After capturing some racial leaders, the Jailer tortured them with something in mind. That said, he promptly rejected Baine and tossed him off a cliff. Eventually, Anduin was chosen to be the one to use kingsmourne. So, questions:
1 - Did we ever learn what exactly the Jailer needed a mourneblade wielder for in the first place? Why not have Sylvanas do everything?
2 - What made Anduin the ideal candidate? “Golden boy” is not a valid response, I’m asking from a in-universe standpoint
(Did he reject Baine because a giant totem mourneblade didn’t go with his aesthetic?)
I believe it to be this. Zozall needed a mourneblade weilder because he really wanted a new Arthas, and Anduin was the closest physical match he could find. He’s also the only one competent with a sword. He considered using Thrall, but then he saw how Thrall felt about swords in the Maw intro scenario and knew he wouldn’t work at all.
You see, Zozall knew his expansion was going to be bad, but he thought if he tricked people into thinking Arthas had returned, maybe we’d play anyway. So he transmogged Anduin to look as Arthas-like as possible.
For bonus points, Anduin is a mortal king, and mortal kings are the Kyrian weakness.
As for 1, recall when Anduin marched up to the Paragon of Bastion. He was allowed to get very, very close - much closer than Sylvanas would have - before he struck. He would only be able to pull that trick off once, of course, but that’s still one more time than her.
There’s also the fact that Anduin was being directly controlled by the Jailer, rather than simply being swayed to his side. That ultimately made him more dependable than Sylvanas.
As to why Baine was rejected… well, he’s Baine. His main hobby is being held hostage. Not a good look for a lieutenant.
More seriously, Arthas was a Paladin, and Arthas’s generation of DKs were all also Paladins. I’m wondering if there’s something to that. Maybe they just enjoy the irony, but maybe there’s some kind of actual benefit to subverting an existing affinity for the Light.
If I wanted to by cynical - the Light has been framed as a rigid, dogmatic way of thinking. There’s no doubt, no questioning, just total adherence to the cause. It’s not hard to see how a mind like that would be easier to control - all you have to do is swap the old cause out for a new one and boom, perfect evil servant.
From what I understand, this literally is the in-universe reason. For whatever reason, Zovaal couldn’t just assault Bastion to take the sigil, and needed an infiltrator to get in close with a surprise attack. And for that, he needed a victim of unimpeachable moral fiber or else the kyrians would detect him early. So Sylvanas grabbed the only people she thought might have been good enough (sans Tyrande because she fought off her kidnappers) and the other three just fell short for what Zovaal needed.
Because the current WoW writers think that the narrative should revolve around him. No seriously several have gone on record saying he’s the “main character” of the franchise. They want you to be as infatuated with him as they are.
Lorewise: The Jailer saw that Anduin was both strong in the light and a central icon of Hope for at least the Alliance and one or two figures in the Horde as well. Turning him against them he figured would be demoralizing.
Blizzard Reasons: Because the whole game has revolved around Anduin since MoP and they felt they needed to drag him through the Edgy McEdgelord sludge for a little bit. For drama.
I have been wondering why the Scourge and Zovaal went through the trouble of corrupting Light users instead of just empowering a mortal that was already pro-death?
This mindset seems to be shared by the Ebon Blade. In Korthia, Darion Mograine mentions how he once told Tirion Fordring that “Only a Silver Hand can wield an Ebon Blade.”
I’m not quite sure what the significance is, but there are more than a few hints that the Jailer seems to have an interest in controlling wielders of the Light. Perhaps he simply thinks they are better at following orders, having already pledged themselves in the service of the Light above all else.
My theory is that he made an effective conduit for power. The Jailor could channel much more power through him than anyone else. Similar to Illidan being lightforged by Xera. Both just vessels.
Same reason why Xavius was corrupting nearly everyone Malfurion cared about during Legion. To reduce moral, take away hope and because they got off from doing it.
Well, on that cosmology chart image, Light is right next to Death. So Light wielders are like cousins to Death wielders. Order wielders are also like cousins, hence the Constellar in Shadowlands. No?
Okay idea number 2. The undead suffer pain from connecting with the Light, but when … no … that doesn’t work either.
Take 3. The Kyrians would only trust a mortal leader who was known for being good and trustworthy and loyal and whatever. And clearly getting to the Archon is really difficult because even with proof of a mourneblade being used in the mortal realms, nobody could get a message up the chain and apparently they only show up for mortal rulers. That doesn’t explain why not Thrall, Jaina, or even Baine. Well Baine is self-evident, he’s useless, but Jaina kept breaking free of her prison so …
Take 4. The Jailer has a “type” and it involves blonde hair/blue eyes that he can dominate to do bad things. Yikes this narrative goes in a very dark direction …
It’s this. Anduin holding back the mawsworn was the moment the Jailer decided he was the one. Anduin was the ideal vessel for death magic. Thrall didn’t regain his powers until his rescue, jaina might simply not be physically strong enough, and Baine has no magical powers.
Lets be honest here, even before this Jailer thing people have been comparing Anduin and Arthas. Danuser did make a good point, people like seeing patterns and there has always been a certain segment of WoW’s fanbase that has always wanted to see what a “fallen” Anduin would look like.
And Arthas wasn’t? That was his thing as well, even during his novel he was portrayed as a royal who would bring cocoa to his guards. As a rule Arthas was generally a good person before Stratholme. You can’t have a fallen prince story if the dude wasn’t at least somewhat of a good guy.
I suppose the difference to me is that Anduin doesn’t come off as brash and reckless, even when having good intentions, which is something Arthas is often excused for.
Andiun was being brash and reckless the entire time. Its just that unlike Arthas whatever Andiun did things just worked out for him. He is a lucky guy.