This really did all sound really good, but I’m sorry, you lost me by cutting Arya and Gendry’s love scene. I just don’t know why you did that. I don’t know why. I literally am not interested in this now. And that bums me out because this really did sound awesome. Oh well.
I think that’s a very petty reason not to watch the series, but hey, if that’s a deal breaker for ya, it’s your loss. The reason I cut it was simple – it was a forced, unearned fling…and a little creepy since Arya knew Gendry as a young kid and he’s a good bit older than her, in the show and in real life. They had one short trip together on the king’s road when they were young, but the writers are like, “sure, they know each other well enough…let’s have them hook up because they’re of age now and attractive”. They did try to create a little flirty tension when they reunited after so long, but it just felt like a forced story choice to me, even with humanity potentially on the line from the approaching dead army. Anyway, I hope you reconsider but if not, you can always watch Arya and Gendry go at it as much as you want in D&D’s original crap finale to the series. Cheers!
Addressing the age differences first because no. In the books, Gendry is about 5 years older than her. That’s it. He’s 14 to her 9. In the show, 6, 11 to 17 when they first meet. As for the actors, if they could deal with it, so should the viewers. When she filmed the scene, Maisie Williams was almost 20 years old, while Joe Dempsie was 29. (That’s an age gap that generally would not even remotely blink an eye, and Dempsie, bless that man, decided to respect Maisie and treat her like the person she is TODAY and not the teenager she was 5 years ago.)
Regarding the story, I am sorry, but it was so not a "forced, unearned fling, and the two were not on "a “short road trip.” They spent the equivalent of nearly two years together. And during those two years, they were tortured, nearly died more than a few times, were starving, on the run, under the control of Tywin Lannister, and for many months, it was just the two of them and Hot Pie. Furthermore, Gendry was the LAST PERSON that was a part of Arya’s pack before she became No One. He was the LAST PERSON that was connected to her old life. He was the person that she started to feel the feelings for. (And in the books, Arya and Gendry are very, very clearly being set up as Lyanna and Robert part two, but this time they’ll most likely work.)
Arya and Gendry were very, very much built up. In season 3 when Arya told Gendry that he was her family, Maisie Williams was directed to deliver her line as if she was saying “I love you.” Arya was devastated when she lost him. And when they were reunited, Gendry and their “pointless” scenes were a huge key to her choosing to live for life, as opposed to choosing to live for death. But some people were too distracted by the fact that (gasp!) a female grew up!
I’m sorry that you missed one of the few decent storylines in s8, one that narratively showed Arya’s journey. The parallel stories of the Hound and Gendry in relation to Arya. There was a reason that we saw the Hound and Gendry with each other and with Arya so much. The two coming into Arya’s life again, Gendry representing life, the Hound death, Gendry on the white horse, the Hound on the black horse when they arrived. Gendry at the feast with the Hound, the Hound talking about death, and how Gendry wanted to celebrate life with Arya (wink wink). Arya leaving Winterfell on a black horse to go to her death, Arya leaving King’s Landing after choosing life on a white horse. But, yeah, sure, it was pointless. And I’m being petty. Uh huh. Sure.