How old is Gendry in season 8

Reactions to Arya and Gendry’s night together have run the gamut, but first let’s start with the basics. How old is everyone?

This post contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8 episode 2 “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”

Congratulations, Arya and Gendry ‘shippers. It, uh, happened. In Sunday’s episode, Arya visited Gendry, they kissed, clothes came off, and, shockingly for HBO, the scene ended there. The rest was implied. One of the reasons HBO may have chosen to show a new degree of discretion vis-a-vis sex scenes is the fact that there remains a massive question mark around Arya and Gendry’s romance. Specifically, following the question: How old are Arya and Gendry?

Arya is now exactly 18 years old. Gendry’s age is a little trickier, ranging by estimates from 23 to 27. (Maisie Williams, who plays Arya, is 22 and Joe Dempsie, who plays Gendry, is 31.)

Here’s the math, courtesy of PopSugar:

Arya’s age is pretty easy to pinpoint. Back in an early season one episode, she actually states her age on screen as 11. With seven years having elapsed on screen, just like in real life, Arya is now 18 years old. It’s Gendry whose age has never quite been confirmed. The illegitimate son of Robert Baratheonis already a skilled blacksmith by the time we meet him in the earliest episodes of the series, which would indicate that he would have to be at least in his late teens. The A Song of Ice and Fire novels explicitly indicate that Gendry is about five years older than Arya, which would have put him at 16 in season one and 23 currently. Complicating matters, though, is that a season two episode has Gendry mentioning that he’s worked for blacksmith Tobho Mott for 10 years, which would probably mean he’s a little older, maybe around 20 years old in season one and 27 now.

The scene plays out with Arya interrogating Gendry over the number of women he’s been with before telling him she wants to know what it feels like before she dies. Then she kisses him and it’s on from there.

It’s worth mentioning that Arya — despite the feelings of many viewers — is not a child anymore and her behavior is very much in line with both her character and any teenager facing death. Additionally, it’s not only one of the few consensual and healthy sex scenes in Game of Thrones history, but one of the rare instances in which the woman is in control.

Do with this information what you will — it may all be a moot point if/when Gendry and/or Arya dies this week in the Battle of Winterfell anyways.

Game of Thrones season 8 episode 3 airs April 28 at 9 p.m. ET.