Hey everyone! I wanted to get this out the door asap, like I said in my very quick intro slide, but one thing that accidentally made the cutting room floor was me talking about my feelings on the show, so I thought I would throw that here! In short, I liked it! While some parts were rushed, I felt that was to be expected from a short series on Netflix. While I have heard complaints about the dialogue being ‘cringy’, for the most part it didn’t bother me, and overall I was impressed that the main story did one thing right that a number of DA tie-in’s don’t: Have the main part of the story be about interpersonal relationships. I’ve said this a dozen times, but to me, DA is about people and their struggles, and I was really invested in Miriam, Neb, and Rezaren’s past. As of posting this, it’s been about 4 months since its release, and I find myself still thinking about the climatic ritual- really loved that part. As of ‘The Ending’, my thoughts on THAT did survive the final edit, so please watch for those feelings, haha.
Poor Hawke! It makes me feel like DA2 was a springboard for everything happening, but at the same time making everything Hawke did irrelevant. DA2 is my favorite, flaws and all, yet it kinda feels like it is crapped on a lot.
@@taralynstevenson4016 comments like this confuse me. I remember when dragon age 2 was released. For many years people actively hated the game, but after inquisition was released I started seeing a lot of people talk about how much they love hawke and his merry band of misfits. Did everyone suddenly change their minds? Were the DA2 haters a vocal minority, or are the fans nowadays a vocal minority? DAI also seems to get a lot of hate (even though I personally loved that game). I wonder if people will similarly warm up to inquisition once Dragon age 4 drops?
I like to think Fairbanks just bluffed his way into the city with a Tevinter coin he didn’t realise wasn’t currency, but the guard he payed off was just secretly a really avid coin collector, so he accepted it as a bribe lol
Really looking forward to this episode being referred to in Dreadwolf in a random codex entry just for shits and giggles because it would be *hilarious*
Some of my thoughts. Rezaren: -He actually reminded me of Solas, and not in a good way. They both leave nothing but pain and misery in their wake, while using the "greater good" as a justification for it. Meredith: -I don't know how to feel about her appearance in the show either. However. Unlike you, i did not liked her at all in DA2. She was delusional and a hypocrite. So i wouldn't be surprised to see her using blood magic. Qwydion: -I was a little surprised to see how easily she walked around in Tevinter, but then it came to my mind what Dorian said. He mentioned encountering some Tal-Vashoth Merchants and Merceneries in Tevinter. So seeing Qunari in Tevinter might be rare, but not impossible.
on your point about Qwydion i also thought that she was selling herself as a slave. considering how uncommon qunari are in tevinter owning 1 as a slave would be a signifier of one's great wealth and power. that's my head cannon anyway this also comes from the scene where she goes shopping and if a high end slave came in asking to buy a shit tone of stuff i would be like time to make some money. i always took Qwydion to be quite very intelligent despite how she comes off around people and she uses that to her advantage.
They mention in Dragon Age 2 that blood mages can force possession into an unwilling host. It's said during the quest where the Templar recruits go missing and it turns out to be a blood mage that supports Tevinter
When a spirit is brought across the veil unwillingly and possibly into a body it turns to a demon. In order to have the spirit retain itself both the spirit and host have to be willing. I do agree with the idea that Neeb was coerced into accepting the demon during the harrowing and that is why he is not a raging demon.
@@REALdavidmiscarriage Honestly, that makes you and me exceptions as DMs. Pen&Paper campaigns are usually "softer" than their source material. My roleplaying group is playing the Dragon Age pen&paper RPG as well - we've been playing for several years now - and player characters don't have plot armor.
First Morrigan, then Anders, then Solas and now Hira. It seems like Bioware has a habit of making a mage character a love interest to the main character (Warden, Hawke, Inquisitor, Miriam) only for them to betray them for morally grey and very questionable goals.
I didn't notice any timestamps so i thought I'd put some together. Please comment if there are any mistakes to edit. (Ghil Dirthalen, please let me know if this was disrespectful, I only meant to be helpful but will delete it if asked) Episode Summary 0:20 Episode 1: The Woman Unseen 5:19 Episode 2: The Will of the Maker 10:45 Episode 3: The Serpent's Coil 12:49 Episode 4: Those Who Falsely Dream 18:26 Episode 5: An Altar of Fire 22:37 Episode 6: The Price of Salvation The Discussion (sections labeled on whether they focus on characterization, lore, or otherwise) 27:38 Pre-discussion 29:05 Meredith - Who is Meredith? (Lore) 35:17 Souls (Lore) 35:29 Meredith - Why is Meredith? (Lore) 36:32 Meredith - The Artifact and motivation (Lore) 38:47 Message to the writers (Production) 40:00 Circle Tower (Lore) 40:40 Miriam and Hira (Character) 41:14 Fairbanks (Lore) 43:09 DA timeline and Worldstate (Lore) 44:15 The Lords of Fortune (Lore) 44:39 Palace Rumor (Lore) 45:15 Map (Production) 45:41 Qunari in Tevinter (Lore) 46:42 Huh? Carastes? (Lore) 47:41 Fairbanks' Pilgrimage Lie (Lore/Characters) 48:24 Money (Lore) 49:44 Temple Mural (Lore) 50:36 The Bar Fight (Characters) 51:47 The Tattoos (Lore) 52:57 The Betrayal (Characters) 53:42 The Harrowing and Possession (Lore/Characters) 55:04 Circulum Ritual (Characters/Lore) 56:05 Odds and Ends (Misc Characters/Lore/Production) 57:23 Season 2 Theories: Tassia and Rezaren (Characters) 58:17 S2 Theories: Ships (Characters) 59:03 Connection to DA: Dread Wolf (Lore/Production) 1:00:29 Conclusion
I think the thing with Tassia gets at what you were talking about with Meredith in the video and what you've talked about as being a bit of a brand for Dragon Age overall which is people getting _really close_ to a revelation and then snapping back and doubling down. Tassia had a revelation about Rezaren when she realized he was doing exactly what she was afraid he would do. *But,* his death actually prevented her from having to follow through on her oath to stop him if he ever crossed a line with blood magic, and so she was able to just grieve him and start to build an alternate narrative in which he was the victim. It's awful to watch as an outsider because you're yelling "Girl, no!" at the screen while she's having this moment over his corpse, but at the same rate, it's _extremely believable_ when it comes to how humans process the emotional gutpunches.
I can't personally like the Meredith thing, because Corypheus' ability to leap bodies/"stay alive after death" was briefly shown in the DA2 Legacy DLC when he gave that odd look to Larius before seemingly allowing himself to die. Then in Inquisition we see it in full as he erupts from a nearby blighted body. You have a whole video on how this seems to work with Flemeth, which backs it up further. Meredith however, practically melts into solid, pure lyrium, her giving out a huge death scream. To give them credit, lyrium has been said to be able to store memories, as you pointed out with the obvious example of golems, also possibly the Leliana Lyrium Ghost theory. It just seems a huge difference to have kept herself intact in all that chaos as opposed to the purpose and precision of the other examples. It could indeed just be a case of holding onto enough of yourself, as with spirits entering the waking world and *not* being warped into demons. As you also said, blighted lyrium has been said to feel "angry", which yeah, sorta supports that the part of her holding on is her unbridled anger, which was practically all that was left by the end. TL;DR Corypheus' "resurrection" was set up, shown in full and backed up by other cases. Meredith has a teeny tiny string of setup, with factors stacked against its likelihood. I do agree her voice actor slaps hard though :P Voice acting alone isn't enough for me to want her character to return, but y'know, kudos. Anyway, cheers for covering this. Was unsure about watching the series - still unsure, but leaning toward doing so now :) Oh and side note, the Solas banter about bearded elves was Blackwall saying he'd never seen any, and Solas laughing and saying "You haven't seen many elves, then". So it's the opposite - he's not denying they exist, in fact he's surprised Blackwall hadn't seen any, suggesting it's potentially common. Or perhaps *was*, during Solas' time.
I imagine you literally dropped the dishes and fully cut with glass run to watch this immediately, try not to lose your consciousness for an hour😂, sorry just joking
I think there's two possible reasons the Circulum was never used: Amelia Pavus was aware when she made it that the cost was essentially a life for a life (the blood needed to make it work would have been all of Miriam's if the dragon hadn't been there) and she didn't think the trade off was worth it. Or she knew that it DOESN'T bring back the actual dead, it just calls/imprints a spirit that mimics the dead, essentially making some kind of revenant or something.
I certainly enjoyed the show! And as for a season 2, if there is one thing that Netflix loves, it's money. So far, it looks like the show preformed fairly well on both a critics and audience perspective. While I don't think that guarantees us a season 2, I do think it certainly increases our chances of seeing one!
Rizaran was doing good up until the end part of the dream sequence where he started to sound a lil twisted in his morals. Then it just went downhill from there, kinda wish they would have kept him as the mage that wanted to reunite his family by any means and that’s it, not turn on them
I really enjoyed this show! There's a lot to love in it and while I do have my issues with it, the good far outweighs the bad. Hopefully it does get a 2nd season because the story clearly isn't meant to be the end of it. Edit: Yet... Netflix is Netflix and.... it may not happen sadly....
@@writerlairchannel2636 Ok first off Glenn❤️ Second off, I write and watch mostly mythologically based stories. I also truly love Dragon ages world building it’s so complex and deep and it’s a shame there’s no remakes of later games because they don’t run well on todays technology.
@@victorian_da I write and watch dark dramas (dramas that dive into the dark details and I love telling this dark no restrictions stories) I love writing gray stories in which every reader can take a side if he agrees with it or not (for example my latest: This is the story in post-apocalypse about a cult that cleans you from your sins (like in Far Cry 5 it was a major inspiration) but they kill everybody that aren't loyal to them (they just hold the head of someone underwater for a little bit longer and say that "Devil accepted them" so they are grey because positive: they create the fear of being judged fear of not being forgiven by god negative: they are doing it for their interests of killing the rich and unloyal, main character goes to war against them (like in Far Cry 5) and the main villain always reminds him about the fear that they are creating and chaos will born by destroying the cult and after destroying them the main character have an internal conflict if he had done the right decision? does the cult's goal justify the means? and he creates the government in which the Church have the power but its actions are controlled by the council officials main character included obviously - this is the game, but lately I thought that it would be the perfect mod for Fallout 4 with the settlement playing the large role in the story but still eventually being its own game in the future) my writing inspirations in general are The Legend of Korra and DC (Batman especially) sorry for so much information what are your projects?
I actually was hoping that the hypothetical wife of Fairbanks might be the NPC who you free from the Veridium mine. I think her name is Gertrude? She seems more even keeled and more suited to Fairbanks than the young and perhaps naive Clara.
The sad thing is throughout the show you clearly see that Tassia is genuinely a good person, she just happened to be on the side of tevinter because that's her home and the crazy slave owning blood mage she was hooking up with (people have probably done worse lol). They spent a lot of time focusing on her, even giving her multiple scenes where she's the focus towards the end, specifically being disgusted by seeing the blood magic and mourning the bowl cuts death. If there is a season two, I really hope she returns as a character and ultimately siding with Mariam and the group seeing that the circulum is evil and wants to destroy it by working with them. Though she may want revenge for tevinter trust fund babies death, but let's hope just cause she's a tevinter templar means she doesn't join the red templars. Also it took me way to long too realize that the "crimson knight" is just red templars lol.
Idk man, she’s a Templar lol I think what we were seeing in her reaction to his death was her resolve to the bad side. Rezaren being killed by the other ‘team’ means she can twist him into the victim in her mind instead of the one she needed to stop before he did more bad shit.
For the argument about the afterlife: I know it's technically not official but the short story about Dorian burying his father and then doing a blood ritual to say goodbye does come to mind. I feel like they def have some knowledge of how it works in a series bible somewhere
I do like how the show explains what happens the the red templars. While a good deal of Ventori were with corypheus, they started off in Tevinter and are based there. While the inquisition probably got rid of the venatori that sided of corypheus that attacked the south, the remainder of the organization probably stayed in tevinter and is now trying to take over their own nation. I guess we just assumed that the red templars were more or less done after inquisition because if the inquisition didn't get rid of them, the red templars seemed like a ticking time bomb and on borrowed time. It does make sense that if there were red templars that survived, that they would retreat to kirkwall, the main source of templar power during the games, and most likely found and started following Meredith, the craziest reddest templar.
id like to mention that there's dialogue between dorian and bull in game where bull describes a plaza in tevinter and dorian says "youre making me homesick" and while it may be hard for qunari to roam around tevinter, it might be possible...
I really loved the family drama of it all. I hope DAD (will never not giggle at the acronym) has some of the family drama flavor from DA2 and to a lesser extent DAO origin stories. Great video as always, Ghil!
I think Meredith was just grown back from a piece of her red lyrium, she was probably already turning into red lyrium before she become the statue and since red lyrium can grow I think someone just grown her back.
As a somewhat less-engaged DA fan (my wife LOVES this franchise and introduced me to this very enjoyable channel), I found I could follow everything pretty easily. A very fun romp, all around.
I really liked DA: Absolution, it is as you said in your pinned comment, DA is about interpersonal relationships and I feel they did that really well. I'm glad we're getting these side stories in TV format and am happy to have subtle references to the games but still have the stories stand out on their own and do their own thing.
@@MishraArtificer he is obviously a lgbtq supporter, 2/3 of the relationships in this show were homo, I think it's safe to say this show was made for people like him.
Leaving Hawke in the Fade sounds more appealing after the show. Helps to explain why the champion isn't dealing with the returned Bosses. One the other hand I really want to play as Hawke again and fight a Red Golem Meredith.
For what flaws it has I enjoyed it because it surprised me. I wasn't expecting it to feel so authentic to Dragon age and feature DA characters and the core story it tells is really good enough in it's own right even if I didn't feel like all the characters go good development.
Before dreadwolf comes out it would be cool if you made a comprehensive video or split the veil episode detailing all the lore that will likely be relevant for dreadwolf
Whilst I don't believe Tevinter made a Summer Palace to compete with the Orlesians, they did make Divine Joyous' death a fucking holiday (petty af) so I wouldn't be surprised honestly lol
Excellent show, I really enjoyed the main cast and I wish we had more time to spend with them its a shame the show was so short because I think they nailed Dragon Age. I hope there is a season two.
I’m imagining that we may see Miriam, Hira and Tassia again in Dreadwolf. Honestly I’m hoping that we fight Hira, and throw back that line about her not realizing she’s a villain either before the fight or before we (potentially) kill her. I’m honestly hoping that if we get Tassia as a companion, she may be a potential love interest as well. With her Companion Quest being centered around moving on from Rezaren.
Hey I am doing another post because I did a recant playthrough of DA2. During the quest Enemies Amongst Us Cullin says that a blood mage can summon a demon and forcibly cause it to possess an unwilling host if you choose the second option on the left hand side. Which surprised me to be honest.
I saw this head canon on TikTok and I love it - Hawke is a descendent of Andraste on Malcom’s side. Her descendants probably wouldn’t want to stick around Tavinter and might have gone back to the tribes of Fereldan
I would argue you are underestimating just how far hypocrisy can go, also meridith could be like "hey there's gonna be a lot of dead bodies because of our crusade, might as we use them"
I had very low expectations but it turned out to be quite good, definitely hope we see more. Though I assumed it would be more of a setup for D:ad than stand alone
Great recap. If you are tainted with red lyrium it seems it captures your soul. So there’s a good chance Coryephus is still alive as well. It all has to be tied to red lyrium. I hope it’s not the real Fairbanks in this movie.
The Spirit did witness the forging of the Circulum but it makes me wonder if, given the potency of the magic and the surprise it gets, whether it is somehow related to the Old Gods. Perhaps even a repurposed 'Divine Foci'? Of Dumat? And while yes, Meredith is probably hinted by the Spirit to destroy Tevinter I feel like there is another that wants it. Meredith isn't someone a Spirit would fear or be silenced by, she's not magical. But the idea that something else wants it is terrifying, given its capabilities. I mean, just imagine if an Old God wants it and/or an Evanuris. And in fact, if Meredith is trying to bring back the soul of Andraste and she IS an OGB of Dumat, then wouldn't that be just bringing back Dumat?
You know what is interesting? Knight Commander Meredith and Corypheus not only both returned after being defeated by one of our hero characters, they are also both visible in the artwork for Dragon Age Dreadwolf. The image where they are in the bottom with two yet unconfirmed-but-presumed bad guys upsidedown and the big multi-eyed wolf looming over the black city. If Meredith is back... and visible on that mural-like image.. Is Cory back as well, again?!
@@B-rex395 One of the magisters we haven't seen yet could make sense.. Not the Architect though. The figure does not have the headmask of Archie but something more like boney spikes coming from the cheekbone like Corypheus had, plus it shows something like Cory's feathered shoulderpiece and an orb similar to Solas' focus.
While I have no issue with people who enjoyed this show, I must confess I did not. Our protagonist did not particularly endear themselves to me, I mean even her first interaction is her betraying her compatriots (admittedly not all of them). Furthermore, her vendetta towards Rezeran felt odd to me as the show seemed to be portraying him in a sympathetic way? For instance when he was challenged about the past he idealized, he points out how he was a child incapable of doing much about the abuse our MC suffered. Which is a good point that is given no counter argument by my recollection. In like manner, some of his statements implied to me he may also have been abused (he certainly never took part in the abuse on the MC)? Which may be why he so idealized the one positive relationship he had. Even if it had obvious power disparities he refused to acknowledge. In addition, I guessed who the real villain was extremely early (first episode/interaction), and Rezeran's descent into full villainy felt like a real out of nowhere turn. In like manner, the traitor's motivation felt...just very cartoonishly evil? Wanting to burn an entire nation to the ground, even the good people (by their own admission) just felt very shallow as a motivation. Overall, I think the show could have been a lot better if it did not sprint through its entire story. Giving us time to actually get to know these characters and give them depth beyond the things we seemingly learn in the first few minutes of their arrival in the story. Granted, I was quite happy to get another glimpse back into the world of thedas, just wish it had not left such a bitter feeling in me to do so.
@@REALdavidmiscarriage Do you want them to die? Do you derive satisfaction at the thought of then suffering and losing everything? It's okay! Murder is definitely something this community needs. May you be drenched in the blood of these people you despise.
are you the last 1 to figure out your the bad guy.... haunting words to throw out there Hira im 100% sure these words will come back to haunt her............. pls dont redeem her through her giving her life to undo what she has done it will be super weak and i want a bad ass boss bitch as an antagonist for a change not some RPer
With the way that Netflop is going, I doubt there would be a S2, I would actually enjoy it more if they did a little spinoff game of the serie! pd: I loved the serie and now I have even more trust issues with mages lol
I loved the show despite some of it faults but one thing that saddened me about it is how it brought to light that at least some portion of DA fandom seems to be woefully ignorat of what's actually in the text they are consuming. Like I've seen people calling it "woke" for Dragon age... for what? Having 2 gay romances? Having a female protagonist? ...Being anti-slavery??? Like most of those people insist they are fans of the franchise- how did they not notice this games have always been very very gay? The toxic dragon age lesbians could be a meme at this point, they are in almost every game save for DA2 where it's the toxic bisexuals. Like those games have always at least tried to be progressive- with varying success, true, but the attempt was there. And it annoys me because stupid crap like this poisons any discussion one could have about this series- and the issues it actually does have. Like some of the pacing not being the best. Or Qwydion and her being Vashoth being woefully underutilized. People getting pissy about the lesbians because they are there makes it harder to disscuss how it's the third time Dragon age has made an abusive lesbian relationship. Which is most of their canonical lesbian relationships. Or people crying about the "strong agressive female characters"... have yall met Morrigan??? What I want to say is there are actual valid reasons to criticse this series- but anyone whose criticsm boils down to "too much gays and Miriam is not nice" should be sat in a corner with a codex entries from games flashing befor them until they develop enough reading comprehension to rejoin this discussion. Anyway, can't wait for Dreadwolf when people will yet again inevetably cry about woke crowd ruining their game with things that have always been part of Dragon Age since the dawn of time.
'It's been 84 years...' jokes aside, I have been patiently waiting for your take on the lore/plot/characters/show in general for so long! Love your content, can't wait to watch!
Maybe I’m just overeager for the next game, but I really enjoyed Absolution! It was formulaic at times, but Tassia and Rezaren were very interesting peeks into Tevinter culture, both separately and together. You said it right that Absolution felt like a side story- I’m okay with that even if some others aren’t.
Red lyrium Golem! Maybe Meredith will take over one of the Minrathous Juggernauts...or ya know maybe transfer herself to other red Templar like Cory did with darkspawn 🤷♂️
Finally got around to watching this, and like everyone else, I have some points: When Jowan suggests the "mind into fade" ritual using blood magic, it's pointed out that lyrium could also power it, but you'd need a lot more. Blood is a power source, not a requirement. Specific rituals might differ, but a crazy rock might be willing to give it a go anyway. They probably didn't use magic in the bar fight for the same reason most people don't pull out guns. They're looking to hurt, not wound or kill. I don't feel like Miriam post-bar fight was a 180. The way I read the scene, her complaints about the bar fight was just undirected anger latching onto whatever it could find. Her actual problem was that she figured out how to get in and didn't want to do it, but felt compelled to do it anyway because everyone stuck up for her. I didn't see Mira's betrayal coming, but it makes so much sense. Fairbanks was killed shortly after discussing his wife back home and making plans to live a simple life, which is the biggest death flag ever. Mira, meanwhile, is a mage love interest in a dragon age story. How else was it going to go? Personally, I think we might get a companion from the show, but I have no idea which one (a la Cole). If we don't, then maybe a storyline to wrap up loose ends (a la Imshael). Dragon Age has always tried to tie in EVERY side piece of media into the world, and even one of the TTRPG adventures was referenced in Codex, so the idea of this being purely independent seems weird to me. Overall, I liked the show! I wanted it to be Dragon Age on Netflix, and it was. Meredith was a bizarre twist, and might be a way of keeping the Red Templars in the world's lore after Cory died. All the characters were fun, or just interesting. I loved what they did with Memory. Good show!
I know the video is a year old at this point, but I just had a thought. There's a LOT of theories out there about Andraste being an Old God Baby from the first Blight. We can guess that it would have been Flemeth/Mythal who put the Wardens up to it. So if Meredith is truly trying to bring Andraste back and needs a blood relative of hers to do it - could she be after Flemeth? She would be Andraste's biological mother, after all. That would be a way to tie in this side story into what is presumably the main thing in the new game (the Evanuris returning and all that).
I assumed that the meredith angle was being set up for dreadwolf as compared to being in a season 2. I reckon all the stuff were getting right now is connected to it, like the missing comic atm.
My main problem with the series is the ending plot twist. 😂 There are so contraddictions about it for several reasons. (And sometimes I truly hope they cancel the second season, because I don't want this to be solved by four random people and not by characters with, Idk, ACTUAL HISTORY with The Crimson Knight) Also try to compare Fairbanks in the series and in the game. They are literally two different people. They wasted his character in the series.
Very happy to see a video about this show! I feel like there has been so little discussion about it, and I have just... so many thoughts. To be honest, my thoughts are majority negative, and I came away from the show thinking it was mediocre and feeling disappointed. Unfortunately, as time has gone on, the taste has just soured and soured in my mouth, and I really do not like this show. My biggest issues are a couple of weird lore discrepancies or things that bring up crazy lore implications. I feel like the most obvious is a portal to seemingly the afterlife. That's... a lot. And in order to use this ancient artifact, I get the sense Rezaren has done quite a bit of research, and I would really like to hear SOMETHING from him about what his research into the Circulum indicates or his own personal theories about death and the afterlife. It feels super weird to bring that into the story with so little commentary on its full implications from characters in the show. My other lore gripe is everything about how this show treats blood magic. Firstly, in Inquisition, Dorian indicates that not all blood magic is frowned upon; using your own blood or the blood of a willing participant is not considered "blood magic" in Tevinter and is generally acceptable. So it's a bit odd that the templar in the show is threatening to turn in Rezaren for blood magic, even if he does no harm with it and isn't actually doing any sacrificing. For another thing, in both the first and the second game, you enter others' dreams and can communicate with them there. Both times it was an involved ritual intended to get rid of demons, but neither instance necessitates blood magic; for instance, in Redcliffe, the Circle mages are just as capable of sending someone to deal with Connor's demon as Jowan is, they just use nice clean lyrium instead of a human sacrifice. I would assume that a magister, given all the power and influence they have, would be able to call on resources and get some lyrium to make a dream phone call. Either way, it feels super weird to me that Rezaren's fall to magic is something that is relatively small and not an emergency. If he wanted to dream-contact someone in a dire situation he found himself in where he did not have access to other resources, I think it would have made much more sense and been much more compelling if he used blood magic then. Even better, I would love if blood magic was more tempting to him because he is implied to actually be a rather weak mage. After all, he fully failed his Harrowing; he doesn't have the will and strength that is expected of him. Using blood magic to get an edge could make sense for a magister trying to match his peers without their raw ability. On the other hand, having that traumatic experience that resulted in losing his whole family due to his lack of willpower could also make him extra leery of blood magic, since blood mages are generally supposed to be more susceptible to possession and temptation than your average mage. Heck, maybe that's why he hasn't used any blood magic to this point--which would make him being on the Magisterium absolutely incredible, when you combine it with his apparent youth. In all, I do also wish more was done with Rezaren. I hate that he only started acting evil after Miriam stated her opposition to him; it felt very, "The main character said she's opposed to my thing, so I guess I gotta act villainous now!" The idea of a character who loves someone but feels entitled to them is great in my mind, having been in that kind of relationship myself, but this just did not resonate and did not feel well-written. We have no indication that he himself was controlling or abusive before the events of the show; the flashbacks seem to show him as a wee lad treating the elves as equals, then at the Harrowing crawling to Neb's body before his own mother. We see how abusive and controlling his mother is, but not him; if the show really wants me to buy him as this abusive family member-type character, I would like to have seen that before his dream interaction with Miriam. I would have at least liked hints. As it is, with how he's initially characterized, I would have liked a much more morally grey Rezaren, rather than this one that just became uncomplicatedly evil, and I think it would have been very Dragon Age-y for him to become a "party member," so to speak, so we could get more time and interaction with him. Maybe he really loves Miriam and also really sees it as her proper destiny to join him on his personal mission, and that speaks to a very deterministic philosophy that the show can explore. And he can get the chance to overcome his false beliefs and his upbringing--and if/when he fails to better himself, he becomes a truly tragic character. Much more compelling. Plus, in the dream, he offers Miriam a future of changing Tevinter for the better, and that ties into what I thought was going to be her character arc, since that is something that gets brought up repeatedly in the first few episodes: Miriam's unwillingness to fight for the greater good or a similar cause, in favor of her own needs and wants. It could be such an interesting dynamic! The thing that bothers me most about Rezaren's treatment, though, is that Miriam is constantly fighting him, flinging things in his face (mostly unfairly--"How dare you not stand up to your evil controlling mom as a child," being one, and "How dare you not protect my brother in your most vulnerable moment of abject failure when you could not even protect yourself," being another), and just generally hating him, as if she has no fond memories of their time together. That could all be done really interestingly from a character and writing standpoint, in my opinion--one character in a relationship having such soured memories of her past that she cannot see anything good in it--but this show, again, is kinda mediocre and doesn't do much interesting with that idea. But that's not the real problem in my eyes. No, the real problem is that Miriam at the end reaches out to Hira and is ready to forgive her (conditionally, which is good). This feels very out of order to me. She's known Hira for a much shorter period of time, and Hira literally made a deal to sell her. But she is worthy of a second chance, while the brotherly dude with shared trauma who led with gentleness and reassurances gets none? It just feels weird to me. Maybe if we had more hints that he himself treated her poorly in their shared backstory, my attitude would change--actually, my attitude on most of the show would change--but as it is, we don't get that. Yeah, those are my gripes with the show in a nutshell. I enjoyed the setup, and I thought it had some really intriguing ideas that could lead to something interesting. But at the end of the day, it felt weird, disjointed in spots, deeply flawed, and deeply disappointing. I think it really fell short of its potential. I know part of that is the short six episodes they had to work with, and from a certain standpoint, I think they did a good job; they picked a manageably sized piece of the larger story going on in the world and they told it in a pretty well-structured way. But there are just too many severe shortcomings and missed opportunities for me to like it personally. Thanks for the video. It was nice to hear someone else discussing and breaking down some of the stuff in the show! I like the way you tie things to lore and build your theories, and I'm actually reassured with regards to DA's future by a lot of your thoughts and ideas. Consider me a new subscriber. :)
About blood magic, as far as I remember, it was officially frowned upon in Tevinter; most magisters do it in secret, but if someone does it publicly, they're against it (kind of how a bunch of politicians take bribes and that's well known amongst them, but if 1 gets caught doing it, the rest shame him publicly). So perhaps reporting Rezaren would get him a slap on the wrist and get him sent away for the summer? It would still prevent him from meddling with the circulum.
@@bib4eto656 That's true, but Dorian also says that what is considered actual blood magic in Tevinter is different, and using your own blood or the blood of a willing participant isn't seen as full-on blood magic and isn't taboo. Getting nastier with it, human sacrifice etc., is illegal but extremely common among upper levels of government.
I thought this was an adaptation of the original idea for Dragon Age 4. I remember reading that the original idea for DA4 was to have it be a series of heists set in Tevinter.
I really enjoyed the show, but I found the dialogue a little lackluster overall. I felt pretty meh on what happened with Fairbanks, because I did really like him in the game. I think Hira is super interesting.
Did I hate Absolution? No, I didn't hate it. But if this was the first exposure I ever had with Dragon Age, then I wouldn't have any interest in playing the games.
I think it's implied Amelia Pavus has to be at least 900 years before Dorian because the dragon would probably one from before they were nearly wiped out
I have to say, this show was so fun and had so much heart it's really the only thing that can compete with Vox Machina (that is to say Amazon and yes I know Matt is in this too)
51:03 I think she’s upset that they’re cheering because they beat up a few magisters and patting themselves on the back while the same thing happens to countless other elves who has no one to stand up for them. Like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound and calling it a job well done.
I love this series, I kinda wish we had more of the series, or that they did the series leading up to the other games of the past. True I do find it a bit fast-paced, but I get why. I now look forward to the future game now more than ever.
The biggest issue I have with Hira’s writing is that she never considered why a “crimson knight” would want a resurrection tool. I like everything else about the show. I think she turned back on her plan to hand over Miriam when she told her to run while trapped.
I do hope that there is a second season for this show. I really do. But if they don't, I do hope that the next game, Dread Wolf, do allude to the events of this show. And this is me being an hopeful idiot, maybe have one or two characters make a surprise appearance in the game. Though that is just wishful thinking on my part, as I am not the developers. But I was surprised to see Meredith again. And I hate to see that plot point not getting resolved.
Hey everyone! I wanted to get this out the door asap, like I said in my very quick intro slide, but one thing that accidentally made the cutting room floor was me talking about my feelings on the show, so I thought I would throw that here!
In short, I liked it! While some parts were rushed, I felt that was to be expected from a short series on Netflix. While I have heard complaints about the dialogue being ‘cringy’, for the most part it didn’t bother me, and overall I was impressed that the main story did one thing right that a number of DA tie-in’s don’t: Have the main part of the story be about interpersonal relationships. I’ve said this a dozen times, but to me, DA is about people and their struggles, and I was really invested in Miriam, Neb, and Rezaren’s past. As of posting this, it’s been about 4 months since its release, and I find myself still thinking about the climatic ritual- really loved that part. As of ‘The Ending’, my thoughts on THAT did survive the final edit, so please watch for those feelings, haha.
The map does not show up.
I agree,I'm so happy that Dragon age is still alive,and hopefully this series gets a 2nd better season.
@@bgcvetan Oh wild- the image I had linked to was from the wiki, and I guess the image in down now?? I'll either find or upload a back up soon!
@@GhilDirthalen how soon is soon?
It's kinda hilarious to me that the villains Hawke defeats just won't stay dead 😂
Well it makes sense with Coriphipuss and Meredith, (at least it is in an interesting way and now one is officially dead)
Poor Hawke! It makes me feel like DA2 was a springboard for everything happening, but at the same time making everything Hawke did irrelevant. DA2 is my favorite, flaws and all, yet it kinda feels like it is crapped on a lot.
@@taralynstevenson4016 comments like this confuse me. I remember when dragon age 2 was released. For many years people actively hated the game, but after inquisition was released I started seeing a lot of people talk about how much they love hawke and his merry band of misfits. Did everyone suddenly change their minds? Were the DA2 haters a vocal minority, or are the fans nowadays a vocal minority?
DAI also seems to get a lot of hate (even though I personally loved that game). I wonder if people will similarly warm up to inquisition once Dragon age 4 drops?
Seriously! The nightmare demon in DAI didn't know how spot on it was when it said "did you think anything you did mattered?" To Hawke 😂😭
@@B-rex395 I seem to hear more people that like the other 2 better. Guess that is why I fell like nobody likes it.
I like to think Fairbanks just bluffed his way into the city with a Tevinter coin he didn’t realise wasn’t currency, but the guard he payed off was just secretly a really avid coin collector, so he accepted it as a bribe lol
Also the guard didn't want to be rude to the obvious tourists.
Really looking forward to this episode being referred to in Dreadwolf in a random codex entry just for shits and giggles because it would be *hilarious*
Aaaah to hear Cassandra's voice after 8 years how calming.
Honestly yea even more so because my inquisitior romanced her and her romance is just satisfying the best thing Is when she smiles its just killer
Some of my thoughts.
Rezaren:
-He actually reminded me of Solas, and not in a good way. They both leave nothing but pain and misery in their wake, while using the "greater good" as a justification for it.
Meredith:
-I don't know how to feel about her appearance in the show either. However. Unlike you, i did not liked her at all in DA2. She was delusional and a hypocrite. So i wouldn't be surprised to see her using blood magic.
Qwydion:
-I was a little surprised to see how easily she walked around in Tevinter, but then it came to my mind what Dorian said. He mentioned encountering some Tal-Vashoth Merchants and Merceneries in Tevinter. So seeing Qunari in Tevinter might be rare, but not impossible.
on your point about Qwydion
i also thought that she was selling herself as a slave. considering how uncommon qunari are in tevinter owning 1 as a slave would be a signifier of one's great wealth and power.
that's my head cannon anyway this also comes from the scene where she goes shopping and if a high end slave came in asking to buy a shit tone of stuff i would be like time to make some money.
i always took Qwydion to be quite very intelligent despite how she comes off around people and she uses that to her advantage.
They mention in Dragon Age 2 that blood mages can force possession into an unwilling host. It's said during the quest where the Templar recruits go missing and it turns out to be a blood mage that supports Tevinter
When a spirit is brought across the veil unwillingly and possibly into a body it turns to a demon. In order to have the spirit retain itself both the spirit and host have to be willing. I do agree with the idea that Neeb was coerced into accepting the demon during the harrowing and that is why he is not a raging demon.
"Elven Loki who is actually real and shows up in Thedas." is my new favourite description of ANYTHING.
This show feels like the adaptation of a campaign of the Dragon Age pen&paper RPG. I wouldn't even be surprised if that turns out to be true.
This would be a pretty cool ttrpg campaign actually 🤔
I'm dming a campaign right now and its nothing like this. This show captures nothing of the grim dark dragon age feeling.
@@REALdavidmiscarriage Honestly, that makes you and me exceptions as DMs. Pen&Paper campaigns are usually "softer" than their source material. My roleplaying group is playing the Dragon Age pen&paper RPG as well - we've been playing for several years now - and player characters don't have plot armor.
Someone has been watching Vox Machina animated show...
First Morrigan, then Anders, then Solas and now Hira. It seems like Bioware has a habit of making a mage character a love interest to the main character (Warden, Hawke, Inquisitor, Miriam) only for them to betray them for morally grey and very questionable goals.
I love the simplification of Elven Loki because you’re SO RIGHT SPEAKING STRICTLY MYTHOLOGY
I didn't notice any timestamps so i thought I'd put some together. Please comment if there are any mistakes to edit. (Ghil Dirthalen, please let me know if this was disrespectful, I only meant to be helpful but will delete it if asked)
Episode Summary
0:20 Episode 1: The Woman Unseen
5:19 Episode 2: The Will of the Maker
10:45 Episode 3: The Serpent's Coil
12:49 Episode 4: Those Who Falsely Dream
18:26 Episode 5: An Altar of Fire
22:37 Episode 6: The Price of Salvation
The Discussion (sections labeled on whether they focus on characterization, lore, or otherwise)
27:38 Pre-discussion
29:05 Meredith - Who is Meredith? (Lore)
35:17 Souls (Lore)
35:29 Meredith - Why is Meredith? (Lore)
36:32 Meredith - The Artifact and motivation (Lore)
38:47 Message to the writers (Production)
40:00 Circle Tower (Lore)
40:40 Miriam and Hira (Character)
41:14 Fairbanks (Lore)
43:09 DA timeline and Worldstate (Lore)
44:15 The Lords of Fortune (Lore)
44:39 Palace Rumor (Lore)
45:15 Map (Production)
45:41 Qunari in Tevinter (Lore)
46:42 Huh? Carastes? (Lore)
47:41 Fairbanks' Pilgrimage Lie (Lore/Characters)
48:24 Money (Lore)
49:44 Temple Mural (Lore)
50:36 The Bar Fight (Characters)
51:47 The Tattoos (Lore)
52:57 The Betrayal (Characters)
53:42 The Harrowing and Possession (Lore/Characters)
55:04 Circulum Ritual (Characters/Lore)
56:05 Odds and Ends (Misc Characters/Lore/Production)
57:23 Season 2 Theories: Tassia and Rezaren (Characters)
58:17 S2 Theories: Ships (Characters)
59:03 Connection to DA: Dread Wolf (Lore/Production)
1:00:29 Conclusion
With Meredith, maybe it’ll come up in Dreadwolf. Absolution could be part of the setup of the game, either as a main or side quest.
I think the thing with Tassia gets at what you were talking about with Meredith in the video and what you've talked about as being a bit of a brand for Dragon Age overall which is people getting _really close_ to a revelation and then snapping back and doubling down. Tassia had a revelation about Rezaren when she realized he was doing exactly what she was afraid he would do. *But,* his death actually prevented her from having to follow through on her oath to stop him if he ever crossed a line with blood magic, and so she was able to just grieve him and start to build an alternate narrative in which he was the victim. It's awful to watch as an outsider because you're yelling "Girl, no!" at the screen while she's having this moment over his corpse, but at the same rate, it's _extremely believable_ when it comes to how humans process the emotional gutpunches.
I can't personally like the Meredith thing, because Corypheus' ability to leap bodies/"stay alive after death" was briefly shown in the DA2 Legacy DLC when he gave that odd look to Larius before seemingly allowing himself to die. Then in Inquisition we see it in full as he erupts from a nearby blighted body. You have a whole video on how this seems to work with Flemeth, which backs it up further. Meredith however, practically melts into solid, pure lyrium, her giving out a huge death scream.
To give them credit, lyrium has been said to be able to store memories, as you pointed out with the obvious example of golems, also possibly the Leliana Lyrium Ghost theory. It just seems a huge difference to have kept herself intact in all that chaos as opposed to the purpose and precision of the other examples. It could indeed just be a case of holding onto enough of yourself, as with spirits entering the waking world and *not* being warped into demons. As you also said, blighted lyrium has been said to feel "angry", which yeah, sorta supports that the part of her holding on is her unbridled anger, which was practically all that was left by the end.
TL;DR Corypheus' "resurrection" was set up, shown in full and backed up by other cases. Meredith has a teeny tiny string of setup, with factors stacked against its likelihood.
I do agree her voice actor slaps hard though :P Voice acting alone isn't enough for me to want her character to return, but y'know, kudos.
Anyway, cheers for covering this. Was unsure about watching the series - still unsure, but leaning toward doing so now :)
Oh and side note, the Solas banter about bearded elves was Blackwall saying he'd never seen any, and Solas laughing and saying "You haven't seen many elves, then". So it's the opposite - he's not denying they exist, in fact he's surprised Blackwall hadn't seen any, suggesting it's potentially common. Or perhaps *was*, during Solas' time.
I literally dropped everything to come watch this. I hope everything is good with you Caitie and know you are Loved!!
I imagine you literally dropped the dishes and fully cut with glass run to watch this immediately, try not to lose your consciousness for an hour😂, sorry just joking
I think there's two possible reasons the Circulum was never used: Amelia Pavus was aware when she made it that the cost was essentially a life for a life (the blood needed to make it work would have been all of Miriam's if the dragon hadn't been there) and she didn't think the trade off was worth it. Or she knew that it DOESN'T bring back the actual dead, it just calls/imprints a spirit that mimics the dead, essentially making some kind of revenant or something.
Or she died/was killed by the Divine before she could use it.
If the dragon hadn’t been there, it likely would have required hundreds of lives
I certainly enjoyed the show! And as for a season 2, if there is one thing that Netflix loves, it's money. So far, it looks like the show preformed fairly well on both a critics and audience perspective. While I don't think that guarantees us a season 2, I do think it certainly increases our chances of seeing one!
I wish audiences had some idea what constituted "performing well enough" with Netflix. It seems awfully arbitrary.
@@christinefarrell6438 I honestly wouldn't be surprised to learn that Netflix decided which shows to cancel using a random number generator.
Rizaran was doing good up until the end part of the dream sequence where he started to sound a lil twisted in his morals. Then it just went downhill from there, kinda wish they would have kept him as the mage that wanted to reunite his family by any means and that’s it, not turn on them
I really enjoyed this show! There's a lot to love in it and while I do have my issues with it, the good far outweighs the bad. Hopefully it does get a 2nd season because the story clearly isn't meant to be the end of it.
Edit: Yet... Netflix is Netflix and.... it may not happen sadly....
I love these so much as a long time dragon age fan! It just helps to have a completely better understanding of the lore ESPECIALLY as a writer.
Writer, huh? we are colleagues in this art, what genre do you write in? is your writing genre different from your favorite genre of films, shows?
@@writerlairchannel2636 Ok first off Glenn❤️ Second off, I write and watch mostly mythologically based stories. I also truly love Dragon ages world building it’s so complex and deep and it’s a shame there’s no remakes of later games because they don’t run well on todays technology.
@@victorian_da I write and watch dark dramas (dramas that dive into the dark details and I love telling this dark no restrictions stories) I love writing gray stories in which every reader can take a side if he agrees with it or not (for example my latest: This is the story in post-apocalypse about a cult that cleans you from your sins (like in Far Cry 5 it was a major inspiration) but they kill everybody that aren't loyal to them (they just hold the head of someone underwater for a little bit longer and say that "Devil accepted them" so they are grey because positive: they create the fear of being judged fear of not being forgiven by god negative: they are doing it for their interests of killing the rich and unloyal, main character goes to war against them (like in Far Cry 5) and the main villain always reminds him about the fear that they are creating and chaos will born by destroying the cult and after destroying them the main character have an internal conflict if he had done the right decision? does the cult's goal justify the means? and he creates the government in which the Church have the power but its actions are controlled by the council officials main character included obviously - this is the game, but lately I thought that it would be the perfect mod for Fallout 4 with the settlement playing the large role in the story but still eventually being its own game in the future) my writing inspirations in general are The Legend of Korra and DC (Batman especially) sorry for so much information what are your projects?
I actually was hoping that the hypothetical wife of Fairbanks might be the NPC who you free from the Veridium mine. I think her name is Gertrude? She seems more even keeled and more suited to Fairbanks than the young and perhaps naive Clara.
The sad thing is throughout the show you clearly see that Tassia is genuinely a good person, she just happened to be on the side of tevinter because that's her home and the crazy slave owning blood mage she was hooking up with (people have probably done worse lol). They spent a lot of time focusing on her, even giving her multiple scenes where she's the focus towards the end, specifically being disgusted by seeing the blood magic and mourning the bowl cuts death. If there is a season two, I really hope she returns as a character and ultimately siding with Mariam and the group seeing that the circulum is evil and wants to destroy it by working with them. Though she may want revenge for tevinter trust fund babies death, but let's hope just cause she's a tevinter templar means she doesn't join the red templars.
Also it took me way to long too realize that the "crimson knight" is just red templars lol.
Tevinter trust fund baby 🤣🤣🤣
Idk man, she’s a Templar lol
I think what we were seeing in her reaction to his death was her resolve to the bad side. Rezaren being killed by the other ‘team’ means she can twist him into the victim in her mind instead of the one she needed to stop before he did more bad shit.
She's got some very weird priorities for a good person...
I'm a year late and this isn't related to the show or your analysis but I love the little nugs on the tablecloth and scarf 😭
Fairbanks being voiced by Matt Mercer will never *not* be a perfect match
For the argument about the afterlife: I know it's technically not official but the short story about Dorian burying his father and then doing a blood ritual to say goodbye does come to mind. I feel like they def have some knowledge of how it works in a series bible somewhere
I do like how the show explains what happens the the red templars. While a good deal of Ventori were with corypheus, they started off in Tevinter and are based there. While the inquisition probably got rid of the venatori that sided of corypheus that attacked the south, the remainder of the organization probably stayed in tevinter and is now trying to take over their own nation.
I guess we just assumed that the red templars were more or less done after inquisition because if the inquisition didn't get rid of them, the red templars seemed like a ticking time bomb and on borrowed time. It does make sense that if there were red templars that survived, that they would retreat to kirkwall, the main source of templar power during the games, and most likely found and started following Meredith, the craziest reddest templar.
id like to mention that there's dialogue between dorian and bull in game where bull describes a plaza in tevinter and dorian says "youre making me homesick" and while it may be hard for qunari to roam around tevinter, it might be possible...
The first thing I wanted when finishing the show was a GhilDirthalen video about it! :D Thank you!!!
I really loved the family drama of it all. I hope DAD (will never not giggle at the acronym) has some of the family drama flavor from DA2 and to a lesser extent DAO origin stories. Great video as always, Ghil!
I think Meredith was just grown back from a piece of her red lyrium, she was probably already turning into red lyrium before she become the statue and since red lyrium can grow I think someone just grown her back.
As a somewhat less-engaged DA fan (my wife LOVES this franchise and introduced me to this very enjoyable channel), I found I could follow everything pretty easily. A very fun romp, all around.
I really liked DA: Absolution, it is as you said in your pinned comment, DA is about interpersonal relationships and I feel they did that really well. I'm glad we're getting these side stories in TV format and am happy to have subtle references to the games but still have the stories stand out on their own and do their own thing.
it was complete trash but of course made to cater to your kind.
@@REALdavidmiscarriage what do you mean by his kind?
@@Arauto_Kagnoslook at his profile picture you dimwit
@@REALdavidmiscarriage care to explain that?
@@MishraArtificer he is obviously a lgbtq supporter, 2/3 of the relationships in this show were homo, I think it's safe to say this show was made for people like him.
Leaving Hawke in the Fade sounds more appealing after the show. Helps to explain why the champion isn't dealing with the returned Bosses.
One the other hand I really want to play as Hawke again and fight a Red Golem Meredith.
I always leave Hawke in the fade anymore... it feels like such a good end to their story.
One hundred percent agreed on just....THRIVING hearing Jean Gilpin again. God she's so good.
For what flaws it has I enjoyed it because it surprised me. I wasn't expecting it to feel so authentic to Dragon age and feature DA characters and the core story it tells is really good enough in it's own right even if I didn't feel like all the characters go good development.
KC Meredith is one of my fav characters in the series so I was excited to see her back, especially if she becomes like, a TITAN or something
Before dreadwolf comes out it would be cool if you made a comprehensive video or split the veil episode detailing all the lore that will likely be relevant for dreadwolf
Neb really be like "Dude I'm tired, OKAY BYEEEEEE"
Whilst I don't believe Tevinter made a Summer Palace to compete with the Orlesians, they did make Divine Joyous' death a fucking holiday (petty af) so I wouldn't be surprised honestly lol
Excellent show, I really enjoyed the main cast and I wish we had more time to spend with them its a shame the show was so short because I think they nailed Dragon Age. I hope there is a season two.
I hate how they did Fairbanks dirty and killed him off so easily.
I agree! Such a shame.
I’m imagining that we may see Miriam, Hira and Tassia again in Dreadwolf.
Honestly I’m hoping that we fight Hira, and throw back that line about her not realizing she’s a villain either before the fight or before we (potentially) kill her.
I’m honestly hoping that if we get Tassia as a companion, she may be a potential love interest as well. With her Companion Quest being centered around moving on from Rezaren.
Hey I am doing another post because I did a recant playthrough of DA2. During the quest Enemies Amongst Us Cullin says that a blood mage can summon a demon and forcibly cause it to possess an unwilling host if you choose the second option on the left hand side. Which surprised me to be honest.
I really enjoyed the show I just wish it was a bit longer but I am excited for a possible season 2.
>about the scene with fairbank's ring
OOHOOOOHUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH i had to pause and run to my bed to be sad
I saw this head canon on TikTok and I love it - Hawke is a descendent of Andraste on Malcom’s side. Her descendants probably wouldn’t want to stick around Tavinter and might have gone back to the tribes of Fereldan
Thanks Dragon Age. Now every time I see a mage I start feeling suspicious 🤨
I would argue you are underestimating just how far hypocrisy can go, also meridith could be like "hey there's gonna be a lot of dead bodies because of our crusade, might as we use them"
I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO DO THIS I am so exciteddddddddd
I call it now, the religions will melt together someday, turns out they're all the same but just have different names in different religions °^°
I had very low expectations but it turned out to be quite good, definitely hope we see more.
Though I assumed it would be more of a setup for D:ad than stand alone
The first episode felt like a really rough beginning, but in true dragon age fashion, it gets good immediately after the setup
Great recap. If you are tainted with red lyrium it seems it captures your soul. So there’s a good chance Coryephus is still alive as well. It all has to be tied to red lyrium. I hope it’s not the real Fairbanks in this movie.
I’m glad your back ♥️ I hope things are going good!
The Spirit did witness the forging of the Circulum but it makes me wonder if, given the potency of the magic and the surprise it gets, whether it is somehow related to the Old Gods. Perhaps even a repurposed 'Divine Foci'? Of Dumat?
And while yes, Meredith is probably hinted by the Spirit to destroy Tevinter I feel like there is another that wants it. Meredith isn't someone a Spirit would fear or be silenced by, she's not magical. But the idea that something else wants it is terrifying, given its capabilities. I mean, just imagine if an Old God wants it and/or an Evanuris. And in fact, if Meredith is trying to bring back the soul of Andraste and she IS an OGB of Dumat, then wouldn't that be just bringing back Dumat?
No just like Kieran isn't Urthemiel and is fine once Urthemiel is removed from him.
You know what is interesting? Knight Commander Meredith and Corypheus not only both returned after being defeated by one of our hero characters, they are also both visible in the artwork for Dragon Age Dreadwolf. The image where they are in the bottom with two yet unconfirmed-but-presumed bad guys upsidedown and the big multi-eyed wolf looming over the black city. If Meredith is back... and visible on that mural-like image.. Is Cory back as well, again?!
Are you sure it’s corypheus? A lot of the dark spawn magisters look similar. It could be the architect, or one of the magisters we haven’t seen yet.
@@B-rex395 One of the magisters we haven't seen yet could make sense.. Not the Architect though. The figure does not have the headmask of Archie but something more like boney spikes coming from the cheekbone like Corypheus had, plus it shows something like Cory's feathered shoulderpiece and an orb similar to Solas' focus.
I mean yea Cory was banished to the fade by the Inquisitior so makes sense I guess
Qwydion looks like me of the companions in the dreadwolf trailer
Been waiting for this, was not disappointed! Glad to have you back Ghil!
While I have no issue with people who enjoyed this show, I must confess I did not. Our protagonist did not particularly endear themselves to me, I mean even her first interaction is her betraying her compatriots (admittedly not all of them). Furthermore, her vendetta towards Rezeran felt odd to me as the show seemed to be portraying him in a sympathetic way? For instance when he was challenged about the past he idealized, he points out how he was a child incapable of doing much about the abuse our MC suffered. Which is a good point that is given no counter argument by my recollection. In like manner, some of his statements implied to me he may also have been abused (he certainly never took part in the abuse on the MC)? Which may be why he so idealized the one positive relationship he had. Even if it had obvious power disparities he refused to acknowledge. In addition, I guessed who the real villain was extremely early (first episode/interaction), and Rezeran's descent into full villainy felt like a real out of nowhere turn. In like manner, the traitor's motivation felt...just very cartoonishly evil? Wanting to burn an entire nation to the ground, even the good people (by their own admission) just felt very shallow as a motivation. Overall, I think the show could have been a lot better if it did not sprint through its entire story. Giving us time to actually get to know these characters and give them depth beyond the things we seemingly learn in the first few minutes of their arrival in the story. Granted, I was quite happy to get another glimpse back into the world of thedas, just wish it had not left such a bitter feeling in me to do so.
I do have an issue with the people who enjoyed that show. They are the people who encourage them to keep ruining this franchise.
@@REALdavidmiscarriage cope, seethe and mald.
@@Arauto_Kagnos you only use internet terms and phrases you have zero personality.
@@REALdavidmiscarriage Do you want them to die? Do you derive satisfaction at the thought of then suffering and losing everything? It's okay! Murder is definitely something this community needs. May you be drenched in the blood of these people you despise.
@David Miscarriage I'm sorry this is why I'll never talk about dragon age again.
Does Cassandra and Liliana appearing as they do in the show not imply that it was Vivienne who canonically took the seat of the divine?
Glad to hear you again hope you're doing well
are you the last 1 to figure out your the bad guy.... haunting words to throw out there Hira im 100% sure these words will come back to haunt her............. pls dont redeem her through her giving her life to undo what she has done it will be super weak and i want a bad ass boss bitch as an antagonist for a change not some RPer
With the way that Netflop is going, I doubt there would be a S2, I would actually enjoy it more if they did a little spinoff game of the serie!
pd: I loved the serie and now I have even more trust issues with mages lol
Finally a new video, now I have something to listen to! We appreciate the work you put into these videos
Yaaasss she’s back 🔥
I loved the show despite some of it faults but one thing that saddened me about it is how it brought to light that at least some portion of DA fandom seems to be woefully ignorat of what's actually in the text they are consuming.
Like I've seen people calling it "woke" for Dragon age... for what? Having 2 gay romances? Having a female protagonist? ...Being anti-slavery???
Like most of those people insist they are fans of the franchise- how did they not notice this games have always been very very gay? The toxic dragon age lesbians could be a meme at this point, they are in almost every game save for DA2 where it's the toxic bisexuals.
Like those games have always at least tried to be progressive- with varying success, true, but the attempt was there.
And it annoys me because stupid crap like this poisons any discussion one could have about this series- and the issues it actually does have. Like some of the pacing not being the best. Or Qwydion and her being Vashoth being woefully underutilized. People getting pissy about the lesbians because they are there makes it harder to disscuss how it's the third time Dragon age has made an abusive lesbian relationship. Which is most of their canonical lesbian relationships.
Or people crying about the "strong agressive female characters"... have yall met Morrigan???
What I want to say is there are actual valid reasons to criticse this series- but anyone whose criticsm boils down to "too much gays and Miriam is not nice" should be sat in a corner with a codex entries from games flashing befor them until they develop enough reading comprehension to rejoin this discussion.
Anyway, can't wait for Dreadwolf when people will yet again inevetably cry about woke crowd ruining their game with things that have always been part of Dragon Age since the dawn of time.
'It's been 84 years...' jokes aside, I have been patiently waiting for your take on the lore/plot/characters/show in general for so long! Love your content, can't wait to watch!
Elven Loki, I would seriously love if in Dread Wolf we see Solas behaving more like the Trickster God he is
Whoooooo!! You’re baaaaack🎉🎉
Hope you’re well! Thank you so much for caring so much about your content
so i guess this means that the Inquisition remains intact in BIoware's canon?
And it means the best candidate won. Madame De Fer herself.
Maybe I’m just overeager for the next game, but I really enjoyed Absolution! It was formulaic at times, but Tassia and Rezaren were very interesting peeks into Tevinter culture, both separately and together. You said it right that Absolution felt like a side story- I’m okay with that even if some others aren’t.
Red lyrium Golem! Maybe Meredith will take over one of the Minrathous Juggernauts...or ya know maybe transfer herself to other red Templar like Cory did with darkspawn 🤷♂️
Finally got around to watching this, and like everyone else, I have some points:
When Jowan suggests the "mind into fade" ritual using blood magic, it's pointed out that lyrium could also power it, but you'd need a lot more. Blood is a power source, not a requirement. Specific rituals might differ, but a crazy rock might be willing to give it a go anyway.
They probably didn't use magic in the bar fight for the same reason most people don't pull out guns. They're looking to hurt, not wound or kill.
I don't feel like Miriam post-bar fight was a 180. The way I read the scene, her complaints about the bar fight was just undirected anger latching onto whatever it could find. Her actual problem was that she figured out how to get in and didn't want to do it, but felt compelled to do it anyway because everyone stuck up for her.
I didn't see Mira's betrayal coming, but it makes so much sense. Fairbanks was killed shortly after discussing his wife back home and making plans to live a simple life, which is the biggest death flag ever. Mira, meanwhile, is a mage love interest in a dragon age story. How else was it going to go?
Personally, I think we might get a companion from the show, but I have no idea which one (a la Cole). If we don't, then maybe a storyline to wrap up loose ends (a la Imshael). Dragon Age has always tried to tie in EVERY side piece of media into the world, and even one of the TTRPG adventures was referenced in Codex, so the idea of this being purely independent seems weird to me.
Overall, I liked the show! I wanted it to be Dragon Age on Netflix, and it was. Meredith was a bizarre twist, and might be a way of keeping the Red Templars in the world's lore after Cory died. All the characters were fun, or just interesting. I loved what they did with Memory. Good show!
Your videos are great, and I hope they hit you up to help them keep the Lore straight with future animation projects.
Damn… finally a nice in-depth review of this show. Amazing as always
I know the video is a year old at this point, but I just had a thought. There's a LOT of theories out there about Andraste being an Old God Baby from the first Blight. We can guess that it would have been Flemeth/Mythal who put the Wardens up to it. So if Meredith is truly trying to bring Andraste back and needs a blood relative of hers to do it - could she be after Flemeth? She would be Andraste's biological mother, after all. That would be a way to tie in this side story into what is presumably the main thing in the new game (the Evanuris returning and all that).
I assumed that the meredith angle was being set up for dreadwolf as compared to being in a season 2. I reckon all the stuff were getting right now is connected to it, like the missing comic atm.
My main problem with the series is the ending plot twist. 😂
There are so contraddictions about it for several reasons. (And sometimes I truly hope they cancel the second season, because I don't want this to be solved by four random people and not by characters with, Idk, ACTUAL HISTORY with The Crimson Knight)
Also try to compare Fairbanks in the series and in the game. They are literally two different people. They wasted his character in the series.
Bioware truly hates Hawke. 🙄
Very happy to see a video about this show! I feel like there has been so little discussion about it, and I have just... so many thoughts. To be honest, my thoughts are majority negative, and I came away from the show thinking it was mediocre and feeling disappointed. Unfortunately, as time has gone on, the taste has just soured and soured in my mouth, and I really do not like this show.
My biggest issues are a couple of weird lore discrepancies or things that bring up crazy lore implications. I feel like the most obvious is a portal to seemingly the afterlife. That's... a lot. And in order to use this ancient artifact, I get the sense Rezaren has done quite a bit of research, and I would really like to hear SOMETHING from him about what his research into the Circulum indicates or his own personal theories about death and the afterlife. It feels super weird to bring that into the story with so little commentary on its full implications from characters in the show.
My other lore gripe is everything about how this show treats blood magic. Firstly, in Inquisition, Dorian indicates that not all blood magic is frowned upon; using your own blood or the blood of a willing participant is not considered "blood magic" in Tevinter and is generally acceptable. So it's a bit odd that the templar in the show is threatening to turn in Rezaren for blood magic, even if he does no harm with it and isn't actually doing any sacrificing. For another thing, in both the first and the second game, you enter others' dreams and can communicate with them there. Both times it was an involved ritual intended to get rid of demons, but neither instance necessitates blood magic; for instance, in Redcliffe, the Circle mages are just as capable of sending someone to deal with Connor's demon as Jowan is, they just use nice clean lyrium instead of a human sacrifice. I would assume that a magister, given all the power and influence they have, would be able to call on resources and get some lyrium to make a dream phone call. Either way, it feels super weird to me that Rezaren's fall to magic is something that is relatively small and not an emergency. If he wanted to dream-contact someone in a dire situation he found himself in where he did not have access to other resources, I think it would have made much more sense and been much more compelling if he used blood magic then.
Even better, I would love if blood magic was more tempting to him because he is implied to actually be a rather weak mage. After all, he fully failed his Harrowing; he doesn't have the will and strength that is expected of him. Using blood magic to get an edge could make sense for a magister trying to match his peers without their raw ability. On the other hand, having that traumatic experience that resulted in losing his whole family due to his lack of willpower could also make him extra leery of blood magic, since blood mages are generally supposed to be more susceptible to possession and temptation than your average mage. Heck, maybe that's why he hasn't used any blood magic to this point--which would make him being on the Magisterium absolutely incredible, when you combine it with his apparent youth.
In all, I do also wish more was done with Rezaren. I hate that he only started acting evil after Miriam stated her opposition to him; it felt very, "The main character said she's opposed to my thing, so I guess I gotta act villainous now!" The idea of a character who loves someone but feels entitled to them is great in my mind, having been in that kind of relationship myself, but this just did not resonate and did not feel well-written. We have no indication that he himself was controlling or abusive before the events of the show; the flashbacks seem to show him as a wee lad treating the elves as equals, then at the Harrowing crawling to Neb's body before his own mother. We see how abusive and controlling his mother is, but not him; if the show really wants me to buy him as this abusive family member-type character, I would like to have seen that before his dream interaction with Miriam. I would have at least liked hints.
As it is, with how he's initially characterized, I would have liked a much more morally grey Rezaren, rather than this one that just became uncomplicatedly evil, and I think it would have been very Dragon Age-y for him to become a "party member," so to speak, so we could get more time and interaction with him. Maybe he really loves Miriam and also really sees it as her proper destiny to join him on his personal mission, and that speaks to a very deterministic philosophy that the show can explore. And he can get the chance to overcome his false beliefs and his upbringing--and if/when he fails to better himself, he becomes a truly tragic character. Much more compelling. Plus, in the dream, he offers Miriam a future of changing Tevinter for the better, and that ties into what I thought was going to be her character arc, since that is something that gets brought up repeatedly in the first few episodes: Miriam's unwillingness to fight for the greater good or a similar cause, in favor of her own needs and wants. It could be such an interesting dynamic!
The thing that bothers me most about Rezaren's treatment, though, is that Miriam is constantly fighting him, flinging things in his face (mostly unfairly--"How dare you not stand up to your evil controlling mom as a child," being one, and "How dare you not protect my brother in your most vulnerable moment of abject failure when you could not even protect yourself," being another), and just generally hating him, as if she has no fond memories of their time together. That could all be done really interestingly from a character and writing standpoint, in my opinion--one character in a relationship having such soured memories of her past that she cannot see anything good in it--but this show, again, is kinda mediocre and doesn't do much interesting with that idea. But that's not the real problem in my eyes. No, the real problem is that Miriam at the end reaches out to Hira and is ready to forgive her (conditionally, which is good). This feels very out of order to me. She's known Hira for a much shorter period of time, and Hira literally made a deal to sell her. But she is worthy of a second chance, while the brotherly dude with shared trauma who led with gentleness and reassurances gets none? It just feels weird to me. Maybe if we had more hints that he himself treated her poorly in their shared backstory, my attitude would change--actually, my attitude on most of the show would change--but as it is, we don't get that.
Yeah, those are my gripes with the show in a nutshell. I enjoyed the setup, and I thought it had some really intriguing ideas that could lead to something interesting. But at the end of the day, it felt weird, disjointed in spots, deeply flawed, and deeply disappointing. I think it really fell short of its potential. I know part of that is the short six episodes they had to work with, and from a certain standpoint, I think they did a good job; they picked a manageably sized piece of the larger story going on in the world and they told it in a pretty well-structured way. But there are just too many severe shortcomings and missed opportunities for me to like it personally.
Thanks for the video. It was nice to hear someone else discussing and breaking down some of the stuff in the show! I like the way you tie things to lore and build your theories, and I'm actually reassured with regards to DA's future by a lot of your thoughts and ideas. Consider me a new subscriber. :)
About blood magic, as far as I remember, it was officially frowned upon in Tevinter; most magisters do it in secret, but if someone does it publicly, they're against it (kind of how a bunch of politicians take bribes and that's well known amongst them, but if 1 gets caught doing it, the rest shame him publicly). So perhaps reporting Rezaren would get him a slap on the wrist and get him sent away for the summer? It would still prevent him from meddling with the circulum.
@@bib4eto656 That's true, but Dorian also says that what is considered actual blood magic in Tevinter is different, and using your own blood or the blood of a willing participant isn't seen as full-on blood magic and isn't taboo. Getting nastier with it, human sacrifice etc., is illegal but extremely common among upper levels of government.
Rezaren wasn't the bad guy though, the bad guy was Hira and she used Miriam. Wish Miriam and Rezaren teamed up, Brother and Sister reunited.
I really love the show uses the same sounds as in DAI
I thought this was an adaptation of the original idea for Dragon Age 4. I remember reading that the original idea for DA4 was to have it be a series of heists set in Tevinter.
Yay! Was waiting for a video like this!
I really enjoyed the show, but I found the dialogue a little lackluster overall. I felt pretty meh on what happened with Fairbanks, because I did really like him in the game. I think Hira is super interesting.
Did I hate Absolution? No, I didn't hate it. But if this was the first exposure I ever had with Dragon Age, then I wouldn't have any interest in playing the games.
Yeah, I kind of felt that way too. Just doesn't sit right with me for some reason.
I have waited months for you to make a return! I love your videos! :)
I was actually baffled Fairbanks was in this. I guess his side quest is pointless in hindsight now...
I think it's implied Amelia Pavus has to be at least 900 years before Dorian because the dragon would probably one from before they were nearly wiped out
Oh, the Crushing Prison love! Heck yeah.
Meredith is alive for sure and is ganna be in dreadwolf
I have to say, this show was so fun and had so much heart it's really the only thing that can compete with Vox Machina (that is to say Amazon and yes I know Matt is in this too)
Mer is alive? Da fuck?! Guess she'll be a big baddie alongside egghead?
51:03 I think she’s upset that they’re cheering because they beat up a few magisters and patting themselves on the back while the same thing happens to countless other elves who has no one to stand up for them. Like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound and calling it a job well done.
Love it or hate it, I feel like it was made straight for fans. Just a bunch of fan service and straight deep lore references.
Given how fast and loose previous shows have played with the lore, it's almost a little jarring to see that the show runners cared.
I was waiting for you to make a video about this, he,he.
I love this series, I kinda wish we had more of the series, or that they did the series leading up to the other games of the past. True I do find it a bit fast-paced, but I get why. I now look forward to the future game now more than ever.
Hour long video hell yeah 😆
"Elven Loki is real and just showed up in Thedas." 🤣😂
The biggest issue I have with Hira’s writing is that she never considered why a “crimson knight” would want a resurrection tool.
I like everything else about the show. I think she turned back on her plan to hand over Miriam when she told her to run while trapped.
I do hope that there is a second season for this show. I really do. But if they don't, I do hope that the next game, Dread Wolf, do allude to the events of this show. And this is me being an hopeful idiot, maybe have one or two characters make a surprise appearance in the game. Though that is just wishful thinking on my part, as I am not the developers. But I was surprised to see Meredith again. And I hate to see that plot point not getting resolved.