Sorry this took so long, my other job has been keeping me pretty busy. Next up is Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood! I have plans for more Elder Scrolls stuff, at some point when I’m more familiar with the game I’ll cover Morrowind, if Oblivion gets that remaster I’ll probably use it as a chance to rework that rough first video and include the DLC, and I have plans for a smaller Skyrim video later this year. Thanks for watching! Happy holidays and happy new year!
Really excited for the Brotherhood video, hope you touch on the whole Truth puzzles implying that the Templars transitioned the Divine Right of Kings into capitalism and CEOs
On the topic of the cities I think you would be pleasantly surprised by Morrowind settlements, I think out of all 3d TES games they feel the most lived in and thriving despite their size. But that's subjective
Miraak: I am the first Dragonborn, with thousands of years of study TLB: Consider the following: 100 smithing 100 enchanting 100 alchemy 100 2-handed 100 heavy armor 100 sneak….
Haven't watched yet but just want to say here that I appreciate the style with which you do video game narrative analysis. I feel that a lot of other people who do this style of video essay often try to cover too much without much focus or even a consistent thesis while you are succinct and deliberate in your approach. Plus I can fall asleep to your videos almost nightly.
Great video! Glad to see you're back. I'd like to offer one story beat that I think would solve a lot (or just a few) of the issues you identified with the plot: scrap Frea's special necklace, and make Miraak mind control our Dragonborn into killing Frea. That's why we have to deal with Herm Mora; we cannot risk a Dragonborn like ourselves falling under Miraak's control. Also makes him a more insidious villain because it further highlights his true threat: not as someone with Dragon shouts but as someone who can destroy our agency as free-thinking people in Tamerial. Even through in some extra backstory where he originally learned this power to win agency away from the Dragons but he instead got corrupted by it and suddenly he's a very compelling villain.
26:23 there’s also a huge issue with the assassination quest - there’s no crime being committed. Within Dunmer society, hiring the Morag Tong to murder someone is perfectly legal. The whole purpose of the Tong is so that the Great Houses can settle disputes without open war. Every House, including the Redoran, make use of the Tong (they even had a guild hall in Under-Skar prior to the Red Year), so the fact that the Hlaalu hiring them is treated as a crime punishable by death is ridiculous. And then you go murder the entire Tong presence on the island? No Dunmer would ever do that!
What’re the chances? This morning I got a notification that someone replied to my comment under the Assassin’s Creed 2 video and it reminded me that I’m waiting for the Dragonborn video and lo and behold he drops it
“Neloth is an interesting character. He’s selfish, he’s arrogant, and at multiple points he’ll send the Dragonborn into a deadly situation underprepared and he’ll be pleasantly surprised when we make it out alive. He has no respect for our legend, would scoff at the idea of power necessitating responsibility and his indifference towards everyone but himself won’t change no matter how closely we work with him. He might remind you of _someone else_ we end up working with in this DLC.” In other words, he’s a model House Telvanni mage! Hell, he might even consider being compared to the likes of Hermaeus Mora as a bloody _compliment_ with how high off his own Bug Musk he is.
Seems a lot of people have been rewashing your other skyrim videos. Alas, I'll have to catch this one tomorrow. Thanks for thr early Christmas present!!
Can't wait to fall asleep to this several times over the next month, eventually absorbing all of the information in chunks when I wake up randomly to pee or skip chapters to get to the parts I slept through the night before.
Funnily enough, I bought Skyrim complete edition after Dragonborn was released, and got the note about Mirak first. It actually worked so well as an intro for me to the franchise. I have a large nostalgic soft spot for this.
On industrial progress in Tamriel: magic *is* industry in TES, and Skyrim has only grown more distrustful of it since the oblivion crisis. Yes, war can be a powerful driver of innovation; but The Great War, skyrim’s civil war and the dragons have siphoned Skyrim resources and attention to the point that they can no longer progress and are instead simply fighting to survive. Any hope of improvement in the future is ruined with a second great war on the horizon.
I know that he didn't direct this one, but Pagliarulo said in his infamous presentation that they focus on the themes for writing the stories of their games. And even then, the themes are so superficial and undeveloped that you wander if they know what themes are. Thank you for the Christmas present man, Happy holidays
About Miraak’s cultists killing off the Greybeards, I think that would have been really dumb. From a storytelling standpoint it makes sense for the mentor to die to motivate the hero, but also most of the Greybeards have to whisper anything they feel the need to say because their voices alone carry the raw power of a dragon, and even when they do whisper the very ground beneath you trembles. The idea that some cultist schmucks could walk up and kill the Greybeards is absolutely absurd.
They do talk about how Tamriel is practically in a never ending cycle of world ending threats. They talk about it in regards to alduin and the mentioned it in oblivion
I think mechanically speaking DB is the best dlc (which isn’t a hard contest tbh), adding in the black books, new dragon shouts and priest masks, all the new tiers of gear can’t be understated for what they added to the mid-end game of a skyrim playthrough
I do have to give Bethesda some credit for actually trying to make their DLCs have more depthful stories. I think having a bigger, more self-contained storyline instead of 12 smaller inconsequential storylines gives them an opportunity to focus on what actually makes a story interesting. Far Harbor is by far the best part of Fallout 4, and while Dragonborn isn't quite as good as Far Harbor, I feel the same way. I actually look forward to playing the dragonborn questline and visiting Solstheim when I play Skyrim, where I'll actively avoid massive parts of the base game.
Man I’m I glad I kept getting your Chanel recommended. Great stuff. Also I’d recommend you play enderal (the complete conversion- whole new world and every thing). It’s the of mod that just fits your way of reading things. Also would love your perspective on it in six months.
Look man great video yada yada yada but you got terrible taste if you genuinely think, not only that Bonemold looks bad, but that goddamn Blades armour looks better!?
One big issue I have with this otherwise excellent analysis is that it could have delved deeper into examining Solstheim through the lens of its initial depiction in Morrowind. The essence of the land, particularly the Skaal, is firmly established in that earlier portrayal. While Skyrim regrettably retcons much of this lore, if you suspend disbelief and bridge the Morrowind canon with the Miraak narrative introduced in Skyrim, Solstheim emerges as a vital element in any story set there, not merely a backdrop.
I never play as a "good" hero fighting against "evil". The Dragonborn narrative makes much more sense when you're there because you want to become Mora's champion.
This is my first video that the algorithm suggested! Just so you know what videos I've been watching to help you plan your keywords and stuff, I've been going through the videos of A Bard's Ballad and his oblivion content, Loopy Longplay for Oblivion, Grandma Shirley for Skyrim, and lots of writing and world building videos. My usual fare haha I thought it might help you pinpoint some of the common commonalities between the videos to help you get more content seen out there for the rest us newbies to your channel. Cause I'd love to experience more videos like this and have more of you ij the community. I loved the deep dive into the history, the possible inspirations or what they could have done to improve the storyline, etc... Your insights definitely help you stand out in the sea of Elder scrolls content and I'll definitely be back! Like/commented/subscribed 🙌 27:31 - this part made me truly laugh out loud even when I looked away to rescue something from the dog. And then had to rewind to see who Bethesda was beating to death by your tone alone 🤣
I have to say your point about the East Empire trading company kind of hit wrong. It might actually be clever subversion. You expect the East India Trading company analog to be cartoonishly greedy and evil, and it had it's moments, but it also was incredibly invested in the cultures it worked with, to the point that the french and the dutch actually mocked the brits for spending so much time developing local economies instead of just opening mines. Remember that the Empire's citizens have a natural bonus to speech and diplomacy, not jackboots.
totally forgot that using bend will on miraak is not part of the original experience. i kept waiting for you to talk about it during the video and then realized it's not an option in the original dlc. still agree that we needed more miraak lore for it all to make sense, but being able to redeem miraak is an interesting choice. it's something geralt might do.
I genuinely love this DLC. It’s my favorite. Yes it has major flaws, but the vibe, various nods to ES3 Morrowind, and the notable characters are all so good imo
I replayed this dlc like, a week ago. I really enjoy the intimate small town vibes of raven rock and I think the dlc does a lot of cool stuff! I think you did a great job breaking down why the execution really doesn't work though, skyrim in general has these issues pretty prominently...
they say the last dragonborn, assuming our dragonborn isnt going to have kids, or a daedra like dagon making another dragonborn (see mankar camoran) thats my biggest critique of the story in general really... besides THE DRAGONFIRES BEING OUT AND A DAEDRA HASNT BEEN INVADING, JUST A DRAGON Seriously, Alduin is a cool plot point, but He's an Aedric creation- the Daedra- you know the more powerful Eldritch gods werent involved in the slightest
I wish angeir comment on us having the bend will shout and dragon aspect considering their corrupt origins he does not want us to learn dragonrend because of the evil in it but bend will and dragon aspect would be far worse I think
Sorry this took so long, my other job has been keeping me pretty busy. Next up is Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood! I have plans for more Elder Scrolls stuff, at some point when I’m more familiar with the game I’ll cover Morrowind, if Oblivion gets that remaster I’ll probably use it as a chance to rework that rough first video and include the DLC, and I have plans for a smaller Skyrim video later this year. Thanks for watching! Happy holidays and happy new year!
Missed you, chief. Funnily enough I was about to rewatch that Oblivion video when I noticed the new upload
Really excited for the Brotherhood video, hope you touch on the whole Truth puzzles implying that the Templars transitioned the Divine Right of Kings into capitalism and CEOs
Need more oblivion material
Ty for doing it.
On the topic of the cities I think you would be pleasantly surprised by Morrowind settlements, I think out of all 3d TES games they feel the most lived in and thriving despite their size. But that's subjective
Now make a Narrative Critique of Horse Armor
A narrative critique of Hearthfire
I'll be honest, ripping all the CC content would be a fun 45 minute romp
@@AlolanRoy I think you could at least milk a solid 60 out of it
This! Should be a "short" narrative critique, so maybe only 4 hours?
ITS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!
Love the videos, you're one of the few people who truly "analyze" things and not just recap the plot. Merry Christmas, hope you are doing well!
Miraak: I am the first Dragonborn, with thousands of years of study
TLB: Consider the following: 100 smithing 100 enchanting 100 alchemy 100 2-handed 100 heavy armor 100 sneak….
Ah hell yeah, after a real viewing this is going straight into the sleepytime playlist
Wake up 😈
Haven't watched yet but just want to say here that I appreciate the style with which you do video game narrative analysis. I feel that a lot of other people who do this style of video essay often try to cover too much without much focus or even a consistent thesis while you are succinct and deliberate in your approach. Plus I can fall asleep to your videos almost nightly.
Bro I just finished all your other retrospectives this is the best Christmas gift!!!
No way! I just rewatched your main game retrospective yesterday and was gonna rewatch dawnguard today. Cheers!
Oh my God I didn't think you'd make this! Looks like christmas came exactly on time. Thank you for another critique, I love these videos!
I've been waiting so long for this it feels like a christmas gift.
A narrative critique on Riverun next?
The Westerosi castle?
I listen to the first two videos every night because it’s just so good, this is a dream that there’s a third now
Great video! Glad to see you're back. I'd like to offer one story beat that I think would solve a lot (or just a few) of the issues you identified with the plot: scrap Frea's special necklace, and make Miraak mind control our Dragonborn into killing Frea. That's why we have to deal with Herm Mora; we cannot risk a Dragonborn like ourselves falling under Miraak's control. Also makes him a more insidious villain because it further highlights his true threat: not as someone with Dragon shouts but as someone who can destroy our agency as free-thinking people in Tamerial. Even through in some extra backstory where he originally learned this power to win agency away from the Dragons but he instead got corrupted by it and suddenly he's a very compelling villain.
26:23 there’s also a huge issue with the assassination quest - there’s no crime being committed. Within Dunmer society, hiring the Morag Tong to murder someone is perfectly legal. The whole purpose of the Tong is so that the Great Houses can settle disputes without open war. Every House, including the Redoran, make use of the Tong (they even had a guild hall in Under-Skar prior to the Red Year), so the fact that the Hlaalu hiring them is treated as a crime punishable by death is ridiculous. And then you go murder the entire Tong presence on the island? No Dunmer would ever do that!
What’re the chances? This morning I got a notification that someone replied to my comment under the Assassin’s Creed 2 video and it reminded me that I’m waiting for the Dragonborn video and lo and behold he drops it
I got your first two critiques on skyrim in my recommended a couple weeks ago and now i get one over dragonborn. This is a great christmas surprise
It's the return of the king, welcome back good sir.
“Neloth is an interesting character. He’s selfish, he’s arrogant, and at multiple points he’ll send the Dragonborn into a deadly situation underprepared and he’ll be pleasantly surprised when we make it out alive. He has no respect for our legend, would scoff at the idea of power necessitating responsibility and his indifference towards everyone but himself won’t change no matter how closely we work with him. He might remind you of _someone else_ we end up working with in this DLC.”
In other words, he’s a model House Telvanni mage! Hell, he might even consider being compared to the likes of Hermaeus Mora as a bloody _compliment_ with how high off his own Bug Musk he is.
I was just thinking about this, what an amazing Christmas gift!!
Merry Christmas! Love this series
Woke up Christmas morning and was surprised with this. A great gift!
Seems a lot of people have been rewashing your other skyrim videos. Alas, I'll have to catch this one tomorrow. Thanks for thr early Christmas present!!
Rewashing? I hope they get extra clean then.
No way! I just watched the dawnguard episode this morning and was wondering when this would get covered 🔥🔥🔥🔥
found your channel merely days ago and was ready to wait a long time for this one, but fortunately i don’t have to, it’s a christmas miracle
Finally! I was waiting for this haha.
What a lovely Christmas present
I was shocked to see this video had so few views with such great production. I hope this hits everyone else’s recommended like it hit mine.
jolly upload
Foaming at the mouth for this. I adore your videos and I cannot get enough of this! Thank you for the wonderful Christmas gift.
Christmas came early today! Greatest gift we could have received today, gents
Can't wait to fall asleep to this several times over the next month, eventually absorbing all of the information in chunks when I wake up randomly to pee or skip chapters to get to the parts I slept through the night before.
I like the reveal that the guardian is just another dragon priest. After all, that is what loyalty is to a servant of dragons.
I don't mind the lurkers. A giant hulking innsmouther is a decent idea.
Funnily enough, I bought Skyrim complete edition after Dragonborn was released, and got the note about Mirak first. It actually worked so well as an intro for me to the franchise. I have a large nostalgic soft spot for this.
This has been one of the greates Christmas presents I have ever gotten, smoething I wanted but didn't even fathom to happen. Love your videos
On industrial progress in Tamriel: magic *is* industry in TES, and Skyrim has only grown more distrustful of it since the oblivion crisis.
Yes, war can be a powerful driver of innovation; but The Great War, skyrim’s civil war and the dragons have siphoned Skyrim resources and attention to the point that they can no longer progress and are instead simply fighting to survive. Any hope of improvement in the future is ruined with a second great war on the horizon.
I watch your videos almost every other night. So stoked for this!
I know that he didn't direct this one, but Pagliarulo said in his infamous presentation that they focus on the themes for writing the stories of their games. And even then, the themes are so superficial and undeveloped that you wander if they know what themes are.
Thank you for the Christmas present man, Happy holidays
Santa brought me exactly what I wanted this year: a Duke of Whales video on Christmas Day!
Thank you for this Christmas gift 🎁 you are awesome!
Hooray! New video! But dammit, now I finally need to play Dragonborn.
About Miraak’s cultists killing off the Greybeards, I think that would have been really dumb. From a storytelling standpoint it makes sense for the mentor to die to motivate the hero, but also most of the Greybeards have to whisper anything they feel the need to say because their voices alone carry the raw power of a dragon, and even when they do whisper the very ground beneath you trembles. The idea that some cultist schmucks could walk up and kill the Greybeards is absolutely absurd.
Now I have something else other than your Skyrim video and Hbomberguy's Deus Ex video to fall asleep to
They do talk about how Tamriel is practically in a never ending cycle of world ending threats. They talk about it in regards to alduin and the mentioned it in oblivion
AHHH ITS HERE
please never apologize for blessing me with what I’ve wanted for many a months
I think mechanically speaking DB is the best dlc (which isn’t a hard contest tbh), adding in the black books, new dragon shouts and priest masks, all the new tiers of gear can’t be understated for what they added to the mid-end game of a skyrim playthrough
CHRISTMAS GIFT OH MY GOD
So blessed been awaiting this banger , merry Christmas brother
This must be bloody Christmas miracle!!
God bless us, every one of us!
I do have to give Bethesda some credit for actually trying to make their DLCs have more depthful stories. I think having a bigger, more self-contained storyline instead of 12 smaller inconsequential storylines gives them an opportunity to focus on what actually makes a story interesting. Far Harbor is by far the best part of Fallout 4, and while Dragonborn isn't quite as good as Far Harbor, I feel the same way. I actually look forward to playing the dragonborn questline and visiting Solstheim when I play Skyrim, where I'll actively avoid massive parts of the base game.
YEEEESSSSS LETS FUCKING GOOO. TIME TO WATCH THIS AT WORK, LETS GOOOOOOOOOO
IVE WAITED FOR SOOOO LONGGG YAYAYAYAYAY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Man I’m I glad I kept getting your Chanel recommended. Great stuff.
Also I’d recommend you play enderal (the complete conversion- whole new world and every thing). It’s the of mod that just fits your way of reading things. Also would love your perspective on it in six months.
Look man great video yada yada yada but you got terrible taste if you genuinely think, not only that Bonemold looks bad, but that goddamn Blades armour looks better!?
Agreed, Bonemold is fire
Extra points for the Santa hat + using the best Pride & Prejudice version.
One big issue I have with this otherwise excellent analysis is that it could have delved deeper into examining Solstheim through the lens of its initial depiction in Morrowind. The essence of the land, particularly the Skaal, is firmly established in that earlier portrayal. While Skyrim regrettably retcons much of this lore, if you suspend disbelief and bridge the Morrowind canon with the Miraak narrative introduced in Skyrim, Solstheim emerges as a vital element in any story set there, not merely a backdrop.
YES!!! Merry xmas to us all! Thanks
And with this upload, you have gained another subscriber
YESSS YOU’RE BACK. ANOTHER FEW MONTHS OF GREAT SLEEP
This is the best present ever, thank you
I never play as a "good" hero fighting against "evil". The Dragonborn narrative makes much more sense when you're there because you want to become Mora's champion.
This is my first video that the algorithm suggested!
Just so you know what videos I've been watching to help you plan your keywords and stuff, I've been going through the videos of A Bard's Ballad and his oblivion content, Loopy Longplay for Oblivion, Grandma Shirley for Skyrim, and lots of writing and world building videos. My usual fare haha I thought it might help you pinpoint some of the common commonalities between the videos to help you get more content seen out there for the rest us newbies to your channel. Cause I'd love to experience more videos like this and have more of you ij the community.
I loved the deep dive into the history, the possible inspirations or what they could have done to improve the storyline, etc... Your insights definitely help you stand out in the sea of Elder scrolls content and I'll definitely be back! Like/commented/subscribed 🙌
27:31 - this part made me truly laugh out loud even when I looked away to rescue something from the dog. And then had to rewind to see who Bethesda was beating to death by your tone alone 🤣
I have to say your point about the East Empire trading company kind of hit wrong. It might actually be clever subversion. You expect the East India Trading company analog to be cartoonishly greedy and evil, and it had it's moments, but it also was incredibly invested in the cultures it worked with, to the point that the french and the dutch actually mocked the brits for spending so much time developing local economies instead of just opening mines. Remember that the Empire's citizens have a natural bonus to speech and diplomacy, not jackboots.
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS
What an xmas present!
35:02 I appreciate the Magic Treehouse reference.
Thought you were never gonna cover this
totally forgot that using bend will on miraak is not part of the original experience. i kept waiting for you to talk about it during the video and then realized it's not an option in the original dlc. still agree that we needed more miraak lore for it all to make sense, but being able to redeem miraak is an interesting choice. it's something geralt might do.
I did not believe in santa until now thanks for the present!!!
Perfect timing on the video I've got 2 hours to kill!
This is honestly a pretty good video! Keep it up man! You got potential, and a new subscriber
Just started but already wanted to say this is peak
I genuinely love this DLC. It’s my favorite. Yes it has major flaws, but the vibe, various nods to ES3 Morrowind, and the notable characters are all so good imo
The family meal is cancelled, I have more pressing matters to attend
New Duke of Whales video!!! Truly a gift!!
I’m going to get stoned and watch this after Christmas!!!
BABE WAKE UP A NEW DUKE OF WHALES NARRATIVE CRITIQUE JUST GOT UPLOADED
I replayed this dlc like, a week ago. I really enjoy the intimate small town vibes of raven rock and I think the dlc does a lot of cool stuff! I think you did a great job breaking down why the execution really doesn't work though, skyrim in general has these issues pretty prominently...
I didn’t think this was gonna come out let’s go
Best. Christmas. Ever. 👌
Here's hoping we get a Narrative Critique of Morrowind (and its Expacs) at some point.
The christmas gift i didn't know i needed
This is crazy cuz i literally just watched the other 2 vids like 2 days ago lol
Man you just saved my christmas
Dropping this shit on Christmas Eve is wicked
the perfect family movie for Christmas
merry Christmas brother Whoopee!
this is the best christmas present ever
they say the last dragonborn, assuming our dragonborn isnt going to have kids, or a daedra like dagon making another dragonborn (see mankar camoran)
thats my biggest critique of the story in general really... besides THE DRAGONFIRES BEING OUT AND A DAEDRA HASNT BEEN INVADING, JUST A DRAGON
Seriously, Alduin is a cool plot point, but He's an Aedric creation- the Daedra- you know the more powerful Eldritch gods werent involved in the slightest
A Saga has ended. Haven't revisited the DLC since the Senile Scribbles. Merry Christmas!
The greatest Christmas present
It's a Christmas Miracle!
I wish angeir comment on us having the bend will shout and dragon aspect considering their corrupt origins he does not want us to learn dragonrend because of the evil in it but bend will and dragon aspect would be far worse I think
Teldryn Sero mentioned 🎉🎉🎉
He's back
duke i love your series
It’s finally here let’s go
YAYYAYAYAYYY