Iâm kind of reminded, thinking about this problem, of Star Trek. I thought those stories were fun because they worked off of putting the characters in a tight spot, and then working out how they get out of it - usually finding some crazy idea that threads the needle between a host of either bad outcomes, or solutions that wonât work.
Watching Blizzardâs writing team is kind of like that, only they fail with the regularity of a sloppy drunk trying to play Operation. One has to wonder why they insist on getting themselves into these messes with their track record, but, either way, weâre here - and Sylvanas shows up as a self-contained minefield.
Letâs address the most impacted party first - the Forsaken. Their entire identity grew up around this character, and her removal left a crater where that identity used to be. I havenât talked to a lot of forsaken players who are that happy with Calia, Voss seems to be âmehâ, but at the same time, the current Sylvanas is just a smidge too dark and more importantly - out of the faction. Blizzard didnât seem to have a plan for replacing Sylvanas, which leaves as a solution - redeeming or preserving her in some fashion so that she can continue to fill that hole.
But, that also gets our ship of lore dangerously close to the rocks of âjustifying genocide and alienating huge swaths of the playerbaseâ - and I know Iâll catch flak for the use of that word, but, Iâm sorry - thatâs how Blizzard framed it. Thatâs how they presented it. Thatâs what general audiences see. You can wordsmith it all day, but youâre only really convincing yourself. For everyone else, the problem is still very much here.
Thereâs one major property that came to mind that approached this sort of question semi-successfully - that would be Watchmen. There are some elements that I think are different in characterization that make this comparison a little less than seamless, but the element that I would put my finger on is: âitâs necessary that you accept this, even if you hate it, because if you donât, something really terrible will happenâ, and itâs notable that Ozymandas is not redeemed. Most of the cast condemns him for it, and the one that accepts it âwithout condemning, or condoningâ says so in an emotionally reserved way. This offers us a glimpse at a path for Sylvanas, something that would allow her to continue to serve that role as a pillar of Forsaken identity (although probably not directly - probably not as their racial leader, and probably not in a capacity that involves her returning to Azeroth) - without justifying what she did.
That just leaves our Rorschach - Tyrande.
I have to say that like many other Night Elf fans, I find myself concerned. The Night Warrior transformation, as pointless as it was, is an interesting piece of framing. Tyrande is presented more than ever as a dark, unstable presence thatâs âconsumed by vengeanceâ. If Utherâs Afterlives short is any indication, the question of what is justice and what is vengeance is a major theme of Shadowlands - which, if history is any guide is going to be an opportunity for Blizzard to âanswerâ that question with their usual flair of twisted, nonsensical morality that we all have to accept. In that regard, Tyrande is flying more red flags than a May Day parade - and thereâs no believable way to expect her to forgive Sylvanas for any reason, she hasnât been written to forgive or forget.
For the Horde fans that might be reading this - remember that moment in BFA where a Purge survivor confronts writer-appointed-moral-authority figure Jaina during her writer-determined-righteous crusade to rescue Baine? Where they rather disgustingly painted this guy with real and legitimate grievances as evil and Jaina as right? This is that on a grand scale - and for us it comes off of the heels of a decade of humiliation that was recently crescendoed by the most in-your-face faction-fueled curbstomp that Blizzard ever put onscreen.
This is the part that I donât know how to get past. It would be one thing if Tyrande was directing her ire at the Horde - as I feel she should be - but they have established her turning an almost single-minded focus to going after Sylvanas. Assuming you go with an Ozymandas plan - how do you convince Tyrande that she needs to preserve Sylvanas to prevent some horrible outcome? How do you do that and get the audience to believe it? To be satisfied with it? I really donât know.
Guess Iâll have to wait to see how they get out of this one.
