The Shadowlands never existed. At least not as we thought. World of Warcraft changes the story.
If you ask which expansion of World of Warcraft was the worst, the answer is likely unanimous: Shadowlands. Therefore, many fans hope that the Shadowlands might be removed from the story. They should turn out to be a dream or simply be ignored in the future.
Blizzard is now taking a path that is not so far from that. Because what the Shadowlands are will change drastically.
What has now been revealed? In the Alpha of Midnight, there are some new quests, in which Sylvanas also appears. She is talking with Arator. Here are a few excerpts from the conversation (translated):
Arator: “I expected the Maw to be … alien, incomprehensible. But these structures are …”
Sylvanas: “Familiar? I agree. I have looked behind the veil of true death, Arator. There is more to the Shadowlands than meets the eye.”
A little later she says:
Sylvanas: “You noticed it too, didn’t you? The Maw. The Shadowlands. All of it. The question has tormented me since the downfall of the Jailer. I know the truths of death better than most. This? This is too convenient. Too orderly.”
Especially the word “orderly” is suspicious here. Because when things are “orderly” in Warcraft, it usually has to do with the Titans, who are allied with the cosmic power of order.
The Shadowlands are not the real afterlife of WoW
What was fake about the Shadowlands? Although not all details are known yet, the new developments point towards the following scenario:
The “Shadowlands” as we experienced them in Shadowlands are not the “real” or “original” afterlife that souls were supposed to transition to. Instead, the Shadowlands were artificially created by someone to trap souls in a cycle. The task of the Kyrian to guide the souls from Azeroth (and other worlds) to the Shadowlands is thus actually a bit darker: they prevent the souls from passing into the true afterlife and “kidnap” them into the Shadowlands, even though the Kyrian and all residents of the Shadowlands do not perceive it that way.
Why is Blizzard doing this? The Shadowlands have caused some problems in World of Warcraft. Death has become almost meaningless in Azeroth when you can just “pop over” to the Shadowlands and visit the dead there. A mistake that Blizzard apparently has also realized. At the same time, it would be wrong to simply never mention the Shadowlands again or to remove them from the previous story entirely.
Instead, Blizzard is taking the approach to place the Shadowlands in a new, overarching context. Thus, the Shadowlands, as we know them, are indeed an artificial construct created by the “First” – even though the hints are increasing that the “First” are simply the Titans. Because Sylvanas’ comment suggests that the Shadowlands are somehow “too orderly”. And “order” is exactly what the Titans bring.
How exactly the Shadowlands are related to the plans of the Titans, we will probably only find out in the next expansion “The Last Titan”. But Blizzard is already ensuring that the Shadowlands expansion and its impact on the story are toned down a bit and fit much better into the big picture.
Whether this ultimately succeeds remains to be seen. But this kind of adjustment seems to be much better than a radical change. A new context may even make something good out of the Shadowlands – and ensure that we will see some beloved characters, like Denathrius, again.
Some are even longing for a Shadowlands remix – and they are completely serious.
