What the hell is this? It’s drive-through or “drive-thru”
Threw is a past tense if throw.
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I think it’s hard for a franchise of this size to work like that. Frankly, I don’t think WoW story telling should be based in what is moral or not. Popularity has to play some role. Blizzard is telling this story for the fanbase, so some level of pandering has to be had. The trick is making it feel seamless.
Really, I don’t think the Warcraft story needs to be a moral one. Especially because people have different moral perspectives of characters. For example, I think Maiev is a morally good character, something I know a lot of people disagree with. I also know Azshara is evil, and yet I want her to win in some capacity. I don’t want that big bad B-word Queen energy to be removed from the story just because she is a Villain, and I feel that way about a lot of villains that we have killed over the years. I think Warcraft feels smaller and more stale without them.
I think regardless of right and wrong, what any story actually needs is resolution for victimized characters. I mean, you see it in every good story.
Mass Effect: Eden Prime > The Story > Face off with Saren and Sovereign
Star Wars: Luke’s family killed > The Story > Death Star
Lord of the Rings: Dark Lord Threatens Middle Earth > The Story > Frodo succeeds
That is something that we didn’t really get with BFA and SL. Even Genn had a full story with Sylvanas. She killed his Son, he broke her Lamp. Full circle, resolution, then it would be Sylvanas’ turn. So she attacked Teldrassil, Genn’s new home. So now we see how Blizzard wrote themselves into a endless cycle, and Night Elves were left holding the bag in a conflict that they really didn’t have anything to do with. And worse, they never got a resolution. Blizzard wrote themselves into a corner and made the decision to prioritize Sylvanas fans over Night Elf fans.
I feel like Sylvanas story should have been more isolated with Genn, instead of bleeding into everything else. Really, Vol’jinn should still be Warcheif, Genn and Sylvanas can have their rivalry, and that should have just been that. Instead we are left with everyone disappointed with everything.
I think popularity has played too much of a role in WoW’s story, though I can see your point. And Blizzard sure hasn’t made it seamless (or if they tried to, I think they failed majorly).
Maiev’s done some questionable stuff, but I can see her as morally good too. I definitely think Azshara makes a good villain (though I wouldn’t mind a bit more backstory for her - even if it’s “she let her natural talent go to her head and became arrogant”). I think there needs to be a plan for why Azshara is removed from the story if they decide to kill her off - and what a story it could be! imo Azshara is a character worth her own expansion.
Side note, how does an Azshara/Denathrius team up sound? Personally, I think it would be interesting. It could also work with romantic undertones if written well - they share a few traits, Azshara had a thing for Sargeras and people have had some “interpretations” of her “relationship” with N’Zoth (yes really, I didn’t make that last one up).
I agree about story resolution, and adore the examples you cited. I think that if they don’t have a resolution for victimized characters, at least the consequences should be shown. To use Mass Effect as an example, since it’s also a video game, there are many ramifications for saving or killing the Council in ME1, which are shown in ME2 (such as the Citadel being friendly to humans and Shepard being a big hero… or the Citadel being so hostile it sounds like a police state, there’s anti-human race riots and a turian politician launches a successful campaign based on being anti-human) and also in ME3. What do you think?
I agree with your assessment of WoW’s story and the cycle that’s been created. I also agree with how Vol’jin was thrown under the bus (one of my three main gripes with Legion’s story)
Did he, though? At the very end Frodo flat out lost. Later on in life, Tolkien actually said that the sequence of events leading to Gollum tripping and taking the ring into the volcano with him only happened because Eru intervened, making that one of the very few times “God” messed with events in that setting (the others being the acceptance of the Dwarves as his adopted children, sending back/promoting Gandalf, and making the world a sphere with Aman outside of it).
Just a nerdy aside, admittedly. I am a librarian, its in the fine print.
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At the end of the day, the Ring Was destroyed. There was resolution.
You’re in good company here if you have a nerdy side, so I wouldn’t worry. 
Eru making the world a sphere seemed to be a response to the massive collateral damage that occurred when the Maia and Valar cut loose with their powers in the fight against Melkor’s forces. I would like to see the consequences of actions explored more in WoW.
Ah, that was in response to the Great Armament; Numenor’s gall to dare attack and attempt to conquer Arda despite the many divine omens given to discourage them. Manwe called on Eru to act, and in response he destroyed the fleet, sank Numenor, and made the world a sphere with blessed lands of Aman outside of it; only elves could sail the true path into the west, humans would just go round the world.
WoW isnt the best at follow through, no. I think it may come from a lack of a consistent vision.
Are you excited for the new Lord of the Rings show from Amazon?
I am… slightly ambivalent. I wish for it to be good, but also I fear another Hobbit style lore massacre. The giant worm things and filler pale orcs were a bit beyond the pale for me.
Man that scene where the elves jump over the dwarf shields to rush into a Orc charge was just… mind blowingly stupid. The Hobbit is my Prequels if I was a mega starwars fan.
The new Amazon show just seems to be lots of cosplayers got together and turned a filtered footage into a series from what I can see but… maybe I shouldnt be too negative.
the new amazon series rings of power will be a desaster for the entire lotr movie/serie franchise, because …they try to produce a serie about a time they have no rights to, they hold the rights on the first three lotr books and the hobbits…but not one book from the lost tales and the silmarilion…but this two bookseries play in the first and second age and you have only brief mentions of the second age events in the lotr/hobbit-books.
Honestly with the amount of money they spent on this show… why not just make something new? Make a new franchise with all the elves, humans and dwarves you want. Or better yet use that money to save the real amazon since Brazil seems intent on cutting the whole thing down to make more pastures for cows.
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it will be a desaster, many tolkienfans don´t swim on the woke-train regarding their beloved franchise and most of the characters they descript or even want to appear…are not even mentiod in the lotr/hobbit-books. (a famous example: Ar-Pharazôn), but they are critical for the forging of the ring plot that leads to the lotr events.
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As a person who isn’t white seeing a brown elf in a Eurocentric fantasy world just feels so out of place. At least in my case it doesn’t do anything for me.
I wish they just made something new… like a new fantasy world where the elves are brown and live in an Egyptian like culture with fantasy pyramids, crocodiles, gold and opulence everywhere. Enough with the tree elves! Give us something new and fresh!
if you want to go “woke” do it in style.
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Now I am picturing people throwing food at you as you drive by.
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It’s gonna be a stretch for any hardcore lore fans. There was an interview at one point that they were going to condense the timeframe for storytelling purposes so they wouldn’t have human characters pop up for half seasons only.
So at best we’re looking at something fun but lore inaccurate like the Shadow series of games.
EDIT: Don’t know if I should link to an article not about WoW so here’s the relevant quote from a screenspy article
“We talked with the Tolkien estate… If you are true to the exact letter of the law, you are going to be telling a story in which your human characters are dying off every season because you’re jumping 200 years in time, and then you’re not meeting really big, important canon characters until season four. Look, there might be some fans who want us to do a documentary of Middle-earth, but we’re going to tell one story that unites all these things.”
I am looking forward to the Amazon series. I am a fan of the lore, so it can’t go too wrong. The music wil probably out of this world good. As will the effects. Idk about the acting or dialogue.
I think they should have made an anthology series, with like 2 or 3 episode arcs. Idk about focusing on a particular story line.
But I am excited for it.
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I feel as if they should of targeted a book like The Children of Húrin; you could easily stretch that out into a season or two given how exceedingly compacted a book it is. then perhaps move on to Beren and Luthien and The Fall of Gondolin
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beliefe me, many people would wish they would do that, instead of make things they haven´t the rights to make…or change drasticly the entire plot and story…to fit their agenda…(wheel of time and lotr are both famous example now)
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the really really really sad thing is…and this is such a mindblow, the kicked the tolkien council out of the productionteam because they dared to remember them about the rights…
it will be a slaughtering of lore, in many cases.