This week's episode of Game of Thrones season 7, 'Eastwatch', finally saw the long-awaited return of Robert Baratheon's bastard son and rowing enthusiast, Gendry.
Aside from referencing the long-running 'Gendry rowing' meme and heading off with the Westerosi answer to the Avengers to battle some White Walkers, there was one major point that fans might not realise – he could be related to Jon Snow.
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While many fans were gushing about Gendry's newfound bromance with Jon Snow – which strongly echoed the banter between their respective fathers at the start of the show – it turns out that their biological fathers were far from friends.
Elsewhere in the episode it was all-but confirmed that Jon Snow is a Targaryen. Firstly, we already know about Bran's flashback last season which revealed that Jon Snow's mother was Ned Stark's sister, Lyanna.
Then in 'Eastwatch', Jon managed to dragon-whisper Daenerys's Drogon – who had just spent most of his day barbecuing men – better than the Khaleesi herself.
Plus Samwell Tarly's better-half Gilly stumbled upon an annulment to Rhaegar Targaryen's marriage, presumably to Princess Elia Martell. So assuming Jon was the son he went on to have with Lyanna, he'd be a full-blown, legitimate Targaryen. *Mic drop*.
So that means their actual fathers Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar Targaryen clashed at the Battle of the Trident.
Since Gendry's comeback, some fans have dug out the family trees and aside from grossing us all out with the sheer amount of incest in the Targaryen family, it points out that the bastard Baratheon and Jon Snow are cousins, twice removed, as Rhaelle Targaryen was Robert's grandmother.
The fact Jon is a Targaryen also means he has the most solid claim to the throne out of anyone in Westeros, as he's the only surviving Targaryen male as far as we know.
Meanwhile, Gendry is a bastard, so doesn't really have a stake on his father's throne and Cersei Lannister's children were all actually Jaime's, so her claim died with Robert back in season 1.
Given Jon Snow's reluctance to take on being King in the North, it seems unlikely he'll be keen to rule, but perhaps with everyone's refusal to help him fight the White Walkers, could he assume power just to get shit done?
However, if he does couple up with Daenerys Targaryen – who he is ALSO related to – then together they would have a rock solid claim to the Iron Throne. Just that pesky Cersei Lannister and army of the dead to tackle now, eh?
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Laurence Mozafari (he/him) is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, and presenter. A former Editor-in-Chief of Digital Spy, Laurence previously held roles as the site's Editor, Deputy Editor, and Associate Editor focusing on news, social, and video. Laurence hosted the BBC Sounds podcast Obsessed with Peaky Blinders in 2019. He also hosts his own podcast production, Time of My Life, where he interviews fascinating elders about their life lessons, including Only Fools and Horses' Sir David Jason, Star Trek’s George Takei and Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh.
Laurence was named Editorial Director – Youth Audience at Reach in early 2025. Prior to joining Digital Spy, he was previously at Bauer Media working as Digital Editor of Heat magazine's website Heatworld.com, and has also worked at and written for Sky, NME, Q magazine, Grazia, Closer, FHM and dedicated careers website GoThinkBig. He secured a first-class BA journalism degree at Staffordshire University, along with several NCTJ qualifications, and now has 14 years' experience in digital publishing covering TV, movies, music, gaming, tech, showbiz, and travel.
Laurence has been a broadcasting contributor on television and radio, including KISS, Heat Radio, BBC Radio London, Radio 5 Live, and BBC Breakfast.
He is also a visiting lecturer at various universities teaching journalism, including City, University of London, Nottingham Trent, Staffordshire University and London Metropolitan. Laurence has won numerous awards in his journalism career, including the BSME Talent Award’s Best Deputy Editor, the PPA's 30 Under 30, and the New Editor and Editor of the Year at the AOP and BSMEs. He led Digital Spy to win PPA's Digital Content Team of the Year twice, along with the British Media Awards’ Brand of the Year in 2021.
Laurence joined the committee for the British Society of Magazine Editors in 2022 and was named vice-chair in 2025. He has since hosted panels with CEOs of Immediate Media and the Media Trust at the PPA Festival, as well as presenting his own radio show on Green Man Radio at Green Man Festival in 2022. Laurence is also a Brits voting academy member.
Laurence has been lucky enough to interview numerous celebrities, actors, and musicians throughout his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger loved his hair, Jimmy Carr loved his coat and Antonio Banderas gave a shout-out to his mum. Laurence has covered set visits for The Witcher on Netflix and Marvel’s Inhumans, he got Daisy Ridley to do a Chewbacca impression and loves Marvel, PlayStation, Glastonbury and craft beer. Linkedin
