Watched his family die, killed Rises again, bound to a wraith to die again and again, slay thousands of Orcs, face Sauron and the ringwraiths, to be betrayed by the wraith and fight alone for years with Orcs Even then it does not end, as he is broken, and turned into the 9th Ringwraith and finds himself, fighting the very people he defended for years serving the very enemy who took everything, and then finally dies when Sauron falls Talion went through so much, fought for so long, a true hero which will sadly not be remembered in Middle-Earth
That’s why like this game series, sure it’s inaccurate to lore, but I like to see it as that tale that was never told, something living through vague legends, like all those untold tales like in the Silmarrillion when Ungoliant and Morgoth attacked the Trees; it’s not a tale of happiness, it’s a dark one, one everyone who knew, wanted to forget I would like to learn what happened to Hirgon, Ratbag, Idril and Baranor too, and the dwarf too; but not the elf, no thanks
He was a hero is just the evil was on both sides and he chosen the one that hasn't betrayed him which is ironic because serving the dark lord seems he would of but instead it was the bright lord who tossed him aside..
@@weedhoundinfinite3238 its not that he chose a side, he did all he could to fight back for mordor, the game says that he lasted yrs with the corrupted ring, he has a true iron will to last that long, no matter what he is the greatest hero of gondor but one with a sad end
I'm sure the amount of individuals throughout history who has made dire sacrifices to themselves with no recognition to show for it is innumerable, but they were never forgotten only because their stories were never known to the world in the first place. Really makes you think
R.I.P Talion of Gondor Ranger Husband Father Warrior Gravewalker Bright Lord Nazgul Hero Though you will not be remembered, your story will never be forgotten.
If anything, we will see talion again. Celebrimbor is still stalking middle earth and that needs to be handled. Who better to stop him then the ranger who jailed the lord of Mordor?
It made me so sad and remind me of by playing the first game Shadow of Mordor different from Shadow of War in the start of the game of Shadow Mordor the gravewalker watch his own family died
a man never being free stuck at the black gate, unable to die, bound to a wraith, betrayed by the wraith, the sole protector of middle earth, fell to the witch king, finally given the freedom just to die dude has been through a lot.
Right? This game was so sad. The fact that he's stuck there until FRODO shows up to do his thing... it's so poetic, really. He was there until the bitter end; and only his enemy's death allowed him to truly rest. It also makes the other wraiths so much more hopeful. The fact that he was able to reclaim his soul after falling to the Witch King, even if only in death... that makes me hopeful that maybe the others could, too. They were ALL once just men, after all.
He fought for nearly 7 decades, no one thanked him, no one knew him, no one even had a clue what was going on in Mordor. He kept fighting until he no longer could stand. He fought and sacrificed everything in order to keep evil at bay. Thats a true heroes call. Edit: I'm don't idolize him, he is no hero. He just answered to a heroes call. He's more of a Shakespearian tragedy figure. The moral dilemma is that he did things Tolkien would be disgusted of, but he did them in order to keep a vicious enemy in chains for as long as he could.
"Stalemate against evil is victory" he laid true to those words and became sauron's jailer as he contains the entirety of the darklord's power all by himself to give galadrield a chance to form the fellowship
The entirey of middle earth thought that sauron laid dormant after his defeat in the 2nd age but the truth there was only one who truly kept him at bay
Talion's corruption at the end of the story kind of shows part of the meaning of that famous Tolkien phrase: "Evil is not capable of creating anything new, it can only distort or corrupts what has been created or invented by the forces of good".
The great truth about Talion is the thing that makes him such an incredibly emotional and empathetic character. He's just a man. Call him what you like; Gravewalker, Bright Lord, Nazgul. Talion was never anything more than a man. He could have given up a thousand times. He could've walked away, left it to greater heroes. But he didn't. Talion embodied the spirit of man, the will to never stop fighting, never give up, never let the crushing tide of darkness overtake that which you swore to protect. Talion of Gondor, husband to Ioreth, father to Dirhael, First Captain of the Rangers of the Black Gate, held the line. Not because he had to, or because he wanted to, but because no one else could. Such a terribly sad and inspiring tale. Makes me want to prove that I can be just as good a man as him.
@@Forsparda I would argue that his holding the line for as long as he did helped more than his existence as a Nazgul hurt. And anyway, there would have been a ninth, regardless of it being Talion or someone else. His keeping the ring meant that there were only eight for a much longer time. Talion made the right call, even if it put him through agony and despair for decades.
@@Forsparda I never said his will was never broken, no man can withstand the rings forever. But he fought against Sauron all the way to the end, right up until he was taken. In a way, "Talion" never broke, refusing to allow Isildur to be taken, in defiance of Celebrimbor, and refusing to quit even when he wanted to more than anything else. And even then, his spirit still went on to the afterlife, which tells me that his will was never really broken, just dominated or masked by Sauron's will through the ring. The rest of the Nazgul we know actively accepted the power of Sauron, where Talion was simply worn down to the point that resistance was infeasible. I don't think Talion ever really broke, he just couldn't resist the Dark Lord any longer.
@@oskarthenarrator 'Talion embodied the spirit of man, the will to never stop fighting, never give up, never let the crushing tide of darkness overtake that which you swore to protect." This is what you said and simply put you are wrong in the end he turned and chose to join the other ring wraiths and its pretty clear from the cutscenes
The thing i found most beautiful about this series is that Talion's story was deliberately written to show that his battles and struggles would never be recognized. That to me made it fit into the lore very well, because we would have never known about the shadow wars he fought. To the outside observer, it was just sauron regaining power throughout the millenia, but this game gives a very specific reason as to why sauron's advances were so slow. it was because of the shadow of mordor
Yeah, it's weird that they made it so he could theoretically be canon but then also heavily changed Celebrimbor's story, as well as added him to Sauron's eye when that was never the case.
A lot of people saying things like: “Nothing you did mattered” “A pointless story” Jesus Christ, have you not watched The Lord Of The Rings at all? Talion held back Sauron for literally decades. If not for Talion, Sauron would have conquered Middle Earth long before the Fellowship even had a chance to defend themselves. But thanks to Talion, Frodo, Sam, Aragorn and the entire fellowship has a head start to destroy the ring. And the sad thing is, is that nobody will ever know of what he did. Nobody will ever know of his sacrifice to save Middle Earth from the forces of darkness. The forgotten hero..
This right here is what i always tell does that never understood talion's purpose, sauron was ready for war he had his armies prepared to march yet talion singlehandedly dominated half of his orcs and fought against him for decades they thought sauron laid dormant but the truth is he was in a tight battle with talion and he didn't even flinched as he faced the dark lord, if it wasn't for him lady galadrield would not have enough time to prepare the fellowship in the first place, talions deeds may never be revealed and honored but he did what he must, he protected middle earth got cursed, broken, and reaped of his soul, what more can someone sacrifice than what he gave for middle earth
I appreciate that, but the thing is that's talion's choice. It was a game about OUR choices and we got feck all. I do adore the game, but I will say I do agree with nothing you did mattered. We didn't do anything, it was all talion.
Stone by stone Cracked, crushed, fallen Beauty burned Erased, but not forgotten I'll take your melodies May your last breath Fill the air with embers I inhale In their blood I will stand Let the waning light of man Cast my shadow On the fires of war Till our time Burns away Until our embers fade to grey Cast my shadow On the fires of war My grief is swollen In rusty chains Tethered to the killing wheel Sun up, sun down, sun up, sun down again One burning candle One wind whipped flame I carry in my teeth like an animal Vengeance, my strength In their blood I will stand Let the waning light of man Cast my shadow On the fires of war Till our time Burns away Until our embers fade to grey Cast my shadow On the fires of war
@@turg1714 Hello old friend, where is my ring ? Jokes aside, I don't think jack is a suitable name for a character in lotr, You need a name that gives a fantasy like feeling, like legolas or something like that. But hey its your story, you can name your character any name you want. Hope this was useful, have a nice day.
This just makes me think of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. People mock it and disrespect it but this is what it was for. All those heroes and warriors who will never been seen, found, mentioned, or recognized.
@@happyzone1000 yes they would have, WW2 reshaped the world as an example. The United States and it’s allies during the war would be completely different If the allies had lost the war. It would be far worse today.
@@happyzone1000 Sure they wouldn’t have liked it, but it was the lesser evil than letting the Nazis win. Kinda the choice of “Two evils, but one is lesser than the other”.
Canon be damned. This game and the story of Talion are epic, and worth a few discrepancies. Plus, the added layer of knowing it's Talion you see die in RotK makes that scene even more emotional, which is a feat itself.
This reminds me of when aragorn (not sure thats spelled right) looked at gandalf before he charged and simply said "For Frodo". He wasn't even sure weither or not Frodo was still alive but fought regardless maybe even only with the hope of him still being alive. Talion didn't know there would be someone later to stop sauron but he also recognised that he had to fight if for no other reason than no one else can. Very well done.
At that point everyone thought Frodo was dead, Aragorn's goal wasn't Victory at that point, it was a worthy last stand, you could see the relief on his face when the tower of Sauron collapsed.
And that, I think, is what makes Talion fit so well into Middle Earth. The war of the ring is all one long story about people fighting for what's right, even when they have no reason to hope for success. Every single person involved in that war, from Talion to Frodo, had every reason to think they would fail. And that's what makes it so powerful that they kept trying anyway. And eventually, through their combined efforts, they do the last thing anyone expected - they won.
I actually think a movie couldnt do him justice as well as the game did, since only when you've played the game, you know how much he actually did and how long it took
After I cried for 20 minutes. I started contemplating the story, I read through the comments about him not be canon and that his story goes against Tolkiens legacy. Talion is merely a man. He is supposed to die. And he should have with his family. However, the story is about Light and dark in a lifetime of war trying to dominate and eradicate one another. Talion is simply Celebrimbors host. Talion can be killed but never dies. And even when celebrimbor and him separate he stills fights against all odds to make sure that the darkness never smothers his light. Even though according to Tolkien, if you dominate others you are no less of a villain than Sauron and that's exactly what the ending tells us. Even though Talion was holding Morder he was still doing it in a way that that desecrates life. Talion eventually realized that his battle was lost from the moment it started. Every day he defended morder he became less of a mortal. He strays ever further from memories of normal life and life with his family. He realized that the only way to truly end this was to join the nazguls. He had a choice not to join but what was he fighting for? Celebrimbor left him, the entity that tied him down to this tragedy in the first place. He has no loved ones. To him, Galadriel, himself, Eltariel and the orcs are the only living beings but then again Talion is dead, he is bound to life unending that only brings more death. He is basically a Nazgul just not fighting for Sauron, obviously, until he becomes part of Sauron. The fact that Talion dies with Sauron is to re emphasize that he was never a hero, no matter how much he thought he was. All he wanted was his family. Sauron and Celebrimbor wanted Supremacy. Talion and Celebrimbor are similar to Sauron and Saruman. Talion is just a puppet. Fighting for one side of the war. He still contributed to the burning embers and the blood spilled lands, in what he thought was a painstaking path reuniting him with his family was actually a road that lead to the ultimate draining of his consciousness and stripping him of everything that made him "The Ranger Of Gondor" The thing is that he is an enigmatic character, meaning that we can never get to the bottom of his character. Still made everyone at least shed a tear because he really is just the entity that reminds us that , heros and villain are never remembered and never forgotten. As well as life unending is a curse and the longer you life with eternal life the less you want to be alive even if you're the strongest being in the world. Talion, Celembrimbor, Sauron and the Nazugals are entities that cannot exist without each other. That's why they all die together. ( I'm not sure if Celebrimbor dies but I think he does) In the end they all lose but we can at least hope that Talion can be reunited with his family. Definitely my favourite game with such a compelling story and the reason that there are disputes about its purpose and what it stands for shows how powerful the story was. Whichever side of the battle you choose to fight on you will think you are good and the opposition are evil when in reality, there is good and evil in every being and while the one side shines the other is asleep until it is rested and holds dominion over the other and forcing it to rest and relent until it can hold dominion. The point is that either side removes free will because if you can't beat them join them and you end up fighting who you were what you stood for which shows that neither light nor dark wins and good and evil co exist even though not peacefully.
@meten-saiyanthelombax2970 Sure thing! Just my @ somewhere 🤪. Thanks for commenting so I could come back and listen to this! Truly a rollercaster of emotions🥀
@@cxs744 The show takes place in the second age not the third. Gondor doesn't even exist yet in the second age. The show will be about their ancestors the Numenoreans, who are basically the peak of humanity in middle earth.
@@pabloarambula4627 Not necessarily. Story-wise, Celebrimbor is still around and Eltariel is going to answer his call, which means that they will probably the next foes for Middle-Earth.
@@miguelcondadoolivar5149 but who is gong to be the protagonist? How will the nemesis system work? . Next gen console could really push this to the next level, not to mention one of the beat combat systems in any videogame
The best ending in any game i have ever damn played. The definition of an emotional rollercoaster. Perfect music. Perfect scene. Still tear up just listening to the start of this song. RIP Talion :(
Grabs cup Gets cup full of grog Sips For talion and all the other orks that were gone along the way Dang it now I'm thinking bout the murader maskman that was my saviour more time then he should, saved me from death 20 maby 30 ish times till ... ZOG. THAT ZOG ... THE ONE FROM THE QUEST LINE AMBUSHED THE BOTH OF US AND ABSOLUTLY FUCKED US IN THE SHRARK while dealing with a rebellion (he was the ork chosen to get captured and starts bleeding) Now every time I play again zog will remember what he did.
No one in Middle Earth will remember this Man, but we gamers will. We've been through his journey to know him from start to finish, for now, let him rest eternally with his family, knowing that he had finally found peace in a lifetime of war.
"There comes a time where one must make a sacrifice. Not of flesh and blood, but of spirit and self. Where we must understand that to prolong the rise of darkness, we must accept it unto ourselves. To preserve the light long enough, we must use the shadows own chains against itself and hold it for as long as we can. And when we do fall to the dark, we must pray one can strike us down in turn."
I would love to see a movie about Talion, I mean, the movies are nothing but an adaptation of the books, so, by the logic, there are a lot of things that are not cannon (like Aragorn bringing the spirits to the battle, while in the book he just used them to get into the ships). I feel so bad for Talion, he fought to the last breath, he's inspiring, a really great character and a true warrior, he deserves to be more recognized!
My journey through the Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War saga began in 2016. Starting with Shadow of Mordor, I was immediately captivated by the narrative and immersive gameplay. Five years later, in 2021, I returned to Middle-earth to experience the thrilling sequel, Shadow of War. My adventure through Mordor continued, and although I didn't quite reach the end at first, I achieved a significant 60% completion of the game. Finally, on February 16, 2024, I've conquered the remaining challenges and witnessed the culmination of Talion's story. While bittersweet, the final cutscenes provided a satisfying yet tragic closure to his journey. While a part of me wished for Talion's continued existence, the writer masterfully crafted an ending that leaves little room for further adventures. Looking back, this journey spanning eight years (2016-2024) has been truly memorable. I deeply enjoyed the gameplay and the intricate narrative woven throughout both games. The Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War saga will undoubtedly remain a cherished experience.
This comment may go unnoticed, but I just have to speak out about this. Nothing except of some deaths and few movie scenes made me sad (not counting tragedies in family). I downloaded Shadow of War on Xbox One, thinking it would be nice to play game about managing orc army. At the beggining I just wanted to get to next act to dominate some uruks, but after few missions, I started to like it anyway. I first got a little feeling of sadness after last humans in the game left Mordor, but it went away. I was playing until I got to true ending. This music, combined with Talion walking away into afterlife, to his family, gave me watery eyes, not gonna lie. I still have this feeling, happines mixed with sadness, when I listen to this song.
This honestly is one of the most beautiful video game related song i've had the pleasure to listen to i used it as inspiration for a d&d character in the starwars universe who's a grey jedi that survived 66
The story of this game is just fucking amazing! When i beat it for the first time i almost cried! The story development of my orcs and Talion! Its just such a good game and i am sad Talion has to go! When i saw the visualized video of this a tear came. Just such a sad song fitting for the kind of ending!
Talion might be the most selfless hero to ever exist in my mind. He was betrayed again and again and had every right to abandon this world, and yet he chose to fight for a world that truthfully never deserved him. The world didn’t deserve better, Talion deserved a better world.
Troy Baker always plays the best characters except for Kai Leng. Talion is the sweetest individual in Middle Earth and was betrayed by his companions. He deserved better. Celebrimbor aka wannabe Sauron and elf witch Eltariel should be ashamed of themselves and their misdeeds to universe.
There will never be anything good like this adapted to an TV series. All TV series nowadays are pretty shit, haven't seen anything good since Breaking Bad..
he may no be canonical in the actual lotr universe but he deserves the most respect out of every hero in the lotr universe, rest in peace talion, you will never be forgotten
“If I fall, who will take my place?” Talion was a truly honorable and nearly incorruptible man of Gondor. The will he possessed to wear Isildur’s ring for decades and not succumb to darkness but rather fight it head on. Not only that but he fought to spare Middle Earth from the fate he and his family faced. Such a strong willpower is only capable when you know who and what you are, which keeps you grounded in purpose as well as integrity
damn... when the first piano note hits, my heart feels like crushed... we've been through so much with this guy, and he'll be erased from history.. Lore of this game is insane.
I have never been into lord of the rings, never watched it apart from the first LOTR movie in year 6 at school. I liked it, just never watched it. I saw SoW on a youtube video 2 months ago, and saw you could build an army of orcs, so I decided; Why not buy it? So I picked it up, been playing it. I got to the end enjoying every minute of it and Talion has been one of my top favourite characters now, I've very rarely felt this much emotion for someone in a video game, and at the end, felt like I lost someone I loved. I loved the fact he was turning to darkness but was fighting for good. I will probably never see another game this good, and it upsets me.
@@VergilTheLegendaryDarkSlayer Yea might do man, I love this so much. I saw nazgul as the biggest enemy, Knowing some of their (non-canon but still) history and how sad it is to see basically legendary heroes fall to villains is such a touch to the game and franchise. You almost feel bad for them and want them to be free.
@@General-Of-Gaming that's up to personal perspectives. RDR2 isn't really a sadder game, Arthur is a killer at heart. Becoming good because you're dying doesn't make you a saint, if anything it makes you scared.
Talion was a beast, he stood alone for decades. Being alone against evil is insanely hard something no one else could do in middle earth, truly a hero feat. Eru himself welcomed him at the end.
He was no hero, but he answered a the call that no one would. He took the place of the hero everyone expected. He fought fire with fire. Evil with evil. He did things many qould consider horrible, horrible acts. All in the name of keeping the Dark Lord at bay. He was not the good guy- far from it- but he answered the hero's call. He did what no one else could. Betrayal after betrayal. Death after death. He fought on. He foight till he had nothing left to fight with. He died a hero, but death denied him. So he was forced to live to see himself fall. To see himself slowly slip onto the grasps of the dark. The evil. But death denied him still. So he embraced that evil. That darkness. That madness. He became something that some would consider worse then the enemy he sacrificed so much to hold back. The things he's done are terrible, all in the name of having people he had never met, have one more day of freedom. He held back the darkness, with a darkness of his own. And even after everything, no thanks were given. His memory- his legacy- faded away. Until all that was left of him, was the shell of cursed darkness. Forced to serve the one he sacrificed so much to hold in place. Forced to slaughter those he had secretly protected for decades. Only to finally be set free after the destruction of the Dark Lord. Finally able to live. Finally able to see his wife nd son again.
I cried like a little bitch when I watched the ending. I don't even shed a tear when I watch the titanic but when I reach the end of a fantasy video game.
Amazing ending. I never played the second game, heck I never even finished the first one, but after watching all the cuts scenes from both I see how beautiful a story it was.
i'll never forget the most hype orc villain i had in my playthrough, his name was horza of the black gate he was mocking talion's family and saying he saw it all, so i destroyed him and cleaved him in half later on he came back fully mechanized and his name had changed to horza the machine i decided to let him kill me to make it cinematic, and during the minas ithil attack, the captain that you need to kill in the yard was him i ended up killing him therefore closing off his story, but during the zog questline he came back as an undead in the colosseum i will never forget you horza 😭
mine was a basic orc from all the way back in minas ithil. Just starting out as I was hunting down a captain that had killed me at least 3 times, a grunt got me. Thrak. after my demise, thrak the tark slayer. So I tracked him down. Killed him. He cheated death and appeared in the middle of another encounter. I fled, believing the fight was lost. From there, I was angry with thrak. So I chased him down again, and killed him. Had a good personality to, the poor bastard. Several sessions later, I head to the colosseum and confront zog. At this point I had reached a point I always do in games. The point where I start paying attention to the character of the enemies, seeing them as people instead of obstacles to be removed. And I looked back on thrak fondly. So I confront zog, and see the orcs raised from the dead. And imagine my surprise when the final orc revealed is none other than thrak the tark slayer. Seeing what he’d become, surprise shifted to guilt. I still tell myself that I killed himself out of mercy instead of shame.
I cried for hours listing to the his... The saddest part of middle earth is where talion dies and takes off his gear... I would play as I'm as a ranger and help him with everything! 😭
I cried so many happy tears for Talion when I got to see his long long struggle end. Such an emotionally charged ending. Love this song, I'm thinking of putting it in my wedding quartet playlist😅
He lost everything his family his friends his Horner his brother at the black gate defeat the black hand of suron lost a Ringwraith and pretty much became the new dark lord of Mordor this game will always have a special place in my heart
This game makes you feel how tired Talion is. Endless war, endless grinding for no hope. I just want Talion to have a final rest, so that he doesn’t have to fight even after his death. WB please give players RIP, and the trilogy give Talion RIP.
Im not. I liked it, but Helm and Isildur being nazgûl? Nazgûl twin sisters? We only know two Nazgûl names so they have room to play with, but why Helm and Isildur
@@earendilthemariner5546 cuz devs too lazy for cool new characters. Shadow of Mordor’s gameplay and story was good, Shadow of War just had gameplay for the most part.
@@yokez Devs too lazy for new characters?!? Like Talion? Or Bruz? Or Ratbag's wingman, or any of the dlc main characters? They wanted to tie the story in with established lore a bit
@@joeblazer3429 ratbag’s wingman? Thats one of the epic best new characters you could think of? I think i vaguely remember him being friends with and olog or something. A little boring compared to the black captains or even ratbag himself.
What is Talion He fought for years against the forces of evil alone. He's been put down countless times and gets back up every time. He never gave up, even when it was 1 against hundreds. He fought for Mordor and its people knowing that he will not get anything out of it. He fought and died until he couldn't grasp breath. What is Talion? A Legend.
I really like how the ending to return of the king and this game is the same. The grey havens is portrayed in many lotr games from the same angle making every lotr experiance more nostalgic
Its honestly amazing how good this game is. I have gotten a platinum trophy on this game and more than 300 hours of gameplay on this game. What a masterpiece. 100% recommend this game to anyone.
Fucking hell... I can still remember the FIRST ever time I saw Shadow of Mordor. I was staying overnight at a friend's house and we were going over what game we could play, and he showed me Shadow of Mordor. I thought "oh? This looks interesting" and we launched it. We started in the middle tower in Nurn and I can remember him having to show me how to run (for xbox it's holding A) and we spent a very long time trying to dominate a certain Warchief (wish I could remember his name lol). And now here I am, with this being... I'd say maybe my 4th favourite game series of all time. Such a brilliant game and I hope more ideas come out with the Nemesis System being the core part of it. It's one of those things we never knew we needed
@@troyscribner4342 I'd say (in respective order): Destiny 2, Borderlands 2 and all the Monster Hunter games I have played (I honestly can't pick my favourite lol)
