could play: Valyrian steel blacksmith. In Game of Thrones Season 1, we learned that Gendry was apprenticed to master blacksmith Tobho Mott. In George R.R. Martin’s books, Tobho Mott is well known for his special skill with forging Valyrian steel. Might Gendry have learned this ability from his master?
Along with dragonglass, Valyrian steel is one of the few substances known to be able to kill a White Walker. With the Night King and his army preparing for a war on the living, every piece of Valyrian steel is going to important, as will anyone who can work with it. Of course, Gendry could very well still be rowing that damned boat in Season 7, and his appearance in Belfast could just simply be a coincidence.