Відео

This DLC proved to me that fromsoft themselves don't know the story of elden ring. I don't think they know what they're doing or trying to tell, and it's very clear that the game was too big for their narrative style.

A Mohg/Radahn fusion would’ve been better, I would’ve kept the horns on his head and even his wings perhaps, maybe given him darker skin on some parts. If it had actually been Godwyn perhaps this version of him could have been physically whole but still gone in spirit. An empty consort. A pale imitation of Miquella’s dead beloved brother. A failed lord for a flawed god and his fickle dream.

Loved it hilarious great points too

Great video! My man, I gotta know your thoughts on the seduction!!! When is that video dropping?

So I believe the Amber Starlight and Ranni’s questline sheds some light on Radahn and the nature of fate and mind control in the world of Elden Ring. The Amber Draught that is concocted with Starlight from a shrine to Miquella fails to alter the fate of Ranni’s doll form. It seems that the “fate that is written in the stars” is something that Carian sorcery is able to harness. Selivus’ efforts to subjugate Ranni are an interesting parallel to Miquella’s own attempts to charm Radahn. The Lucidity spell and the focus stat are examples of how a sorcerer can abate forms of mental control so it can be reasonably assumed that the Carian family, which has a divine connection to the stars, also has a capacity to resist things that could alter their fate. Killing Radahn and being present when his soul is revived could then be a way to weaken him enough for Miquella’s charm to fully function.

I have to respectfully disagree on a lot of these points. As a community we could use more self reflection on our assumptions and feelings rather than project them onto the intentions or competence of the author. And the Godwyn story and the response to PCR is a prime example of all these unchallenged, uncritical feelings coming to a head and us looking for validation in the shared disappointment rather than reflecting on why we should have even felt such disappointment to begin with. FromSoftware has a long history of major bosses with no real narrative buildup. Everything here about the lack of Radahn mentioned outside of one or two missable NPC quest lines easily applies to Orphan of Kos, Gael, Manus. And even in their base games, our final bosses are often barely mentioned outside of maybe one NPC and maybe, if we’re lucky, the opening cinematic. You could completely miss Miriel and Goldmask in the game and be left wondering why Marika suddenly turns into a male redhead named Radagon. You only really find out what the Nightmare of Mensis even was about after you kill something called Mergo’s Wet Nurse with little context on who Mergo was or what the Wet Nurse even is. Even the most straightforward end bosses like Gwyn or Allant are surprise encounters we aren’t told we will fight and kill them until we’re already doing it, unless you manage to not place the Lordvessel as soon as you get it. Point is, narrative flow and buildup are not and were never really a thing in these games. It’s all atmosphere and journey, and the narrative is something we piece together after the fact as we’ve always done. The expectation for Godwyn and Miquella was a strange craze to witness, a fan theory on some very limited evidence and most likely disappointment that the Mending Rune of Death quest wasn’t that grand. Had FS actually delivered on this expectation, it would have been unprecedented in a number of ways, and we should definitely take away from it a good lesson not to jump onto a popular fan-theory driven bandwagon again. I also wish the ending to Fia’s quest wasn’t just another ancient dragon fight after a simp battle royale. It’d be nice if there was a major update they completely reworked it, just like it’d be nice if we got way more about Loran and the catacombs. But lore was only ever a fascinating vehicle to suck the attentive player into their world building, not the actual point of these games or why most players enjoy them. And as a vehicle to deliver yet another cryptic series of questions, PCR and Miquella’s vow is as good as anything else FS has delivered. Completing a story, filling in gaps, these were never in the cards since Demon’s Souls never gave us the broken archstone DLC.

*murdered Godwyn

There is no setup for Radahn being consort 😭😭😭🤓, we couldn’t predict it, it wasn’t the way we wanted🤡 Miyazaki: 🗿

"Amazon Prime Radhan" LMAO

Fuck Godwyn, i hate him just because the people don't acknowledge that his story was already complete in the base game.

Top quality shitpost. I do definitely like the whole playing up of the community reaction and what everyone said about the lore. I cannot fathom how often I heard “the lore” from people that don’t do required reading, and it’s nice to see people kinda having a laugh about it nowadays. Good parody! :)

I religiously consumed every lore video and writing during the base game. The moment I saw Radahn was the final boss for the DLC, I completely closed off to the lore, haven't watched a single lore video about the DLC (besides this one, this late). It is just so uninteresting to make a base game early boss that we already killed as the final DLC boss, with the same weapons, same look, same annoying big figure. Remember, this is the company that gave us Sister Friede for a DLC ...

I think you nailed it in the head when you mentioned “setup and payoff” and how they seemingly ignored such a simple & important storytelling device in the DLC. There was some things that were set up in the base game that didn’t pay off in the DLC. At the same time, there were things that were never set up coming out of nowhere when the DLC dropped. I used to love and speculate about the lore in ER, but because I was so disappointed with the DLC lore inconsistencies and its ending, I started to not care about the story. (Why be invested in the world of Elden Ring if the lore and story do not matter all that much?) I still enjoyed the DLC to an extent, but I think it’s a step down compared to the base game. (imo, base game is 9/10, while the DLC is an 8/10) Great video, btw.

The main game finale works much better imo. Expecting to fight Marika, only to fight Radagon may be a surprise, but not necessarily confusing. If you aren't in the know, this isn't out of nowhere.

I was so certain that Godwyn the Golden was gonna be Miquella's Consort, that I did Ansbach's and Freya's quest, yet had no idea rahdahn was gonna be at the Gate of Divinity.

yet he didn’t protect fortissax

Doubling Messmer's HP or even 2 health bars between phases would have been a better final boss than Radahn, he didn't have undodgable moves, and his fight is one of maybe 3 good boss fights in the DLC, including Bayle and Midra

then why'd he let her die? curse you godwyn you took my woman!!!!

Why are all goldmask fans such insufferable dickheads always, you’d think they’d take a clue from their man and shut up

Not wrong, but I’ll at least point out that there were some who found, and felt, the buildup for Radahn. Some who simply knew he was going to be there on the other side of the wall of light when entering the arena the first time. Quelaag is my best example.

I get the vibe that the DLC is more aout Marikas story than it was Miquella. Miquellas antics felt more like a sidequest running parallel to us learning more about Marikas origin story.

Miquella was turned into the Booty Warrior and Radahn's booty was the price. Our beloved general was wronged.

yes, they didn't want the DLC to interfere with the main game. but that didn't prevented the possibility of the main game interfering with the DLC, like, being touched by the 3 fingers makes a new dialogue with Midra, or defeating Malenina makes Miquella's battle harder, or even sacrificing Melina makes Mesmer angrier, idk. it feels like a incredible missed opportunity.

I finished the video (and made 4 comments, my bad) and I still feel empty about Miquella :( but I have a glimmer of hope that they will do him and Trina justice

I think radan is a good final boss hes a puppet doesnt talk ever in the story hes used for his strength hes a tragic character and it was explained but fromsoft loves to hint at stuff barely so him fighting melania was so he can be miquellas consort its also explained later that when she does the nuke attack on him and wispers in his ear miquella awaits thee promised consort radan is a badass that was not only defying rannis quest but also him being alive defying miquellas hes probably my favorite character for the fact people dont seem to understand his motives nor does he ever speak ever

17:24 I’m praying they do Miquella justice like they did for Dark Souls 2. Praying 😭 please

They should’ve let his cat be in the final fight

I mean, even Dark Souls 2 DLCs' ending was more satisfying, and that says a lot.

I feel like they were setting up something bigger with Miquella and St. Trina too, but looking back, they messed up somewhere. Cutting St. Trina’s original quest was a big misstep and could’ve set her up properly and make her even sadder. The fact that they reused Gloam Knight/Gloam assets for Trina’s area doesn’t sit right with me. Also baiting us with the cutscene and having us think we’ll side with Miquella is a horrible choice by the marketing team -_- I’d also like to think the statue is Godwyn with the twins. I like that Miquella respected him. Miquella having no ending makes me regret buying the DLC collectors edition, but I got a Messmer statue out of it. I guess. Miquella deserved that Funko figure 😔 games never let us side with the feminine guys. Ugh.

"If you didn't do the quests that explain the story of the DLC you wouldn't know why a previous boss is the last boss of the DLC" Is that really a critique? Pay attention to the story and do the content that explains the story if you care about what's going on. Its like watching the beginning of a movie, fast forwarding through the middle, and then complaining that it doesn't make sense why the best friend was secretly the killer at the end. Yeah, the quests aren't easy to complete, but thats fromsoftware. If you don't wanna miss content your first playthrough, don't play blind. You think most people had any idea why tf some space amphibian thing was fighting us at the end of the game their first time? No quest really sets up that expectation. The boss and its arena is just as seemingly random imo as Radahn in the DLC imo. But I think they both do work well when you actually explore the lore and look into it. I feel like you can make all the same arguments you're making about Radahn, about the Elden Beast, but I've never seen people really complain about the lack of build up for that. The last boss is supposed to be a sort of big reveal to some degree. If there's too much build up you'll ruin the surprise.

45 seconds in, and you showed the lion statue with horns, and I can't help but feel like that perfectly illustrates the promised consort - Radahn the Lion and Mohg the horned Omen becoming one. It would have been really cool to see more of Mohg coming through in the final boss, kind of like when Goku and Vegeta fuse and you get parts of both characters.

I think Consort Radahn was always the intended final boss. Even if this wasn’t the case and it was a concession made later in development, how hard can it be to add some item descriptions to support his presence and relationship with Miquella? Elden Ring’s story might have more depth than any other From game, but frustratingly it’s too obfuscated by nebulous and disconnected lore. All in all, thank the Greater Will for the Garrulous Goldmask and his like! Keep up the fine work! PS It was nice to see you getting a shout-out from Smough 😄

A great measured analysis as always mate - good job

why do you talk like that

I personally think that "the vow" is potentially referencing the dialog Melina gives you at the battlefield grace near Leyndell. How Marika wanted her children to become lords or gods and not amount to sacrifices. The whole "promised consort" stuff is more open ended, tho.

Radahn definitely did not want to be Miqillas condort. Melania LITERALY tried to kill him over it. If He wanted to be his consort. He would have just gone with millennia willingly

My only question is who should've been miquella's consort? It couldn't be mogh cuz miquella wanted to use his body and even if he didn't want his body he still only wanted mogh to disgrace his body and allow entrance to the shadow realm. It can't be malenia because we hear in her cutscene that she is waiting for miquella's return, so most likely miquella knows malenia is waiting for him and doesn't pick her for that reason. Ranni already stripped her flesh. Godwyn doesn't have a soul and is 'dead'. Rennala is insane. Godrick is pathetic. Rykard is merged with the serpant. Morgott, funny enough, could've been a candidate, but his dedicated love for the erdtree would say otherwise. Radahn kinda makes sense as he is a demigod but doesn't devote himself to the golden order as strictly. I would've been fine if that was the reason. There was just no better option for miquella, instead of miquella just having a thing for radahn

I really thought that narratively dlc was a massive disappointment. We just weren't given enough. Their quest design was extremely lacking for something that took 2 years to make. Our fellowship questlines were basically "go and talk to this npc, send message to this npc" it felt so lazy when it should've been us slowly discovering who is actually in the land of shadow for what reason and what is their past. They just felt like NPC's when there was opportunity to make them actual characters. Rest i agree about, especially the church of bud boss, made no sense.

11:53 Miquella basically glimpse beyond the veil and understood that the only thing that makes someone a God is the fact that everyone believes that he is, the boss fight is his attempt at displaying a triumphant Godlike power. it is boisterous, stereotypically divine, overwhelming, and full of itself he carries himself like a God in the hopes that this will make him a God. The same idea is present in the base game, for instance, the haligtree fails to become powerful because it was only watered by the blood of one person, an immortal person who did not care about losing blood. The erdtree has power because so many people have fought in its name, they have given the tree power. Consider the gate of divinity, it is literally just a huge pile of skulls. It is a bunch of dead people that signify some sort of threshold that Marika crosses to display her power. This is why, even though Miquella and radan were at the gate before you, they cannot meaningfully pass through it in the same way that their mother did, because they did not gather the skulls themselves, no one witnessed this action, so it will not have power over anyone else.

11:25 the theme that links all of the important bosses from the Elden ring DLC together are outer gods. In the base game, outer gods are a legitimate concept to be explored question. In the DLC we come to find that the outer gods aren’t real, Scarlet rot, frenzied flame, the Golden order, even the fingers, all of them can bleed, they are not in some land far away, they are in a land that people were forced to forget to reinforce the power of the golden order, but even this was in vain

3:07 I think that is what fromsoft was going for. Miquella used the eclipse to cement Godwyn as the prince of death, Radan is a puppet and Miquella is not smarter or better than any other of the competing demigods. I think we all gave Miquella too much credit because he appears like a child, and everyone talks about him positively, but he was behind the night of the assassinations. It is his pride in believing that he can simply be better than the golden order without having to make any of the concessions that the golden order made to become what it is that blinds him. It’s like any political activist who just wants to slam shot their ideology into being without any consideration for how to sustain it.

Thats how GRR Martin writes a story but given how obscure it were not to mention gloam eyed queen information as well

I'm on the it was a childhood promise that went too far because eternal child with Rahdahn and the Miquellester train. I'm also on the it was supposed to be Godwyn but got changed because we called it train.

I know that comparison isn´t the point but the lore of elden ring has so many more lore contradictions and plain holes than any other souls game, gloam eyed-queen, why even choose radahn, why did radahn´s soul wash up there but malenia didn´t, how is miquella gonna birth anything without st. trina, is he just gonna shit out new demigods with radahn? it seems like georges superficial implications of meaning which in truth have no meaning and make no sense. They went all out with Martins idea that people will make up the meaning but the don´t when there is fundamentally none, like game of thrones has shown, he carried it with stolen symbolss and plot lines from history without ever being able to tie them up into a whole.

3:34 I'm the only person I've ever seen put this opinion forward, so I will assume you are crediting me personally. YOU'RE WELCOME, ELDEN RING COMMUNITY.

Sweet and sour feelings for this DLC. Awesome level design, but bosses coming from nowhere: Rellana, Gaius, Romina. They don't make any sense and are just additional content because, well no reason. Just adding bosses completely far-fetched with the main story. They just don't fit at all here. And I disagree with Rellana and the three sisters. Ranni is a daughter, doesn't make sense, and nothing tells us that the towers are contemporary to Renalla/Rellana, the towers could be ancient. Radahn-Miquella : absolute disappointment. Radahn died by our hand, just move on. let's not waste time in describing the fight, absolute absence of fun and pure garbage just here to frustrate and destroy the player, and add a lot of show off, because, well... I don't know. I still remember the first time I killed Consort Radahn. My reaction was : "that's it? Is it done? Where is the fight with Miquella? Don't tell me the DLC ends with this terribly badly designed boss..." Miquella is presented as a genius, but he failed everything he attempted. Presented as almost absolute, kind, terrifying, we have a Serosh/Lorian version of him. What a bad joke. And let's also add a clickbait seeing him on top of Torrent in DLC preview. Never seen another reference of that in the story or DLC. Finally we have the strongest demigod Radahn, being a joke twice, once as mindless, once as a puppet. And the genius Miquella a complete failure. In the end, this DLC story makes no sense at all to me, almost like if the DLC ignored parts of the main game. I won't pretend I am a lore-expert, but all I see are parts of a story poorly patched together...

Shadow of the Erdtree has some of the best and worst of Fromsoft's writing and design habits. Ironically for being the Miquella DLC, he was one of the least enjoyable parts of the dlc. Hell his followers are far more interesting than him. The Marika lore, Messmer and his followers, the depravity of the hornsent, and just Bayle with Igon are vastly better than Miquella and Radahn. Just felt...bad? Like for the biggest most grandiose and highly anticipated dlc in recent memory the story felt flat and had a deeply unsatisfying conclusion that for me soured the experience. I beat the dlc once and know that I have no desire to fight the super incest bros again.

I would think of Godwyn as Mycelium. Maybe he's not conscious, but the web of death he weaves through the world might be interconnected, and able to respond but not necessarily with purpose.

I don't understand this video. You say that there's no buildup to Consort Radahn, which is strictly true. But your counter-examples are.. not better? There's just as much buildup to Lorian and Lothric as there is to Radahn and Miquella, which is to say none. You walk through their fog wall, fight them, and maybe later you put together all the small bits of foreshadowing and lore. Lorian and Lothric unambiguously love each other, which is nice and all, but would it be satisfying to have the same clarity about Miquella and Radahn? Personally, I think having us speculating about the motivations of the characters was exactly the point, and it's not fair to call intentional ambiguity a mistake.

Fun dlc, awful conclusion. Felt like it’s missing a half, story wise.