“The Failure Was Mine. I Should Pay The Price…”

bioware since 2012: honestly we shouldn’t have redesigned the elves. from now on, regular faces for elves only

me:

Kicking the hornet's nest (possibly) by saying I don't really like Manfred's portrayal as a cute gimmicky spirit that is a "research assistant" but all he does is hiss and pour tea and play rock paper scissors. Not when we had Cole and a real agonizing decision of whether to remain a spirit of compassion or become a human. Not when Cole was a fully actualized character and had a REAL storyline and real banter and was trying to figure out himself and his purpose. But most of all, he wanted to help.

Its a huge step backwards in the portrayal of spirits in this game. I mean I have said lots about the status quo and the Veil but this game is just so intellectually incurious tbh. There's no thinking involved or agonizing decision to make where I remember looking up guides on past DA decisions and scum reloading since I wasn't happy with the first decision I made lol.

Would a spirit of curiosity not potentially be the most annoying spirit? I feel like they would be asking 10923482 questions constantly and would've added to a lot of world building and lore instead of comic relief or being sacrificed to another character's storyline.

This is much better than the final version too. It goes more into why Solas is even doing this and Rook feels less like a bus driver.

Two big differences between Mythal and Solas is that Solas regrets all the terrible things he's done. That is, in fact, a major plot point and theme. He shows remorse and at his core he wants to fix his mistakes. Mythal, or at least the fragment you can speak to, doesn't regret her actions at all. If you call her on the blight being her fault she attacks you. She doesn't accept responsibility. Solas does. That doesn't erase the guilt or culpability, but it does make me respect him more than I do her.

The second difference is that Solas rejects the notion that he's a god. Mythal doesn't. Again, if you ask her to help you against the other Evanuris and state that the people don't need gods she gets angry and attacks you. Maybe it's just the anarchist in me, but I've got a lot more respect for someone who rejects worship and fights tyranny than I do the tyrant being fought. Because that is what she was, as much as any of the others. A benevolent dictator and slave owner is still a dictator and a slave owner.

Now, if I'm putting my character analysis hat on for Mythal *specifically* I'd say that it's possible she reacts like this because she does feel guilt. I know, that does contradict what I just said. But I do think it's possible that her anger and violent reaction is a defense mechanism and a shield against being confronted with the truth of the damage she caused. Admitting that you're wrong is one of the hardest things a person can do, even without having had centuries of worship heaped on you and going to your head. So when someone you see as lesser calls you out to your face? That's a hard pill to swallow. Again though. Solas does swallow it. Solas takes blame. Heaps it upon himself until it defines everything he does (which is another problem in itself but We Don't Have Time For That Right Now). Mythal, by contrast, rejects it. Right until she absolves Solas of his duty, and finally takes some responsibility herself.

Dragon Age: Inquisition - concept art - early rejected pitches for multiplayer characters by Matt Rhodes [source]

Art by Matt Rhodes.

I feel the need to point out the utter fucked-upedness of the fact that Mythal based her Vallaslin—the same one she branded Solas with at one time—in the shape of his Spirit form.

Just…indulge me and think about that for a moment. It wasn’t enough for Mythal to break him, she had to carve a literal reminder of that brokenness onto his face. Then onto the face of every other slave she owned.

And it was him. His shape. The self he was forced to leave behind in a moment so traumatic it left him fundamentally scarred. And she felt the need to make those scars literal in a way that made it impossible to ever behold his own reflection without the physical reminder of what she took from him.

Utterly, utterly fucked.

Yeah, I find that...most definitely fucked.

"The best of both physical and Fade" feels like an extra level of anguish here, a constant reminder that he gained nothiing but pain and gave up his home, his happiness, and his life.

The Team

Dragon Age: Inquisition | ▶ dev. Bioware