Warning: this entry contains spoilers for HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones and book series A Song of Ice and Fire.

About

Forgesex refers to a memorable scene from HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones in which characters Arya Stark and Gendry have sexual intercourse in a Winterfell forge. Following the premiere of the episode containing the scene, it became a popular reference in the Game of Thrones fandom.

Origin

On August 28th, 2017, the day following the premiere of the Game of Thrones episode containing the Boatsex scene, Twitter user @nolanleaks made the first known post using the word "forgesex", referencing a potential sex scene between characters Arya Stark and her long-time friend Gendry, a blackmith.^[1] The tweet gained 3 retweets and 10 likes in two years. On August 30th, 2017, Tumblr user asongoftarthandlannister used the term, with the post gaining 634 likes and reblogs in the same period.^[2]

On April 21st, 2019, season eight episode "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" premiered.^[3] In a scene of the episode, Arya Stark, portrayed by Maisie Williams, questions Gendry, portrayed by Joe Dempsie, about his past lovemaking experiences, and then invites him to have sex with her. The characters then proceed to have sex in a forge on a pile of sacks.

Spread

Following the premiere of the episode, the term gained considerable spread online, with multiple memes referencing the scene posted on Reddit, Twitter and other platforms. Among sub-tropes of the meme, posts referencing Arya questioning Gendry about the number of his previous partners gained prominence (shown below, left and center).^[4][5] Some memes referenced viewers being unsure whether acress Maisie Williams was underage in the scene (shown below, right).^[6]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References