Going through classic, and questing through retail, it becomes rapidly apparent that the forsaken of lordaeron aren’t…evil.
Sure, there’s mind control involved with the scourge - that can drive people to do evil things. But that’s the thing - the forsaken are free willed - with all the memories of what they did when they were scourge - if they were scourge.
You’ll notice with older forsaken (older in this case meaning they’ve been “out of the grave” for longer, hence most likely a part of the scourge) that they are…noticeably more morbid. They seek to inflict pain on others, they pursue macabre and sadistic practices - they look upon mortality as some kind of failure.
I’d argue that this is just a response to seeing the back of Lordaeron snapped like a twig. Lordaeron, their home, the greatest of all human kingdoms, killed with the ease and cruelty of a man throwing a kitten at a wall. This kingdom, this new world they have entered - it has to be stronger. It has to be, no matter the cost. They have to be stronger than what they were before - and if we look from their perspective, from a proud citizen of lordaeron’s eyes - what was their failing?
They were weak. They were trusting. They were kind - and they were honorable. Thus, it makes sense that you’d start pursuing any underhanded means that you could to survive. You would build a new society based upon deceit, poison, and spiteful torture just to arm themselves against a world that threw them through the meat grinder - literally in some cases.
With younger forsaken, that bitterness isn’t apparent. There’s a lady in Brill who describes how she woke up - and nobody around her was like she remembered. Nobody wants to talk, nobody wants to interact - there hasn’t been a kind face in months.
Every victim of Arthas is a tragic character - and more often than not, a tragic villain.
There’s very few forsaken who sought to turn their trauma into something constructive, such as Bartholomew, who joined the brotherhood of the light. More often than not, a forsaken follows Sylvanas, whose response to her trauma is…understandable.
Sympathetic? No. Something to praise? Absolutely not.
But you can see how she got there.
The hopelessness upon seeing her home destroyed - her body taken from her - her very soul shattered. She had given her life for a null cause - and faced the same supposed truths as the forsaken.
Family meant nothing. Will meant nothing without strength, kindness and reason would only be subverted by others. Thus begins her dark crusade against Arthas.
I like to believe that by Legion…or at least, the start of legion - by the battle for the broken shore - that Sylvanas has hope. She is the one who leads the Horde assault, along with the rest of the Horde. She puts herself on the front lines despite everything that has happened to her - at the Broken Shore, this is a Sylvanas without fear. She believes in the Horde, she believes in Azeroth - she sees a future that could be bright.
And then? When she sees the Horde broken just like Lordaeron, just like Quel’thalas - the fear returns - and with it, desperation.
Sylvanas, when she is desperate, turns to power. Deceit. Deals and knowledge - with the goal of gaining the upper hand. I think Zovaal was…not someone she was ready and willing to trust - but what he offered her was freedom. An end to the pain, to the torment - to the fear. I think her “deal” with Helya was jus tot gain audience with him - and then the whispers began.
Feed the machine. Forge a new army - create your own strength.
Reason for the fourth war - and a reason for Teldrassil.
I think it’s clear in Before the Storm and the war of thorns, looking back from now at least, that Sylvanas isn’t acting out of malice. She has reservations about causing such a large amount of death - but I think she rationalizes it all in a way.
The more she learns from Zovaal, the more she believes that life and death have no meaning - they’re all just souls. Souls and flesh that can move from one side to the other. Death, as a concept, is meaningless. It’s just more pain - and life…life is pain. Existence is pain. It’s fear, and anger, and regret - and someone has offered her a way out. Not just her - everyone.
When she talks to Delaryn, we’re seeing her give into that argument. She sees the suffering of someone just like her, and thinks: I can stop this. This never needs to happen again.
She’s always thought the conflict between the Horde and Alliance is petty - and now that she knows it’s endless, she decides to break the cycle. All cycles.
Sylvanas isn’t irredeemable. She’s got a human character. The path she treads is one that we could mirror, given the circumstances. There’s already a number of institutions out there that try to place a minimalistic outlook on life.
And that goes for all forsaken. No matter how cruel, unrelenting, or unfathomable - there’s a person in there. Not an evil twisted thing. Not an animal to put down.
Just a soul who’s been in unimaginable pain and fear, and doesn’t know how to move past it in a way that doesn’t involve inflicting it upon others.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk. :3
EDIT: IF YOU WANNA BE EVIL GO BE EVIL
It’s fun to play the bad guy! Forsaken are just complex characters and I really like talkin to’em in game
