A new cinematic in World of Warcraft raises an interesting question: Has Anduin Wrynn, the King of the Alliance, turned to evil?
Patch 9.2.5 in World of Warcraft is live and brought not only new quests but also some in-game cutscenes. One of them deals with Anduin Wrynn, who was recently rescued from the Jailer’s clutches in the last update – and seems distraught since then. A new cutscene reveals the dark thoughts of the King of Stormwind. Has he been corrupted and manipulated in the long run?
What is this cinematic about? The short cutscene can be viewed by anyone in Oribos who has completed the current covenant campaign in Zereth Mortis. You just need to speak with Tyrande’s owl Dori’thur, who is waiting for you beside the Soulstream from the Maw in Oribos.
What does the cinematic show? The video portrays an experience from Dori’thur’s perspective. The owl observes Sylvanas fulfilling her duty in the Maw. She wanders through the former realm of the Jailer in search of souls that have landed there unjustly and brings them back to the Souljudge.
Sylvanas receives an unexpected visitor as Anduin briefly joins her in the Maw. He wants to talk to her again and reveals some things about himself.
To Sylvanas’s question of why Anduin is here, he responds:
“My friends … those whom I almost killed … they think my hands are clean. But they don’t feel clean.”
Sylvanas then explains that it is dangerous to confuse two things: things one was forced to do and things one consciously chooses.
Anduin finds it difficult to see a difference here when all these things “blend together”.
What’s worse, he found the feeling both terrifying and intoxicating. He worries that the satisfaction he felt back then might have been his own.
Anduin even believes that his relationship with the Light may be permanently damaged. According to his own words, he fears that “the Light will not answer him when he asks for help.”
His faith is profoundly shaken, and he does not know how his kingdom can trust him when he cannot even trust himself.
Sylvanas quietly asks: “Must you bear this burden?”, implying: Do you even want to be king?
Anduin, in turn, doesn’t really answer the question and just explains that “a king has no choice” – which leaves a lot of room for interpretation.
At the same time, this brings their conversation back to an interesting point. For Anduin, the statement of “having no choice” is a strange one, as he always believed in free will and tried for a long time to convince Sylvanas of that.
It ends with Anduin leaving Sylvanas again and – presumably – returning from the Maw. Where he goes next is still unknown.
What does this mean for Anduin? Anduin seems to have been plunged into a deep, emotional crisis due to the events of Shadowlands. No wonder, his mind was under the control of the Jailer for quite a while, robbing him of his free will.
There have been signs in the past that Anduin can also lean towards violence and hostility if circumstances are right.
In Battle for Azeroth, he first gave his “old friend” Wrathion a punch directly in the face as a greeting and was beside himself with rage. However, Wrathion was also indirectly responsible for the death of Varian (Anduin’s father). At the same time, Stormwind was attacked by the Old God N’Zoth and his whispers, which is why some inhabitants leaned more towards violence and chaos.
What do you think of the cinematic? A cool thing or do you not like it at all?
