You know, there are ways to write strong female characters without turning them into imitation men. Take a look at Arwen from LOTR. Or Galadriel. Or any of the female characters there.
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Arwen is Arwen. Galadriel is Galadriel. Just because a woman takes up an armor, shield, and sword doesn’t make her an ‘imitation man.’ Characters tend to just be whoever they tend to be. Here we have a woman that dedicated her life to military service, training, and physical strength, and in pursuit of those goals she has managed to attain the rank of Captain and commands her own force. She even managed to keep her cool and wrangle control of a situation despite her child being in imminent and mortal danger. Speaking on Henry, he was nearly a reagent in a horrific ritual, it’s entirely natural that he’s a bit shaken up. He gets better once he’s rallied, and is as earnest and courageous as the rest of the expedition by the end of it. So both characters are entirely fine.
EDIT: Removed the second paragraph in the interest of keeping the thread discussion on-point, but trust me folks, it was HELLA gross.
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^^^Peak narrative according to Lingxiu
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‘Soldier overestimates their abilities and gets a reality check.’ Y’know, a common storytelling trope when it comes to military conflict.
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Yes it does in this case, because instead of taking the time and effort to write a compelling story of a woman who is still a woman but wants to fight, like Eowyn,
They simply slapped on some armor to her and had her speak like a man, as if we are just supposed to accept that in that time period, it was perfectly normal for a random captain who wasnt nobility to be a woman. A mother no less. This is the baseline archetype of an alliance captain they wanted to introduce people to??
They didnt care. It was a checkmark on an obvious agenda. Thats why the horde version of exiles reach does the same thing. Is that a coincidence? Did they really think this was the best narrative to bring in new players to the alliance and horde? Or was it some weird DIE initiative? I’d be curious to see what kind of discussions the team had while making these decisions. Because Id bet money it wasnt to tell a good story.
I’d like the story to be more… visceral? I wanna feel the story and care… I’ve probably not truly cared about the story since MOP, where Garrosh was just a good villain with a messed up history and skewed view on what is. Since then the story hasn’t gripped me or made me care… it’s why games like BG3, Cyberpunk, Witcher and Mass Effect all get such high grades for me, I cared about the outcome. With WOW, I guess the story has fallen to the wayside and I’ve yet to find a MMO that can compete with WOW on just how smooth the game actually plays.
Lol, what stories of military conflicts has a dude in a dress getting rescued by his mommy??? 
Given that it was a tutorial section and Captain Garrick is ultimately a minor character in the narrative, why should she have such a huge and sweeping narrative justifying her martial prowess? The title of ‘Captain’ tells me pretty much everything I need to know about her; she’s a member of the military, she’s a proficient soldier capable of command, and from her armament she’s a physically capable fighter. I don’t need the backstory on how she earned it all, because again, she’s a minor character whose sole purpose is to introduce players to what a quest is.
Oh man, don’t play Resident Evil, those feature gasp combat-capable women taking down physical threats and saving male characters from their bad decisions! Or Final Fantasy Tactics with Agrias Oaks, a woman that will absolutely annihilate you with her Knight’s Sword, heavy armor, and total dedication to the art of war.
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You ain’t the only one thinking this way. I see these threads more and more. I agree. I never read LOTR books but I am a huge fan of the original movies. WoW had that LOTR feel to it, pure medieval high fantasy. I want it back.
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Those are stories of military conflicts? Quite a reach bud. Exiles Reach would have been better as a father/son story.
They are the first characters in the story, and were given the 5* treatment with voice acting and all. Its very important to the new player experience and to introduce the setting of the game. I wonder how many little girls would love Elsa if she wore a giant suit of mens armor and sang like Breka Grimaxe But I guess thatd be great narrative design to you.
Its sad that the default human dialogue in classic does a better job than all that money they spent hiring voice actors.
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MAN IN A DRESS ALERT
MAN IN A DRESS ALERT
Where’s his armor and heavy weapon? Why is he being unmanly?
Also, where’s Deputy Willem’s cutscenes showing his development and ability?
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When you speak and act like a man, they become robes. That’s how it works.
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So, Henry’s wearing priest robes? Given that he’s a Priest? I also didn’t realize clothing changed terminology depending on its wearer; a robe is usually a robe no matter who’s wearing it. Same with dresses, same with armor.
EDIT: Also, why isn’t Willem made to ‘prove’ himself as a Deputy?
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He doesn’t need it because its a very clear archetype. A medieval armored soldier. Of course he needs no explanation.
And Captain Garrick is a fantasy soldier captain.
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Oh yeah, wow having women wearing heavy armor and being a warrior is totally a new thing…
Maiev was made in Dragonflight right? Lady liadrinn as well? Or how about Draka?
Also, whats wrong with a more mature knight mother having to encourage her young priest Son? If anything it shows that she is or was married and has raised and csred her son.
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Whats wrong is that this was chosen to be the lead narrative of both the alliance and horde. Why?
When this is supposed to be our franchise
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Hell, even in reality it’s not unheard of for women to get sick of being sidelined, armor and weapon up, and go solve the problem.
Also, how hollow is your argument that you have to argue the semantics of a robe?
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Right…And I suppose these are seven german dwarves in your mind too.
You’re right. In this franchise, men never asked for help in moments of defeat, never got shaken by their failures. Never had to be uplifted by someone else in their darkest hours.
Quickly shoves Arthas, Lothar, Thrall, Grom, Uther, Muradin, Malfurion into hiding
Uh, uh, they’re, uh… They don’t count!
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