I love the... almost poetic fact, that Leilanais "Ultimate spell that might kill its wielder", is ultimately a barrier. It fits so well with her character. She wasn't an aggressor, she was always first and foremost someone who wanted to Protect people.
Kayle hints at it herself in her interactions with Demacians. Lux is gonna get her ass smithed for not doing anything in the face of injustice, and Garen - for causing the suffering of multiple innocents.
@@khoinguyen5004 as stated in the game, Kayle is just the punishing half of justice. Without protection and forgiveness, this "justice" becomes blind tyranny.
Skyen rambling about Jarvan IV's hypocrisy is very entertaining "If I personally know you, even if you are a mage, you will be safe." "I want to copulate you, so the law doesn't apply to you." 50:40 Relatable
"Gee, I don't see what makes you so uncomfortable about having to live discreetly in a place where countless people and creatures similar to you are imprisoned, killed, tortured, or experimented upon! You'll be perfectly safe as long as I'm interested in boning you. What is it if not the opportunity of a lifetime?" (c) Jarvan IV
Dunno how many people caught this, but at the moment of Leilani’s death, the heavy strings (idk what to call em) share the same theme as Kindred’s theme. As if the signs of her being dead were not enough, they went the extra mile. Could be a coincidence, but as someone who binges League champ themes every now and then, the similarities feel like it’s intentional.
Man hearing Jarvan talk about Shyvana and Lux reminds me so much of growing up black in TN and hearing I'm "one of the good ones" from peers. Big analog for racism too with magic.
That is one of the reasons why, while I view the magic as an analogy for queer stuff as a whole (because anyone can be born with it), with Shyvana specifically, I view it as an analog for racism because of how much of her culture and identity she has to repress to be "palatable" and how much Jarvan sees her as "one of the good ones" while hating the rest of her people
I recently realized a thing about Morgana’s design. She’s a classic “goth mommy”, and as such she looks soft and reassuring and world-weary, and even playful in a way. She has bare arms for hugging, a soft dress that welcomes contact unlike Kayle’s rigid armor, her wings aren’t as visible and her face is uncovered. And most of all, despite the historical inspiration, she looks more modern than Kayle, who’s firmly rooted in fantasy. She reminds me of goth/queer elders I know and follow. Which is ultimately my definitive idea on Morgana. She’s the “Mother” of the house, the one misfits turn to when in doubt, the one that keeps the house together. If Soraka leans more towards purifying evil, Karma on maintaining balance and setting wrongs aside and Janna… what is a Janna anyway? Morgana feels like the comforting figure who turns directly to those in need and, despite being able to put up a mean fight, would rather stay with her community. Her devilish imagery, paired up with Kayle’s angelic righteousness, also lends a special reading to the queer allegory of the Mages and their persecution: as Lil Nas X would say, if they always tell us to go to hell they shouldn’t be surprised when we turn to it willingly. The Devil - here named Morgana - is a friend.
hello this made me tear up you're 100% right about the queer elder analogy! and to add to that- note that we found FAR more notes and prayers to Morgana than Kayle. people - mages or not - call to her in their time of need, and while she cannot answer everyone she does seem to acknowledge and care for their entire human nature, flaws and all. though there is another point: Morgana implied that Kayle would 10000% smite every single Demacian, whether mage or human. in this way, SHE is representative of they blind furious retributive justice that motivated Sylas prior to the loss of Leilani, and it's why Morgana rejected to help him before. but with the grief for a beloved friend, and need to do right *on behalf of others* - THAT is the justice Morgana stands for. Anyway I lost the thread a little bit there. Your comment was really insightful and lovely!
I love how in J4’a whole speech about being better than the dead and then his whole “mages are absolutely terrible. I can’t believe my father planned to…” Wisteria and garen stare, and instead of continuing he just goes “Never mind. Not important. Round up all the mages. Now.” OH GEE, I WONDER WHAT THAT COULD MEAN FOR THE STORY.
I'm still *so* upset (SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE) . . . . that all the death flags for Leilani were TRUE. while I wish we had more with her, there was... a thematic send off to her character. but I'm so, SO SAD that she was not allowed to have more of a relationship with all of the characters. Leilani could've been seen by everyone as what she is - a really brave person who was wonderful for people around her. Sylas carrying her back to the Hideout made me actually tear up during the stream. the two of them not having a romantic relationship, not even a *jab* at it, was something very welcome - they were reluctant allies becoming friends, who then were becoming close as people and leaders in a way others couldn't have clicked. the fact that we're not getting more of Leilani is the saddest part of this episode. I really hope that either the canon creators (hope, but *doubt* it) or the fanon ones (which I feel like I might become purely fueled by spite) will bring her to the attention she deserves. best case scenario is even the main games referencing all of Sylas' companions, because it really fleshes him out as a character. anyway, damn. I can't now listen to The Hideout on the soundtrack without feeling tears in my eyes. this game playthrough really caught me off guard with how good the game is, even if I do have some bones to pick with it. also AAAAAAAAA. I FORGOT THAT RIGHT AFTER HER DEATH THE HIDEOUT SOUNDTRACK CHANGES TO "LOSS". I AM CRYING AGAIN.
To me the only thing muddling up the death flag was the question on how dark the game was willing to go. We’d seen many dark things, but death… it’s always one step forward.
So… Tianna is a widow now. An evil vengeful widow who will absolutely use her status as a tender upper-class widow to have her revenge. The potential - both to develop Tianna while keeping her as evil as she is now and to progress the story - is blooming.
I’m not too brushed up on her lore but isn’t Tianna not that bad? She didn’t like her husband and was protecting Lux so she can’t be all that bad she had no control over the mageseekers either so forgive me if I’m wrong but while I doubt she’s good I don’t think she’s downright evil
@@chainsawboy2388 well, she still supported the persecution of mages while using her connections and influence to keep Lux hidden --- and she was among those who arranged for Sylas execution just because they didn't want him talking to Lux anymore. She is NOT a good person.
I went straight to rest and missed the whole reactions to Lelani’s death, and you’re the only playthrough I found that went over all the console dialogues with the main characters. Thanks!
I like how this game shows that people nominally working towards the same goal can have many reasons for doing so. Especially on the bad side we have great examples of malice (Eldred), stupidity (Jarvan), fear (Wysteria), and misplaced loyalty (Garen and Shyvana).
I think J4 is worse. Azir, despite his arrogance, is more open-minded and actually abolished slavery during his rule, instead of freeing just Xerath as "one of the good ones" (he also fulfilled his promise and called him his brother, his equal when he ensured that nothing and no one in Shurima will be able to stop him and change his reforms). So, I'd say he had the potential to reform Shurima from an empire to a more democratic place (and he certainly has the potential for change now). Meanwhile, J4 is so dense it's infuriating, and he actually sabotaged his father's attempts to limit Mageseekers' authority and improve the situation for mages.
@@pokerface4396 correction: Azir only freed the slaves on the day of his then-botched ascension, which by then Xerath had already planned and executed upon a hostile takeover. As both characters put it [while Xerath was still sane]: Too little, too late. You're right though, at least Azir didn't tell Xerath that he was "one of the good slaves". Honestly Azir's entire thing is weird, since the writers seem intent on flip-flopping between him being inept and childish [forcing the resurrection of the empire, reinstating castes, razing a village because it was Xerath's home, neglecting Nasus's advice], and a tragedy [actually having navigated the power struggle in the old empire to free the slaves despite the risk to his own privilege]
@@zyibesixdouze4863 In his bio, it is stated that he has been secretly preparing his reforms to abolish slavery for a while, in addition to uprooting his father's cruel policies and introducing better conditions. He knew that the empire was quite used to slavery, so he knew that the elites would show a lot of resistance, from conspiracies to spilling blood. Since he was very serious about getting rid of the millennia-long tradition of slavery, he kept his preparations private, so they won't be botched by the noble houses allergic to the idea of slaves as free citizens. He saw Ascension as the perfect moment to make his decision to abolish slavery public since his orders wouldn't be the orders of a mere emperor but of a god-like entity, which meant that elites would have to comply. At the same time, he would be strong enough to ensure his reforms remain unchanged. Sure, it was naive thinking since he was unaware of how much Xerath contributed to his journey, but even Xerath was taken aback that Azir kept his promise. You're correct about Azir's personality being a bit inconsistent, but I attribute it to Azir being disoriented after everything that transpired. He is currently a man without purpose, he got murdered by someone he called his brother, and he is introduced to a new world. Of course, from his perspective, he feels that he failed Shurima, and he sees the destruction of Shuriman Empira as a bad thing: people are not united, and they aren't strong enough to stand against Noxus encroaching on his lands. So, it's logical that he is a bit of a mess, trying to fix his empire, adjust to a new reality and overcome the sting left by Xerath murdering him. But at the same time, I see growth potential. He was shown to be very curious and pleasant in LoR, he doesn't force Sivir to join him (he could if he wanted to) even though he would love to have her by his side, and he still respects Nasus who is super critical of him. I hope, if Riot decides to develop his arc further, he ends up realizing that he doesn't need an empire, he needs a new purpose in life.
Dalin and Rigby are the Scout/Barrier unit from rising tides, Gorlith is the 10 cost of Galio's package. After seeing skyens reaction to the silverwing babs i can only picture him doing the "Here comes the boooooy! Hello Boy!"
It would be cool if it was revealed that Zeri and Zac had Ixtali ancestry with Zeri's ancestors being Ixtali mages that moved to Zaun before the Void and Zac being the direct byproduct of Ixtals attempt to recreate Malphite. Unrelated to the video yes i know.
All the pain of missinterpreting which path leads to collectibles and which to story progress... If only there was a way to learn which paths end with new zone loading and which are dead ends that hide the prize. If only... MAP. Just open the map... I saved me from multiple mission repeats at Gideon's station. The only time I missed sth, it was lore drop bcs I was either blind to see it in the open or didn't save at shrine.
I honestly agreed with how much you hated Jarvan but by the end of the game I changed my mind, I think he kinda turns around even tho he has a long way to go still. Although of course you don't have to agree.
@@hellblaze10 He's a dumbass, but unfortunately he's also one of the only decently moral Demacian nobles. Not a high bar, but definitely way better than the others.
At first I thought the paperwork in the office was from J3 but as far as I can tell even J3 was more sympathetic than that because he actually wanted to end mages being considered illegal. Like to fully stop the legal prosecution of magic. Like I’m sure he was still prejudiced and had a lot of lukewarm opinions on magic but like wasn’t J3 killed because he was probably going to make Demacia exceptionally more stable? And even better follow up question why did he not impart these beliefs on his son once he started believing them? Like dude.
gonna be honest I am kinda feeling a bit Waldorf and Statler every time Jarvan shows up and TB goes in a tirade like we get it girl please I assure you we get it move on
