'Game of Thrones' actor Joe Dempsie says Gendry still thinks of Arya

When Game of Thrones finally brought back Gendry in Sunday night's "Eastwatch," fans were ecstatic to see this old favorite return after years at sea (literally). He was gone so long, in fact, that even actor Joe Dempsie wasn't sure the creators remembered him -- it even worried his mother.

"My mum goes, 'You should email David Benioff just to see…'" Dempsie said in an interview on HBO's Making of Game of Thrones blog. "I was like, “Mum I don’t think an email is going to make them go, ‘Oh sh**t, Gendry.’ So. It’s great to know people outside of my mum were interested. You can’t possibly underestimate how obsessed fans of the show are. Any stone you leave unturned is going to become more and more conspicuous the longer it goes on. I became the sole focus of conspiracy theories and general questions. It’s been a lot of fun."

"[Rowing jokes] sort of became part of my everyday existence," Dempsie said. "I guess I have to accept some level of culpability for it. I tweeted “Still rowin” at the end of Season 4, and it just became way beyond my control. There’s a lot that the internet has to answer for, but it’s been brilliant. When I shot my first scenes on Season 7, I’d been on Irish soil for about 10 minutes and someone got a snap of me walking through the airport in Belfast. Within 24 hours, that picture had done the rounds and someone had managed to Photoshop me carrying an oar. I’ve really enjoyed playing along with it."

Dempsie dove further into where Gendry is when we find him; he's blending in to avoid Lannister suspicion but also proud of his Baratheon heritage. When Davos arrives, it's to a more restless Gendry than we've ever known -- one who wants to enter the fray, even if he has no idea what he'll be dealing with.

But also, now that he's washed ashore, is Gendry trying to reunite with his old friend Arya?

"The events of Season 3 have hardened him a little bit; made him a little less naïve," Dempsie said (the season with Melisandre and the leeches). "I think with that in mind, he’d love to see Arya again. He senses she’s a good soul. I wouldn’t say he’s pining, because you have to toughen up and accept there are people who are going to drift in and out of your life. I’m sure he thinks of her every now and again and wonders how she’s getting on, and whether she’s crossed more names off that list."

As a reminder, here's a look Arya once gave Gendry:

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Please let this reunion happen. Gendry, you better swing that hammer all over Eastwatch and make it back south -- or at least as far south as Winterfell.