Hell yes! I have actually happy when I saw the Archon fall lol
I think Ysera would most likely become the new leader. Maybe Bwonsamdi has a change with her too wink
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The runes on the armor flare up when Anduinâs control is lost, so I would wager Sylvanas herself has very little say in whatâs going on.
in the end Sylvanas will throw the Jailer down the shaft in Oribos.
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Woo? Anduinâs Lich King form is ⊠god he is gaining more Mary Sue traits by the day. Regardless, just about the only thing I donât want from this scenario (and about the only thing more insufferable in concept than how Anduin is being used now) ⊠is that older iteration of him. I would rather this bland brat than that bland true embodiment of Human Potential.
And ⊠there goes the Archon I guess? Super?
I quite like this theory.
Other than this explaining why Anduin (to get to the Archon) which was clever and kudos to them, Blizzard still has not provided us a reason to care about these characters on anything beyond a superficial level. From my perspective as a player the Archon was more a liability than an asset.
OhâŠnoâŠnot the sanctimonious cult leader ahem I mean ArchonâŠoh well, thatâs a shame. Moving along.
I canât believe we suffered two years of BfA for this. 
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This is the story they wanted to tell so much they killed Volâjin the way they did, to do what they did with Sylvanas. Its amazing. While there are definite positive in Shadowlands, you are right the payoff is nowhere near the pain and cost so far. Especially with these ânew charactersâ theyâre throwing into a woodchipper like its going out of style. God Iâm glad I joined Maldraxxus. Sure, my Primus is MIA (but he was apparently smart enough to plan for such a contingency), and Krexus croaked super easy. But ⊠I get enough old names and good secondaryâs to compensate. Emeni is darling.
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I think the Archon is still alive.
This feels like the set-up for her to have her epiphany story; she now has the exact same kind of wound that Uther has, a wound from a runeblade empowered by the Maw. I expect sheâll feel his suffering and through that come to understand the Path is flawed, as Devos said, and that removing memories can cause far more harm than not.
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See ⊠this might be an actually good story with her. Hope you are right. And despite the odds and fingers against it, I truly am hoping the Runecarver is the Primus. And for Baine âWorthless Best and Heart of the Hordeâ to get a damned personal character arc beyond the plot-device for once.
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That makes the most sense though.
The Primus is depicted like a Spellcaster, and if thatâs the case there is absolutely no reason he wouldnât have created a Phylactery. If he did, thatâs probably where the key the Jailer needs is located. Killing the Primus would cause him to reform in Maldraxxus where he can stop the Jailerâs allies from destabilizing the forces there. Keeping the Primus a prisoner and tractable keeps him out of the picture, and means the key the Jailer needs remains in one place.
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Maldraxxus is also the only Covenant and Afterlife that extensively works with and relies on runes. Which means, that despite his extra digit ⊠the Best Rune Smith in all of the SLs being used to craft weapons by the one he imprisoned seems thematically and functionally reasonable to expect. Especially if, as you say, the guy has a phylactery hidden around.
Weâll just have to hope for the best with both of these fools.
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I justâŠ
I just hate it.
Arthas was interesting as a Lich King because he was an active character. Arthas became Lich King because of his own damn decisions. Sure, he was arguably played along every step of the way. But⊠He made every choice that put him on that throne.
Anduin? Anduin is reactive. He just waits for stuff to happen, then reacts to it. Sylvanas turned him into a knock-off Arthas because the marketting team thought itâd drum up hype.
Sylvanas feeling things is also stupid, but⊠I mean, what more is there to be said? She can order genocide on a whim, but seeing Anduin going through an emo phase makes her wobbly-lipped?
Oh, also, let me rewrite Kleiaâs scene.
âMy Archon. A living soul seeks an audience.â
âA mortal?â
âA king.â
âSo⊠A mortal?â
ThenâŠ
God, whatâs next?
Oh yeah.
âOne who has spent his life striving for justice.â
Spent his life? Heâs a college freshman. His resume is a part time job at the Blue Recluse and being the Head Scout of his local troop.
This post is unorganized and poorly thought-out, but that puts it on-par with WoWâs overarching story, so Iâm calling it good enough.
EDIT: Various fixes. I realized I forgot to even finish a sentence lol
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I think something we donât consider that much is how little Sylvanas has seen with her own eyes and directly participated in the atrocities sheâs committed. She commanded the burning of Teldrassil, but she wasnât in Darnassus watching Night Elves and Worgen frantically trying to escape a horrible death. What we have here is her forced to get her own hands dirty in a far more direct way. That seems like a far more plausible reason for her to have reservations than because Anduin is Anduin.
I think if the Jailer made Kelâthuzad make Anduin into his weapon, Sylvanas wouldnât lose sleep over it.
For what its worth, titles may well have some sort of arbitrary value we donât know of. When Bwonsamdi offered a deal to Talanji to kill Sylvanas for him, he said that he didnât have the soul of a Warchief in his collection. Maybe souls that have carried the burdens of ruling have greater anima or something, but in Anduinâs case I think being a King matters because it is (on paper) the most selfless and devoted thing a person can do in life.
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Players: âBlizzard it is really stupid and insulting that Saurfang, a life-long veteran and powerful warrior, needs a pep talk from a 17 year old blonde human little boy. Tyrande has been a warrior for thousands of years, why is she not leading the Alliance?â
Blizzard: This. Sylvanas learns being evil is wrong because of an 18 year old blonde human little boy
âŠ
/le sigh
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Thatâs the most pallatable in-universe reason, but itâs still an awful reason. I mean⊠Being able to order atrocities without having the willpower to commit them herself doesnât mean anything other than Sylvanas lacks a spine.
From this writing staff, though? 100%. She feels bad because Anduin is Anduin.
Bwomsandi is from Azeroth. He gets Azeroth titles. The Archon is basically a deity who sees souls from all over the universe. Whatâs one king from one world mean to her? Hell, Revendreth is full of kings who get treated no better than a common thief.
It mattered because the plot demanded it.
I have never and will never consider any kind of high-level leader - especially someone who was born into royalty - selfless. Anduinâs troops were sent home in caskets, and he felt bad from the towers of Stormwind Keep. As Creedence Clearwater Revival said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWijx_AgPiA
EDIT: âhave never and will never consider any kind of high-level leader selflessâ is a bit of an over-exaggeration. Iâm sure there are some out there that are exceptions, but that statement is largely true.
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God I feel weird being OK with Saurfangâs Arc in BfA when its placed in a vacuum. Granted in order to even get to that level I had to read the damned external reading material, but I at least understood his issue early on (and his mistake) appreciate the story arc conceptually. I âgotâ that that was were a lot of his suicidal âlostâ nature was coming from ⊠but the execution was less then stellar.
Basic of his arc. Saurfang makes a mistake based on a false assumption about Sylvieâs intent, which results in him agreeing to the WoT and results in Teld. He thus cannot trust his own judgement enough to know what to do, thus ⊠suicide by combat was his âhidingâ and âescapeâ. Then from there its fairly straightforward ⊠but yes, it did take a Teenager to give him a nudge. Which ⊠is yeah ⊠le sigh.
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Maybe Kings make the best Kyrians? A lifetime of service and devotion to a nation and itâs people seems like itâd really line up well with Kyrian virtues.
Why not? Are you saying they canât simply set aside their crown? They canât abandon their nation? They canât pick someone else to rule and goof off?
Iâm not saying all Kings in the Warcraft Universe are perfect paragons of service and devotion (particularly since plenty wind up in Revendreth), but I wouldnât be shocked if those who end up in Bastion end up being some of the best Kyrians.
Nah, when Anduin pulls out the sword she lifts her hand to reach out to Anduin.
Sheâs still alive.
Yup
Worst psychopomps in Warcraftâs and any universe.
Literally terrible psychopomps.
The last bit is the worst, most incoherent aspect of this whole thing.
Followed only by âWEâVE TRIED EVERYTHING BUT THE MAW GROWSâ
Have you tried NOT tossing souls into the Maw? NOT following the Purpose?
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Iâm willing to âwait and seeâ on this, but Iâm of the opinion that is a version of a death rattle/reflex. It happens as he is removing the sword. But Iâm willing to accept that it may also be a âNow the Archon understands what Uther went throughâ moment as well that someone mentioned up-thread.
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If you have a source for this, then Iâd happily accept it.
There have been some good kings in-Azeroth and out-of-Azeroth. However, To say âbeing a King is the most selfless and devoted thing a person can do in lifeâ is blatantly false.
Even in-universe, that statement isnât true. See: Azshara, Elisande, Arthas, Kaelâthas, Trollbane, Daelin, Garrosh, Sylvanas.
Also, there are literally dozens of real-world examples of kings who did just that. They literally said, âbeing a ruler is too hard, so just give me the money, and Iâll throw myself parties all day every day, while uh⊠that guy over there does the lame policy work.â
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