The thing is though, leaving the citizens in Stratholme to turn into mindless zombies either through time (the plague) or instantly (Mal’ganis) is not the morally correct choice either. That was the whole point of Stratholme. No choice was a net win. Do nothing and be damned. Do something and you will still be damned.
I mean blizzard would repeat this, although on a lesser scale with the Alliance Airship in the turtle during the Pandaren starting experience.
The hardest choices requires the strongest of wills.
Blizzard isn’t the only company to do this kind of story in a game. Sucker Punch did it with Infamous two with the Ray Sphere plague. Where “The beast” went from city to city killing thousands to save those who had conduit genes. As only being an active conduit can provide immunity to the plague. I should state that the Beast was a walking Ray Sphere. A device created by the First Sons cult that can active a conduit gene by force. Which involves killing tons of people. Play Infamous one if you want to find out how the Beast became the Beast.
You could let thousands of people die a painful death, including those who could survive or save the few that can survive. That being said the game does paint siding with the Beast as the “evil” act but that is because Cole in this scenario doesn’t see it the same way as the Beast does. He just sees it as a way to gain more power. Also if you do pick the evil side, after winning the beast says that he cannot continue with the killing as the guilt has caught up to him.
If you pick the good option, Cole kills himself and a random amount of conduits (active or not) in an effort to destroy the plague for good (it was all conduits regardless but that was softly retconed with Second Son existing. As Second Son continues on from the Good ending of Infamous two) via a device designed to reverse the effects of the Ray Sphere. Either way, people die. That is a fact. In fact this is a lesson that Klesser (the leader of the First Sons in the first game) tries to teach Cole. You cannot save everyone. Regardless of your choices, people will die. Which is similar to Arthas picking up Frostmourne. He believed the blade would give him the power to save his kingdom from Mal’ganis, whom he believed was the leader of the scourge. In return the blade would scar his spirit. Thus sacrificing himself for others.
The twist is that the price was him becoming a puppet for Ner’zhul instead. As Arthas’ story was an inversion of King Arthur.
The point of Arthas was that he was on the path to Damnation, a path that was laid out by nefarious powers from beyond, in order to trap him and bind him to their will. That path he mostly followed willingly without deviation.
The trap was Strathholm. It wasn’t the act of the culling that ‘damned’ him but the fact that he became consumed by vengeance because of it. Vengeance became his driver, not the desire to defend his people. As seen in the burning of the ships and murder of mercenaries, everything (including the obligation to defend his people) would and should be sacrificed to power his vengeance.
Ignoring the warnings of the spirits guarding the sword, the inscriptions on the sword, Murradin’s warning, and taking up the sword, Arthas essentially made a pact with the darkness, happy to pay whatever price it asked if it would satisfy his drive for vengeance. Even Malganis was a little shocked at the lengths Arthas would go to satisfy his need for revenge.
I think Sylvanas has a problem, it’s hard for her to pivot when she’s resolved to follow through. But in the end she accomplished at least destroying Undercity so the Alliance can’t have it. We take our victories, even half victories lol.
A prober judging is what every soul deserves by right in the system as it is suppose to be. From Arthas to Sylvanas. I was someone baffled at Uther getting so little backlash at condemning someone to eternal suffer just because of his hatred for them.
It was an awful plan that had no right to work. But that is in character for Slyvanas… and most WoW characters who’ve had any words written about them.
I felt the same, honestly, when I first watched the Bastion intro.
Uther had every right to hate Arthas for what he had done and his desire for vengeance was understandable and righteous.
But then- such relentless hatred just isn’t him. And the Maw is the worst of all fates. Who is to decide who deserves it?
The actual quote is "SI 7 agents are often faced with life-or death decisions that must be made in a heartbeat. The right decision can mean salvation or doom. Arthas was faced with one such. The plaguedgrain had reached the city and had been consumed by many. There was more then one way to handle it-ways to grant salvation to some, if not all. But Arthas, enraged and untested, chose doom. He and those who followed him gutted the entire the entire city of Sthratholme, slaughtered everyone of the townsfolk. It was not only a futile one, as many fell beneath his sword only to rise again. Artha’s life-and death-was the consequence of poor choices, some for the best of reasons.
I asked around, and the consensus I was getting was it was a mistake to include that part in the book just like the several mistakes on the second Explored Azeroth book.
That, and no one being able to come up with an actual alternative solution that applies to Shaws supposed idea that there were alternatives to give everyone salvation.
Oh I will vehemently disagree with anyone who says it was a mistake, especially now that I have reread it and realize that it even furthers the case for Arthas.
Artha’s life-and death-was the consequence of poor choices, some for the best of reasons.
Looking at that, there seems to be as much a big debate as to how to “better” handle Stratholme.
For my part we can all agree hindsight tell us it was the worse thing Arthas could do not the least of which because it was futile. However, he didn’t know that so that is one thing in favor of Arthas’ decision. However a focus on trying to save some innocents(again not all), no matter how difficult could be, might truly have been the correct call.