My boss thought it was a brilliant idea to give me a new theme idea. “Yrel – the Jar Jar Binks of World of Warcraft?” at least sounded like a good hook to him – it’s a pity he didn’t suggest it to Schuhmann, because I am definitely on the “Pro-Yrel” side!
Who or what is Yrel?
But let’s clarify the most important question first: Who is actually Yrel? The blue-skinned lady is a Draenei from “Warlords of Draenor” and especially as an Alliance player you will encounter her quite often.
No matter which faction you belong to, you will encounter her in the introductory mission that brings you through the dark portal and right into the enemy territory of the Iron Horde. There you rescue her from a dire situation, and when I first heard her voice and the wonderful Draenei accent (read: Greek accent), I was already hooked.
I was really worried Blizzard would kill her off at the end of the introductory sequence – but lucked out! She stayed with me for quite a while. But why are so many people complaining about Yrel?
Why are people complaining about Yrel?
“Warlords of Draenor” is dripping with strong male personalities. Especially among the titular Warlords, you only find men, which of course is due to the already two-decade-old background story. It would be strange if suddenly a great Orc leader appeared that no one had ever heard of. But to not completely alienate women as players, of course, a few strong female characters must be offered. And in the eyes of many fans, Yrel is simply not one of them.
You rescue her at the beginning from captivity and even afterward, she is heavily reliant on the help of others. Nevertheless, she is assigned troops that she soon sends to their deaths in a failed mission. If we, as players, hadn’t been there, she might have fallen during that mission as well. But even after that, things don’t get much better. Time and again we must motivate her, protect her, support her, and encourage her as she slowly works her way up in the ranks of the light-loving Draenei. For many, she is thus not a “strong woman,” but once again the damsel in distress who cannot survive without our help. But is she really?
What she really is…
So why do I think she is being treated unfairly? Why is she more than the stereotype of the weak woman in video games?
It is clearly due to the development she undergoes. She starts in chains – one of the darkest moments in her life, as thousands of her people have just been slaughtered when we rescue her. Shortly after, she is assigned great responsibility – she is made a commander of troops, even though she is in no way prepared for it. She partially fails in these tasks, yet does not lose sight of the good and continues to fight for the light and her people.
So, who does that remind you of? Which character does she have huge parallels with? Right, with Garrosh Hellscream!
This (almost likable) young Orc was found in a dark hour (depressively mourning in Nagrand), was given way too much responsibility (as Warchief of the Horde), and miserably failed (corruption by the Sha/ destruction of the “old” Horde).
The challenges both personalities face are very similar. But where the strong, tough Garrosh failed and succumbed to madness, Yrel stands firm, does not let herself be beaten down, and always maintains faith in her goal. She is quickly built up into an absolute heroine who is still plagued by healthy doubts. And this alone makes her, in my eyes, stronger than all the Warlords combined – she reflects, doubts, reconsiders, and seeks advice. A consideration that is almost entirely absent from male heroes of Warcraft.
So in the end, all I can do is say in a screeching voice:
“LEAVE YREL ALONE!” – because this lady also has nice horns on her head and demons must stick together.
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