I'm so disappointed that they did not put more content out for Godwyn. You can find some clues on him in the DLC but it feels like they totally forgot about him.
I don't think the details of the base game alone, even those of Castle Sol, completely eliminated Godwyn as an optional motive for more content. Frankly, I expected him to be present meaningfully in the DLC. Miquella calls him Lord Brother, asking him to die a true death. Additionally, Those Who Live In Death are potentially paralleled or more truly present in a realm with death returns to, which is the center of the map and the divine tower in the DLC. Plus, many of the townsfolk we encounter are themselves shadowy. We see surrogate bodies in the DLC too, whatever that means. And we get guardians of death in the catacombs. For these reasons, I suspected him to be the consort of Miquella. I suspect Fromsoft had debates about whether it should be him or Radahn, and ultimately settled on Radahn for reasons we may never know. However, I don't think they wish to start a new series of breadcrumbs for Godwyn, and think they'll leave him dead. Astel didn't crash after we beat Radahn. Astel fell long ago, stealing the underground stars of the Nox from the Nameless Eternal City, which is now void of stars, unlike the other two we encounter. Radahn's ultimate motives are uncertain, but we know he trained under an Alabaster Lord along with Gaius, teaching them gravity magic. Radahn also is connected to the town of Sorceries, which is connected to the Nox, who are alchemical masters. Selia is likely connected to Selivus, and Godwry is a sorcerer. Sellen is potentially connected too. Ultimately though, the stars and their significance are intended to be an abstract creation and guiding force. The world of Elden Ring mixes the metaphysical and the metaphorical with the physical in waysvour modern cosmology does not lend us perspective on naturally. The stars altogether compose a singular force which offers both creation of powerful beings, and guidance of Fate. I think this latter is more in line with Radahn's past teachings, and dialogue in the base game suggests Ranni's fate is what has been delayed. I think this is Radahn's ultimate intent. To stop Ranni from absconding with the ring and removing all that is the world he knows. She wishes to return the world to a more mundane one, much like ours, left to its own devices and not under the influence of great powers. Radahn does not wish this. The Outer Gods serve more as narrative plots and flavor for the world than they are as narrative focuses themselves. They are best conceived of as the Japanese Kami are, as a kind of emegenct, confluent semi-consciousness which arise from the land/world itself. The Spirit Of The Forest, so to speak, alien and fae. I don't think they'll ever become a prominent foregrounded subject. Likewise for the Greater Will, which is stated to both have abanded on Lands Between, and to only seemingly abandoned it. It will remain an overarcing abstract force. Lastly, Melina's 3 bloom is highly contested. Another thing I expected to see in DLC. This, I do think there is room for. Fingers crossed. I think two more not named and better prepared threads from your video, are Radagon's origins and purpose, and the history of the Gloam Eyed Queen, especially with respect to Marika. There is still more details surrounding Marika and her uprising from potentially humble roots that could be expounded on in such a story. Frankly, this is what I see as mostly likely for next bit of Elden Ring content. Thanks for the video. :)
First off, thanks for the eloquent and knowledgable comment. That was an insightful read. I totally share your thoughts on Godwyn. Though I think Radahn was the right choice, Godwyn was certainly set up for Miquella related content, and may very well have been considered for the Consort encounter at some point. You're absolutely right that the "Naturalborn of the Void" we face toward the end of Ranni's questline isn't the one that fell after Radahn's defeat. But there are multiple Withered Astels down there, I think one of them could plausibly be the star that freed our way to Nokron. Definitely speculation on my part though, it could simply be a random comet. The text narration for that part of the video probably could have been a bit more clear in that regard. You make an excellent point about Radahn's motives, though I personally believe delaying Ranni's fate was an unintended consequence of halting the stars. In my opinion, there's not much evidence in game that suggests Radahn opposed his sister's ultimate goal, if he was even aware of it. In any case, we can only speculate either way. Your theory definitely sounds plausible. Regarding the Outer Gods, I wouldn't necessarily expect them to become foreground antagonists. I was more so trying to convey that we could see more vassal beings, or corrupted mortals under their influence in another Elden Ring game. These entities absolutely work better as largely abstract forces within the story. Radagon's origins are unfortunately left quite vague. I personally like the theory that he may have been the unnamed champion mentioned in the Brick Hammer description. I believe he may have become Marika's empyrean alter ego during the hornsent jar ritual, a topic briefly mentioned in my previous DLC lore video. As for the Gloam Eyed Queen, there's definitely a lot to unpack there. I fully expected to see at least one Godskin encounter in the DLC, but they could indeed be saving that underdeveloped side of the lore for a later title. Thanks for the comment ! 🙂
@RPG_Curator You're right that we don't have much evidence for my suggestion of Radahns. Perhaps the direct connect to Ranni is an especially weak point in my comment. Frankly, writing it, I came up with that on the spot. More evidenced and more of my thought for a while is simply the connection to fate, especially that of the gods. In order to get the puppet potion from Selivus, we need amber starlight, which is the fate of a god themselves. Evidence (such as its location's name in the beta test, and the statue nearby) points to the fact that this was Miquella's abandoned fate. We know that the rock that smashes open the path to Nokron comes directly after we defeat Radahn. So either he paused the stars JUST in time, or, this onslaught of meteors represents the build up of centuries. The latter seems more plausible to me. Regardless, this connection to stilling the fates (or their loss, in the case of the amber starlight), seems his explicit purpose, imo. The Golden Order is entirely about stagnation and control. We also still have to wonder as to his motives for attacking the capital against Morgott, and why/how he was defeated. This timeline is unclear to me, but seems potentially relevant. The other Astels, as you called them, are just other Malformed Stars. Astel is the proper noun assigned to that particular boss, unique to his history of having stolen the stars from the Nox. Of note here is the darkmoon talisman, or whatever it's called, which suggests that the Nox somehow owned a large void or gravitational power which helped create or sustain their stars. Or at least that's my read. I can't help but wonder if this "Naturalborn Of The Void" is connected to whatever object this talisman refers... Could explain why his appearance is relatively localized. We see these in the Ansel River, The Altus Tunnel, and the Perfumer's Grotto. They share the antlion traits of Astel to a lesser degree, but so do the Fallingstar Beasts. These seem to me to be a clear progression/evolution, perhaps starting as a Fallingstar Beasts and growing. Note that the Fallingstar Beasts emerge from portals either on the surface, or on a still-glowing pile of meteor deep underground (in caves), suggesting infancy. The Malformed Stars are hanging around, presumably in an almost cacoooned-growth state? But they underground in all three cases. The Altus Tunnel is full of crystals, and Miranda Flowers are seemingly unique in some way (related to the crucible and Marika perhaps even), and we the connection to the power of the Nox for the River Ansel. To me, this almost suggests a burrowing progression, and given the lack of evidence otherwise, I don't think that any of these, nor Astel, are what broke our way to Nokron. I think that was simply a large meteor. Radagon's origins are much too vague for me to feel comfortable taking a pet theory, but I'm glad we agree on its openness. Likewise for GEQ. I am surprised we see absolutely nothing there. Either an oversight, or planned upcoming content. We can hope.
I love Godwyn, he’s my favorite character in base game beside Marika and Melina but we virtually got nothing about him. He should’ve been the final boss in the DLC.
Honestly, DLC barely answered/resolved anything outside stuff relating to Miquella and Bayle. Here are a few more unresolved and unanswered plot lines. What was the nature of Radahn and Miquella’s vow? While there are a lot of hints that lean towards many different answers, we still don’t have anything conclusive on what the nature of the vow was and if Radahn accepted it. What is the Godskin Hunt and the Gloam Eyed Queen? Who is Melina and is she the Gloam Eyed Queen? We still know next to nothing about the Godskin Hunt, the Gloam Eyed Queen, and Melina. There are a lot of hints that point towards Melina being the Gloam Eyed Queen, but nothing conclusive. Plus the Frenzied Flame Ending further leaves this idea unresolved. What is the God Devouring Serpent, and why are snakes considered traitors to the Erdtree? Snakes are considered traitors to the Erdtree but we have no idea why. Plus we have no idea what the God Devouring Serpent is or where it came from. Ryland seems to believe it has the ability to return from the dead which leaves it unresolved. What is the Gate of Divinity, and how did Marika ascend to godhood? There is so much mystery around where the Gate of Divinity came from, how it allows people to ascend to godhood, how seduction and betrayal plays into Marika’s story, how she ascended to godhood, what her motivations are, and the list goes on. The dlc gave us some additional context but gave no concrete answers or even partial answers. She is still the biggest mystery in the entire game. There are so many things I could mention, but here are some short honorable mentions. What is the Blood Star? What is the Scadutree? Where does Messmer’s crusade fit into the timeline? Who is the Blind Swordsman? Who is Ranni’s mentor? This is everything I could come up with on the top of my head. If you did some real in-depth research you could find so much more.
@@Teddy-jl5tryes, i would expect the DLC to solve and explain one of the most important events in the entire story. There’s many of other things the dlc filled in the gaps and expanded on, but it’s clear that some people aren’t paying attention or haven’t played the game.
Please add a voiceover of the text you post on-screen. People don’t want to read a bunch of text in videos. Heck forego the background music if that is standing in the way of a voiceover.
No plans for voiceover narration at the moment as I lack the necessary setup, but definitely something I'd like to do in the future. Thanks for the feedback.
Yeah, I know I’m not the only one that likes to listen to lore videos or video essays while doing something else (working, cooking, playing a game, etc)
DLC story was such a let-down. The base-game was REALLLLLY building up that the Lands Between is on the verge of an apocalyptic deathblight event, as its roots have already reached every corner of the world right underneath the surface. Then the DLC is in the Land of Shadow "where all manners of death pool" seemingly below the Lands Between, so theoretically Godwyn's corpse is sourcing power from here. Then we find several more budding Princes of Death in the DLC. Then we learn Miquella is conducting a ritual where he sacrifices his body and another demigod's corpse to revive a dead demigod, a seeming opposite Ranni's Night of Black Knives. And then... It's fucking Radahn standing there silently. 1 incredibly frustrating boss fight later and all we get is a cutscene and some item descriptions saying "Radahn was ALWAYS Miquella's favorite. ♥" The whole thing left such a bad taste in my mouth, they did a perfect job setting up a perfect ending to their story only to absolutely ruin it at the last second with a non-sequitur lazy reskin of the fan-favorite boss from the base game. Craziest part is I could've overlooked all of that if we just got to see Promised Steed Leonard in his prime.
Outer Gods seem to maybe represent various different metaphysical ideas or fantastical-ified natural stuff. Then we see that "gods" in Elden Ring sort of bring an Outer God's influence into a central form that can act as a spearhead. Then the "gods" seem to have a lord. It's like how Marika acted as the "law" or constituion of the Golden Order with the Elden RIng inside her while the Elden Lord acts as the ruler/enforcer. The only ones that seems to go against this idea is Miquella, but that plot is sooo bad anyway that I have no idea if the contradiction is just a result of that whole... everything.. being off.
I really don't see why people think Godwyn is an unresolved plot thread. We saw castle sol fail to bring him back emphasizing his soul couldn't be returned , as if destined death wasn't reason enough, and Fia's questline went forth and finished his plot thread by leading to the creation of a mending rune and one of the endings. There isn't a plot thread to resolve here at all. Brining him back at all would just conflict with the already existing storylines.
As often with Elden Ring lore, I believe this is up to interpretation. Castle Sol dialogue doesn't go into details as to why Godwyn's soul couldn't be brought back, but his physical remains alone clearly represents an ongoing threat. As for Fia's mending rune, the end cutscene doesn't really confirm anything either way. Even if it did, what about his fate in the 5 other endings ? It is implied Godwyn's curse has been spreading since his death. His soulless body keeps growing throughout the lands. Questlines such as D's or the Beast Clergyman's emphasize how much of a threat this curse represents. Godwyn's future is at the very least, left ambiguous by the end of the original game and the DLC imo. You could very well be right though. Opposing opinions and respectful debates are very much welcome on this channel. Thanks for the comment !
@@RPG_Curator His fate in most of the other endings is clear though? Godwyn's case exist as a result of the rune of death being restricted by the golden order. Fia attempts to fix this by reintroducing death into the order, her mending rune outright states 'the golden order was created by confining destined death, thus the new order will be one of death restored'. The base ending and dung eaters all do nothing to address it so his influence will remain spreading. Precisely because all these endings focus on specific failings of the order rather than the flawed nature of the order all together. Flame of Frenzy will burn it down like everything else. Ranni's one removes the influence of the order all together, which means the rune of death remains unbound in the same vein as Fia's. Really the only one that is unclear is goldmask's as what he considers changes made by the gods can notably change what happens. But as I see it his ending doesn't do anything to Godwyn because as per fia's rune the golden order is fundementally tied to sealing away destined death. Even if this wasn't the case there is nothing the dlc could have really done without retroactively making Fia's ending or destined death as a concept pointless. The best they maybe could have done is revived someone else in Godwyn's body, but there is absolutely no reason for anyone to do that.
@@theresnothinghere1745 You definitely make valid points, and I agree Fia's questline may have been a limiting factor when it comes to Godwyn content in the DLC. Still, there's so much we don't know about the Rune of Death, Fia's mending Rune, Godwyn's "cadaver surrogate" and how it could all play out in a possible sequel to make definitive conclusions either way imo. Godwyn's curse does qualify as somewhat of a narrative loose end within the broader scope of Elden Ring's setting, which is what I tried to convey in the video. His remains are implied to be continuously mutating, that alone makes for an interesting topic of speculation at the very least.
@@theresnothinghere1745 We have literally no idea how Ranni's ritual works so it's kinda disingenuous to say that it can't be undone solely because the attempt at Castle Sol failed. Who's to say it couldn't be undone by another Empyrean (Miquella) conducting an experimental ritual using ancient primordial powers (the Divine Gate)? It would've been a perfect endcap to the story and its themes of the status quo accidentally being preserved by powerful individuals with conflicting wills. It even has some interesting implications about being able to undo the curses on Ranni and Melena. As for why? Godwyn was the poster-child for the "golden age" of the Golden Order, was seemingly loved by literally everyone while he was alive, and was famous for sparing/befriending the ancient dragons: so if Miquella wanted a perfect consort for his "Age of Compassion" Godwyn is the obvious choice and Castle Sol shows that Miquella felt similarly. Is it really so farfetched that after the lengths he goes to in the DLC Miquella would actually succeed in reviving Godwyn instead of Radahn, who theoretically should be revived by the Erdtree anyway? Miquella's ritual even mirrors Ranni's since he's shedding his body and using another dead demigod (Mohg) as fuel, the ending just spoils a ton of what they had cooking and it's a shame. Plus nobody cares when they randomly break the rules of the plot so long as it's to justify a great fight, just look at Sekiro's ending which is even more random but works because it's fun and does justice to the characters. Shadow of the Erdtree ending is the equivalent of if Genichiro killed himself only for Gyoubu Oniwa to silently climb out instead, then we get a cutscene of Genichiro saying "I was always going to do this, it should've been obvious."
@@HeckYep "Tt would've been a perfect endcap to the story and its themes of the status quo accidentally being preserved by powerful individuals with conflicting wills. " Far from it bringing back Godwyn messes with the already established themes. Destined death for one is completely destroyed in narrative weight, ontop of Fia's whole questline. Add on to that you severly damage Miquella's character because he's meant to be the one god that doesn't abide to the status quo. "t even has some interesting implications about being able to undo the curses on Ranni and Melena." These already existed in the base game. The needle we get from Malenia being incomplete and we complete it to rid the influence of the 3 fingers. That already covers everything bring back Godwyn could in this regard. "Godwyn was the poster-child for the "golden age" of the Golden Order" Which makes him the literal worst candidate for consort. Miquella abandonded the Golden Order and sought to make a new order altogether. Bringing back the poster child for the old order just binds him to it, making every action he took to split himself from the old order pointless. " it really so farfetched that after the lengths he goes to in the DLC Miquella would actually succeed in reviving Godwyn instead of Radahn" YES. One is the poster child for what Miquella abandonded, along with being killed by destined death. Bringing him back requires ignoring several narrative threads developed. "who theoretically should be revived by the Erdtree anyway" The erdtree revival isn't that straightforward and you know it. There's a reason no one else has revived apart from the tarnsished, because the erdtree revival involves turning people into spirits and the spirits ashes we use. "Plus nobody cares when they randomly break the rules of the plot so long as it's to justify a great fight" That's a lie. I've already seen plenty of comments complaining about a fight being a retcon to know that's absolutely not the case. Not to mention Sekiro didn't contradict anything established previously with that fight. "only for Gyoubu Oniwa to silently climb out instead" Bullshit. Radahn has more narrative sorrounding him as to why he'd be chosen for being a lord than Godwyn. Radahn is the only one of the demigods who is stated over and over to be attempting to follow in the footsteps of the previous 2 elden lords. He's the only one given the title of 'Hero' in the same vein as the prior elden lords. His whole story is him going to prove himself to match up to them.
I'm so disappointed that they did not put more content out for Godwyn. You can find some clues on him in the DLC but it feels like they totally forgot about him.
I don't think the details of the base game alone, even those of Castle Sol, completely eliminated Godwyn as an optional motive for more content. Frankly, I expected him to be present meaningfully in the DLC. Miquella calls him Lord Brother, asking him to die a true death. Additionally, Those Who Live In Death are potentially paralleled or more truly present in a realm with death returns to, which is the center of the map and the divine tower in the DLC. Plus, many of the townsfolk we encounter are themselves shadowy. We see surrogate bodies in the DLC too, whatever that means. And we get guardians of death in the catacombs. For these reasons, I suspected him to be the consort of Miquella. I suspect Fromsoft had debates about whether it should be him or Radahn, and ultimately settled on Radahn for reasons we may never know. However, I don't think they wish to start a new series of breadcrumbs for Godwyn, and think they'll leave him dead.
Astel didn't crash after we beat Radahn. Astel fell long ago, stealing the underground stars of the Nox from the Nameless Eternal City, which is now void of stars, unlike the other two we encounter.
Radahn's ultimate motives are uncertain, but we know he trained under an Alabaster Lord along with Gaius, teaching them gravity magic. Radahn also is connected to the town of Sorceries, which is connected to the Nox, who are alchemical masters. Selia is likely connected to Selivus, and Godwry is a sorcerer. Sellen is potentially connected too. Ultimately though, the stars and their significance are intended to be an abstract creation and guiding force. The world of Elden Ring mixes the metaphysical and the metaphorical with the physical in waysvour modern cosmology does not lend us perspective on naturally. The stars altogether compose a singular force which offers both creation of powerful beings, and guidance of Fate. I think this latter is more in line with Radahn's past teachings, and dialogue in the base game suggests Ranni's fate is what has been delayed. I think this is Radahn's ultimate intent. To stop Ranni from absconding with the ring and removing all that is the world he knows. She wishes to return the world to a more mundane one, much like ours, left to its own devices and not under the influence of great powers. Radahn does not wish this.
The Outer Gods serve more as narrative plots and flavor for the world than they are as narrative focuses themselves. They are best conceived of as the Japanese Kami are, as a kind of emegenct, confluent semi-consciousness which arise from the land/world itself. The Spirit Of The Forest, so to speak, alien and fae. I don't think they'll ever become a prominent foregrounded subject. Likewise for the Greater Will, which is stated to both have abanded on Lands Between, and to only seemingly abandoned it. It will remain an overarcing abstract force.
Lastly, Melina's 3 bloom is highly contested. Another thing I expected to see in DLC. This, I do think there is room for. Fingers crossed.
I think two more not named and better prepared threads from your video, are Radagon's origins and purpose, and the history of the Gloam Eyed Queen, especially with respect to Marika. There is still more details surrounding Marika and her uprising from potentially humble roots that could be expounded on in such a story. Frankly, this is what I see as mostly likely for next bit of Elden Ring content.
Thanks for the video. :)
First off, thanks for the eloquent and knowledgable comment. That was an insightful read.
I totally share your thoughts on Godwyn. Though I think Radahn was the right choice, Godwyn was certainly set up for Miquella related content, and may very well have been considered for the Consort encounter at some point.
You're absolutely right that the "Naturalborn of the Void" we face toward the end of Ranni's questline isn't the one that fell after Radahn's defeat. But there are multiple Withered Astels down there, I think one of them could plausibly be the star that freed our way to Nokron. Definitely speculation on my part though, it could simply be a random comet. The text narration for that part of the video probably could have been a bit more clear in that regard.
You make an excellent point about Radahn's motives, though I personally believe delaying Ranni's fate was an unintended consequence of halting the stars. In my opinion, there's not much evidence in game that suggests Radahn opposed his sister's ultimate goal, if he was even aware of it. In any case, we can only speculate either way. Your theory definitely sounds plausible.
Regarding the Outer Gods, I wouldn't necessarily expect them to become foreground antagonists. I was more so trying to convey that we could see more vassal beings, or corrupted mortals under their influence in another Elden Ring game. These entities absolutely work better as largely abstract forces within the story.
Radagon's origins are unfortunately left quite vague. I personally like the theory that he may have been the unnamed champion mentioned in the Brick Hammer description. I believe he
may have become Marika's empyrean alter ego during the hornsent jar ritual, a topic briefly mentioned in my previous DLC lore video.
As for the Gloam Eyed Queen, there's definitely a lot to unpack there. I fully expected to see at least one Godskin encounter in the DLC, but they could indeed be saving that underdeveloped side of the lore for a later title.
Thanks for the comment ! 🙂
@RPG_Curator You're right that we don't have much evidence for my suggestion of Radahns. Perhaps the direct connect to Ranni is an especially weak point in my comment. Frankly, writing it, I came up with that on the spot. More evidenced and more of my thought for a while is simply the connection to fate, especially that of the gods. In order to get the puppet potion from Selivus, we need amber starlight, which is the fate of a god themselves. Evidence (such as its location's name in the beta test, and the statue nearby) points to the fact that this was Miquella's abandoned fate.
We know that the rock that smashes open the path to Nokron comes directly after we defeat Radahn. So either he paused the stars JUST in time, or, this onslaught of meteors represents the build up of centuries. The latter seems more plausible to me. Regardless, this connection to stilling the fates (or their loss, in the case of the amber starlight), seems his explicit purpose, imo. The Golden Order is entirely about stagnation and control.
We also still have to wonder as to his motives for attacking the capital against Morgott, and why/how he was defeated. This timeline is unclear to me, but seems potentially relevant.
The other Astels, as you called them, are just other Malformed Stars. Astel is the proper noun assigned to that particular boss, unique to his history of having stolen the stars from the Nox. Of note here is the darkmoon talisman, or whatever it's called, which suggests that the Nox somehow owned a large void or gravitational power which helped create or sustain their stars. Or at least that's my read. I can't help but wonder if this "Naturalborn Of The Void" is connected to whatever object this talisman refers... Could explain why his appearance is relatively localized. We see these in the Ansel River, The Altus Tunnel, and the Perfumer's Grotto. They share the antlion traits of Astel to a lesser degree, but so do the Fallingstar Beasts. These seem to me to be a clear progression/evolution, perhaps starting as a Fallingstar Beasts and growing. Note that the Fallingstar Beasts emerge from portals either on the surface, or on a still-glowing pile of meteor deep underground (in caves), suggesting infancy. The Malformed Stars are hanging around, presumably in an almost cacoooned-growth state? But they underground in all three cases. The Altus Tunnel is full of crystals, and Miranda Flowers are seemingly unique in some way (related to the crucible and Marika perhaps even), and we the connection to the power of the Nox for the River Ansel.
To me, this almost suggests a burrowing progression, and given the lack of evidence otherwise, I don't think that any of these, nor Astel, are what broke our way to Nokron. I think that was simply a large meteor.
Radagon's origins are much too vague for me to feel comfortable taking a pet theory, but I'm glad we agree on its openness. Likewise for GEQ. I am surprised we see absolutely nothing there. Either an oversight, or planned upcoming content. We can hope.
I love Godwyn, he’s my favorite character in base game beside Marika and Melina but we virtually got nothing about him. He should’ve been the final boss in the DLC.
great video
Honestly, DLC barely answered/resolved anything outside stuff relating to Miquella and Bayle. Here are a few more unresolved and unanswered plot lines.
What was the nature of Radahn and Miquella’s vow? While there are a lot of hints that lean towards many different answers, we still don’t have anything conclusive on what the nature of the vow was and if Radahn accepted it.
What is the Godskin Hunt and the Gloam Eyed Queen? Who is Melina and is she the Gloam Eyed Queen? We still know next to nothing about the Godskin Hunt, the Gloam Eyed Queen, and Melina. There are a lot of hints that point towards Melina being the Gloam Eyed Queen, but nothing conclusive. Plus the Frenzied Flame Ending further leaves this idea unresolved.
What is the God Devouring Serpent, and why are snakes considered traitors to the Erdtree? Snakes are considered traitors to the Erdtree but we have no idea why. Plus we have no idea what the God Devouring Serpent is or where it came from. Ryland seems to believe it has the ability to return from the dead which leaves it unresolved.
What is the Gate of Divinity, and how did Marika ascend to godhood? There is so much mystery around where the Gate of Divinity came from, how it allows people to ascend to godhood, how seduction and betrayal plays into Marika’s story, how she ascended to godhood, what her motivations are, and the list goes on. The dlc gave us some additional context but gave no concrete answers or even partial answers. She is still the biggest mystery in the entire game.
There are so many things I could mention, but here are some short honorable mentions. What is the Blood Star? What is the Scadutree? Where does Messmer’s crusade fit into the timeline? Who is the Blind Swordsman? Who is Ranni’s mentor?
This is everything I could come up with on the top of my head. If you did some real in-depth research you could find so much more.
What about solved ? Did the dlc even solved anything?
of course it did. what kind of question is this? Lol
The only thing it directly solves is miquella's ordeal from being stolen by mohg
@@Teddy-jl5tryes, i would expect the DLC to solve and explain one of the most important events in the entire story. There’s many of other things the dlc filled in the gaps and expanded on, but it’s clear that some people aren’t paying attention or haven’t played the game.
Mostly things no one asked about
@@NeondadxD example ?
Please add a voiceover of the text you post on-screen. People don’t want to read a bunch of text in videos. Heck forego the background music if that is standing in the way of a voiceover.
No plans for voiceover narration at the moment as I lack the necessary setup, but definitely something I'd like to do in the future. Thanks for the feedback.
Yeah, I know I’m not the only one that likes to listen to lore videos or video essays while doing something else (working, cooking, playing a game, etc)
DLC story was such a let-down. The base-game was REALLLLLY building up that the Lands Between is on the verge of an apocalyptic deathblight event, as its roots have already reached every corner of the world right underneath the surface. Then the DLC is in the Land of Shadow "where all manners of death pool" seemingly below the Lands Between, so theoretically Godwyn's corpse is sourcing power from here. Then we find several more budding Princes of Death in the DLC. Then we learn Miquella is conducting a ritual where he sacrifices his body and another demigod's corpse to revive a dead demigod, a seeming opposite Ranni's Night of Black Knives. And then...
It's fucking Radahn standing there silently. 1 incredibly frustrating boss fight later and all we get is a cutscene and some item descriptions saying "Radahn was ALWAYS Miquella's favorite. ♥" The whole thing left such a bad taste in my mouth, they did a perfect job setting up a perfect ending to their story only to absolutely ruin it at the last second with a non-sequitur lazy reskin of the fan-favorite boss from the base game. Craziest part is I could've overlooked all of that if we just got to see Promised Steed Leonard in his prime.
Honestly this feels like a cynical outlook on not getting specific expectations from a vague story, glad I can't relate to this 🤷♂️
Outer Gods seem to maybe represent various different metaphysical ideas or fantastical-ified natural stuff. Then we see that "gods" in Elden Ring sort of bring an Outer God's influence into a central form that can act as a spearhead. Then the "gods" seem to have a lord. It's like how Marika acted as the "law" or constituion of the Golden Order with the Elden RIng inside her while the Elden Lord acts as the ruler/enforcer.
The only ones that seems to go against this idea is Miquella, but that plot is sooo bad anyway that I have no idea if the contradiction is just a result of that whole... everything.. being off.
I really don't see why people think Godwyn is an unresolved plot thread.
We saw castle sol fail to bring him back emphasizing his soul couldn't be returned , as if destined death wasn't reason enough, and Fia's questline went forth and finished his plot thread by leading to the creation of a mending rune and one of the endings.
There isn't a plot thread to resolve here at all.
Brining him back at all would just conflict with the already existing storylines.
As often with Elden Ring lore, I believe this is up to interpretation. Castle Sol dialogue doesn't go into details as to why Godwyn's soul couldn't be brought back, but his physical remains alone clearly represents an ongoing threat. As for Fia's mending rune, the end cutscene doesn't really confirm anything either way. Even if it did, what about his fate in the 5 other endings ?
It is implied Godwyn's curse has been spreading since his death. His soulless body keeps growing throughout the lands. Questlines such as D's or the Beast Clergyman's emphasize how much of a threat this curse represents. Godwyn's future is at the very least, left ambiguous by the end of the original game and the DLC imo. You could very well be right though. Opposing opinions and respectful debates are very much welcome on this channel. Thanks for the comment !
@@RPG_Curator His fate in most of the other endings is clear though?
Godwyn's case exist as a result of the rune of death being restricted by the golden order.
Fia attempts to fix this by reintroducing death into the order, her mending rune outright states 'the golden order was created by confining destined death, thus the new order will be one of death restored'.
The base ending and dung eaters all do nothing to address it so his influence will remain spreading.
Precisely because all these endings focus on specific failings of the order rather than the flawed nature of the order all together.
Flame of Frenzy will burn it down like everything else.
Ranni's one removes the influence of the order all together, which means the rune of death remains unbound in the same vein as Fia's.
Really the only one that is unclear is goldmask's as what he considers changes made by the gods can notably change what happens. But as I see it his ending doesn't do anything to Godwyn because as per fia's rune the golden order is fundementally tied to sealing away destined death.
Even if this wasn't the case there is nothing the dlc could have really done without retroactively making Fia's ending or destined death as a concept pointless.
The best they maybe could have done is revived someone else in Godwyn's body, but there is absolutely no reason for anyone to do that.
@@theresnothinghere1745 You definitely make valid points, and I agree Fia's questline may have been a limiting factor when it comes to Godwyn content in the DLC.
Still, there's so much we don't know about the Rune of Death, Fia's mending Rune, Godwyn's "cadaver surrogate" and how it could all play out in a possible sequel to make definitive conclusions either way imo. Godwyn's curse does qualify as somewhat of a narrative loose end within the broader scope of Elden Ring's setting, which is what I tried to convey in the video. His remains are implied to be continuously mutating, that alone makes for an interesting topic of speculation at the very least.
@@theresnothinghere1745 We have literally no idea how Ranni's ritual works so it's kinda disingenuous to say that it can't be undone solely because the attempt at Castle Sol failed. Who's to say it couldn't be undone by another Empyrean (Miquella) conducting an experimental ritual using ancient primordial powers (the Divine Gate)? It would've been a perfect endcap to the story and its themes of the status quo accidentally being preserved by powerful individuals with conflicting wills. It even has some interesting implications about being able to undo the curses on Ranni and Melena.
As for why? Godwyn was the poster-child for the "golden age" of the Golden Order, was seemingly loved by literally everyone while he was alive, and was famous for sparing/befriending the ancient dragons: so if Miquella wanted a perfect consort for his "Age of Compassion" Godwyn is the obvious choice and Castle Sol shows that Miquella felt similarly. Is it really so farfetched that after the lengths he goes to in the DLC Miquella would actually succeed in reviving Godwyn instead of Radahn, who theoretically should be revived by the Erdtree anyway? Miquella's ritual even mirrors Ranni's since he's shedding his body and using another dead demigod (Mohg) as fuel, the ending just spoils a ton of what they had cooking and it's a shame.
Plus nobody cares when they randomly break the rules of the plot so long as it's to justify a great fight, just look at Sekiro's ending which is even more random but works because it's fun and does justice to the characters. Shadow of the Erdtree ending is the equivalent of if Genichiro killed himself only for Gyoubu Oniwa to silently climb out instead, then we get a cutscene of Genichiro saying "I was always going to do this, it should've been obvious."
@@HeckYep "Tt would've been a perfect endcap to the story and its themes of the status quo accidentally being preserved by powerful individuals with conflicting wills. "
Far from it bringing back Godwyn messes with the already established themes.
Destined death for one is completely destroyed in narrative weight, ontop of Fia's whole questline.
Add on to that you severly damage Miquella's character because he's meant to be the one god that doesn't abide to the status quo.
"t even has some interesting implications about being able to undo the curses on Ranni and Melena."
These already existed in the base game.
The needle we get from Malenia being incomplete and we complete it to rid the influence of the 3 fingers.
That already covers everything bring back Godwyn could in this regard.
"Godwyn was the poster-child for the "golden age" of the Golden Order"
Which makes him the literal worst candidate for consort.
Miquella abandonded the Golden Order and sought to make a new order altogether.
Bringing back the poster child for the old order just binds him to it, making every action he took to split himself from the old order pointless.
" it really so farfetched that after the lengths he goes to in the DLC Miquella would actually succeed in reviving Godwyn instead of Radahn"
YES.
One is the poster child for what Miquella abandonded, along with being killed by destined death.
Bringing him back requires ignoring several
narrative threads developed.
"who theoretically should be revived by the Erdtree anyway"
The erdtree revival isn't that straightforward and you know it.
There's a reason no one else has revived apart from the tarnsished, because the erdtree revival involves turning people into spirits and the spirits ashes we use.
"Plus nobody cares when they randomly break the rules of the plot so long as it's to justify a great fight"
That's a lie.
I've already seen plenty of comments complaining about a fight being a retcon to know that's absolutely not the case.
Not to mention Sekiro didn't contradict anything established previously with that fight.
"only for Gyoubu Oniwa to silently climb out instead"
Bullshit.
Radahn has more narrative sorrounding him as to why he'd be chosen for being a lord than Godwyn.
Radahn is the only one of the demigods who is stated over and over to be attempting to follow in the footsteps of the previous 2 elden lords.
He's the only one given the title of 'Hero' in the same vein as the prior elden lords.
His whole story is him going to prove himself to match up to them.