Just remember, he single handed a raid boss, then charged into an army SOLO so his soldiers could get away. No other King has ever had the balls to go out with such valor. His death was truly beautiful.
I miss Varian. Dude saw the worst of the First and Second wars of Azeroth as a child, lost his father and closest mentor, his friend Arthas razed Lordaeron while he couls only watch, was captured and developed amnesia before fighting back to take back his Throne. He has to learn to accept the Horde, and peace, and finally he sacrificed himself to ensure his men and friends could escape. All the while, he was not paladin or mage, he had no special power to call his own. Nothing but his sheer will and strength of arm to carry him forward against constant horrors. Truly the epitome of a warrior in WoW, right next to Varok.
IKR!! There was a small quest in Pandaria where you fight side by side with Varian. It's a simple quest, but I had read all the Varian HQ stories, and was so stoked. Even though that was 12 years ago, I never forgot it.
You can tell when Greymane nods, there's a lot going on in his head. Varian is getting to sacrafice his life to save his son and kingdom. If Greymane could have he would have swapped roles with his own son who died back in Gilneas during the foresaken invasion. He understands the sacrifice Varian is making more than anyone at this moment.
So well done. Greymane instantly knows what he plans, and doesn't try to stop him, doesn't bluster. Just a nod from one old warrior to another, and nothing but respect and a silent promise to do as he asked. Wouldn't change a thing about the intro to Legion.
@@Michmarmol I for one would be glad to leave the drooling childish sheeps that uses the words "Literally" and "Imagine" as a prefix to every sentence. This is one of the dumbest generations yet. Bunch of inarticulate snowflakes.
What I love is not quite the poignancy of Varian's sacrifice, but the manner of his death compared to that of Gul'dan's. When Gul'dan gets past his initial sadistic cackling and really intakes Varian's torturous demise, you don't see a lasting victory sitting in his eyes. You see frustration; complete and utter frustration at failing to break the spirit of the human king laid physically broken before him. The king he stated had died for nothing. Then comes the Nighthold, where we personally face the First Warlock at the raid's climax. Come the end of the brutal fight, we see the fruit of our efforts blossom, the very same that Varian helped sow with his sacrifice on the Broken Shore. As Gul'dan's damaged frame is rendered powerless and forced to watch the portal he attempted to tear open and cement his victory instead snap so suddenly shut, Gul'dan falls to his knees, his imminent victory dashed in one fell swoop like dust in the wind, forever. Illidan finishes him off not a minute after, and as Gul'dan turned to face the demon hunter one final time, he seems more resigned at the prospect of what he more than damn well knows to be Stormrage's wrath than frightened. He had become what Varian had not: *broken,* body _and_ spirit. Varian may not have died for nothing.... _but Gul'dan certainly did._
Varian died valiantly so we could ALL fight another day. His fall was not a defeat, but instead gave us another chance. Gul'dan, on the other hand was defeated. His fall was for nothing.
@@KingZercules Gul'dan sacrificed his life for nothing. Varian sacrificed his life for the Alliance. also Illidain didn't waste time with a big speech he just grabed Gul'Dan and killed him.
Genn and Varian hated each other before. The book Wolfheart explains this. And now, this cinematic happens. It’s awesome how far they came, in becoming friends. Varian was essentially Genn’s best friend at this moment. From hated enemies to best friends.
@@ghostjellywolf3865 its Genn. Genn Greymane. Okay buddy… just look it up. And as for Genn and Varian hating each other, it’s literally in the Wolfheart book. Why are you trying to correct me when you know nothing about the lore? Genn was originally the king of Gilneas, the same time as King Llayne Wrynn, Varian’s father. Closely guarded and only cared about his kingdom and not Terranus’s alliance during the 2nd war. He left and abandoned the Alliance after the 2nd war, isolating Gilneas. The 3rd war happens and Arthas loses his mind, leads the undead Scourge everywhere, which ultimately leads to Gilneas. Genn released the Worgen to destroy the undead. The Worgen succeed but turn on the people of Gilneas. They survive but then Cataclysm happens and Sylvanas shows up and destroys Gilneas. Genn and his people flee to Darnassus, home of the Night Elves (Kaldorie). They have a meeting to welcome the Worgen into the Alliance. Varian shows up, since they need the leaders of the Alliance to approve, says no, tells Genn that he and his people are not worthy of the Alliance, very angrily, and then tells them to leave. This is the whole premise of Wolfheart. Varian hates Genn and Genn dislikes Varian. That’s the entire point of that book.
chad varian, survives an airship crashing into water, fights hundreds demons on the shore, sacrifices himself to save his men, takes out a whole upgraded fel reaver single-handedly, attempts to 1v1 guldan and hundreds of demons, what a chad
@@indeed2207 Nah Varian was killed by Gul'dan.. he was just downed by trash but they weren't the ones who killed him. Combat log says Gul'dan hit Varian for 50M damage (overkill). Not the Fell Guards.
2:10 Anyone feel sadness when Varian closes his eyes at this moment? It is like he knows what he is doing, like he closes his eyes and walks through the hell gate, leave everything behind. Then he opens his eyes again, embrace what is coming
gul'dan couldnt get varian to despair in his last moments, so he contended himself with varian;s misery, even though he knew he didnt break the king of stormwind
after seeing both sides of this cinematic, I would've thought seeing Vol'jin get injured like he did would've sent what Horde forces remained into a rage-filled frenzy
what I really like about this fight is how despite Varian being pretty much the most overpowered warrior alive, the kills a bunch of elite felguards and gets overwhelmed, slightly tired and gets killed, it wasn't a corny thing where he 1v10000's and just AOEs everything down, this also shows the Legion are overpowered as they should be, small details like that can really change how you feel about the game and lore
I come back to this even now. Varian Wrynn being the most badass person (in my opinion) in World of Warcraft. Logash. The Wolf. Man I looked up to him. Warrior for the Alliance and grew up in the Arena of the Horde. Thank you for your Sacrifice. FORE THE ALLIANCE.
Hell, even almost a decade later I still get teary eyes when I see Varian's demise. He has been my favourite character and a true badass since I started in late TBC. I'm still bitter he died like that though. Damn you Blizzard, we have a love and hate relationship.
Damn, I stopped playing for years, then happened to stumble upon his grave by accident when I came back. Immediately flew to the throne room in hopes I was seeing it wrong... He was always such a badass. And went out like one too..
@@ProthPhenom lmao ahaha. But yeah stories always have two sides. I need to do the broken shore introduction for alliances side I wonder how you guys cross the ravine I imagine Jaina does some ice shit
The desperation in Genn's eyes. He doesn't want to lose another of his friends. Then accepts what Varian has decided to do, without the cliche of "NO PLS, WE CAN SAVE YOU". Poor boy :(
“To every man upon this earth death cometh soon or late, and how can man die better than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, and the temple of his gods. '' Horatius.
the part where the guy falls off the boat and ricochets off the demons shoulder piece, definitely reminiscent of that scene from titanic where he falls off and ricochets off the fan blade, always made me laugh xD
I remember the first time I watched this. It was horrifying. Still is; it's still one of, if not the most graphically sadistic deaths Blizzard has ever portrayed in WoW. And to do it to a character that had become so well loved.... I remember leaping out of my chair and staring, horrified, at my monitor while tears streamed down my face. How I didn't make enough noise to freak out my roommate I have no idea.
Finally afther years i have not cryed seeing this death, Varian was to much for me in the lore of WoW , i hope i have some kind of hype for the game for what it comes, last time whas this
this expansion came out 8 years ago and still to this day it affects every wow player, thats how you can tell this was the best expansion they have ever done.
I play both factions, but I'm Alliance at heart. I was limping along through the beta doing the Broken Shore intro. Most of the cut scenes were not in the game yet. The screen would go black and you'd listen to ambient sounds and fake your way though it. The next thing I knew, my toon is on the airship above Stormwind Harbor. There were wounded on the deck so I guess the battle was over. Greymane hands me a letter that he cannot bear to give Anduin himself. Cold dread gripped my gut and I rushed up the tiled main corridor into Stormwind Keep. There was the king's sarcophaghus with flowers strewn around. That's how I first learned that Varian Wyrnn was dead. What a misbegotten way to launch an expansion pack. My heart wasn't in it anymore. "Yup, we just killed off your favorite main character now go have a good time, make nice with the new allies, and do some rinky dinky quests". I have never forgiven Blizzard for killing Varian though I grant it was a glorious demise and what he would have wished. To all you Horde players out there, you were a surprising source of comfort for me. The factions usually mock each other but you made exception for Varian out of respect for him and a shared sense of loss. The looming extinction of the Wyrnn dynasty has so eroded my pleasure in the game that I finally quit.
Bravery is commendable, but there is no honor in suicide. The Horde forces were easily outnumbered five to one. Retreat was the only viable option, otherwise the war would’ve been lost. Bravado is no substitute for strategy.
@@Ultimaton100 It wasn't just suicide, they were in the process of retreating but it came down to him having to fight them off so his men can get away.
You know the whole problem with the Horde could've been saved if Sylvannas had had the thought of sending one of her Rangers like "Ey, we are being obliterated over here and need to retreat, you must do the same."
@@LemonSoulz you can last minute decision send a runner to relay a message. It's not about "we did not plan for this", it's about "we decided not to be in sync".
Shaw from SI:7 saw that the horde didn't stand a chance either but was captured so there was no way for a ranger to just drop in beside Wrnn and be like 'hold up. We're dying fam. Let's 86 and we'll rendezvous at Dalaran.'
@gabrielcaetano6318 BOTH FRACTIONS WERE TOO OVERWHELMED TO CONTINUE FIGHTING SO THERE WAS NO WAY TO WARN EITHER LEADER. SYLVANNIS JUST DIDNT WANT TO HELP AT ALL.
I love this scene, varian was a king we could all follow and his death was both parts heroic and tragic but its so funny seeing mechatorque and greymane in this cinematic, then the gunship shows up. its like when you play with your toys from different franchises as a child, like GI joe asks optimus prime to call in the star wars gunship.
From other cinematic Anduin: What am I supposed to do now? Varian Wrynn: What a king must do (dies for his people) A great testament, fictional but with strong meaning.
imagine if Sylvanas had, ya know, known that individual survival doesn't matter in the face of something like a massive Legion invasion. I still say, and will continue to say, she left Varian and the Alliance to die for no other reason than to save herself.
Because that’s exactly what she did. I don’t need proof to know that’s what the witch did. I’m horde or nothing but seriously. They had a good chance if she had assisted as promised. But noooooo the jailer needed souls and she needed to save her own tush. So screw her. I want Garrosh back.
@@killereria9945 "They had a good chance if she had assisted as promised." No, they didn't, this was established during the Rogue Class quests during Legion. Mathias Shaw of the SI:7 went to scout the Broken Shore ahead of the Azerothian army, and it was obvious that Gul'dan expected an attack and was well fortified, with direct access to the largest Legion portal ever witnessed, meaning an infinite number of reinforcements. In other words, any direct assault, which was exactly what the armies of Azeroth had planned, would be destined to fail. Shaw was going to return to Varian to tell him to call off the attack when the scouting party was discovered, Shaw was captured and impersonated by a Dreadlord, eventually being rescued by the Player and a neutral organization of assassins, spies, and thieves known as "the uncrowned" Even before she sounded the retreat, the Horde had been overrun, shown in the cutscene by it's most venerated warriors, Baine, Thrall, and Vol'Jin, being overwhelmed. It's more likely that had they stayed the Horde would have been obliterated before Gul'dan even needed to call down a Fel Reaver. And since I've been having this argument for years now, I know your going to say "whatever we beat a fel reaver in WoD!11!" Yes, one, and it was isolated. We have no idea how many Fel Reavers Gul'Dan had up his sleeve, and even if he only had the one, it would have been supported by an infinite amount of Legion infantry. I get that people don't like Sylvanas anymore, though I think the character was good and always fine, the thing she suffered most from was bad blizzard writing, but theres far better criticisms you can levy at her than the fact she was intelligent enough in the ways of War to recognize the battle had become strategically lost. You need to remember this was Gul'dan we were fighting. Gul'Dan might be evil, and even cowardly to some degree, but he's incredibly intelligent, and very manipulative, and powerfull. In order to be a good manipulator, you have to have some ability to anticipate how others will think or act. Once he had established the Portal at the tomb of Sargeras, he anticipated Khadgar would rally the armies of Azeroth. Gul'Dan, rather than repeat the last Legion invasion of Azeroth and throw the entirety of the Legion's power at Azeroth immediately, Blitzkrieg style, elected to fortify the Island the tomb was on. Rather than try to back the armies of Azeroth into a corner, where time and time again they've proven themselves resourceful enough to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, he let the armies and heroes come to him, draw them in, and then overwhelm them.,so as to crush them all in one single, decisive battle. He would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for Vol'Jin's plea to Sylvanas and her decision to sound the retreat.
@@brobroseph8342 The players already have an infinite amount of forces in the form of respawning/immortality and they do have functional brains to outplay the simple AI... sorry for killing your immersion, Gul'dan should had sided players instead.
This is what warcraft was all about. Heroism, valor, sacrifice. No bullshit touchy feeling stuff. And now we end up with Anduin wandering around depressed in Shadowlands, trying to "find" himself. We dont want realism, we want larger than life bad ass moment.
Anduin has SEVERE depression. He thought his father was dead when he was a child. When he was the boy king. When the horde treated him like absolute shit and the Alliance overlooked him because he was 8 years old.. then his dad comes back??? Just one day comes back saying 'shit my bad.' And then HIS DAD DIES FOR GOOD. How would you feel??
@@hospitalcakewalkBut the point isn't how you would feel the point is to write a cool, memorable, heroic character and they are failing to do just that.
What little airtime Anduin has been given since his father died, has been well-written with Saurfang and facing off with Sylvanas in Torghast. No other character has cracked her composure like Anduin. From there it went downhill. I absolutely hated Anduin trailing after her like a lost puppy. I was disgusted with the way Blizzard treated our male heroes in that xpac, all of them ineffectual or awaiting rescue. Too many female characters and too many with god-powers. Where the heck was Malfurion? Anyway, I cancelled my subs, mainly because Blizzard killed my main man Varian and did not do Anduin justice. No king takes a 3 year sabbatical to go stare at his navel.
Thus the genocidal warmonger died as he lived, by the sword. It’s almost a pity, given he was trying to redeem himself towards the end of his life, but I find some sense of poetic justice in seeing Varian killed by an orc, one of the people he hated most, even if the orc in this cinematic is another bad guy.
@@silver4831See “Battle for the Undercity” and its aftermath. He declared his intent to conduct genocide on all of the Horde races, and the early events of Cataclysm show he attempted to do just that.
@@Ultimaton100 I can find zero evidence of genocide. Or him even wanting it. He wants thr horde defeated yes as they own previous human land and basically let a civil war nearly destroy everything.
