Where Is everyone?
Like, really. Where are they?
Where is Durotar, Varian, Mediv, Agewyn etc?
I feel like this expansion could have been so much and it was really… empty. The Jailer was as entertaining and seasoned as a saltine. Anduin was basically not really here for the majority of it. Has anyone seen Wrathion? Khadgar?
I still don’t understand what Jaina’s doing out here.
It seems like we drag Thrall out of whatever hole he’s in for the start of each expansion and then we throw him back in it once it’s started.
The one good thing I have to say is about Sylvanas. I actually really liked her story arch and I appreciated the closure we got with her and Tyrande - speaking of which has anyone seen Malfurion? No? Ok.
We got this really cool opportunity to explore Elune with the winter queen and Tyrande, and that went nowhere.
I just keep seeing the potential for all these storylines and they don’t seem to go anywhere.
Medivh was last seen in Legion flying off into the Twisting Nether at the end of the Return to Karazhan dungeon. So he’s not actually dead, and could show up down the road in the cosmology storyline.
As for the other characters like Durotan, Aegwynn, Doomhammer, etc… they are in other afterlives of the Shadowlands. Remember the Shadowlands contain an infinite number of realms, with Bastion, Maldraxxus, Ardenweald, and Revendreth being the main four.
Yes Shadowlands very much should have been handled better. Wrathion and Khadgar took a back seat this expansion since Wrathion has nothing to do with Death and Khadgar was last seen focused on healing Azeroth. Though Khadgar will have a presence in 9.2.5.
Jaina is present because she was amongst those Sylvanas directed the Mawsworn with taking, alongside Baine, Thrall, Anduin, and Tyrande. Tyrande being the only one who was able to kill the Mawsworn before they could snag her and bring her into the Maw.
Actually Thrall had development and found closure in regards to his feelings on Garrosh. And his bond with the elements seem to be going strong based on how he didn’t have issues using them.
Blizzard has a multitude of characters and they can’t include everyone. So while Tyrande was in the Shadowlands, Malfurion was back on Azeroth leading their people and what not.
Yeah that was minor but since Elune wasn’t killed off, the door is still open to explore her.
I’m still kinda baffled why Thrall got a 2nd heartwarming reunion with his mom as an adult. Granted in WoD it was his alternative universe mom and this is the actual woman what birthed him. But still, weird it happened twice.
And like, why not have Tiffin Wyrnn turn up? We’ve never actually seen her in game. She pretty much existed to pop out Honest Andy then die so Varian could growl in a grizzled macho monotone even harder. So pretty much anything they did with her would’ve been an improvement and then Anduin could have a touching maternal reunion.
Probably wouldn’t have been ground breaking but at least we wouldn’t have seen that same story beat before. And him being cheered on by the spirits of his parents to break free of the Jailor’s control might’ve tugged at some heartstrings.
Instead of it being his dad and a war criminal from a rival foreign power who he knew for like a week.
Come to think of it why didn’t Thrall meet with Saurfang? Or hell maybe Tyrande, he did spare Malfurion afterall. Maybe he reveals Sylvanas was a deranged tyrant everybody was afraid to step to but even then he worked with Horde heroes who risked it all to undermine her at every step after Teldrassil. Ya know give her a broader perspective. Something.
They tell us the Shadowlands are infinite. Statistically, it would be amazing if we saw even one person we already know, so it’s ridiculous that we’ve run into as many as we have.
Also, Medivh isn’t currently dead, although he was for a while. Right now, he’s hanging out with Khadgar somewhere off-world.
Durotar is dead again, killed by Y’Rel as part of the Mag’har background.
Mediv has been dead since the RTS.
Agewynn died giving up the last of her immortality magic to empower Jaina. before that Mediv had taken away all of her other magic and she had passed the Guardian power to him.
Varian was blown to fell bits in the beginning of Legion.
He was very much alive in WC3. His mother Agewynn revives him somehow. After Archimondes defeat he simply went into self-imposed exile until Return to Karazhan. Where he “helps” us defeat Viz’aduum. Then gives some heart felt words to Khadgar before flying off again.
The poor man feels a lot of guilt for something outside of his control. To the point that he considers himself a failure.
Huh, revisiting the post Viz’aduum dialogue. I finally figured out what Medivh meant by his whole “sometimes you must pass through a door instead of sealing it”. He was foreshadowing the Kil’jaeden encounter in Tomb of Sargeras and the whole Argus plot line in patch 7.3. I feel so stupid not noticing that way earlier.
He’s pretty much a ghost in his appearances after the time Lothar killed him. Aegwynn could not have done anything since he had already stripped of all her magic save the immortality spell keeping her alive. (she would later sacrifice that to aid Jaina.)
Medivh is no longer human and seems to have passed beyond the material realm somehow. He’s been classed as an Eternal. No idea how or if this can be squared with current lore.