Filmmaker Reacts: World of Warcraft - Dragonflight Cinematic 

Who is your favorite character in Dragonflight? Subscribe here and Follow me on twitch.tv/philiphartshorn Join my discord to help me choose my next video: discord.gg/J85mKhG Watch my film work here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FQg5b6bagGs.html Follow my Twitter: Twitter.com/philipharts

I remember there being a discussion about people being more emotionally invested in Stoney Tony a minute into this cinematic, then they were to the Jailor through all of Shadowlands.

This begins at the same time as the Warbringer Azshara. The land mass was one continent but was divided by the explosion of the Well of Eternity. In lore, that event is known as The Sundering. The dragonflights came to the aide of the races who had banded together to fight the Burning Legion. There's a lot of lore behind this cinematic. Thanks for the reaction and breakdown, Phil. As always, it's informative as well as entertaining. Oh, and the dragon speaking is Alexstraza, the Lifebinder. She's responsible for saving Bolvar Fordragon and the state he is currently in. You saw her in the Wrathgate cinematic.

A few notes for you: - 10,000 years ago refers to the War of the Ancients, when the Burning Legion invaded Azeroth for the first time. The Dragons left to fight in the war, and to safeguard their home, The Dragon Isles, they entrusted the Watchers to dim the Beacon of Tyrhold, which also dimmed the memory of the Isles from the Dragons minds, which is why it took them so long to return. - As said, the place this all takes place is called The Dragon Isles. The Isles have been a talking point in WoW since 2004 when it released, it was originally going to be an endgame zone, but it was cut when the scope of the game was retracted slightly, and ever since they've been a question as to whether or not they'd ever show up. Now they have! - The voice we hear narrating is the voice of Alexstrasza, The Life-Binder and Queen of all Dragons. She is the massive Red dragon that catches our Watcher Hero. - The Watchers are Titan constructs, we've seen many of them on and off over the years in WoW. When the Titans ordered the world, they used constructs made of Stone and Metal to do the finer work they were simply too big and powerful to do, and when the Titans left the Watchers and Keepers became the only way we as mortals could know about the Titans, their histories and plans. - The Watcher we follow in this cinematic is called Koranos, but is affectionately called 'Stony Tony' by the community because we didn't know his real name for a long time. A similar situation to Zappyboi in BfA.

Something you might notice is how they show the colors of the 5 flights as the land awakens: Blue (Magic): bioluminescence in the water Red (Life) & Green (Nature/Emerald Dream): the flower opening as Koranos walks by. Black (Earth): the land and mountains as he traverses them to Tyr Hold. Bronze (Time): the light of the beacon. Once all 5 colors are seen distinctly (you can also see them in the sky as he pulls the beacon together), we see the dragons return, first in the 4 aspects seen: Alexstraza (Red), Kalecgos (Blue), Nozdormu (Bronze), and Merithra (Green). Then you see all the dragons flying around. It’s a cinematic that I really loved.

It always brings a tear to my eye when the watcher is caught by the dragon. It's as if he has accepted his fate and is ready to die.

this cinematic was full of personality without even saying a word

I love Koranos's (stone guy) smile when Alexstraza first starts flying with him.

Important thing to note going forward with future cinematics, Dragons in Azeroth can shapeshift into a humanoid forms; known as their Visage form.

I'm here! Early! That's Alexstraza that catches him. His name is Koranos but most everyone knows him as Stoney Tony. The colors are the different dragon flights and we can fly like that, there in that place. It's awesome! And Koranos is a quest giver up where the dragon leaders are. Can't wait for you to experience this. This is the Dragon Isles, to the east of Northrend. Really cool place.

3 hour map stream!? Now we're talkin' -- gotta find that one.

The one thing that's not super obvious from the cinematic is that the land is magically hidden. The dragons are waiting nearby, they know roughly where it is, but Koranos (the last Watcher remaining) needs to light the beacon or they cannot return home. That's why the music goes so triumphant as he ignites the beacon. Other comments have covered the relevant notes eg. Alexstrasza being the VO and rescuer. This is very much thematically the opening of a new era of Wow. It is the first story wholly under the new narrative team, a reboot after all the discrimination claims and leadership has reset, and arguably the prelude to the new Worldsoul Saga.

*Lore:* The voice is that dragon. Alexstrasza the Dragon Queen. The dragons left their homelands to fight the first Legion invasion. This ended in disaster for them and the world. Only now is power returning to the land. The beacon keeps the land shrouded. You can see the colors of the returning dragons, wielding power beyond the clouds to signal their return. The land is calling them home. The figure is a Watcher. A protecting construct created by the Titans that shaped Azeroth. Much of the architecture you see is theirs. The land is calling the dragons home. But they cannot enter until the watchers lower the shroud by activating the Beacon. And only this Watcher (dubbed Stony Tony by fans. Koranos) remains.

So this literally takes place on the dragon isles. North of eastern kingdoms south east of Northrend. And very much was a breathe of fresh air. The game and story entire in the hands of a team free from the baggage of the controversies/lawsuits, and the oandemic. And every aspect of it was just dripping with heart and care. Some people didn't care for certain things, but on the whole thus is making its way into many people's top expansion

The red dragon's name is Alexstrazsa, the queen of the dragons. The Dragon Isles are a newly-added continent, where yes, you can ride the dragons. :) Actually we can ride them everywhere as of Tuesday's patch!

This video definitely shows a new beginning, we come off another war between the Horde and Alliance, followed by the horrific events of Shadowlands, and now there is breath of peace. Dragonflight also added in very good game systems, like the new Dragonriding which makes flying mounts dynamic and a lot more fun, as well as gearing updates that are pretty much universally loved. I think you will very much love the story told through this xpac as well.

Ive watched a couple of your reaction videos over the last few days. As someone who has studied film (albeit a long time ago) and a loremaster I find your videos incredibly insightful and entertaining. Definitely subscribing!

I am so happy you finally got to this one, Phil! The voice is Alexstrasza, the Dragon Queen I keep saying Aliya would rock a Cosplay of in her mortal Visage. But then Sindragosa would be another your Lady would absolutely crush. So happy that you loved the stoic wordless Watcher Koranos heroic part in the awakening of the Dragon isles. Because I really felt his plight of losing his allies and still pushing that aside to complete his duty at risk of his life so deeply. Even as he fell, I was thinking, No one may ever know his sacrifice. Been so happy to be a part of your journey and looking forward to what is to come! No matter what you do in game. I will be standing there, judging your Transmog. =D

The biggest gameplay thing they added was Dragon Riding, a new way of flying which is more dynamic and quite a bit faster and requires you to do more than just point in a direction and go forward. I was not at all convinced they were going to pull it off, but damned if they didn't just absolutely knock it out of the park. To the point where I never touched a flight point, beyond to open it, at any point during the expansion. And I think even they were surprised by how well it was receive and they have since added it into the old zones and "dynamic flying" is being added as an option come TWW so you can use other mounts. Dragon Riding might be one of the most successful new systems they've ever added. It's a triumph

Alexstraza saying "The world has been sundered..." always gives me chills.

Two years in and I still get goosebumps when the dragons swoop in. Dragonriding is bloody awesome, so much fun!!

Oh man, it has been so much fun watching the entire story of WoW unfold with you. I've been playing since 2008, and there has been so much that I've forgotten over the years. Can't wait for you to actually experience what it feels like to run around in this world. Loremaster time: Dragonflight is 5 years after Shadowlands. The red dragon is Alexstrazia, the Dragon Queen as well as the other *Dragon Aspects (Kalecgos- Blue, Nozdormu- Bronze, Merithra -Green) whom were empowered by the Titans to watch over Azeroth. You last saw her dragon form during the Wrathgate. She was the one that burned away the plague and Bolvar. I can't remember if we watched the Deathwing vs Alexstazia cinematic from Cataclysm or not though. Her model has been updated a lot throughout the years. The beam/flash at 1:18 was an event known as The Sundering, the moment the Well of Eternity was destroyed during The War of the Ancients- Sargeras' first attempt at invading Azeroth. The dragons left the isle to aid the Night Elves in the war, and entrusted the Watchers to hide the Dragon Isles from the world not only physically, but from the memories of every dragon then, now, and in between. When the Well was destroyed, it blew up the super-continent of Kalimdor into the continents and islands that we see on the map now. Illidan, Malfurion, and Tyrande were there when it happened. We actually saw part of the Sundering's destruction in Warbringers: Azshara. The waves she held back were a direct cause of the Sundering. The city at the end is the main city hub for the expansion. I won't say the name as it's kinda spoiler-y but you'll learn the name of it pretty early on in DF. Yes- you can ride the Dragons, it's the new flying system they introduced with the expansion called dragonriding or dynamic flying. They are expanding this new flying system to be the main way of traveling around Azeroth in The War Within. *Kalecgos and Merithra are the second Aspects for their Flights, with the Aspect of the Black Dragonflight still to be decided. Neltharion/Deathwing was the first and only Aspect for that flight. Malygos was the first Aspect for the Blues, and Ysera was the first Aspect for the Greens.

You really hit the nail on the head with this feeing like a new beginning because it has really begun a new era of WoW.

I'm so excited for you to experience the game! Prepare to be blown away by the depth and richness of the lore!! Dragonflight has been an amazing experience! Have fun and WELCOME to the community!!!!

Blizzard sent you the game?! SO EXCITED FOR YOU 🥳 Your videos have been an incredible addition to the WoW content space, have thoroughly enjoyed every one 💖

It actually is a new beginning in more way the one. Dragonflight is basically a "healing" expansion with Blizzard trying to regain the trust of the players after the mess that Shadowlands was.

In order to tie a lot of this together. In the opening scene during the "Golden age" as you described it. Take note of the legion green colouration of the event that is happening far out at sea. Queen Azshara tried to use the well of eternity to summon Sargeras (the fallen titan, leader of the burning legion) in to Azeroth. Malfurion Stormrage, Illidan Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind are all central characters in that storyline trying to stop her. Malfurions forces destroyed the well. The well imploded and caused "The sundering". A cataclysmic event that tore azeroth apart and turned it from being a pangea to the continents we know today (eastern kingdoms, kalimdor, northrend etc). The warbringers Azshara video that you watched a while back is essentially what you see happen far out at sea at the beginning of this video.

The Dragon Isles are north of Silvermoon and Quel'thalas, which are the northernmost bits of the Eastern Kingdoms, and south east of Northrend.

You noted that they look human, and that’s because the watchers were inflicted with the curse of flesh by the old gods, which turned many of them into vrykul, who then evolved into humans over time. The watchers and all species descended from them are modeled after the Titans basically.

HOW EARLY AM I!!!! GOOD MORNING PHIL Okay so, This is northwest of Eastern Kingdoms. East of Northrend. As far as the location in game. The tower with the crystal is known as Tyrhold and it's located east of Valdraken (main dragon city) in Thaldraszus. The red dragon you see there is Alexstrasza in her dragon form, she's in the game quite a bit in her aspect form, The blue dragon is Kalecgos, green is Ysera, bronze is Nozdormu, these are the leaders while the black dragonflight has it's leadership contested at the start of the expansion. There are other dragons of note you'll run into, Mertithra, Malygos, Wrathion, Chromie, Ebyssian, Sabellian.

Koranos is the name of the watcher who lived and climbed the tower to set the beacon. You'll see him referred to as 'Stony Tony' as well. The beacon calls the dragons home - before that they've 'forgotten' where it was as the beacon is dark until Koranos turns it back on.

damn, love your reactions!!

This is by far my favourite expansion along with mists of pandaria, i like the "slow" beginnings and introduction to a new place and its problems rather than "heres big bad and hes very very big and bad and he *will* destroy the world like none of the other big bads before him managed to", that to say its less of a big punch in the face and you can take your time and enjoy whats to come before it gets burnt down 😅

Been waiting since your War Within reaction to see you react to the Dragonflight cinematic. Curious to see where you put it on your tier list!

Forget the Horde and Alliance, Arthas and the scourge, Sargeras and the Legion - My favourite part of Warcraft Lore is the Dragonflights. To make any sense of what is to come, you need to know what came before, unlike Shadowlands. In a way, other than certain characters backstories, you didnt need to know a thing about Shadowlands for it to tell the story, it was a Standalone in a way. The Dragons go way back, you need to know about Deathwing, the sundering, The Dragon Soul, the blessing of Nordrassil, The Emerald Dream. It is certainly a loregasm.

I love your reactions dude.

I really hope you dive further into the stories that Dragonflight tells. There's a lot of great moments and lots of threads from old lore that get picked up and woven into new legends. Retrospectively, it feels like the beginning of the end of WoW's story in many ways, especially knowing now that with the next expansion(s) we're entering its final chapter. Edit: Also, it's funny that you should ask 'Can I ride a dragon?' because you can and, in fact, Dragonflight introduced a new flying mechanic that's much more dynamic and fun than it was before.

And the person speaking/red dragon shown is Alextrasza the life binder, queen of the dragonflights and aspect of the red flight

@philipHarts how has noone shown you the SWORD cinematic yet!!

The glowing blue in the ocean is the planet bleeding from within, Azeroth has been bled since the sword was plungded into her, in Silithus.

The musical score is my favourite of all times

At the end of Cataclysm the dragon aspects gave up their powers to protect the world. This expansion is about them seeing if they can get them reinstated.

When I hear Alexstrasza in game all I can hear is Aribeth from NWN, even after all this time. Her voice for both characters is almost exactly the same.

AHHH I LOVE dragonflight can't wait for yo uto react more!

To comment further on your reaction to Tony / Koranos and potentially why we dislike the Jailer so much: In this cinematic we see Tony standing guard, and taking up his duty again, and we feel so much sympathy and potential loss in a few minutes. We had villains like Arthas with his very long backstory that makes so much sense, and Sire Denathrius who is immediately pegged as slimy and selfish, and then we have the Jailer who apparently had no childhood and turns into a broken manequin in the end - did they forget to write his motivations?

Classic WoW, TBC, and WotLK was the original warcraft story. Cataclysm, MoP, and WoD felt like WoW 2. Legion, BFA, and Shadowlands was WoW 3, and Dragonflight is the start of WoW 4.

TBH, Dragonflight has reawakened WoW in a way, the expansion has been a huge success and the future looks bright too. Time will tell.

The Dragon Isles were separate from the mainland even before the Great Sundering. During the shaping of the Dragon Isles by the titan-forged, the bronze dragon Ironormu met the earthen. They occasionally received visitors to the Wingrest Embassy located on the shores of the isle. A lush and primal place bursting with elemental magic and the life energies of Azeroth, they were settled by the dragonflights after their empowerment by the titan Pantheon and served as the center of their kingdom. The djaradin and tarasek are two races known to have lived here even before the dragons arrived. Because of the Great Sundering, much of the isles' magic was drained away and the dragons were forced to leave their homeland in the care of the titanic watchers, the drakonid, the dragonspawn, and the dryads that were left behind. Alexstrasza tasked the watchers to use the Beacon of Tyrhold to hide the Isles away from all outsiders, as well as the dragons themselves, until a time came when elemental energy resurfaced and the dragons could be drawn home to reestablish their kingdom, at which point the watchers would light the Beacon and reveal the Isles to the world once more. Having been hidden away for more than 10,000 years, the primal elements have resurged on the Dragon Isles as Azeroth heals and awakens, causing new life to arise.The titan watcher Koranos has lit the Beacon of Tyrhold, lifting the veil that was hiding them from the world, and calling the dragons back home. Working together, the Alliance and Horde dispatched the Explorers' League and Reliquary to conduct a scientific expedition to the re-emerging islands. This was explicitly not a military venture, with both factions joining forces to form the Dragonscale Expedition. Dragonflights (aka flights) represent the overarching organizations that uphold the objectives of the dragons. They are typically led and made up primarily by their respective color's dragons; though they also include lesser dragonkin such as drakonid, dragonspawn and even mortals. In early history, there were many dragonflights , there are five flights that held dominion over their brethren. It was these five flights that the Keepers chose to shepherd the budding world. The leaders of each group were called the Dragon Aspects, the Great Aspects,[or simply the Aspects. The five great dragonflights are identified by their coloration: black, blue, bronze, green, and red. Lesser dragonflights and organizations beyond the main five also exist, which are usually off-shoots of the other flights in some capacity. Since the fall of Deathwing, the dragons, including the former Aspects and Alexstrasza herself, have apparently lost most of their power, along with most of their eggs in the Wyrmrest Temple sanctums. Members of all the dragonflights used to intermingle a lot, but after the Dragon Wars, most flights now keep to themselves. This did not affect the various lesser dragonkin left behind on the Dragon Isles; who appear to have been spared from the horrors that divided their kind.

The voice is the red dragon Alexstraza's voice

Everyone loves stone boi. I mean, how can you not?!

love the Visual Storytelling of Koranos' struggle to complete his duty, so that the Dragons can return home, great use of "Show, Not Tell"... makes you wonder how in The Maw that they fumbled the Story in the last third. still, really good if not GREAT expansion, top 3 for me alongside Legion and Pandaria, they just need to not fumble with their upcoming Saga and WoW will be in a lot better shape. after all imagine having 2 BAD expansions for the first time, then coming back with 4 W expansions, that would be HUGE.

"its like a new begining" Yes.. i think that was what they were going for given the poor reception shadowlands had with people

Love this one and the entire xpac. But then I have always loved dragons, so little biased.

Stoney Tony!

One thing of note with this cinematic that is often undiscussed, but the three Watchers you see on the walk up, the dead ones, are missing their eyes, their mouth, and their ears (See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil). This is heavy-handed foreshadowing that their creators, the Titans, are being built up to being falsely benevolent gods. The Watchers and the Dragons ignored all the evil things they did, because they were told they were the good guys. The Titans are Order Incarnate, and the purest form of Order is absolute tyranny.

He did in fact light a beacon, the Beacon of Tyrhold

You should check out the Diablo 4 cinematic Inarius vs Lilith. It’s long but fantastic.

The only cinematic I remember I always get wet eyes from

Can any Wow fan explain how this expansion has any conection with what was happening up until Shoadowlands? Or is it like a filler mid season break of "nevermind the thing before"?

It is very Greek. I think it is easier to establish the role that the Titans play on Azeroth with Greek-like figures. The Titans show up a lot while you are playing the game but not in many cinematics or cut scenes. This small world of Azeroth has great importance to many beings in the universe. The Titans and Void Lords via the Old Gods have made the biggest moves to attain or control Azeroth. The Titans used dragons as their conduits. No one really knows what the Titans want though.

You should watch Overwatch Bastion , it's almost like this no voice just pure art and music

Did we skip the Sylvanas v Tyrande fight???

Stoney Tony!!

Was there a stream for this? I can't Believe i miss that! :(

Everything was put to sleep. Creatures, plants, friends, and enemies.

Thats Stoney Tony

Wait, did I miss a stream?

Hello, i recommend diablo 4 cinematic trailer and Inarius Vs Lilith Cinematic, its a amazing one.

Where is this from? I seemed to have missed a stream.

Mommy Alexstrasza

So the beginning of this is happening during the first Legion invasion. (Burdens of Shaohao, Warbringers Azshara, The War of the Ancients). The dragons go to help after the sundering and leave their home. Then I guess the world was such a shit-show for so long that the watchers mostly die and cannot light the beacon.

STONY TONY!

You should play demon hunter since you love llidan so mush

Pls reaction for cinematic: World of Warcraft Take to the Skies !!

some loremasters might correct me, but I believe the stoney boys are actually ancestors in some way to the humans of azeroth

Oh Stony Tony!

I think Dragonflight's a decent expansion. However, I dislike the cinematic for it more than any other. Well made, but this far into the warcraft experience, it was too disconnected for me.

Stony Tony!!

First?

This was their weakest cinematic by far.

Sorry to be that guy, but this is by far the most "meh" cinematic Blizzard has made.

the disney expansion

10 secs in the video as a new viewer and he already overeacts. i know who to not watch next time.

Worst WoW cinematic to date.