The latest enemy in World of Warcraft impresses – and is already better than the “legendary” Jailer.
World of Warcraft Dragonflight has been playable for a few days now, and most players are slowly but surely through the initial story. Unlike Shadowlands, it’s clear in Dragonflight what the “villain” of the expansion actually wants – and their motivation is understandable.
It is already clear that Raszageth represents a better foe than the Jailer ever was.
The Jailer was not a good villain – Because we didn’t know him
It must be said that the bar with the Jailer was set quite low. He was touted as the ultimate evil, the grand puppet master in the background, who not only devalued many years of Warcraft lore, but at times made it absurd. This not only alienated long-time fans of the story, but also artificially – and completely unnecessarily – made him much more important than he actually was.
This was compounded by the problem that we learned far too little about the Jailer. He was always the puppet master in the background, yet aside from a few lines at the beginning in the Maw, the Jailer was surprisingly absent. He was one of the characters with the fewest voice lines in the entire expansion, leading to players knowing far too little about him and eventually just not caring anymore.
Worse still: Important quests that revealed something about his motivation and actions were later removed from the game, because they wanted to “force” players to do less Torghast. The corresponding quests were simply no longer available.
He was simply boring, and the fact that we only got to know the Jailer superficially while he (allegedly) pursued brilliant plans that mortals cannot comprehend made players roll their eyes in annoyance.
Raszageth is not only evil but thought-provoking
The antagonist of Dragonflight is different. We are talking about Raszageth the Storm Eater. She is a leader of the proto-dragons, one of the great “prime incarnations,” and the initial “great enemy” of Dragonflight.
While Raszageth is still a relatively blank slate, as we don’t know her or her siblings well, Blizzard has done a really good job this time of explaining what the electrically charged dragon lady actually wants.
She wants to free her siblings, who were captured by the aspects during the “War of the Dragons” and subsequently cleanse Azeroth of the “corruption by the Titans.” This may seem misguided and arrogant at first glance, but she has valid arguments.
From her perspective, it is the dragon aspects and their respective broods that have been “corrupted.” After all, they have strayed from what they once were and abandoned their elemental connections to be reshaped by the Titans instead.
Another important point why Raszageth is significantly more convincing than the Jailer is her motivation and the reasoning behind what she does.
The fact that the Titans have “corrupted” the dragons cannot be definitively dismissed. It is a fact that Azeroth was once more infused with the elements and that was the “natural” course of things. The Titans later “ordered” Azeroth and changed a portion of the proto-dragons with their magic. Titans belong to the cosmic power of order, just as demons belong to chaos or the Old Gods to the Void. It is a cosmic power that has dramatically influenced the course of events in Azeroth.
Another positive point about Raszageth is simply that she represents a comprehensible standpoint. She and her siblings are what originally lived on Azeroth. The dragons as we know them today have, from their perspective, submitted themselves to the Titans and this physical and mental transformation.
Of course, we have a generally positive relationship with the Titans, because the characters of the world have encountered them as benevolent beings. But the interesting point here is: We see them as good because we are imbued with their titanic power. The guardians, the dragons, and all the mortal races are fundamentally traceable back to the Titans and influenced by them.
When distilled to its essence, the current dragons are nothing more than demons for the Burning Legion or void-tainted beings for the Old Gods. From the perspective of the proto-dragons, the rest of Azeroth has been “corrupted” by a cosmic power – and we are part of this corruption, which is, for us, everyday life and thereby “good.”
That the Titans do not tell us the whole truth is already known.
If we were to see the aspects letting their dragon eggs bathe in demonic blood, alarm bells would ring for all of us. However, when the dragons raise their eggs in water infused with titanic order magic, that is the “normal course of things” for us – even though that is just as unnatural.
While Raszageth holds a rather drastic view that everything titanic must be eradicated from the world, the views of the Light or the Titans, who also leave no room for other cosmic forces, are equally drastic.
Raszageth is more present, her threat palpable
The final point is the presence that Raszageth has in the story. Unlike the Jailer, whom you barely ever see, Raszageth is seen from time to time. In the first area, she appears in person and engages in an exciting duel with Alexstrasza. In the second area, she is represented by some of her envoys, while later she appears again directly.
Blizzard has managed quite well to balance the “constant threat” with “not too annoying.” Raszageth takes up space, makes the problem clear, and still leaves enough room for other side stories and personal issues to unfold in the Dragon Isles.
We can only hope that the developers will maintain this narrative style and also make the other prime incarnations similarly impressive, understandable, and yet threatening.
How do you like the story of Dragonflight and the way Raszageth appears? Does she feel like a “good” villain to you?
