Sorry, that wasn’t intended as an attack, might have been venting a bit there…
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I agree. This is a double standard I’ve discussed myself in previous threads. A significant chunk of it is due to fan bias from those fans; they like Illidan, they don’t like Xe’ra.
Where Illidan went on to contribute almost nothing and even did the Burning Legion’s dirty work for them by killing Xe’ra.
The fact that he killed the character who wanted him to sacrifice his fel magic in Legion reinforces that point.
Xe’ra thought the same way too, but unlike Illidan, she could see the future (or at least more if it than he could) and yet was much more reviled by fans.
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Well. Yeah. Xe’ra was a wind-chime that spouted exposition and told characters they had important destinies. Illidan was a brooding and cool antihero type that ate skulls and pined over ladies. Of course fans are going to like one more than the other.
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Better a chatty windchime than a 90’s comic wannabe and incel like Illidan.
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Ah. You’re no fun. Being an edgelord ripped right out of the zeitgeist of 90s and mid 2000s dark and brooding storytelling is what makes him charming.
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Dark and brooding can be just as stupid or sloppy as bright and sugary. That said, both can work well and we all have different tastes.
Ironic that you endorse edgelord while playing a paladin and I condemn edgelord while playing a death knight.
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We killed Vashj and Illidan for being bad. Xe’ra gets the boot like any other villain. She ain’T special.
But then Illidan got brought back, and we’re expected to kiss his hooves throughout the Legion expac. So if MU Xe’ra was resurrected, can we let her actions go given she was already killed over one?
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Illidan was benched with Sargeras til further notice so essentially he is gone now. Redemption would be if he returned to Azeroth and kept leading the Demon Hunters. But that spot was taken by Kayn.
The one expecting us to kiss Illidan’s hooves was Xe’ra herself. Of the ones to actually kiss Illidan’s hooves as Xe’ra requested we only have Velen(though only on matters of Prophecy and Fate) and the Illidari. Maiev didn’t kiss his hooves and Khadgar only wanted to deprive Sargeras of a body.
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The sad part is the narrative rewards characters like this all the time.
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Not Horde ones.
Garrosh? He still got a power moment in death.
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I’m not sure a character getting a cool or memorable moment is the narrative “rewarding” that character.
To me, Illidan being “rewarded” would be like… Him hooking up with Tyrande or his brother acknowledging how he was right and awesome the whole time.
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I wasn’t thinking rewarded narratively as I was thinking rewarded in emotional impact on the player. Both Illidan’s rejection of the gift, and Garrosh’s, “For the Horde!” Were supposed to illicit feeling of empowerment, but considering thier history those moments feel tainted by the characters personal history.
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They are all dead Jim. And they double down on the “they actually deserved it” trope.
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I’m less talking about how the narrative views Illidan and more how the players view him and Xe’ra, Xe’ra being a creep weirdo violating boundaries and autonomy and Illidan being cool and doing everything for the greater good, despite him arguably sanctioning much much worse violations of bodily autonomy than Xe’ra for arguably worse reasons than Xe’ra.
Everyone is saying it LOL, Xe’ra is viewed as a gross creep and the “gift” has direct connotations to other very serious real life stuff, where as Illidan gets a pass for enslaving a massive amount of people on Outland. Perhaps not a narrative pass as he is a villain in TBC, but certainly a pass from the fanbase.
I’m not talking about how the narrative views Illidan I’m talking about how the players do, yeah he was 100% clearly seen as a villain during TBC.
I’m more saying the playerbase feels Illidan doing morally gray things for the greater good = epic, understandable, cool.
Xe’ra doing morally gray things for the greater good = gross, repulsive, violating, connotations of worse IRL stuff.
Which when you read the lore is idiotic.
Yeah, which is FINE if you’re able to admit it and be objective and realize the slavery of loads of Broken Draenei is worse than trying to force a powerup on someone who doesn’t want it.
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Thinking a character is cool, or liking a moment in a narrative does not mean morally endorsing everything the character has ever done.
Illidan did a bunch of messed and evil stuff in Outland and before then, he was a bad guy. It was cool when Illidan screamed “I AM MY SCARS” and made the wind-chime explode. These things can both be true simultaneously.
Edit: I honestly have no idea what discourse you are reading but if people are conflating Xe’ra actions with violations of bodily autonomy and all the real life implications that comes with they’re maybe taking a cheesy video game plot a little too seriously.
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People make this claim and connection constantly , if you look up anything about Xe’ra and Illidan, the word “consent” is going to pop up a bunch, it’s definitely not as simple as “I like Illidan, he’s cool, I do not like Xe’ra, she is not cool.” The argument I see being made is definitely that Xe’ra is significantly more evil than Illidan, and trying to force the “gift” on Illidan is a grotesquely evil action worthy of greater derision than anything Illidan has ever done.
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Nobody in this thread is really saying any of that or drawing that kind of comparison. You’re shadowboxing with people who are not here to defend thier ‘Xera is the most evil being ever and a gross violater’ position.
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