Part of why this game is so great is that no single character is inherently good or bad- Anders' anger is coming from a valid place, as is Fenris', and Merrill's beliefs are valid as well.
In the end Merill was right when Solas explained the nature behind blood magic, spirits and demons. Yet there are still Merril haters. Feels sad that whenever Merril reaches out to a fanatic eg. Anders and Fenris they lash out at her like an animal when she rarely enforces her belief upon anyone.
Yeah thats only partly true. Because while I wouldnt give a shite about someone like Morrigan performing blood magic, Merrill on the other hand is both too stupid and irresponsible. Not to mention obsessively fixated on the past (like certain someone from dai), which leads to her exile and being left alone. She also lacks real knowledge on the object she tries to restore and have no idea what she tries to achieve fixing the mirror. Blood magic here isnt the problem. Merrill herself is.
@@vermilion6966 Solas has his MILLENNIA of training in the fade to understand spirits and demons. Morrigan had Flemoth as a mentor. Merril was left to experience the good and bad parts of magic by herself. Well, through her adult years, that is. You can teach someone that drinking and smoking is bad, but they will never fully comprehend, unless they take things slightly too far and learn from their mistakes. Merril realizes that fixing the mirror isn't so black and white, but it MUST be done for her people. She doesn't have a grimoire helping her understand lost techniques or history, nor been around the time of Arlathan. She's doing the best that she can. Merril at the beginning and end of the game are two completely different Merril's. In terms of experience, that is.
Wow. Merrill's real first moment of showing her potential as Keeper. "There's no such thing as a good spirit. There never was. All spirits are dangerous. I understood that. I'm sorry you didn't." I might actually trust her in the game from now on.
@@mohsin90ishNot really. Solas says that with proper understanding, spirits can be engaged with, but acknowledges that all have the potential to be dangerous.
I didn't mind Anders too much until I heard more of his banter with Merrill. She keeps trying to engage in casual conversation- chatting about his cat and fancy new jacket. In response, every time he talks to her, he's confrontational and insists on imposing human morals on elvish beliefs. What a tool, and a hypocrite to boot.
the line i hate the most from Anders is: Anders: Hawke was a fool to let you move in. You'll only betray him/her. That's all your kind can do. Right there: Anders accuse Merrill that will betray Hawke...the same Anders who will use Hawke as a distraction(while refusing to tell why Anders needs a distraction) just so to plant that famous bomb that will destroy Kirkwall's Chantry... at least Merrill stayed loyal to Hawke and never went behind his/her back.
I hate how people call her childish because they can`t tell when Marrill is being sarcastic, or Culture shocked. It proves that no matter how hard you try some people can`t grasp context.
Not true. She knew there would be a price. Her only naivety was in thinking she would be the only person who had to pay that price. The clan attacking your party isn't her fault. It's actually the Keeper's fault for allowing the entire clan to become that fearful of Merrill. And I didn't say she was a Keeper, I said I can now see her potential as a Keeper, as in, if she had a clan to be Keeper of, I think she'd actually do decently well.
Still if the keeper wouldn't intervene would she had taken the demon/spirit's offer? I think that's the real question, she's still sensible enough to bring her friends in case things go wrong.
@@callmek186 The whole point is that Merrill wanted to do the deal because she missed Mahariel/Tamlen (or both depending by who you choose to be the Hero of Ferelden) which based on her dialogues in DA2, were her only friends in the clan(because the Keeper was protective and overbearing, like an obsessive mother) and a magic mirror took them both from her(in different ways), she was desperate but not unreasonable. If Marethari didn't do what she did, Merrill would take the demon's offer? probably yes, and she asked to Hawke to go with her just in case things would go south, meaning that she knew the risks and prepared herself in case something bad happened. Marethari/Keeper basically cared so much about Merrill to boycott her plans, and in the end what we see is basically what should have happened to Merrill, and Hawke(and friends) kill the demon who is possessing the Keeper. In the end it's all about how desperate Merrill felt for YEARS because she lost her only friends in the clan and was unable to move on.
@@derokdeathaxe6984 that's what I said in some comments but I got rebuked and anything related about the blood magic, her mourning and spirit update has been denied because they dont consider Inquisition to be canon. Her story is a tragedy and no one even considered that behind her ambition of reclaiming history is a girl in mourning. Besides, despite Anders and Fenris mistreating her, she would still help them regardless, yet people hate her because AAAAA blood magic evil. Meanwhile nobody minds when Dorian practice tiny bit of blood magic or even necromancer, because he is handsome and flamboyant. Solas is fine, because he's a handsome egg that wants genocide. Not saying I hate them btw, I like them, I just dont like the double standards and hate.
She was right about nothing. The so-called Elven gods were cruel tyrants and slavers. She's also wrong when she says the risk was hers to take. That only applies if the so-called risk only puts you in danger. Exposing herself to demonic possession puts everyone around her in danger. Merill is grasping nostalgically at a past she knows very little about. That is also a dangerous thing.
@@Pfisiar22Except she has you with her in order to kill her if she becomes possessed, so she wouldn’t be anymore a threat than a mage failing their harrowing.
@@Pfisiar22And she believes it’s important to know the past in order to move forward. The Dalish not knowing the truth of their Gods and former culture is the part of the reason they can’t really grow past it.
To be fair, even in universe, blood magic like the Joining and the Phylacteries are more grey areas. Blood being a material component isn’t as problematic or proper ‘blood magic’ which uses it as fuel.
No one gave her that credit, which is why her keeper became an abomination, only Hawke can make those choices in believing in her, and now we know from Solas that her choices *are not inherently bad,* she was careful throughout the game, if more people trusted her, helped her, maybe less people would've died.
@@MihzvolWuriar people won't stop hating her for blood magic. Well it didnt take for a blood mage to blow up the chantry. Dorian's fine with blood magic so long as you're careful and using your own blood. And solas views it as a tool, and like all tools it can be misused, much like magic.
R StandsforRated I know that. I was referring to the whole abomination thing and how I think he's working on double standards saying Merrill's irresponsible when he has a friggin DEMON in his soul.
R StandsforRated Either way, it didn't end very well did it? Demon or Spirit, he committed an act of mass murder and started a war that nearly wiped out most of Thedas. So I don't think he's in any position to talk down to someone for being irresponsible with magic,
The brilliant thing about Merrill is that she's actually very well learned and competent and she's almost always right, it's just that her flaw is her overconfidence that blinds her to things she can't control. Everyone in universe is so focused on the flaw they miss her strong points.
I absolutely LOVE when these two talk about Mahariel cause he was my Warden and it brings in a much needed link between the two games. Plus it makes me nostalgic, cause Mahariel > Hawke for me at least lol
Anders speaking over and trying to educate Merrill speaks more to the way he was raised around the Chantry and it's doctrines, the sort of society that the circles tell their mages and warn the non-mages- Whereas the Dalish's approach towards spirits leaned towards mutual respect and study. Say what you want about Merrill, but she took deep precautions to protect her clan and innocents around her when she delved into blood magic. Her approach came from a radically different foundation than Anders', who was taught to fear the fade, blood magic, spirits being categorized as 'good' or 'bad', etc. DA's writing really shines with it's worldbuilding & character work. It's really amazing how many layers surround a character's place in the narrative and how they clash with others.
I wonder if I'm in the minority for liking them both. With Anders it was sort of love at first sight, I like that he has a cause and I feel sorry for him that the choices he made for that cause would lead him down a path that he wasn't quite equipped to walk. With Merrill, she's passionate too but naive. She's sheltered but believes feircely and with everything in her that any sacrifice she can make to help her people is worth it. Sadly, she discounts the fact that she's not an island.
I like all da2 characters, especially if I dont have to choose between them. Their often conflicting views make them interesting. Merrills not naive, shes just... Weird. She will pursue knowledge about magic and elven history til her bitter end, but she never had any illusion about that end itself. Its pretty similar to Anders situation, both would rather die but achieve their goal Except sebastian. Fc sebastian.
@@beep3242 fenris and anders are different sides of the same coin. It is actually illogical to like one and hate the other, if anything. The only logical reason for that is strongly being anti mage and pro circle really, as most anti circle pro mages players still treat fenris decently
I feel that by part three Anders is nearly fully possessed by vengeance and its what made him destroy the chantry. God how do combining two awesome loyal heroic people like justice and Anders go so wrong? So horribly wrong....
So extremely right, beg your pardon. It was a kick in the nuts that was needed to make a change, a change that neither chantry corrupted and abusive nor the circle, fearful and pathetic, would make on their own. Chantry - because all the opression and abuse benefited them, circle - because they have same slave mentality as fenris or orana where they wont fight back because theyre too used to it and dont believe in better life. It took an accident for both to get free. Same here.
His spirit is DEFINITELY perverted into a demon of vengeance. Wynn had her spirit under control, as a comparison. Anders is a joke. Ignorant and fuckin stupid.
Final Personal Quest from Solas and his conversations revealed that spirits can become Demon when you twist / influence their nature. I would say if you dont keep your emotions and mind in check this can happen.
I think that was a little bit the point, the lack of logic thing. It's shown especially clearly when you rivalmance him. He can't think logically with Justice all but fighting him for control and Justice deciding to do what it thinks is right (i.e. vengeance against the Chantry) by any means necessary. Justice isn't logical. Justice is hard and quick and merciless. And very, very brutal.
No pal, it is perfectly logical. Spirits are stupid. All they see is Black and White, as seen when youre trying to trick the sloth demon. No half measures, just kill the demon and be done with it. He even says it himself, like WTF you were thinking trying to deal with a demon in front of spirit of JUSTICE. Trying to convince a spirit about something like tricking takes, what its feels like, enormous amount of time, same can be seen with Cole - he doesnt understand or see many things like humans even after years out of the fade and constant human contact and explanations
This is one of the big reasons I can't stand Anders. The way he talks down to Merrill like she's an idiot (about demons/spirits and just magic generally), when she has been trained all her life, like he has, to be a mage and specifically a mage with a strong will. And how his partnership with Justice and their subsequent crusade is any better than Merrill using blood magic to help her people. And that whole 'you'll betray Hawke' from the person who actually does betray Hawke...he's such an ass.
Except she never helped anyone. Because she had no fckn clue what mirrors are or what she was doing. Oh boi. For all his mistakes, if someone out there helped people it was Anders. For 9 years he healed anyone who was coming to him, for free, no buts, nothing asked in return. Not to mention that no one can betray you unless you help him voluntarily.
She, uh... kinda is an idiot. Not to be rude, but she thinks she's the only one tobpay the price for her blood magic? _If_ there was a price to pay? Everyone in her Clan and people outside it impressed upon her the evils of this damn mirror, scolded her, begged her, asked her to just drop it or destroy it. But she doesn't. Then, she goes to The Great Demon and is shocked to discover that the demon set a trap that Keeper Marethari intentionally sprung on herself. Then she gets mad at the Keeper? Anders isn't innocent, but I will back him up for as long as this game exists. Merrill isn't evil, in fact she had good intentions and goald that I genuinely shared and liked, but I refuse to back her up on her mirror and blood magic garbage.
@@VenomQuill No, the Keeper made the clan hate Merril. Merrill wouldn't hurt anyone and in fact succeeded in cleansing the Eluvian, without hurting anyone beside herself (she used her own blood for that). Had she not purified it, she would have been a ghould like Tamlen. She just wanted it to work. And by the time you have to fight the Keepr, Merrill's been dabbling in blood magic for a good couple of years. Still remains her cheery, good self. Who else would pay the price if she became possessed? She becomes possessed - Hawke + other companions kill her. What Keeper says about the demon escaping through the eluvian is bullshit. Merrill has every right to be mad at Marethari - not only she made the clan hate her, but she also didn't give Merrill a choice. Merrill herself says "If there was a price to pay, I should have paid it". Had Merrill abandoned her work with the Eluvian, the clan would still have problems accepting her back. Marethari openly states she set the clan against Merrill (so this warning) and next sentence she encourages Merrill to come back. And really with the whole Pol situation, Varterral who already killed a good couple of hunters less dangerous than Merrill? Merrill, who isn't threatening him, but bluntly says they're here to help with the varterral problem. Varterral also must have been agitated by something, cause normally it allows elves to pass. What was Marethari's point in staying so long at Sundermount? The clan has been there for a good couple of years, Dalish never do that. And lastly, given Solas' quest in Inquisition about his spirit friend and how fast a spirit can be corrupted, with spirits of wisdom and purpose the most easily corrupted into pride and desire. Merrill always said it was a spirit helping her, so maybe it really was. But Marethari, with her know-it-all hubris, corrupted it into a pride demon. Both are prideful, yet it's Marethari's pride that led to her own downfall and the clan.
@@Hjalmar_an_Craite Not to sound rude, but that's where your wrong. Everyone pays the price of a blood mage's deal. Marethari loved Merrill and that's why she sacrificed herself. She knew Merrill was being naive and lackadaisical about demons and blood magic. That's partially the reason why they stayed. Marethari wanted Merrill back and safe. But a blood mage will _always_ hurt those around them. No deal with a demon can only be contained to one person. No deal with any Fade spirit can. Look back to Origins; Jowan was rather harmless and weak, but he delt with a demon to make himself stronger. In turn, he ended up hurting Lilly and his mage friend despite wanting and trying to help them. Connor was no blood mage, but he made a deal with a demon (which he learned from Jowan's book, no less) to save his father and ended up destroying everything. Killing dozens, hundreds, of innocents, terrorizing his close family, and potentially ripping apart the town. Heck, Anders merged with a benevolent spirit, Justice, to help save his people and that went sour. He ended up hurting the very people he tried to save and became suicidal. That creature bound to the statue was no spirit. No benevolent spirit would be summoned by Tevinters to kill the elves. Rather, the Tevinter mages probably wouldn't summon benevolent spirits at all. Marethari did not twist it into a demon. Dalish do not see the Fade as a home to their gods. They are wary of any Fade creature and call them spirits. Benevolent or malevolent. In fact, the only ones to distinguish demon from spirit are humans and virtuous spirits. In the mage origin, you can talk to a sloth demon and he'll call himself a spirit, as will Mouse. In Awakening, Justice will very defensively and forcefully make the distinction between spirit and demon when Anders attempts to question him about demons, which Anders also referred to as spirits. Dwarves call them Fade spirits, too. So, no. That thing was not a benevolent spirit soured by Marethari into a pride demon. I haven't played that far into Inquisition so I cannot argue those details specifically. Wynne's merge with Faith turned out well; Faith reached out to her and Wynne accepted. Faith was not as simple and harsh a virtue as justice, and Wynne was calm and wise. Anders and Justice were both vengeful, and neither had the experience required and thus they were doomed to fail. Speaking of Inquisition, there's a quest to find elven artifacts to strengthen the Veil. The Dalish hunter admitted she was the last of her clan after her Keeper summoned a demon, which subsequently killed everyone. Not even Dalish Keepers can control or deal with demons safely. Merrill was just too stubborn and naive to see that.
@@VenomQuill Ok, but who else would pay the Price (beside being sad that Merrill died) by possessed and later killed Merrill? Clan would be overjoyed actually, no thanks to Marethari for that. Beside Isabela and Varric I don't think any other companion would care. Hawke would be devastated especially if romanced, but they went through much worse. And if they've beaten possessed Marethari, they would beat possessed Merrill too. Merrill, bringing help, showed more responsibility than Marethari who went by herself and willingly got possessed. Like, kinda shitty keeper to put one person above whole clan. Let's say Merrill gives up on the Eluvian, but what the clan is supposed to do with a possessed Keeper? She cannot lead them, she can become an abomination any moment and kill everyone and I don't see anyone from the Dalish strong enough to kill her. She became the threat that supposedly Merrill was. I really understand she loved Merrill, but as a clan leader she failed miserably. Who was supposed to lead the clan? We have no information about other First or even Second. Merrill may lack emotional inteligence (asking Hawke to kill her is pretty fucked up) , but when it comes to responsibility and common sense she showed more than Marethari. Regarding this whole spirit/demon debate - it being a spirit makes actually sense. Merrill wanted to restore the Eluvian for the sake of the Dalish, not her own pride. And Merrill is incredibly smart, since she managed to cleanse it of the Blight, with its help and surprise, no one got hurt. Blood magic can be safe.And we meet this being only after Marethari becomes possessed - we have no idea what it was before. Since it claims to know how an Eluvian was made (and it must be true if it knew how to fix the Blight) then that being predates Tevinter clashing with elves, since Eluvians are ancient.
People keep thinking Anders is simply being dick to Merrill but..I think he's just trying to be her teacher, harsh but a teacher nonetheless. I think..he actually cares about her.
I think he sees a lot of himself in Merril and Fenris, and that's way he is so agressive towards them. But with Merril it doesn't seems like hate for me, but more like a sibling relationship. He seems to care about her
+Yasmin Dagostini No, he's just a giant hypocrite and a dick. Merril is brighter and more responsible than people think. Most of the bad shit that happened to her and her clan was caused directly or indirectly by the Keeper. While Anders pretty much agreed to be a monster. I'd say he's even jealous of her that she managed to keep everything under control while he's falling apart. He uses everything bad that happened, even though not her fault, against her while he intentionally murdered people. If Hawke romanced Merril then he questions it greatly. Even says something like "she'll never choose you over her demon" (oh, the irony). Never had a sibling but I don't think that's how sibling relation looks like. Isabela is more of a sibling to Merril than Anders is. He's just really hostile towards her.
Lol maybe sibling was not the best word to use. But I see Anders relationship with Merril being way less agressive then with Fenris. Idk, maybe is only bc Merril does not talk back aggressively like Fenris. This irony you point out is exactly what I meant by "he sees himself in them". Like you said, everything he complained about Merril he did the same or worse. But I think that hypocrisy is usual in real world: we tend to hate people that reminds us of the part of us that we don't like. Anders don't always sees himself as righteous. If you have him as an enemy, he will recognize that Justice/Vengeance took over him, he will also try to call the genocide off, depending on your dialogue options, but Justice don't let him. Is quite sad, actually..
I normally can't stand Anders but the fact he loves cats (specially tabby's), is very sweet, and pretty funny makes it hard for me to not like him, but i keep goin for merrill and fenris xD
Anders: "You'll betray him. Even of you don't mean to, you will" _LATER AFTER ANDERS BETRAYS HAWKE AND BLOWS UP THE CHANTRY_ Merrill: *Are you sure about that*
Matt Allen He's annoying but he's usually right. He's coming from the right place. And his fangirls aren't nearly as obnoxious, childish or slow as the Kaiden fangirls. Those people are fucking nuts, squeeling over the video game version of Mitt Romney, the least interesting man in the world.
+jokerhalo1 not rlly, the Chantry is full of tyrannical power-hungry hypocrites and it deserved to go boom. Elthina was completely and utterly useless. She couldve calmed down Merdith but chose not to. Honestly surprised nobody had blown up one of those places of tyranny before.
i just rolled when Isabella commented, i could see it coming yet i laughed hard, i love dragon age, i was dissapointed in DA2 though due to the small World when the first game had a huge map even more so if you Count the adaptations such as awakening and witch hunt and so on, though the fighting style is majorly improved. just wish they had kept the arcane mage perk and the hunter perk for the thief.
I get that the dalish see spirits like beasts, something unpredictable and can't be tamed, and they're right. But is it really true that there's no "good" spirit? I mean there's faith, compassion and wisdom. They're objectively good. Though I guess it is true that they can never be immune to being distorted, like vengeance is to justice or pride is to wisdom. Is this what she meant by that?
Yeah remember compassion we met in DAI. He was killing mages and templars because he wanted to release mages from the suffering and punish templars cause theyre abusive pigs. Killing people? Yeah opposite of "good". Faith can blind you and crucify others - just look at our world ffs and look at Thedas - most peoples problem come from faith, compassion can kill and justice without balance is just vengeance. Theres no such thing as "objectively" "good" because theres no such thing as "good" to begin with.
She means spirits are like people, or animals. There are no completely "good" spirits in the same way there are no completely "good" people or animals. A dog may be sweet and let you pet it one moment, but then become scared and bite you the next. That doesn't make it "good" or "bad." A person may have good intentions in trying to do something for you, but their actions may endanger you or not be what you need, despite the intent. They may have "good" intentions, but do "bad" things. Same with spirits. For example, Cole was the spirit of Compassion, and all in all was a very sweet and well-meaning guy. But he would kill people because that is what they wanted _in the moment._ He didn't think about what was positive for their future, or the "morals" of his actions, he just acted. That was arguably a "bad" thing to do, even though he's generally considered a "good" spirit.
Merrill’s not wrong at all, she understands that spirits are potentially very dangerous and that demons are not to be trusted. Also, Solas has the benefit of being a God that’s been around for thousands of years. Yet he’s still a moron attempting to tear down the veil. Twice.
If she knew this she wouldnt have killed basically her clan up on sundermount by dealing with demons lol. I know the keeper intervened but it was an ancient demon with more power than the either of them so merril is the keeper of nothing now.
Pretty sure when they all decide to attack you, that's not Merrill deciding "Let's kill the whole clan!" That's the clan saying "We're gonna kill you because you killed the Keeper" which... isn't Merrill's fault. The Keeper is the one who got possessed, the Keeper was the one who told nobody about what she was doing, the Keeper was the one who spelled out that you HAD to kill her now that she was possessed, the Keeper kept the clan in a spot where she KNEW there was a demon that was trying to possess someone, the Keeper kept the clan there PERIOD after you completed the task that Flemeth gave you - one that she stated was the only reason the clan was still there. There's no reason the Dalish should have still been there SIX YEARS later, and Merrill had absolutely no say in what the clan did there or whether or not they stayed or left. By that point, none of Merrill's actions should be affecting the clan, because they should be _gone_!
At least Merrill didn't go on a rampage, causing a civil war like Anders. She could keep it together, he's the one that couldn't. Fenris was right to never trust him.
based on comics and novels, the war between templars and mages, was already happening...not in Kirkwall though, what Anders did was basically the drop that breaks the camel's back. The classic war-crime that will remove any chance for a diplomatic approach.
@@derokdeathaxe6984 Isn't it implied or explicity said in DA:I by Cassandra that the war started over the discovery that Tranquility could be reversed and Anders' actions were the spark. I would assume kinda like the assassination of Karl Franz was the spark of WWI, but the true cause was the arms race, alliances and bad blood, for example Germany's gains after the Franco-German war
@@sagivalia5041 Anders actions were mostly a way to say "there will be no diplomacy between Templars/Chantry and Mages", the war already started elsewhere, Anders just wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be compromises, or common ground between the two sides of this war. About Cassandra, i honestly don't remember much, only that the remedy is dangerous because once applied the ex-Tranquil mage's emotion will explode all together, because emotions don't get destroyed, only repressed, and once cured, they get unleashed together, so it can be quite dangerous
@@derokdeathaxe6984 Where did it start if not in Kirkwall? I'm curious because both games point to the spark in Kirkwall and the true reason being the reversing of Tranquility
@@sagivalia5041 pretty much everywhere there were tensions and conflicts, what Anders did was basically adding fuel or turning up to 100, and cutting off the chance of having a diplomatic approach. At least based on the World of Thedas(vol 1 and 2) a bunch of canon information about the world of Dragon Age. But that's what i know, feel free to prove me wrong
OK, I get that but it still makes him second only to the most annoying character in the whole game (the first is Fenris), and killing him seems like a mercy by that point.
The Dalish Elf origin entails Duncan visiting (or passing by) their clan. She meets him when he offers to take the PC away in order to make them a Grey Warden, as they contracted the Blight. Should you pick any other Origin, he doesn't visit the clan and the Dalish Warden Candidate and Tamlen both die of the Blight sickness.
Anders on the other hand seems to get thicker every time we see him, when he first appeared in Origins he was an OK character but the longer this game goes on the more dense his actions become right up until he pulls the grand act of all unbelievable stupidity. I mean I get conviction but he just seems to lose the ability to call on logical thought by the end.
Possed by a spirit of Justice that seems everything in Black and White after years of abuse, now living for 9 years in the shttiest city for mages imaginable. WTF did you expected?
Naah. There were too many similar comments. Just decided to take the action and try to change it. Sometimes you have. So lets call this a draw. We are perfectly entitled to have our hated characters to complain about. I would love to have this discussion in reality. Although, I would get lost in going against DA2 story direction. Dobra noc.
Of course we are different. World would be boring if we weren't. My work would be boring. But some of us don't express our hate on every video and by directly assaulting the named character arguing with everyone who like him. And you know that you came up with an perfect explanation for Anders action? The world was stagnant and needed to change. Exactly. Anders was just plot device for Bioware to start this organics vs synt...uups mage vs templars battle.
Lairdesangfroid Allow me to count the ways: 1. She's a blood mage. 2. She conspires with demons. (Both 1 and 2 are forbidden even by the Dailish, and yet she constantly acts as though her being into that is just a cultural difference) 3. She knows that the Eluvian mirror is tainted and yet she goes through all the trouble to take it, potentially putting everyone around her in danger of catching the Blight disease. 4. If you take her into the Fade with you, she turns her back on you and joins a demon, even if the game has her just join back up with you afterwards. 5.Despite doing all of that, she puts on a cutesy and innocent demeanor, like sinning against nature doesn't phase her at all; *in other words, she is completely oblivious to how selfish and harmful she's being to herself and the people around her*. 6. She gets her keeper, and depending on your choice of dialogue, her entire clan killed. 7. After all of that, by the end of the game, she takes zero responsibility for any of it.
Call them questionable decisions, but just bear this in mind: when you have the option to kill Anders, she is the only one who argues for you to spare his life (after all the shit he gave her)
***** Okaaay. Let's see...1: Your point? 2: Didn't you...just say that? Besides, she did say something that really made sense "All spirits are dangerous." Just think about it...Justice was supposed to be a "good spirit" but it turned wild (to say the least) after interacting with Anders...it's a way of seeing things, at least. 3: I don't really think the game made clear that she knew it, but either way, she was willing to take the risk (helself, and that is quite important!) if it meant recovering Dalish history. 4: Anyone you take in there will turn against you. 5: That's just how she is, she really is an innocent (maybe just a bit tainted) daisy. 6: She didn't want Marethari to step in and protect her and she is deeply sorry for what happened...she was just too naive to have predicted the outcome. 7: Again, she simply didn't see it coming, she feels sorry for what happened and wishes she could do things differently.
Well everyone should have their hate. I dislike many Bioware characters. Merrlil and Edi are quickly getting to top. In fact that I disliked most of the game so much (especially third act) that Anders boom act was the only thing that made me jump in joy. Finally something logical was happening. So, please would you tone down your hate just a little. It doesn't have to be everywhere, they are still people who like Anders. See, I don't go around spreading my dislike of Merrill for example.
![Dragon Age 2: Party Banter: Anders & Sebastian [complete]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/m0uQ7pWqN2c/mqdefault.jpg)
![Dragon Age 2: Party Banter: Anders & Sebastian [complete]](/img/tr.png)
![Dragon Age 2: Party Banter: Aveline & Isabela [complete]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3siofVxzsbY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Dragon Age 2: Party Banter: Isabela & Varric [complete]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GAeICsZQqDc/mqdefault.jpg)
Part of why this game is so great is that no single character is inherently good or bad- Anders' anger is coming from a valid place, as is Fenris', and Merrill's beliefs are valid as well.
THANK YOU
+littlebluecaboose Very true. Each has reasons for thinking the way they do, and all of their reasons make sense from an objective point of view.
In the end Merill was right when Solas explained the nature behind blood magic, spirits and demons. Yet there are still Merril haters. Feels sad that whenever Merril reaches out to a fanatic eg. Anders and Fenris they lash out at her like an animal when she rarely enforces her belief upon anyone.
Yeah thats only partly true.
Because while I wouldnt give a shite about someone like Morrigan performing blood magic, Merrill on the other hand is both too stupid and irresponsible. Not to mention obsessively fixated on the past (like certain someone from dai), which leads to her exile and being left alone. She also lacks real knowledge on the object she tries to restore and have no idea what she tries to achieve fixing the mirror.
Blood magic here isnt the problem. Merrill herself is.
@@vermilion6966 Solas has his MILLENNIA of training in the fade to understand spirits and demons. Morrigan had Flemoth as a mentor. Merril was left to experience the good and bad parts of magic by herself. Well, through her adult years, that is. You can teach someone that drinking and smoking is bad, but they will never fully comprehend, unless they take things slightly too far and learn from their mistakes. Merril realizes that fixing the mirror isn't so black and white, but it MUST be done for her people. She doesn't have a grimoire helping her understand lost techniques or history, nor been around the time of Arlathan. She's doing the best that she can. Merril at the beginning and end of the game are two completely different Merril's. In terms of experience, that is.
Wow. Merrill's real first moment of showing her potential as Keeper. "There's no such thing as a good spirit. There never was. All spirits are dangerous. I understood that. I'm sorry you didn't."
I might actually trust her in the game from now on.
And yet Merrill falls prey to a demon twice and gets her clan killed. This is not Keeper material by any metric.
@@snakeslife-uroborodjinn790 Nope, Hawke gets the Clan killed if they do not establish that Merrill is at complete fault.
@@snakeslife-uroborodjinn790 Actually that was Merethari.
Ironically contradicted by solas in the next game
@@mohsin90ishNot really. Solas says that with proper understanding, spirits can be engaged with, but acknowledges that all have the potential to be dangerous.
I love Hawke's friends. All of them have problems. They're why Varric drinks xD
Listening to this after playing Inquisition it's chilling how right Merrill is.
Merrill is more sane than Anders and he's beyond help at this point
Tanngrisnr Merrill’s of helping mahariel finding a cure for the calling
Where did you read that?
@@callmek186 Anders is a fucking hypocrite. Ignorant and stupid. Deadly combo.
Anders is a god dam lunatic and merrill is moron
I didn't mind Anders too much until I heard more of his banter with Merrill. She keeps trying to engage in casual conversation- chatting about his cat and fancy new jacket. In response, every time he talks to her, he's confrontational and insists on imposing human morals on elvish beliefs. What a tool, and a hypocrite to boot.
the line i hate the most from Anders is:
Anders: Hawke was a fool to let you move in. You'll only betray him/her. That's all your kind can do.
Right there: Anders accuse Merrill that will betray Hawke...the same Anders who will use Hawke as a distraction(while refusing to tell why Anders needs a distraction) just so to plant that famous bomb that will destroy Kirkwall's Chantry...
at least Merrill stayed loyal to Hawke and never went behind his/her back.
I hate how people call her childish because they can`t tell when Marrill is being sarcastic, or Culture shocked. It proves that no matter how hard you try some people can`t grasp context.
She is childish.
Not to mention immature and two faced.
Or empathy
@@vermilion6966 I disagree wholeheartedly
@@ryguy1483 Nobody cares ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@vermilion6966 (looks at your comment) Ummmm yeah, okay 😂
- Maybe you don't really know the difference between spirits and demons
- Did I ask?
shut down!!! #cold
(I love my problematic magical babies)
While he goes about it in a massively bad way, I think Anders is genuinely worried about Merrill.
Not true. She knew there would be a price. Her only naivety was in thinking she would be the only person who had to pay that price. The clan attacking your party isn't her fault. It's actually the Keeper's fault for allowing the entire clan to become that fearful of Merrill.
And I didn't say she was a Keeper, I said I can now see her potential as a Keeper, as in, if she had a clan to be Keeper of, I think she'd actually do decently well.
Thank you!
Still if the keeper wouldn't intervene would she had taken the demon/spirit's offer? I think that's the real question, she's still sensible enough to bring her friends in case things go wrong.
@@callmek186 The whole point is that Merrill wanted to do the deal because she missed Mahariel/Tamlen (or both depending by who you choose to be the Hero of Ferelden) which based on her dialogues in DA2, were her only friends in the clan(because the Keeper was protective and overbearing, like an obsessive mother) and a magic mirror took them both from her(in different ways), she was desperate but not unreasonable. If Marethari didn't do what she did, Merrill would take the demon's offer? probably yes, and she asked to Hawke to go with her just in case things would go south, meaning that she knew the risks and prepared herself in case something bad happened. Marethari/Keeper basically cared so much about Merrill to boycott her plans, and in the end what we see is basically what should have happened to Merrill, and Hawke(and friends) kill the demon who is possessing the Keeper.
In the end it's all about how desperate Merrill felt for YEARS because she lost her only friends in the clan and was unable to move on.
@@derokdeathaxe6984 that's what I said in some comments but I got rebuked and anything related about the blood magic, her mourning and spirit update has been denied because they dont consider Inquisition to be canon. Her story is a tragedy and no one even considered that behind her ambition of reclaiming history is a girl in mourning. Besides, despite Anders and Fenris mistreating her, she would still help them regardless, yet people hate her because AAAAA blood magic evil. Meanwhile nobody minds when Dorian practice tiny bit of blood magic or even necromancer, because he is handsome and flamboyant. Solas is fine, because he's a handsome egg that wants genocide. Not saying I hate them btw, I like them, I just dont like the double standards and hate.
@@callmek186 "People are Idiots" -Ron Swanson(Parks and Recs)
I like her idea of spirits in that they are not one sided. The elven religion is something I'd like to see grow in inquisition
And so it did
*Solas greatly Disapproves*
@@protodominichusplayaside from the elven religión part, the spirit part is something that solas agree
"I tried to warn you Blondie"
"I tried to warn you Curly"
I'm happy to hear that. Thanks Varric 😂
Even years later, it's fun listening to Merrill. Turns out she was right about everything.
As a person who never played Inquisition, it's fun to try and figure out what happens there from comments
She was right about nothing. The so-called Elven gods were cruel tyrants and slavers. She's also wrong when she says the risk was hers to take. That only applies if the so-called risk only puts you in danger. Exposing herself to demonic possession puts everyone around her in danger. Merill is grasping nostalgically at a past she knows very little about. That is also a dangerous thing.
@@Pfisiar22Except she has you with her in order to kill her if she becomes possessed, so she wouldn’t be anymore a threat than a mage failing their harrowing.
@@Pfisiar22And she believes it’s important to know the past in order to move forward. The Dalish not knowing the truth of their Gods and former culture is the part of the reason they can’t really grow past it.
Anders: doesn't like blood magic
Also Anders: participates in the Joining and doesn't complain
To be fair, even in universe, blood magic like the Joining and the Phylacteries are more grey areas. Blood being a material component isn’t as problematic or proper ‘blood magic’ which uses it as fuel.
I have so say merrill is much smarter then I gave her credit for
No one gave her that credit, which is why her keeper became an abomination, only Hawke can make those choices in believing in her, and now we know from Solas that her choices *are not inherently bad,* she was careful throughout the game, if more people trusted her, helped her, maybe less people would've died.
@@MihzvolWuriar people won't stop hating her for blood magic. Well it didnt take for a blood mage to blow up the chantry. Dorian's fine with blood magic so long as you're careful and using your own blood. And solas views it as a tool, and like all tools it can be misused, much like magic.
Blood magic is evil. Trust me, I'm a genocidal abomination- Ander's logic.
+Finbar Brolly Anders never used blood magic,
R StandsforRated I know that. I was referring to the whole abomination thing and how I think he's working on double standards saying Merrill's irresponsible when he has a friggin DEMON in his soul.
+Finbar Brolly Spirit
R StandsforRated Either way, it didn't end very well did it? Demon or Spirit, he committed an act of mass murder and started a war that nearly wiped out most of Thedas. So I don't think he's in any position to talk down to someone for being irresponsible with magic,
+Finbar Brolly What? Most of Thedas? Only Orlais and Ferelden, maybe Nevarra.
She not so naive as she seem
The brilliant thing about Merrill is that she's actually very well learned and competent and she's almost always right, it's just that her flaw is her overconfidence that blinds her to things she can't control. Everyone in universe is so focused on the flaw they miss her strong points.
That last one though, good one Isabela
"I thought a squirrel had grabbed him by the chin" LMAO
I absolutely LOVE when these two talk about Mahariel cause he was my Warden and it brings in a much needed link between the two games. Plus it makes me nostalgic, cause Mahariel > Hawke for me at least lol
Honestly, Merrill being in DA2's main party was such a smart move by Bioware. It's so cool to have this interconnected world.
Anders speaking over and trying to educate Merrill speaks more to the way he was raised around the Chantry and it's doctrines, the sort of society that the circles tell their mages and warn the non-mages- Whereas the Dalish's approach towards spirits leaned towards mutual respect and study.
Say what you want about Merrill, but she took deep precautions to protect her clan and innocents around her when she delved into blood magic. Her approach came from a radically different foundation than Anders', who was taught to fear the fade, blood magic, spirits being categorized as 'good' or 'bad', etc.
DA's writing really shines with it's worldbuilding & character work. It's really amazing how many layers surround a character's place in the narrative and how they clash with others.
3:08 BOOM mic drop
Isabela certainly isn’t a side of fries. More like a big, delicious dish of gourmet poutine
With a hint of std
Found the Canadian.
I wonder if I'm in the minority for liking them both. With Anders it was sort of love at first sight, I like that he has a cause and I feel sorry for him that the choices he made for that cause would lead him down a path that he wasn't quite equipped to walk. With Merrill, she's passionate too but naive. She's sheltered but believes feircely and with everything in her that any sacrifice she can make to help her people is worth it. Sadly, she discounts the fact that she's not an island.
I mean I like both of them AND Fenris, so I mean
I like all da2 characters, especially if I dont have to choose between them. Their often conflicting views make them interesting.
Merrills not naive, shes just... Weird. She will pursue knowledge about magic and elven history til her bitter end, but she never had any illusion about that end itself. Its pretty similar to Anders situation, both would rather die but achieve their goal
Except sebastian. Fc sebastian.
@@beep3242 fenris and anders are different sides of the same coin. It is actually illogical to like one and hate the other, if anything. The only logical reason for that is strongly being anti mage and pro circle really, as most anti circle pro mages players still treat fenris decently
I feel that by part three Anders is nearly fully possessed by vengeance and its what made him destroy the chantry. God how do combining two awesome loyal heroic people like justice and Anders go so wrong? So horribly wrong....
too bad there's no a lot of replay value, specifically seeing Anders blowing up the Chantry in the previous play though
:P
So extremely right, beg your pardon. It was a kick in the nuts that was needed to make a change, a change that neither chantry corrupted and abusive nor the circle, fearful and pathetic, would make on their own. Chantry - because all the opression and abuse benefited them, circle - because they have same slave mentality as fenris or orana where they wont fight back because theyre too used to it and dont believe in better life. It took an accident for both to get free. Same here.
His spirit is DEFINITELY perverted into a demon of vengeance. Wynn had her spirit under control, as a comparison. Anders is a joke. Ignorant and fuckin stupid.
Final Personal Quest from Solas and his conversations revealed that spirits can become Demon when you twist / influence their nature. I would say if you dont keep your emotions and mind in check this can happen.
wow, shit, Anders is a jealous person o-o
he was constantly bothering fenris too about me in a romance with him
I think that was a little bit the point, the lack of logic thing. It's shown especially clearly when you rivalmance him. He can't think logically with Justice all but fighting him for control and Justice deciding to do what it thinks is right (i.e. vengeance against the Chantry) by any means necessary.
Justice isn't logical. Justice is hard and quick and merciless. And very, very brutal.
No pal, it is perfectly logical. Spirits are stupid. All they see is Black and White, as seen when youre trying to trick the sloth demon. No half measures, just kill the demon and be done with it. He even says it himself, like WTF you were thinking trying to deal with a demon in front of spirit of JUSTICE. Trying to convince a spirit about something like tricking takes, what its feels like, enormous amount of time, same can be seen with Cole - he doesnt understand or see many things like humans even after years out of the fade and constant human contact and explanations
"Some things are certain." Sends shivers down my spine. Not the good kind.
1:58 Damn girl! Shut! Him! Down!
the way she spells "lively" melts my heart. :3
This is one of the big reasons I can't stand Anders. The way he talks down to Merrill like she's an idiot (about demons/spirits and just magic generally), when she has been trained all her life, like he has, to be a mage and specifically a mage with a strong will. And how his partnership with Justice and their subsequent crusade is any better than Merrill using blood magic to help her people. And that whole 'you'll betray Hawke' from the person who actually does betray Hawke...he's such an ass.
Except she never helped anyone. Because she had no fckn clue what mirrors are or what she was doing.
Oh boi.
For all his mistakes, if someone out there helped people it was Anders.
For 9 years he healed anyone who was coming to him, for free, no buts, nothing asked in return.
Not to mention that no one can betray you unless you help him voluntarily.
She, uh... kinda is an idiot. Not to be rude, but she thinks she's the only one tobpay the price for her blood magic? _If_ there was a price to pay? Everyone in her Clan and people outside it impressed upon her the evils of this damn mirror, scolded her, begged her, asked her to just drop it or destroy it. But she doesn't. Then, she goes to The Great Demon and is shocked to discover that the demon set a trap that Keeper Marethari intentionally sprung on herself. Then she gets mad at the Keeper?
Anders isn't innocent, but I will back him up for as long as this game exists. Merrill isn't evil, in fact she had good intentions and goald that I genuinely shared and liked, but I refuse to back her up on her mirror and blood magic garbage.
@@VenomQuill No, the Keeper made the clan hate Merril. Merrill wouldn't hurt anyone and in fact succeeded in cleansing the Eluvian, without hurting anyone beside herself (she used her own blood for that). Had she not purified it, she would have been a ghould like Tamlen. She just wanted it to work. And by the time you have to fight the Keepr, Merrill's been dabbling in blood magic for a good couple of years. Still remains her cheery, good self.
Who else would pay the price if she became possessed? She becomes possessed - Hawke + other companions kill her. What Keeper says about the demon escaping through the eluvian is bullshit. Merrill has every right to be mad at Marethari - not only she made the clan hate her, but she also didn't give Merrill a choice. Merrill herself says "If there was a price to pay, I should have paid it". Had Merrill abandoned her work with the Eluvian, the clan would still have problems accepting her back. Marethari openly states she set the clan against Merrill (so this warning) and next sentence she encourages Merrill to come back.
And really with the whole Pol situation, Varterral who already killed a good couple of hunters less dangerous than Merrill? Merrill, who isn't threatening him, but bluntly says they're here to help with the varterral problem. Varterral also must have been agitated by something, cause normally it allows elves to pass.
What was Marethari's point in staying so long at Sundermount? The clan has been there for a good couple of years, Dalish never do that. And lastly, given Solas' quest in Inquisition about his spirit friend and how fast a spirit can be corrupted, with spirits of wisdom and purpose the most easily corrupted into pride and desire. Merrill always said it was a spirit helping her, so maybe it really was. But Marethari, with her know-it-all hubris, corrupted it into a pride demon. Both are prideful, yet it's Marethari's pride that led to her own downfall and the clan.
@@Hjalmar_an_Craite Not to sound rude, but that's where your wrong. Everyone pays the price of a blood mage's deal. Marethari loved Merrill and that's why she sacrificed herself. She knew Merrill was being naive and lackadaisical about demons and blood magic. That's partially the reason why they stayed. Marethari wanted Merrill back and safe. But a blood mage will _always_ hurt those around them. No deal with a demon can only be contained to one person. No deal with any Fade spirit can. Look back to Origins; Jowan was rather harmless and weak, but he delt with a demon to make himself stronger. In turn, he ended up hurting Lilly and his mage friend despite wanting and trying to help them. Connor was no blood mage, but he made a deal with a demon (which he learned from Jowan's book, no less) to save his father and ended up destroying everything. Killing dozens, hundreds, of innocents, terrorizing his close family, and potentially ripping apart the town. Heck, Anders merged with a benevolent spirit, Justice, to help save his people and that went sour. He ended up hurting the very people he tried to save and became suicidal.
That creature bound to the statue was no spirit. No benevolent spirit would be summoned by Tevinters to kill the elves. Rather, the Tevinter mages probably wouldn't summon benevolent spirits at all. Marethari did not twist it into a demon. Dalish do not see the Fade as a home to their gods. They are wary of any Fade creature and call them spirits. Benevolent or malevolent. In fact, the only ones to distinguish demon from spirit are humans and virtuous spirits. In the mage origin, you can talk to a sloth demon and he'll call himself a spirit, as will Mouse. In Awakening, Justice will very defensively and forcefully make the distinction between spirit and demon when Anders attempts to question him about demons, which Anders also referred to as spirits. Dwarves call them Fade spirits, too. So, no. That thing was not a benevolent spirit soured by Marethari into a pride demon. I haven't played that far into Inquisition so I cannot argue those details specifically. Wynne's merge with Faith turned out well; Faith reached out to her and Wynne accepted. Faith was not as simple and harsh a virtue as justice, and Wynne was calm and wise. Anders and Justice were both vengeful, and neither had the experience required and thus they were doomed to fail.
Speaking of Inquisition, there's a quest to find elven artifacts to strengthen the Veil. The Dalish hunter admitted she was the last of her clan after her Keeper summoned a demon, which subsequently killed everyone. Not even Dalish Keepers can control or deal with demons safely. Merrill was just too stubborn and naive to see that.
@@VenomQuill Ok, but who else would pay the Price (beside being sad that Merrill died) by possessed and later killed Merrill? Clan would be overjoyed actually, no thanks to Marethari for that. Beside Isabela and Varric I don't think any other companion would care. Hawke would be devastated especially if romanced, but they went through much worse. And if they've beaten possessed Marethari, they would beat possessed Merrill too. Merrill, bringing help, showed more responsibility than Marethari who went by herself and willingly got possessed. Like, kinda shitty keeper to put one person above whole clan. Let's say Merrill gives up on the Eluvian, but what the clan is supposed to do with a possessed Keeper? She cannot lead them, she can become an abomination any moment and kill everyone and I don't see anyone from the Dalish strong enough to kill her. She became the threat that supposedly Merrill was. I really understand she loved Merrill, but as a clan leader she failed miserably. Who was supposed to lead the clan? We have no information about other First or even Second.
Merrill may lack emotional inteligence (asking Hawke to kill her is pretty fucked up) , but when it comes to responsibility and common sense she showed more than Marethari.
Regarding this whole spirit/demon debate - it being a spirit makes actually sense. Merrill wanted to restore the Eluvian for the sake of the Dalish, not her own pride. And Merrill is incredibly smart, since she managed to cleanse it of the Blight, with its help and surprise, no one got hurt. Blood magic can be safe.And we meet this being only after Marethari becomes possessed - we have no idea what it was before. Since it claims to know how an Eluvian was made (and it must be true if it knew how to fix the Blight) then that being predates Tevinter clashing with elves, since Eluvians are ancient.
People keep thinking Anders is simply being dick to Merrill but..I think he's just trying to be her teacher, harsh but a teacher nonetheless. I think..he actually cares about her.
He started a war
I think he sees a lot of himself in Merril and Fenris, and that's way he is so agressive towards them. But with Merril it doesn't seems like hate for me, but more like a sibling relationship. He seems to care about her
+Yasmin Dagostini No, he's just a giant hypocrite and a dick. Merril is brighter and more responsible than people think. Most of the bad shit that happened to her and her clan was caused directly or indirectly by the Keeper. While Anders pretty much agreed to be a monster. I'd say he's even jealous of her that she managed to keep everything under control while he's falling apart. He uses everything bad that happened, even though not her fault, against her while he intentionally murdered people.
If Hawke romanced Merril then he questions it greatly. Even says something like "she'll never choose you over her demon" (oh, the irony). Never had a sibling but I don't think that's how sibling relation looks like. Isabela is more of a sibling to Merril than Anders is. He's just really hostile towards her.
Lol maybe sibling was not the best word to use. But I see Anders relationship with Merril being way less agressive then with Fenris. Idk, maybe is only bc Merril does not talk back aggressively like Fenris.
This irony you point out is exactly what I meant by "he sees himself in them". Like you said, everything he complained about Merril he did the same or worse. But I think that hypocrisy is usual in real world: we tend to hate people that reminds us of the part of us that we don't like.
Anders don't always sees himself as righteous. If you have him as an enemy, he will recognize that Justice/Vengeance took over him, he will also try to call the genocide off, depending on your dialogue options, but Justice don't let him. Is quite sad, actually..
@thomas brady Yeeeah so racist much wow.
Best part = 2:55 to 3:20
Merril is sooo cuuuute
I normally can't stand Anders but the fact he loves cats (specially tabby's), is very sweet, and pretty funny makes it hard for me to not like him, but i keep goin for merrill and fenris xD
Anders: "She's like a side dish. She comes with the meal."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Anders: "You'll betray him. Even of you don't mean to, you will"
_LATER AFTER ANDERS BETRAYS HAWKE AND BLOWS UP THE CHANTRY_
Merrill: *Are you sure about that*
"We've never thought the Fade to be the home of our gods."
*.....what about prison of your gods?*
Its cute that they made Merrill welsh
I think I speak for everyone who isn't a mindless Anders fangirl when I say "Anders........SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"
Matt Allen He's annoying but he's usually right. He's coming from the right place.
And his fangirls aren't nearly as obnoxious, childish or slow as the Kaiden fangirls. Those people are fucking nuts, squeeling over the video game version of Mitt Romney, the least interesting man in the world.
lol
+irllcd13 He is sometimes right, but his decision to blow up the chantry was fucking stupid.
+jokerhalo1
not rlly, the Chantry is full of tyrannical power-hungry hypocrites and it deserved to go boom. Elthina was completely and utterly useless. She couldve calmed down Merdith but chose not to. Honestly surprised nobody had blown up one of those places of tyranny before.
Oh I love him, but you're right
personally i thought the keeper should of minded her own business, seemed like merrill knew the consequences
i just rolled when Isabella commented, i could see it coming yet i laughed hard, i love dragon age, i was dissapointed in DA2 though due to the small World when the first game had a huge map even more so if you Count the adaptations such as awakening and witch hunt and so on, though the fighting style is majorly improved. just wish they had kept the arcane mage perk and the hunter perk for the thief.
I think it depends on the warden but imho Amell/Surana would ABSOLUTELY knight Ser Pounce-A-Lot in a little ceremony.
I get that the dalish see spirits like beasts, something unpredictable and can't be tamed, and they're right. But is it really true that there's no "good" spirit? I mean there's faith, compassion and wisdom. They're objectively good. Though I guess it is true that they can never be immune to being distorted, like vengeance is to justice or pride is to wisdom. Is this what she meant by that?
In Inquisition Solas explains that demons are spirits who have twisted by the evil of mortal will.
Yeah remember compassion we met in DAI.
He was killing mages and templars because he wanted to release mages from the suffering and punish templars cause theyre abusive pigs. Killing people? Yeah opposite of "good".
Faith can blind you and crucify others - just look at our world ffs and look at Thedas - most peoples problem come from faith, compassion can kill and justice without balance is just vengeance.
Theres no such thing as "objectively" "good" because theres no such thing as "good" to begin with.
She means spirits are like people, or animals. There are no completely "good" spirits in the same way there are no completely "good" people or animals. A dog may be sweet and let you pet it one moment, but then become scared and bite you the next. That doesn't make it "good" or "bad." A person may have good intentions in trying to do something for you, but their actions may endanger you or not be what you need, despite the intent. They may have "good" intentions, but do "bad" things.
Same with spirits. For example, Cole was the spirit of Compassion, and all in all was a very sweet and well-meaning guy. But he would kill people because that is what they wanted _in the moment._ He didn't think about what was positive for their future, or the "morals" of his actions, he just acted. That was arguably a "bad" thing to do, even though he's generally considered a "good" spirit.
now this banter is unusual
Anyone notice that anders outfit becomes darkened and seems more twisted then his original coincidence I THINK NOT :P.
Dude, same here! When that dialogue came up, I was like "They are talking about my boy! Fuck yeah!"
Merril and Anders: *act like they are experts on spirits/demons*
Solas: 🤦♂️
Merrill’s not wrong at all, she understands that spirits are potentially very dangerous and that demons are not to be trusted.
Also, Solas has the benefit of being a God that’s been around for thousands of years. Yet he’s still a moron attempting to tear down the veil. Twice.
@@thenablade858To be fair, he put the veil up.
awesome Duncan reference.
Anders likes tabbies, why am i not surprised...
1:40 Merrill has her priorities straight XD
1st thing that merrill says that make sense starts at 2:55
god, this video is like 90% serious..
They ruined him in DA2. turned him in a psycho.
Yeah
Awesome Duncanc reference.
my fav part
Hey neighbour! I juts wondered... Do you hate comment on every Anders video? It´s just, I see you complaining about him quite a lot.
If she knew this she wouldnt have killed basically her clan up on sundermount by dealing with demons lol. I know the keeper intervened but it was an ancient demon with more power than the either of them so merril is the keeper of nothing now.
Pretty sure when they all decide to attack you, that's not Merrill deciding "Let's kill the whole clan!" That's the clan saying "We're gonna kill you because you killed the Keeper" which... isn't Merrill's fault. The Keeper is the one who got possessed, the Keeper was the one who told nobody about what she was doing, the Keeper was the one who spelled out that you HAD to kill her now that she was possessed, the Keeper kept the clan in a spot where she KNEW there was a demon that was trying to possess someone, the Keeper kept the clan there PERIOD after you completed the task that Flemeth gave you - one that she stated was the only reason the clan was still there. There's no reason the Dalish should have still been there SIX YEARS later, and Merrill had absolutely no say in what the clan did there or whether or not they stayed or left. By that point, none of Merrill's actions should be affecting the clan, because they should be _gone_!
I'm gonna name my cat Ser Pounce a Lot ! XD
At least Merrill didn't go on a rampage, causing a civil war like Anders. She could keep it together, he's the one that couldn't. Fenris was right to never trust him.
based on comics and novels, the war between templars and mages, was already happening...not in Kirkwall though, what Anders did was basically the drop that breaks the camel's back. The classic war-crime that will remove any chance for a diplomatic approach.
@@derokdeathaxe6984 Isn't it implied or explicity said in DA:I by Cassandra that the war started over the discovery that Tranquility could be reversed and Anders' actions were the spark.
I would assume kinda like the assassination of Karl Franz was the spark of WWI, but the true cause was the arms race, alliances and bad blood, for example Germany's gains after the Franco-German war
@@sagivalia5041 Anders actions were mostly a way to say "there will be no diplomacy between Templars/Chantry and Mages", the war already started elsewhere, Anders just wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be compromises, or common ground between the two sides of this war. About Cassandra, i honestly don't remember much, only that the remedy is dangerous because once applied the ex-Tranquil mage's emotion will explode all together, because emotions don't get destroyed, only repressed, and once cured, they get unleashed together, so it can be quite dangerous
@@derokdeathaxe6984 Where did it start if not in Kirkwall? I'm curious because both games point to the spark in Kirkwall and the true reason being the reversing of Tranquility
@@sagivalia5041 pretty much everywhere there were tensions and conflicts, what Anders did was basically adding fuel or turning up to 100, and cutting off the chance of having a diplomatic approach. At least based on the World of Thedas(vol 1 and 2) a bunch of canon information about the world of Dragon Age. But that's what i know, feel free to prove me wrong
only if it is a good meal ^_-
had me laughing
3:10, Anders gets owned.
OK, I get that but it still makes him second only to the most annoying character in the whole game (the first is Fenris), and killing him seems like a mercy by that point.
When did she meet duncan tho?
The Dalish Elf origin entails Duncan visiting (or passing by) their clan. She meets him when he offers to take the PC away in order to make them a Grey Warden, as they contracted the Blight. Should you pick any other Origin, he doesn't visit the clan and the Dalish Warden Candidate and Tamlen both die of the Blight sickness.
thanks :3
An imported Dalish origin.
She's so fucking cute. And he's so fucking...not.
Anders on the other hand seems to get thicker every time we see him, when he first appeared in Origins he was an OK character but the longer this game goes on the more dense his actions become right up until he pulls the grand act of all unbelievable stupidity. I mean I get conviction but he just seems to lose the ability to call on logical thought by the end.
Possed by a spirit of Justice that seems everything in Black and White after years of abuse, now living for 9 years in the shttiest city for mages imaginable. WTF did you expected?
Naah. There were too many similar comments. Just decided to take the action and try to change it. Sometimes you have. So lets call this a draw. We are perfectly entitled to have our hated characters to complain about. I would love to have this discussion in reality. Although, I would get lost in going against DA2 story direction. Dobra noc.
Of course we are different. World would be boring if we weren't. My work would be boring. But some of us don't express our hate on every video and by directly assaulting the named character arguing with everyone who like him. And you know that you came up with an perfect explanation for Anders action? The world was stagnant and needed to change. Exactly. Anders was just plot device for Bioware to start this organics vs synt...uups mage vs templars battle.
This video's a perfect example as to why Anders is so great (albeit preachy) and Merril is so sociopathically awful.
whoa whoa can I get a breakdown of that? how's Merrill sociopathic?
Lairdesangfroid Allow me to count the ways: 1. She's a blood mage. 2. She conspires with demons. (Both 1 and 2 are forbidden even by the Dailish, and yet she constantly acts as though her being into that is just a cultural difference) 3. She knows that the Eluvian mirror is tainted and yet she goes through all the trouble to take it, potentially putting everyone around her in danger of catching the Blight disease. 4. If you take her into the Fade with you, she turns her back on you and joins a demon, even if the game has her just join back up with you afterwards. 5.Despite doing all of that, she puts on a cutesy and innocent demeanor, like sinning against nature doesn't phase her at all; *in other words, she is completely oblivious to how selfish and harmful she's being to herself and the people around her*. 6. She gets her keeper, and depending on your choice of dialogue, her entire clan killed. 7. After all of that, by the end of the game, she takes zero responsibility for any of it.
Call them questionable decisions, but just bear this in mind: when you have the option to kill Anders, she is the only one who argues for you to spare his life (after all the shit he gave her)
***** Okaaay. Let's see...1: Your point? 2: Didn't you...just say that? Besides, she did say something that really made sense "All spirits are dangerous." Just think about it...Justice was supposed to be a "good spirit" but it turned wild (to say the least) after interacting with Anders...it's a way of seeing things, at least. 3: I don't really think the game made clear that she knew it, but either way, she was willing to take the risk (helself, and that is quite important!) if it meant recovering Dalish history. 4: Anyone you take in there will turn against you. 5: That's just how she is, she really is an innocent (maybe just a bit tainted) daisy. 6: She didn't want Marethari to step in and protect her and she is deeply sorry for what happened...she was just too naive to have predicted the outcome. 7: Again, she simply didn't see it coming, she feels sorry for what happened and wishes she could do things differently.
Lairdesangfroid She is naïve. Anders hit the point of no return himself too, even he knows it.
Well everyone should have their hate. I dislike many Bioware characters. Merrlil and Edi are quickly getting to top. In fact that I disliked most of the game so much (especially third act) that Anders boom act was the only thing that made me jump in joy. Finally something logical was happening. So, please would you tone down your hate just a little. It doesn't have to be everywhere, they are still people who like Anders. See, I don't go around spreading my dislike of Merrill for example.