Personally, if I’m writing a highly controversial book meant to mediate scandal and multiple narrative pivots because a notorious Serial Abuser turned a three-fold survivor into WoW Fascist Leader Version 2, and I need to explain the metaphysical and epistemological justification for her committing genocide as a genocide survivor
I would not bet money on “She was convinced Diet Sauron Lucifer Thanos At Folsom was Family Friendly Vin Diesel because Gertrude The Flying Viking showed her Laval Vore Eel Marital Angst”
I think if I arrived at the conclusion I would openly admit I am way over my head and we have collectively failed as a team.
Edit:
Mind you all, I’m haven’t even gotten around to dealing with the choice to maintain the canonicity that her Faustian Pact began during her Attempt
Taken in total isolation the lava eels are a sorta neat bit of world building, its when taken all together that things come apart. I dont know if they let outside, unbiased eyes see the manuscript… which is where they made their worst mistake.
the more I learn, the more I think that Blizzard should actually lean into this direction less jokingly and more seriously. Sometimes little things that catch your fans attention are the way to go. Thimble Theater comics was originally about 20s slacker Harold Hamgravy, his flapper girlfriend Olive Oyl, and her brother Castor until one day they hired this wacky-looking sailor man to help crew a boat they were taking on an adventure…
Not worms. Worms just lay at the bottom and squirm. Lava Eels, on the other hand, do all kinds of things.
They would be neat if the Central Governance Bodies of the Shadowlands demonstrated ontological diversity (eg Ecological Diversity in Ardenweald, what a concept)
But they aren’t.
It’s just absurd.
A friend has a theory it’s foreshadowing for the “Crooked Serpent” Ultra Omega Super Duper For Real This Time big bad
That the “7th Outside Cosmic Force” is a Giant Vore Snake.
Honestly I made my peace after the Sanctum cinematic. It was at that point that I knew Sylvanas’s character was completely screwed, and there would be no satisfying conclusion to any of this.
Having her murder, betray, or betray then murder every single playable faction and be the procuring cause of permanent damage to iconic territory, then reveal she was in cahoots with The Devil and did it all to feed him souls just isn’t the sort of thing you can come back from.
That’s not something where anyone goes “Well I guess if I think about it from their perspective”. Starting a world war because you’re in league with Satan just isn’t a relatable or understandable mistake.
So yeah, why not lava eel vore? Nothing else would’ve made more sense. Trying to kill literally everyone is not a good reaction to anything.
I’d be more than happy to just move on. But the fact that they think this was anything other than a cacophony of terrible ideas has me genuinely worried. This wasted a perfectly solid character in a way that was pretty much assured to set the fanbase against eachother. All for an immensely confusing yet still somehow immensely boring expansion.
I whined plenty at the time, I was fond of the Garrosh we saw in Stonetalon and TLH. I just liked Vol’jin enough to let it go, and deluded myself into believing that surely, surely, these writers had gotten over their “dumb evil Horde” fetish after MoP and WoD. There was no way they’d be stupid enough to do all that nonsense again with another evil warchief…
Taking on the afterlife of the multiverse was just too tall an order for them to successfully accomplish even without all the problems and setbacks they have suffered. Setting up that there are mysterious overaching titan-level overgods for death of the multiverse no one has seen in a Really Long Time, and the Eternal Ones as titan keeper level “local” death gods would of been a more doable thing, and they could of focused on afterlives for the peoples of azeroth in specific.
I loved Vol’jin and was devastated when they killed him off just like that and yet- when he named Sylvanas warchief I didn’t believe they were going to do the same sh*t again.
I honestly thought there would be a good reason for this, that this was now the time for a female warchief to shine, that they were going to show how the Forsaken had really arrived in the horde- yes I was that naive.
After years of reading posts crying about Sylvanas getting a redemption, the time may be at hand.
Alot of these plot points feel like dominos falling over. They stand or fall. Loose ends that are being tied. And I like that.
When Sylvanas said the Horde was nothing, and we welcomed another Wrynn King waltzing into Orgrimmar… it wasn’t my most fist pumping moment, as a Loyalist.
Sometimes things dont go our way.
I feel worse for the Sylvanas haters, because nothing short of beheading her and parading it through every city on Azeroth would make them happy. Only that would have pleased them.
Tbh the glimpse at what might’ve been in Stonetalon is depressing.
That’s a pretty dark questline that lacks the anarchic gallows humor of the Forsaken’s shenanigans. A Chieftain’s son is murdered by Horde agents to frame the neutral Night Elf Druids. So they can be fire bombed. When the Chieftain calls BS because he knows his son’s friends would’ve never killed him he is to be executed for treason.
That’s genuinely pretty dark. And when they summoned Garrosh I was just staring at the screen in bewilderment. Because the Garrosh I know is obviously going to execute this guy. Making this just a wildly bleak and mean spirited storyline.
But then; Garrosh Hellscream says: What have you done, Krom’gar? Krom’gar bows before Garrosh. Overlord Krom’gar says: Warchief! I… I was carrying out your command! Garrosh Hellscream says: My command? Garrosh Hellscream says: Was my command to murder innocents, Krom’gar? Overlord Krom’gar says: Warchief… Sir… I… Garrosh Hellscream says: Am I a murderer, Krom’gar? Overlord Krom’gar says: No, Warchief! Garrosh Hellscream says: Then I ask you again: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!
He’s FURIOUS this guy bombed civilians. Just completely disgusted in this Overlord’s behavior. He makes a legitimately compelling speech about the nature of honor, and how if we do not have it in the darkest times then we do not have it all.
Then he straight up throws the war criminal to his death. It’s badass.
But completely confusing if like me you didn’t get to that quest until long after MoP and WoD.
I would have settled with Arthas getting his day with the Arbiter. This is the SECOND time a genocidal female villain in Blizzard has gotten away/potentially profited even after everything she has done. If Arthas however was given the same treatment then at least it means everyone gets a fair shot.
Like apperently being abused by a guy gives you carte blanche to do the same evil/worse evil act, even to other female characters.
You think it was a fist bump for us to have a warcriminal’s corpse be carried by the blue warchief after lending him Varian’s sword?
I know, its been like that since cataclysm.
Actually it wouldn’t, I don’t hate Sylvanas because I hate Sylvanas. I hate the situation where she has done unspeakable acts and yet the story and certain fans are trying to push the idea that her feeling sad is supposed to make up for everything she has done.
I would be satisfied with actual logical explanations and story points from the writers that explain and SHOW why everything that happened was for.
Because so far the Alliance lost a lot for the payoff of yet another Horde reaffirming their identity, evolving into a council, Sylvanas becoming nice and going on a pilgrimage in hell.
What exactly was my pay off?
I just got the “Arthas was evil all along and here he will fart and fade forever” and then they refuse to elaborate any further or explain the inconsistency between him and his parallel.
This book seems odd to me, as it doesn’t sound like most of it is from a narrative perspective telling us what a character has done or how they’re feeling, but rather it’s all literally narrated by Sylvanas, telling Anduin things she wants him to hear. Blizzard has obviously played with unreliable narrators before, but this sounds like an entire book of it.
