I'm Jarl Balgruff and I be ballin' ballin' Jarl Ballin', ballin' Woman, I'm Lord of the Rings I'm the Jarl of Whiterun Hollar if you need me. Haters gonna hate Owwwwwwwww Haters gonna hate Owwwwwwwww Bitches gonna hate Yo momma's gonna hate Swag. Swag Hollar if you need me Hollar if you need reefer Bitch
If you ask Irileth “what threats does the Jarl face?”, part of her list is “sometimes I think even his children want him dead”. Perhaps that was meant to be foreshadowing.
His children have fallen under the influence of Mephala through the Ebony Blade, which is kept in Dragonsreach. That, combined with the kind of spoilage that comes of being raised to privilege and the neglect that comes of having one parent missing (see the video we're commenting on) and the other occupied with affairs of state, and you have a couple of very angry, entitled brats. If they don't actively want him dead, they don't act like they'd mind very much either.
@@DaveC2729 Honestly, for such a nice Jarl, two out of his three kids are insufferable. The remarks they make about the Dragonborn being a 'new servant' is telltale.
@@AmberTurdsShittyBedsheet At least siding with the Stormcloaks rips the privlage away from those brats, even if they don't ever really suffer from it Good job Bethesda, doing the bare minimum as always. 🙄
More likely he was listed as brother in the kit because of the 2 children limit. No family has more than 2 in the whole game, and those that do, they have one child listed as a different familial relationship in the creation kit.
makes most sense. but hats off, this guy is a masterclass in milking skyrim content. rather makes a 20 minute video about it then going for the most obvious solution
My theory was Balgruff once used the ebony blade and got drunk fell to the corruption of it and murdered his wife and in his guilt had the blade sealed a way and hired irilth since she worshipped maphala had her as a thane and to sense when the blade was calling out
So I am pretty sure we do know what happened to Carlotta's husband. You can see her take her daughter outside the halls of the dead and kneel down before a tombstone outside for a time. That was actually one of the most touching details I ever encountered in Skyrim.
Yes also, in that quest where you are helping Carlotta make that bard quit hitting on her, if you brawl him he says "that widow is mine, she just doesn't know it yet"
I could’ve sworn she says her husband died and they moved to whiterun after. I could’ve mix characters up, I’ve played the game so many times I don’t really talk to most of the npcs so my memory could be off.
ya know, the kid could be hrongar's son. That may explain the accidental flagging as "brother" in the game files. It would make nelkir the jarl's nephew. In real world Norse customs there were many reasons why a man might raise his brothers son as his own. If his brother were killed in battle, committed a horrible crime, or even if he were just asked to. Maybe it was hrongar who killed Jarl B's wife in a frenzy and the jarl, on realizing that his brother had no control over himself, decided to take hrongar's son as punishment in exchange for his life. It's also possible that there was no murder at all and hrongar simply asked blagruuf to raise his son. Maybe for a better life and a real chance at the throne. Who knows?
Ok but can we talk about the fact that a Hagraven would even be interested in a human? They are pretty clearly disinterested in mortal races post transformation, so just by merit of her liking the player means that she was either a redeemable Hagraven or one who was so smitten they might want to change. Also, magic. Pretty sure she would know she isn't the best physical fit for a mortal and would alter her appearance so that.....ahem....things would happen.
@@clayxros576 Actually, there's a ritual that turns regular witches into hagravens (but it involves a lot of murder). There's a side quest that lets you help a witch become one.
When theres a child i want to adopt but they have have parents i kill them both when the child isnt around to see me then wait a few days and adopt them at riftens orphanage
So Irileth takes the Ebony Blade and runs off from the MT. She meets Balgruuf, who takes her into his service. She returns with him to Whiterum and strikes up a friendship with Balgruuf's wife. At the same time, she and Balgruuf begin having an affair. That's when the Ebony Blade convinces her to kill Balgruuf's wife. Balgruuf probably would have executed Irileth, but they find out that she is pregnant. Somehow Balgruuf and Farengar learn of the Ebony Blade and steal it away. Being unable to destroy it by any means at their disposal, they decide to lock it away. Balgruuf, being a generally good guy, keeps Irileth on as his Housecarl. Irileth becomes obsessed with Balgruuf's safety, as a means of atonement. Too bad the vanilla children are all potatoes with hair. No way to confirm or deny this little thought exercise just by looking at the model.
@@mikeobama69 Canonically incorrect. Look into the origin of the Bretons, the Gray Prince, Lyris Titanborn and among others, I'm sure. The actual limits are that Man and Mer can breed with neither Khajit nor Argonians.
@@insaincaldo well, you are the dragonborn, the strongest warrior in all of Skyrim, and the killer of Alduin, you're probably the best man to handle that sword...
Carlotta has a side quest were a bard is giving her unwanted attention. In the quest Carlotta explains that ever since her husband died men have been trying to win her over. I take this as evidence that she didn't have an affair with Balgruuf.
@@franciosdauteuil4626 Just go talk to her at any point in the game, she complains about Sven if you ask her about how much attention she gets from dudes. Then you can either ask him politely to stop or beat him up for her.
I had to go back and listen to this like four times too. I think what he's saying is Balgruuf attempted to pass off the illegitimate kid as his wife's kid to the public.
@@No1gamer several reasons why you dont remeber Amnesia Head Injury Alzheimer desease and in TES *M A G I C* But with the magic you could also remove the memory of this particular situation.
Maybe... MAYBE... The reason why his third child is listed as his “brother”, is because the game only allows up to 2 children to be under a parent. I mean, if you think about it, if we are bound by the restrictions of the game to only have 2 adopted children, then doesn’t it make sense that every NPC is ALSO bound by the restriction? Since it would be like so, the developers probably wanted to add a third child to Balgruff, but since he had 2 children already, they just listed him as a “Brother”. 🤷♂️
i feel like Bethesda would’ve never been that lazy, however plausible your theory is. The dev team of Bethesda definitely enjoy going into depth and leave things for us to theorize and speculate about. i would’nt necessarily lean towards the theory of the only two children allowed speculation. I feel like Bethesda would’ve made an exception to the rule if that would benefit the lore and therefore theories and speculations about said character. however i do find your theory quite a interesting catch and consider it a good thinking material to unravel the mystery behind “the brother”
If I might be allowed to present an alternate Theory. Your theory states that Balgruuf killed his wife because he was under the sway of Mephala. My question is, if he was under the sway of Mephala, why would he have stopped with her? What if it's the other way around? What if he wasn't the one under Daedric control? What if Balgruuf killed his wife because SHE was under the influence of Mephala?
one detail I think should be considered is a small misc quest where you are asked to deliver a sword to Balgruuf that was special made by the local blacksmith, it's always a two handed sword so, even though he carries a one handed one with him, he does seem to like using two handed ones or at least has had prior experience. as to who stopped his bloody rampage? My guess could be Irileth herself since Drunmer are known to have knowledge on Daedra so maybe she could have some "cure" for it...or the court wizard since he is the other person with a key to the room...Just a guess though
I was thinking the same thing too, if his youngest is actually his brother, that would have been great fuel for Mephala to lie to his wife to get her to try to kill him. Maybe he killed her in self defense and hid the blade away and tossed her under the bridge and kept it hush (killing her would be a bad look for a jarl even if she was possessed)
To build on that further, it would have made Mephala happy to see him kill his wife even if his wife was the one under her influence. Maybe Mephala is hoping for a similar outcome by turning his kids on him as well? Maybe thats why he died in the cut content, he didnt want to make the same mistake so he just let them kill him
Well Bethesda actually made the ebony blade in a very smart way. It gets considerably powerful (for a unique weapon, which means not made or enchanted by the player) once you fully "level" it up. But as soon as you upgrade it by killing your first ally with it mephala essentially got what she wanted. She made you kill someone who trusted you for power. Or maybe not even power but curiosity. Many try it not because they want to use the ebony blade but rather because they just want to see what happens. Of course if you just take it and store it in some chest never to be seen again you screwed her over. But if you even upgrade it once mephala succeeded in corrupting you. Actually many daedra actually "beat" the Dragonborn. Clavicus vile wins either way. Wether Barnes dies or not he gets his power back. Only way to resist him is to ignore barbas and never start the quest. Same with hircine. Werewolf or hunter you killed someone in her name. She won. You'd have to ignore her quest. Same with mehrunes dagon. If you refuse to kill the mythic dawn guy he'll just attack you and force you to kill him. Gotta ignore the quest. Same with meridia. Gotta ignore the quest (although doing what meridia wants is actually the morally good choice) Same with boethia. Gotta ignore the quest. Same with hermaeus mora. Gotta ignore the quest (Well if you do Dragonborn you'll become his servant either way). Same with malacath. Let the orc get killed by giants or kill the orc afterwards. The weak orc dies. Malacath is satisfied. Gotta once again ignore the quest. Only daedric princes you can actually "beat" or rather cheat are: Namira: Kill her cannibals and fail the quest Mephala: Never use the ebony blade Molag bal: Kill the mage molag wants you to bring to him by yourself. The quest will fail and molag won't be able to torture him to get his revenge. Azura: Create the black star Apart from them you essentially loose once you start the quest.
@@dennisleonardo2992 Yeah. Basically, from a gameplay perspective the Ebony Blade does nothing to a player. However, from an RPG role-playing perspective, it IS your loss as the player. I like actually role-playing when it comes to stuff like this, so I actually did leave the Ebony Blade alone. Only later in the game did I come back for it once I was post-game and said "yeah so nothing I do now is canon to my playthrough since it's done". I know it's a bit nerdy lol
@@marisanya I think it's fine to nerd out here. Skyrim has interesting lore. And role playing is essentially what keeps this game alive. How else would you justify several playthroughs?
@@marisanya i took the blade but took it to my far away castle and locked it up in the underground dungeon after putting a seal over it. (really just a lightning seal, but for rp i was a seal for the item.. so the item never again be found by anyone..
@@dennisleonardo2992 honestly i only had many 4, but never once did i bead the game the main quest was meh at best and i had more fun exsploring the world and doing side quest with modded in quests.
It's truly astounding how many people look SO DEEPLY into the lore and conspiracies in a game that came out in 2011. I love how relevant Skyrim still is, 10 years after its release.
"Random voices behind doors may not be the best source of information" Much like random ladies in ponds distributing swords is no basis for government?
Hear me out : Balgruuf's wife was under the influence of Mephala, he never cheated but the Deadra lied to his wife saying he did, so she freaked out and Balgruuf killed her in self-defense. Mephala lied again this time to the kid (he actually has the same mother as his siblings), so he could plot against his dad and kill him...All I'm saying is, Mephala wants Balgruuf dead
Exactly my thoughts. His wife could be possessed by the daedra and tried to kill Balgruuf. Than he (or Irileth) killed her in self-defense. That's why no one dares to talk about Balgruuf's wife.
The dragonborn can only have two kids at a time, maybe it applies to everyone in the game, so they might have put Nelkir as Jarl Ballin's brother to save time
Yeah I don't think the brother thing means anything, I think it is either a simple catagory mistake or as you said there was an npc child limit so they just put him in the brother section. I also don't think Balgruuf cheated or did anything weird. When someone who is literally the Goddess of lying tells you that you're not from the same mom, then it's most likely just another lie. Jarl Balling is an honorable dude and people with honor don't cheat.
Honestly, Skyrim: Special Edition should have been made with all of these unfinished Quests finished and added in. It would have made the game so much better and make Bethesda look better, at least better than reselling a game with slightly better graphics and a few bug fixes.
@@jasonvisentin3984 Why would you say that... Dont give them any ideas damnit....but seriously though theres probably a modder some where out there thats just rebuilding/re-adding unfinished quests
I could see how the housecarl could have wielded the Ebony blade. Considering her past. Perhaps this is what Bulgruuf “saved” her from and she is forever grateful for him removing her from such a sadistic weapon
They do mention that Carlotta is a widow. Mikeal says; “That fiery widow is mine.” When you’re asked to keep him of her back. This implies that her husbund died.
Or she could just be making up an excuse for why she has a child but doesn't have a husband (because if the other jarls or members of the whiterun court found out the truth that would mean that jarl Balgruuf would be greatly discredited.)
@@AnneWest_ and maybe the skeleton that we find below the bridge that leads to dragonsreach could belong to him as long as we don't know how it ended in the pool Sorry for my bad English lol
Carlotta killed her husband, he's buried in the narrow space where the Nightshade grows between her house and a city wall. No man will get between her and her child. I wonder why?
Okay so here's the theory I'm sticking to based on this video: What if Balgruuf can't talk about his wife's death because SHE was seduced by Mephala, and SHE wielded the sword against him for his infidelity? So he keeps the sword because he saw what it did to her, and he couldn't bear the thought of anyone else holding it. I like the idea that Balgruuf is a great man, and I feel like if there was infidelity (or even, if there wasn't - lies are best made with sprinkles of truth, right? Mephala feeds just enough truth to make the lie seem credible) maybe she was hurt and angry, and Mephala spoke to her and gave her the blade (or she otherwise somehow came into possession of it). I feel like that maintains his good-ness, and makes sense all at once. So no, he's not a murderer. The only foul play was from the Daedra meddling like they do.
This was my thought as well. Perhaps she got the blade, attempted to commit regicide, and was stopped. Perhaps around that time is when his youngest child was conceived, either before or after.
I was thinking the same thing. She attacks him with the blade, and he's forced to protect himself, but kills her in the process. There's also the possibility that she was pregnant to a different man and it was her infidelity that was the issue, but Mephala twists the truth into lies for her own nefarious purposes and so, instead, mirrors the truth of it to reflect badly on Balgruuf, since Nelkir still believes he's genuinely his father. So the hatred would be much deeper.
I hope they redo Skyrim in 2030 or something in a version which is worth to be called remake, not the "slightly better graphics and same bugs as before" Legendary version...
@@serujioraiton2811 Special Edition is barely a remaster and to put salt in the wound, the textures aren't even clean. Someone on the Nexus made a 7GB texture replacer that actually had proper cleaned out ones and when testing it, it used 500MB less VRAM
Nelkir: *listens through door* Door: Hey how's it going guys it's nate here, and skyrim is a huge game, and even after a lot of years, even the most experienced of players might not know everything about it. So today we'll be taking a look at ten Jarl balgruuf secrets and hidden details you might have missed in the elder scrolls V skyrim Nelkir: :0
Irileth comes from a Mephala worshipping assassin’s guild. Maybe when she left to go fight in the Great War (I believe she says that’s how they met) she went with the Ebony Blade (an artifact of Mephala). Her and Balgruff either used it to kill many enemies or maybe for something worse, as Nelkir references Mephala telling him about what Balgruff did in the war and implies it was bad. Maybe Balgruff was corrupted by it in the war and cheated on his wife with somebody out there (making Nelkir’s mother different). After all Mephala is also the god of treachery. Eventually Balgruff returns from the war and kills his wife while corrupted. Irileth realizes it’s going bad as she knows how Mephala works and has to do something. Irileth then locks away the Ebony Blade in the basement. The book never says who locked it away, and while it doesn’t mention Balgruff by name, that could be because they wanted it locked away forever and the keys would be passed down. I also believe she says she insisted on being his housecarl. That way she can protect him from Mephala. This could also be why Irileth is defensive when asked about how she got her position as housecarl (she says something along the lines of the Dragonborn being too curious). Maybe she knows it’s sketchy and doesn’t want anyone digging around. This could also possibly explain why she was so pissed at Balgruff for leaving without her knowing as Mephala’s temptations could be anywhere. If any of this is true then Mephala tells the kids that their own dad killed their mother (well most of their mothers) then they kill him in the cut quest. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk
Liam Hutton while I agree with most of this, keep in mind that during the civil war quest Balgruuf uses a One-Handed sword to defend himself from the stormcloaks. This would make it likely that the Jarl probably only experimented with the Ebony Blade a bit and probably didn’t use it as his first choice weapon.
@@christianvanslooten3761 I expect that when he regularly wielded the Ebony Blade, it's magical power rendered it his primary weapon, even if he generally preferred a one handed sword. After discarding the Ebony Blade he may have chosen to go back to his previous style of fighting because he was just better at it.
I think the scenario that Nate misses is that the previous Jarl (Balgruuf's father) had an affair / took a second wife later in life. Thus, the child has a different mother to his siblings Balgruuf and Hrongar - he would also be correctly flagged as Balgruuf's brother.
13:00 I'ma stop you right there. Carlotta's husband died according to a sidequest started by talking to her. Mikial is harassing her and she asks you to stop him.
My first thought when you said that Nelkir was Balgruuf's brother was that Balgruuf's father got some girl pregnant and Balgruuf just took the child in because he's a good guy, makes more sense to me than his mother having a child at such an old age
Well, that happened with my uncle. My father helped a lot to my grandma and my uncle so he could be raised properly. Fortunately he is actually successful in life and despite living better than my father, he calls him "sir" when they interact.
To be fair the Dragonborn is probably one of the few that could actually safely use it. The Dragonborn is quite literally a divine being in soul; making corruption a moot point... Even without that considering all the dragon souls he absorbed; Mephala would be hard pressed to corrupt him indirectly through the sword- Maybe she could do it if she was literally palming his soul... Otherwise, I'm doubtful she has that much power outside her realm. There's a reason Daedra tend to take the gentle approach with the Player in Skyrim. Alduin isn't something even they can take lightly. The only reason that dragon is even fightable is because he didn't play by destiny's script; subsequently weakening him while in Tamriel. By the time the games finished the Dragonborn is someone they'd much rather have as an ally; to spread their influence. After all he could easily side with another Daedra... Or ruin centuries worth of plots. It's much simpler just to work with the dragonborn rather than against.
I really love this story because there’s so much up for interpretation. Even though I don’t have any definitive proof, my personal headcanon is that Irileth fell in love with Balgruuf during their many battles together, but was aware that he was married and that nobody in Whiterun would support an interracial marriage. To get her way, she made a deal with Mephala and brought the blade into Whiterun on her orders. With the blade’s powers, Balgruuf became corrupted, murdered his wife, and later got drunk and impregnated a woman of Whiterun, but somewhere along the line, Mephala became displeased with Irileth (that or she just wanted to watch Irileth suffer, which isn’t surprising for a god of lies and deceit) and so she had Balgruuf’s children murder him under the influence of the same exact blade Mephala ordered Irileth to carry into Whiterun. It’s likely not true, but damn would it have been a good direction for the story if they had decided to implement it.
Actually this makes a lot of sense in a way, what I would edit from your theory is the Mephala being displeased part, what I think happened was that Irileth, did her job for the Morag Tong and under the orders of Mephala brought the blade to Whiterun, during the time the blade was corrupting Balgruuf's family, Irileth and Balgruuf became closer and she eventually fell for him causing her to leave the Tong all togeter, the cheating happens and that triggers the wife, Irileth in love with the man does not recognize the subtle changes in Balgruuf's or just attributes them to him being a man, they did fight together in battle, so she ignores the blade all together or if she didn't she does not tell Balgruuf so he doesn't kill her or abandon her, when Balgruuf is forced to kill his wife who had the blade at the time, he suspected the blade probably because it was a weapon he did not recognize or that when Farengar was examining the corpse after the event, due to the sudden actions of his wife, he noticed that the blade had unknown enchantments, this lead to them sealing the blade with both having a copy of they, Balgruuf because he is jarl and Farengar so he can study the blade and find a way to destroy it since the skyforge did not work. The dragons come and they are both too distracted to notice that the blade is working on Nelikir. The reason why I say that Mephala is not displeased with Irileth is because someone has to be protecting her from the Morag Tong, I don't think you can just leave that organization and if Mephala was displeased no name change or mortal magic could protect Irileth, hell she could have used the influence of the blade to target her as revenge and not just Baalgruuf. Anyway that is my theory
@@maraazura sure ! so basically Mavan had a dealing that went wrong with somebody ( the note can actually be found on the table where you have fisticuffs with Uthgerd the unbroken, that will give you more details ) and it is HIGHYLY thought that the Skeleton under the bridge? is that of the man who betrayed or wronged Maven Blackbriar :)
or she lies about struggling to raise the prices without people complaining, when ysolda comments she can raise prices on green apples she is interested in doing so
There's a skeleton floating under Dragonsreach' pool bridge near the staircase right at the entrance. I never discovered who that skeleton belonged to. I wonder if that's his wife...
1:51 - Matricide is the killing of one's mother. Uxoricide is the killing of one's wife. Unless you're implying Balgruuf was extra disturbed. Alternatively, Regicide can be applied to a king or queen, but likely wouldn't be applicable in Balgruff's case. Edit: okay, not sure if that was intentional foreshadowing, but well played.
Option 3 for the youngest child. He is the son of Balgruuf's father and a palace maid. Balgruuf appears from design and behavior a man in his mid to late 30s. The youngest child appears to be around 10. What if Balgruuf only assumed the throne after his children were born. The older children would have some vague memories of their grandfather and such. The youngest child is seen by the public to have been born around the time Balgruuf becomes Jarl. At the same time Balgruuf's father gets a maid pregnant and dies. To prevent his father from being shown negatively near the time of his death and the problems that come with installation of a new ruler, Balgruuf says the child is his instead of his Father's. Keeping the child in the royal family and seeing to the raising of the kid as a member of the family. This prevents a scandal during the transition of power and all the problems that occur.
The skeleton under dragons reach bridge is one of maven black briars former employees who she had someone take care of. I believe that there’s a letter in mavens house in riften to back that up
@@Jackieyeet1 it's highly improbable that Nelkir is Carlotta's son. In the Elder Scrolls the child is almost always the race of the mother. Nelkir is nord by race. It's not impossible for the female to have offspring that are of the race of the father but it is statistically very unlikely. If he is in fact an illegitimate child the mother is almost certainly a Nord.
It really warms my heart that Skyrim STILL has an honored place in our lives to this day! Cheers to those of you still enjoying the game during these trying times. I've got over 2500 hrs and it's not stopping there!
This was pretty much the same idea I had. Not that the Jarl killed his wife, but that his wife killed others. Perhaps the Jarl only survived due to the actions of his loyal bodyguard, who recognized the influence of the daedra at work.
Its possible that Balgruuf's wife was the one who was under the sword's influence and tried to kill Balgruuf and/or their children so Balgruuf did what needed to do to protect himself and his children.
You know, there's still a pretty high chance that Mephala was lying to Nelkir. A lie is a lot easier to believe if it's sandwiched between two truths, and the god of lies would know that. "Well she said he worships talos, and I know that's true. And she also said he's afraid of being run out of Whiterun, and that's true too. Why would she lie about me not having the same mother?"
Exactly shes the daedric prince of lies/deceit, plots and murder - lying and twisting a vunerable child's mind to try and convince him to murder his father would be... yaknow, EXACTLY what she's about and you're totally right about the "two truths" thing; as if you side with the stormcloaks he is cast out of being thane and basically despises you.
There's so much implied and explicit beastiality in the Elder Scrolls, that incest seems like the least one could worry about. Not even saying its right, but Elder Scrolls standards are very far from our own.
I will say, during the development of skyrim, Bethesda were on a downward spiraling road. Todays bethesda is a very different bethesda than in the days of morrowind. Today, Besthesda is reeking of political correctness, inclusion and feminism. ESO forces it down your throat by the boatload, and it is sad, and as much as i look forward to TES:VI, i fear greatly for it too. (I know the flag of the ship is ZOS, but it is governed by Behtesda, who now actually is governed by Microsoft- which surely can only make matters worse..) I want the writers of morrowind to write the next elder scrolls game, without any unfluence from Microsoft or any political correct bullshit. Not the current Bethesda.
My theory: Mephala used the blade to corrupt Balgruuf’s wife, who would have known Nelkir was her husband’s illegitimate child and probably held strong negative feelings about the whole thing but kept quiet to prevent a controversy. It worked her sanity and Mephala would tell her it was no drunken accident, and every time he snuck out at night, he was visiting the mother. Eventually, she took hold of the blade and sought him out one night, and he was forced to disarm and kill her, maybe even falling under the blade’s influence to do so. He realizes what he’s done and buries her in secret, writing the book and locking the blade away to ward off anyone who might think of using it. That would reference how the ‘men and women of high’ fell under the influence, as written in the book. Both the Jarl and his wife did. Anyways, just my own crack theory
Maybe Irileth, with her Morag Tong background, "engineered" Mrs. Balgruff's death (possibly even at the hand of the Jarl). I mean she seems very protective of him and my first playthough of the game I thought they were secret lovers.
I definitely like your idea of them being lovers. It would make more sense then why she is angry that Balgruuf went to the tavern late at night and his reply was an excuse.
I think the same I reckon since she worshipped mephala at some point she made sure he or his wife became corrupted by the blade so that the wife would die
Fun fact. If you go to Windhelm in eso Mera Stormcloak is Ulfric Stormcloak’s ancestor. And the Stormcloak family came to Skyrim with Ysgramor. Proves that the Stormcloak family is one of the oldest families in Skyrim.
Overheard in Dragonsreach: Balgruuf: "Irileth, how many guards can we commit to the defence of Whiterun?" Irileth: "I have 387 men, my jarl." Balgruuf: "Round them up because Ulfric is on his way." Irileth: "Very well, my jarl. 400."
My favorite thing is that it's been 11 years (as of I've been typing this) since Skyrim came, and we're all still trying to figure everything out about it. That's how big Skyrim is.
while probably true it doesn't actually discount her being the mistress. one a widow of the court (you dont have her house without the husband being a member of the court) who probably died in the war (or to the blade during the war) is in a key spot for the relationship. 2 it could be a lie. a woman shows up in the city with a kid and no husband. saying I'm a widow is probably safer then saying yes I'm the attractive harlot that gets the rich house.
Tbh I wouldn't be surprised if they cut it for being too dark. Like seriously, there isn't much darker than that in Skyrim, or even the whole of the Elder Scrolls. Kids being corrupted to kill a horse, then to kill their own father. That's dark. I would have loved it in the game, don't get me wrong, but man that would have been dark. Edit: A better way of putting it: This would have been ONE OF the darkest things (not the most dark) in skyrim/elder scrolls, and considering it has children involved it makes sense that they would scrap it. I do wish they kept it though, it would have made the quest much better. Also, all of you saying "hurr durr you didn't play Morrowind if you think that this was the darkest" 1. It isn't the darkest, and I never claimed that. 2. Yes I consider this darker than MOST (not all) parts of the elder scrolls. 3. You all missed the chance to say something along the lines of "You think this is dark? What a grand and Intoxicating Innocence." And for that you all should be ashamed. Also also, Cannibalism < This for all of you bringing Namira up. Now hopefully that will catch more people from repeating the same comments.
Um.. Killing a companion for that Daedric Lord? EATING THE FLESH OF A HUMAN? Allowing cannibals to roam in Markarth? The way rhe Dark Brotherhood ended. I can't think of what ISN'T dark in this game lol. I dunno, Balgruuf sleeping with his mother (He doesn't look that young, so may have been an adult) seems tame compared to eating a Priest alive just so you can have a ring. Not to mention the stuff that we know about Harkon's family.
17:44 "Okay, so this is a very evil blade and you need to forget about it because it is extremely dangerous" *immediately picks it up after reading the book*
I always assumed the "not same mother" line was just that Balgruuf's first wife died some time after the second child was born and Balgruuf simply got married to a second, but didn't explain it to Nelkir yet because it might confuse the boy too much at a young age, so I never really agreed with the "Balgruuf was cheating on his wife" theory. But the idea that the Whiterun court knows about the power of the Ebony Blade because they had a horrifying first-hand experience with it in the hands of Balgruuf is a really convincing and interesting theory that I totally dig. It makes Balgruuf a pretty interesting character: a lord who's noble for the most part but holds a trauma of having murdered his own wife by being possessed by the Ebony Blade, somehow coming to his senses afterwards and locking up the Blade, and choosing to hide this information. He'd be both the criminal and the victim, and hiding the information obviously makes sense to not disclose the presence of the Ebony Blade, but how much of that decision was made in the interest of protecting his own honor? And is he liable to be condemned if the latter purpose was heavier in the decision? A lot of interesting discussion can be made about this and I really wish Bethesda expanded further on this quest (like I do about a lot of quests in their games).
Totally agree! I like to think that it was the other way around, and that his wife was the one that got corrupted and tried to kill him, and he or his thane/guards had to protect him and she was killed. And now it's trying to do the same with his children, have them murder him to death.
I remember hearing a rumour that the original ending of the ebony blade quest was cut where one of the kids use the ebony blade and kill Balgruuf, no clue if it’s true or not but I just thought it sounded cool
Considering how the elder scrolls blades as the type of game it is, i wouldnt consider anything from it as lore, so I think its highly possible that the blade has been locked in there for hundreds of years.
Y’know, I always wondered how he had 3 kids when the most the Dragonborn can have is 2. Maybe they flagged the kid as “brother” to avoid needing to break the game’s “2 child” rule for when they implemented HF dlc
Good point. Jarl Laila has only two children, both adults. The crone lady in Morthal has one adultish, one child. The couple in Winterhold have only one. The rest of the jarls don't seem to have any, unless Skald the Elder has one or two out fighting with the Stormcloaks that aren't mentioned, and considering Skald's personality, he'd probably be bragging about it.. Trying to think of any families in Skyrim that has more than two children - well, Eorland and Fralia has three, but they are all adults. I don't think I can. Real dearth of children in that province.
This feels like something Todd decided halfway through development that this should be a mystery. It makes sense to keep Balgruuf neutral considering his position in the Civil War storyline, so that could be a good reason to cut anything that messes with Todd's idea for the vision he wants you to have about the Jarl. It's the most reasonable explaination I can think of for why it would be cut aside from time constraints.
Balgruuf's housecarl Irileth killed Balgruuf's wife. When confronting him about sneaking out to the tavern she said she would always try to protect him. Did she mean protection against scandals such as a potential heir birthed out of wedlock, or a curse attached to a certain sword?
You should get knee guards.And Skyforge steel blades, petition for better weapons.Vampire and dragon attacks are dangerous although dragon attacks are somewhat rare.You should also visit a healer,maybe at the temple of Kynarethe,get your knee checked.Your service is appreciated.
Dang balgruuf has some great dance moves
I wasn't ready XD
I'm Jarl Balgruff and I be ballin' ballin'
Jarl Ballin', ballin'
Woman, I'm Lord of the Rings
I'm the Jarl of Whiterun
Hollar if you need me.
Haters gonna hate
Owwwwwwwww
Haters gonna hate
Owwwwwwwww
Bitches gonna hate
Yo momma's gonna hate
Swag. Swag
Hollar if you need me
Hollar if you need reefer
Bitch
@@Xolcm I see you a man of culture of manslayer as well 😏😏😏
Agreed, my only questions are who taught him and why?
We'll bang ok.
Nate: What if balgruuf wasnt his first name?
Oh gowd
His name was jarl all along
Hulda Hulda I am shook
Jarl Jarl Balgruuf
@@itsclemtime2357 Don't worry about me, i get my gossips from a reliable source around town.
Hulda xD
Lol 😆 im going to name my future child President.
Balgruuf: killing in cold blood*
Dragonborn: first time?
Ballad of buster scruggs?
@Jacob Locklear lol that reference really doesn't belong here, congratulations Jacob, you are now a madlad
Jarl Ballin can’t find his quicksave and has to live with his decision
@@VivaCristoRei9 wait you quicksave before going on massacares?
I just go in and live with the consequences.
Nate: jarl bulgruff killed his wife
Bulgruff: starts dancing
Victory royal
@@elcomentador2853 get tf out.
@@elcomentador2853 you can take your Fortnite and childish intellect to Ninja's channel.
This XD
Irileth is the mother
If you ask Irileth “what threats does the Jarl face?”, part of her list is “sometimes I think even his children want him dead”. Perhaps that was meant to be foreshadowing.
His children have fallen under the influence of Mephala through the Ebony Blade, which is kept in Dragonsreach. That, combined with the kind of spoilage that comes of being raised to privilege and the neglect that comes of having one parent missing (see the video we're commenting on) and the other occupied with affairs of state, and you have a couple of very angry, entitled brats. If they don't actively want him dead, they don't act like they'd mind very much either.
@@DaveC2729 Honestly, for such a nice Jarl, two out of his three kids are insufferable. The remarks they make about the Dragonborn being a 'new servant' is telltale.
That's kinda sad, balgruuf is a great guy
@@AmberTurdsShittyBedsheet At least siding with the Stormcloaks rips the privlage away from those brats, even if they don't ever really suffer from it
Good job Bethesda, doing the bare minimum as always. 🙄
"Sometimes I think his own children want him dead." - Irileth. So *that* is what she was talking about ... huh.
Oh yeah. This line of Irileth's was likely a lead-in for the original (bigger) The Whispering Door.
No one:
Subtitles: "We should probably familiarize with the history of ball growth"
Literally read this as it was said 😂
WHY!! 😁😂😂😂😁😁😁😊😊😁😁😂
Dude, that's not nice, messing with UA-cams algorithm like that, I legit was going to freak out.
bowl graph
lmaooo
The truly evil one in whiterun is Nazeem
You don't visit the cloud district vary often, do you?
@@1catfan605 oh, what am I saying? Of course you don't.
Nazeem was the mother, because he is always in the jarls backside
@William Sly sob*
More like Naziem
More likely he was listed as brother in the kit because of the 2 children limit.
No family has more than 2 in the whole game, and those that do, they have one child listed as a different familial relationship in the creation kit.
That ACTUALLY makes a lot of sense!
Wow good call. This can be settled by seeing if the child is also listed as a child to the Jarls other brother but I don't know where to see that
That was my first thought- and it makes sense
makes most sense. but hats off, this guy is a masterclass in milking skyrim content. rather makes a 20 minute video about it then going for the most obvious solution
@@hazardeur what?
He's just going over all the possibilities
"Baalgruf's children were supposed to murder him."
To...to death?
To life
To
Life
.
Oh that's it! I *knew* there was something missing there!
Balgruuf's wife was the one corrupted by the Ebony Blade. She was killed in an attempt to assassinate her husband.
That's what I was thinking! Would make more sense, why no one mentions it and her, and why it's locked downstairs. I like this theory.
@@laure2725 As do I
that's a really good theory
My theory was Balgruff once used the ebony blade and got drunk fell to the corruption of it and murdered his wife and in his guilt had the blade sealed a way and hired irilth since she worshipped maphala had her as a thane and to sense when the blade was calling out
And now it's doing the same with the kids.
So I am pretty sure we do know what happened to Carlotta's husband. You can see her take her daughter outside the halls of the dead and kneel down before a tombstone outside for a time. That was actually one of the most touching details I ever encountered in Skyrim.
Also, Mikael calls her a “Fiery Widow.”
Yes also, in that quest where you are helping Carlotta make that bard quit hitting on her, if you brawl him he says "that widow is mine, she just doesn't know it yet"
@@nikkihuttohomes “That Fiery Widow is mine, she just doesn’t know it yet.”
I could’ve sworn she says her husband died and they moved to whiterun after. I could’ve mix characters up, I’ve played the game so many times I don’t really talk to most of the npcs so my memory could be off.
Wow. I never knew that. I'll have to look for it
ya know, the kid could be hrongar's son. That may explain the accidental flagging as "brother" in the game files. It would make nelkir the jarl's nephew. In real world Norse customs there were many reasons why a man might raise his brothers son as his own. If his brother were killed in battle, committed a horrible crime, or even if he were just asked to. Maybe it was hrongar who killed Jarl B's wife in a frenzy and the jarl, on realizing that his brother had no control over himself, decided to take hrongar's son as punishment in exchange for his life. It's also possible that there was no murder at all and hrongar simply asked blagruuf to raise his son. Maybe for a better life and a real chance at the throne. Who knows?
Does Hrongar have a spouse? I'm pretty sure he doesn't but I'll ask just in case.
JustsomeguyIdk I don’t believe so.
THIS
Lydia is Balgruuf's niece.
Knight of the Nine Really?
He killed his wife with those spicy dance moves
If my wife takes me out that way, it won't mind.
🤣🤣🤣
Hahaha!!!
SWAG
so capoira basically
"he could have gone too far one night...." and ended up partying with Sam Guevene and married to a Hagraven who longingly waits for consummation.
Ok but can we talk about the fact that a Hagraven would even be interested in a human? They are pretty clearly disinterested in mortal races post transformation, so just by merit of her liking the player means that she was either a redeemable Hagraven or one who was so smitten they might want to change. Also, magic. Pretty sure she would know she isn't the best physical fit for a mortal and would alter her appearance so that.....ahem....things would happen.
Goddamnit Sam
@@clayxros576 Imagine if skyrim let you keep her as your wife
A Night to Remember indeed...
@@clayxros576 Actually, there's a ritual that turns regular witches into hagravens (but it involves a lot of murder). There's a side quest that lets you help a witch become one.
Nate: "He's so helpful and charismatic..."
Balgruuf: *started breakdancing*
and he got sick moves! best dude
Preparing for his dance off with the dragons
Irielth has dialogue: "Sometimes I think his own children want him dead"
Did you find this in game or hear about this somewhere?
@@witchyfirbolg yeah, you talk to Irileth and one of the options is "what dangers does the Jarl face" or something like that
I actually heard this line in-game today
I mean, she’s right. A literal Daedric Prince is living in his basement and hangs out with his kids..
@@witchyfirbolg if you talk to her in game she says that
Me who killed a hunter because he might've had 5 septims: "omg Balgruf why?!?"
When theres a child i want to adopt but they have have parents i kill them both when the child isnt around to see me then wait a few days and adopt them at riftens orphanage
Same bro
I kill them to save the animals
@@user_name_redacted Hircine will be pissed
@@MeadowBrook2000 Remember he was ok with the dragon born killing the hunters
Next time my girlfriend starts nagging me about going to the bar imma just be like, "Dammit woman, I'm the Jarl of Whiterun!"
Gus Polinski Oh yeah thatd make her super wet man
Lol, hopefully she’s a TES fan and understands that reference. Otherwise you might catch a heel to the groin.
😂😂😂😂
"And I be ballin"
Halla if you need me
I feel like Irileth being trained by the Morag Tong makes her more likely to have been the one with the Mephala artifact.
Yeah, it's very likely that's how the blade got there, but i suppose one can only speculate on whether she knew of its terrible power.
So Irileth takes the Ebony Blade and runs off from the MT. She meets Balgruuf, who takes her into his service. She returns with him to Whiterum and strikes up a friendship with Balgruuf's wife. At the same time, she and Balgruuf begin having an affair.
That's when the Ebony Blade convinces her to kill Balgruuf's wife. Balgruuf probably would have executed Irileth, but they find out that she is pregnant. Somehow Balgruuf and Farengar learn of the Ebony Blade and steal it away. Being unable to destroy it by any means at their disposal, they decide to lock it away.
Balgruuf, being a generally good guy, keeps Irileth on as his Housecarl. Irileth becomes obsessed with Balgruuf's safety, as a means of atonement.
Too bad the vanilla children are all potatoes with hair. No way to confirm or deny this little thought exercise just by looking at the model.
@@nolgroth makes total sense
@@nolgroth Except there is no miscegenation in this world
@@mikeobama69 Canonically incorrect. Look into the origin of the Bretons, the Gray Prince, Lyris Titanborn and among others, I'm sure. The actual limits are that Man and Mer can breed with neither Khajit nor Argonians.
There’s a skeleton in the water next to dragonsreach, how curious
Every time I go to dragonsreavh for the first time I just loot it straight away
I'm pretty sure that skeleton has something to do with those Maven letters. He did a video about those.
Yes there is.. I was wondering what the hell that skeleton was doing there... WOW!
I believe that’s a separate incident with Maven Black-Briar.
That's mavin black-briar and her letters, completely different association.
Suspicious looking book: “Woe be to any who choose to take it”
Dragonborn: *yoink*
17:43
LOL X'D
That’s some fucking Dragonborn Logic.
Ah yes, that must be referring to anyone but me.
@@insaincaldo well, you are the dragonborn, the strongest warrior in all of Skyrim, and the killer of Alduin, you're probably the best man to handle that sword...
I just wrote the same comment then saw it was already posted. Brilliant!
Carlotta has a side quest were a bard is giving her unwanted attention. In the quest Carlotta explains that ever since her husband died men have been trying to win her over. I take this as evidence that she didn't have an affair with Balgruuf.
what is this mystical sidequest you speak of i don't think ive encountered it
@@franciosdauteuil4626 Just go talk to her at any point in the game, she complains about Sven if you ask her about how much attention she gets from dudes. Then you can either ask him politely to stop or beat him up for her.
@@franciosdauteuil4626 talk to Carlotta, and she'll mention men giving her trouble.. it's a quick little fun side quest.
@@brendanlowry247 everyone confuses Mikael with Sven lol. I guess it's because of their voice actor being the same.
@@brendanlowry247 Sven is in riverwood, Mikael is in whiterun.
"Balgruuf attempted to pass off the illigitimate child as his own to his wife."
Anyone else see a problem with this idea? Like a really big problem?
“Nah babe you just don’t remember havin this one trust me”
Yea I caught this too, I was like… wait what? Wouldn’t that make her hate him?? Hey, maybe she took that blade and tried to kill him….. oh wait.
I had to go back and listen to this like four times too. I think what he's saying is Balgruuf attempted to pass off the illegitimate kid as his wife's kid to the public.
Lmfao yeah a big problem if the woman don't remember having a child like how the fuck would that work exactly 😅
@@No1gamer several reasons why you dont remeber
Amnesia
Head Injury
Alzheimer desease
and in TES
*M A G I C*
But with the magic you could also remove the memory of this particular situation.
Maybe... MAYBE...
The reason why his third child is listed as his “brother”, is because the game only allows up to 2 children to be under a parent.
I mean, if you think about it, if we are bound by the restrictions of the game to only have 2 adopted children, then doesn’t it make sense that every NPC is ALSO bound by the restriction?
Since it would be like so, the developers probably wanted to add a third child to Balgruff, but since he had 2 children already, they just listed him as a “Brother”. 🤷♂️
Makes sense
could the devs really be that lazy to make npcs an exception to that rule?
yep
i feel like Bethesda would’ve never been that lazy, however plausible your theory is. The dev team of Bethesda definitely enjoy going into depth and leave things for us to theorize and speculate about. i would’nt necessarily lean towards the theory of the only two children allowed speculation. I feel like Bethesda would’ve made an exception to the rule if that would benefit the lore and therefore theories and speculations about said character. however i do find your theory quite a interesting catch and consider it a good thinking material to unravel the mystery behind “the brother”
Yeah, but this is in vanilla and the db being able to adopt is added in Hearthfire, so that's not necessarily connected.
@@KarmasAB123 This.
If I might be allowed to present an alternate Theory.
Your theory states that Balgruuf killed his wife because he was under the sway of Mephala. My question is, if he was under the sway of Mephala, why would he have stopped with her? What if it's the other way around? What if he wasn't the one under Daedric control? What if Balgruuf killed his wife because SHE was under the influence of Mephala?
one detail I think should be considered is a small misc quest where you are asked to deliver a sword to Balgruuf that was special made by the local blacksmith, it's always a two handed sword so, even though he carries a one handed one with him, he does seem to like using two handed ones or at least has had prior experience.
as to who stopped his bloody rampage? My guess could be Irileth herself since Drunmer are known to have knowledge on Daedra so maybe she could have some "cure" for it...or the court wizard since he is the other person with a key to the room...Just a guess though
This is what I was thinking too! Or Irileth killed her protecting the Jarl. I just don’t think Balgruuf would have been tempted by the blade
I was thinking the same thing too, if his youngest is actually his brother, that would have been great fuel for Mephala to lie to his wife to get her to try to kill him. Maybe he killed her in self defense and hid the blade away and tossed her under the bridge and kept it hush (killing her would be a bad look for a jarl even if she was possessed)
To build on that further, it would have made Mephala happy to see him kill his wife even if his wife was the one under her influence. Maybe Mephala is hoping for a similar outcome by turning his kids on him as well?
Maybe thats why he died in the cut content, he didnt want to make the same mistake so he just let them kill him
Good take, his wife would certainly kill her children first, so Baalgruf had no choice.
"Nooo, you can't just take the Ebony Blade and stay uncorrupted by daedric influence!"
Dragonborn: haha black knife goes swoosh
Well Bethesda actually made the ebony blade in a very smart way.
It gets considerably powerful (for a unique weapon, which means not made or enchanted by the player) once you fully "level" it up.
But as soon as you upgrade it by killing your first ally with it mephala essentially got what she wanted. She made you kill someone who trusted you for power. Or maybe not even power but curiosity. Many try it not because they want to use the ebony blade but rather because they just want to see what happens.
Of course if you just take it and store it in some chest never to be seen again you screwed her over. But if you even upgrade it once mephala succeeded in corrupting you.
Actually many daedra actually "beat" the Dragonborn.
Clavicus vile wins either way. Wether Barnes dies or not he gets his power back. Only way to resist him is to ignore barbas and never start the quest.
Same with hircine. Werewolf or hunter you killed someone in her name. She won. You'd have to ignore her quest.
Same with mehrunes dagon. If you refuse to kill the mythic dawn guy he'll just attack you and force you to kill him. Gotta ignore the quest.
Same with meridia. Gotta ignore the quest (although doing what meridia wants is actually the morally good choice)
Same with boethia. Gotta ignore the quest.
Same with hermaeus mora. Gotta ignore the quest (Well if you do Dragonborn you'll become his servant either way).
Same with malacath. Let the orc get killed by giants or kill the orc afterwards. The weak orc dies. Malacath is satisfied. Gotta once again ignore the quest.
Only daedric princes you can actually "beat" or rather cheat are:
Namira: Kill her cannibals and fail the quest
Mephala: Never use the ebony blade
Molag bal: Kill the mage molag wants you to bring to him by yourself. The quest will fail and molag won't be able to torture him to get his revenge.
Azura: Create the black star
Apart from them you essentially loose once you start the quest.
@@dennisleonardo2992 Yeah. Basically, from a gameplay perspective the Ebony Blade does nothing to a player. However, from an RPG role-playing perspective, it IS your loss as the player. I like actually role-playing when it comes to stuff like this, so I actually did leave the Ebony Blade alone. Only later in the game did I come back for it once I was post-game and said "yeah so nothing I do now is canon to my playthrough since it's done". I know it's a bit nerdy lol
@@marisanya I think it's fine to nerd out here. Skyrim has interesting lore. And role playing is essentially what keeps this game alive.
How else would you justify several playthroughs?
@@marisanya i took the blade but took it to my far away castle and locked it up in the underground dungeon after putting a seal over it. (really just a lightning seal, but for rp i was a seal for the item.. so the item never again be found by anyone..
@@dennisleonardo2992 honestly i only had many 4, but never once did i bead the game the main quest was meh at best and i had more fun exsploring the world and doing side quest with modded in quests.
It's truly astounding how many people look SO DEEPLY into the lore and conspiracies in a game that came out in 2011. I love how relevant Skyrim still is, 10 years after its release.
"Random voices behind doors may not be the best source of information"
Much like random ladies in ponds distributing swords is no basis for government?
I'm not going to be Pope because some watery tart lobbed a scimitar at me
His name is
Biggus Dickus
Wait, wrong film
That films ending is so anticlimactic
@@keygenrosie That's the whole point though, isn't it?
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING!!! THANK YOU!!! 😂😂😂
Just realized I left the ebony blade at Lakeview Manor..... with my two adopted kids.
who are the poor kids lmao
Oh no! :0
lol I think a giant space mission is more dangerous than leaving your kids with a whispering sword.
Whoops
thats why you should download the dovakhins vault and keep all your deadric shit locked up deep in a mountain guarded by a dragon
The quest it's so unfinished that EA wants to realease it
For free I'm sure!
@@blackandwhiteduo4971 Nope $20
@@VeganAncientDragonKnight as was I lol 😂
@@Michaelmaddsicc how
@@ursanan1839 If you don't get it your oblivious to EA's bs
Hear me out :
Balgruuf's wife was under the influence of Mephala, he never cheated but the Deadra lied to his wife saying he did, so she freaked out and Balgruuf killed her in self-defense.
Mephala lied again this time to the kid (he actually has the same mother as his siblings), so he could plot against his dad and kill him...All I'm saying is, Mephala wants Balgruuf dead
Welp time to kill Mephala
That's a good theory 😶👏
Exactly my thoughts. His wife could be possessed by the daedra and tried to kill Balgruuf. Than he (or Irileth) killed her in self-defense. That's why no one dares to talk about Balgruuf's wife.
There's that pro balgruuf comment 🎉
“Random voices behind doors may not be the best source of information.”
Say whaaaat? That’s where I get all of my information!
God me too! Like, seriously they're ALWAYS right! Y'know?
I will never get sick of “Hey, how’s it going guys, it’s Nate here.”
Best opening to a video ever
One time he said hey guys its Skyrim here and nate wait a minute? *Glitch screen* I got a kick out of that
"HEY, Scott here!"
THE MANDALORIAN RULEZ I remember that! It made me laugh so hard.
"And Skyrim is a ______ game"
>thicc
"Damnit woman I'm the jarl of Whiterun, I won't apologize for talking to my people!"
Me: True.
Too true.
The dragonborn can only have two kids at a time, maybe it applies to everyone in the game, so they might have put Nelkir as Jarl Ballin's brother to save time
Yup, every npc is just a player with an ai, so the two children limit still applies
Yeah I don't think the brother thing means anything, I think it is either a simple catagory mistake or as you said there was an npc child limit so they just put him in the brother section. I also don't think Balgruuf cheated or did anything weird. When someone who is literally the Goddess of lying tells you that you're not from the same mom, then it's most likely just another lie. Jarl Balling is an honorable dude and people with honor don't cheat.
“Balgruuf lied to you”
Yeah, WTH Balgruuf, you said you couldn’t dance.
Honestly, Skyrim: Special Edition should have been made with all of these unfinished Quests finished and added in. It would have made the game so much better and make Bethesda look better, at least better than reselling a game with slightly better graphics and a few bug fixes.
And a huge mod option, monthly game altering updates. But yes, it's still a little pathetic.
Maybe they will put the unfinished quests in.... BEHIND A PAYWALL...
Get over it already, seriously.
*Fanbase Cash Grab* 101
@@jasonvisentin3984 Why would you say that... Dont give them any ideas damnit....but seriously though theres probably a modder some where out there thats just rebuilding/re-adding unfinished quests
"woe be to any, who chose to take it" end quote *immediately grabs blade*
Too funny.
"eh, it'll be aight"
I read this as it was being said
I could see how the housecarl could have wielded the Ebony blade. Considering her past. Perhaps this is what Bulgruuf “saved” her from and she is forever grateful for him removing her from such a sadistic weapon
They do mention that Carlotta is a widow. Mikeal says; “That fiery widow is mine.” When you’re asked to keep him of her back. This implies that her husbund died.
Hmm, died... or was killed by Balgruf
Or she could just be making up an excuse for why she has a child but doesn't have a husband (because if the other jarls or members of the whiterun court found out the truth that would mean that jarl Balgruuf would be greatly discredited.)
@@AnneWest_ and maybe the skeleton that we find below the bridge that leads to dragonsreach could belong to him as long as we don't know how it ended in the pool
Sorry for my bad English lol
Carlotta killed her husband, he's buried in the narrow space where the Nightshade grows between her house and a city wall. No man will get between her and her child. I wonder why?
maybe balgruuf killed her husband 3:) there is, a mention of fear concerning a chase out of town
Okay so here's the theory I'm sticking to based on this video:
What if Balgruuf can't talk about his wife's death because SHE was seduced by Mephala, and SHE wielded the sword against him for his infidelity? So he keeps the sword because he saw what it did to her, and he couldn't bear the thought of anyone else holding it. I like the idea that Balgruuf is a great man, and I feel like if there was infidelity (or even, if there wasn't - lies are best made with sprinkles of truth, right? Mephala feeds just enough truth to make the lie seem credible) maybe she was hurt and angry, and Mephala spoke to her and gave her the blade (or she otherwise somehow came into possession of it). I feel like that maintains his good-ness, and makes sense all at once.
So no, he's not a murderer. The only foul play was from the Daedra meddling like they do.
I was thinking the same thing and combed through the comments to find someone who agreed lol.
Hmm.. I like it!
Or maybe he killed is wife because of the Sword !
and then he was drunk and had other children with another women!
This was my thought as well. Perhaps she got the blade, attempted to commit regicide, and was stopped. Perhaps around that time is when his youngest child was conceived, either before or after.
I was thinking the same thing. She attacks him with the blade, and he's forced to protect himself, but kills her in the process. There's also the possibility that she was pregnant to a different man and it was her infidelity that was the issue, but Mephala twists the truth into lies for her own nefarious purposes and so, instead, mirrors the truth of it to reflect badly on Balgruuf, since Nelkir still believes he's genuinely his father. So the hatred would be much deeper.
I wish they'd come out with a dlc that's just finished versions of unfinished quests
I hope they redo Skyrim in 2030 or something in a version which is worth to be called remake, not the "slightly better graphics and same bugs as before" Legendary version...
@@serujioraiton2811 yeah and just go in deeper on character development
that would be so much memory that you would need a 150 terabyte hard drive
@@serujioraiton2811 Special Edition is barely a remaster and to put salt in the wound, the textures aren't even clean. Someone on the Nexus made a 7GB texture replacer that actually had proper cleaned out ones and when testing it, it used 500MB less VRAM
So an update
I like how he reads the warning and just takes the blade immediately
Yep. Yoink!
This journal is going on the bookshelf and the swords going on the rack in the house.
Nelkir: *listens through door*
Door: Hey how's it going guys it's nate here, and skyrim is a huge game, and even after a lot of years, even the most experienced of players might not know everything about it. So today we'll be taking a look at ten Jarl balgruuf secrets and hidden details you might have missed in the elder scrolls V skyrim
Nelkir: :0
This actually made me laugh.
Lol
Time loop?
@@pradnya9976 Same!!
Hidden details you may have missed
Nate : " Jarl B is an honorable and helpful man "
Jarl b : *furiously break dances*
Irileth comes from a Mephala worshipping assassin’s guild. Maybe when she left to go fight in the Great War (I believe she says that’s how they met) she went with the Ebony Blade (an artifact of Mephala). Her and Balgruff either used it to kill many enemies or maybe for something worse, as Nelkir references Mephala telling him about what Balgruff did in the war and implies it was bad. Maybe Balgruff was corrupted by it in the war and cheated on his wife with somebody out there (making Nelkir’s mother different). After all Mephala is also the god of treachery. Eventually Balgruff returns from the war and kills his wife while corrupted. Irileth realizes it’s going bad as she knows how Mephala works and has to do something. Irileth then locks away the Ebony Blade in the basement. The book never says who locked it away, and while it doesn’t mention Balgruff by name, that could be because they wanted it locked away forever and the keys would be passed down. I also believe she says she insisted on being his housecarl. That way she can protect him from Mephala. This could also be why Irileth is defensive when asked about how she got her position as housecarl (she says something along the lines of the Dragonborn being too curious). Maybe she knows it’s sketchy and doesn’t want anyone digging around. This could also possibly explain why she was so pissed at Balgruff for leaving without her knowing as Mephala’s temptations could be anywhere. If any of this is true then Mephala tells the kids that their own dad killed their mother (well most of their mothers) then they kill him in the cut quest.
Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk
Liam Hutton while I agree with most of this, keep in mind that during the civil war quest Balgruuf uses a One-Handed sword to defend himself from the stormcloaks. This would make it likely that the Jarl probably only experimented with the Ebony Blade a bit and probably didn’t use it as his first choice weapon.
His brother is using two handed and could possibly the one that needed to be kept their eye on
There was a scenario where the brother took the throne
Then again skyrim does have birth control
@@christianvanslooten3761 I expect that when he regularly wielded the Ebony Blade, it's magical power rendered it his primary weapon, even if he generally preferred a one handed sword. After discarding the Ebony Blade he may have chosen to go back to his previous style of fighting because he was just better at it.
I think the scenario that Nate misses is that the previous Jarl (Balgruuf's father) had an affair / took a second wife later in life. Thus, the child has a different mother to his siblings Balgruuf and Hrongar - he would also be correctly flagged as Balgruuf's brother.
13:00 I'ma stop you right there. Carlotta's husband died according to a sidequest started by talking to her. Mikial is harassing her and she asks you to stop him.
Doesn’t mean that she can’t go one with someone less annoying than Mikael
“Ah another wanderer, here to lick my fathers boots?”
*balls
Insert iconic potato voice.
@@Prehistoeif it’s too bad they’re gone
Good job
@@pearsemolloy9656 this is where the fun begins
My first thought when you said that Nelkir was Balgruuf's brother was that Balgruuf's father got some girl pregnant and Balgruuf just took the child in because he's a good guy, makes more sense to me than his mother having a child at such an old age
Yes. And the same plot has been used in a lot of Bollywood movies.
🅱️ollywood moment
Well, that happened with my uncle. My father helped a lot to my grandma and my uncle so he could be raised properly. Fortunately he is actually successful in life and despite living better than my father, he calls him "sir" when they interact.
🅱️algruuf moment
Nate: I highly doubt it, and here's why:
Ad: The naked chicken chalupa, only at Taco Bell.
Lol, mine was the KFC chicken
😂😂
“woe be to anyone who chooses to take it” *immediately takes it*
To be fair the Dragonborn is probably one of the few that could actually safely use it. The Dragonborn is quite literally a divine being in soul; making corruption a moot point... Even without that considering all the dragon souls he absorbed; Mephala would be hard pressed to corrupt him indirectly through the sword- Maybe she could do it if she was literally palming his soul... Otherwise, I'm doubtful she has that much power outside her realm.
There's a reason Daedra tend to take the gentle approach with the Player in Skyrim. Alduin isn't something even they can take lightly. The only reason that dragon is even fightable is because he didn't play by destiny's script; subsequently weakening him while in Tamriel. By the time the games finished the Dragonborn is someone they'd much rather have as an ally; to spread their influence. After all he could easily side with another Daedra... Or ruin centuries worth of plots. It's much simpler just to work with the dragonborn rather than against.
Balgruuf's dance was so powerful, it killed his wife and sealed all evil within Nezeem
This comment is too powerful... Wait... I know you...
I always thought Carlotta had a husband that was a hero in the war and was given that house as a type of thanks for your husbands service.
I cant die without playing Elder Scrolls 6 first. Lore is too deep
same same
I hope to live long enough to see #7.
Don’t forget the skeleton under the entrance to Dragonsreach
Yes but that is rumored to be Maven Blackbriers doing and there's a lot of evidence to support it
@@rosascreed5124 lol how so?
@@fatty1040 You can find a note in the Bannered Mare, with some explanation. I'm sure you can find a video on it by Nate or Camelworks
Me: has a drink from the jarl
Me: wakes up in carriage
Some foggy voice: hey you your finally awake...
😂😂😂👍❤
This is simply a trick to distract us from the fact Mr. Krabs sold SpongeBob's soul for 62 cents.
What a great boss.
I'd do it for 30. Spongebob is untouchable.
Where in oblivion did this come from??
Imagine Spongebob in the Soul Cairn
@G G I don't even watch Spongebob and even I got a good laugh out of this. :)
Cute pic btw.
I really love this story because there’s so much up for interpretation. Even though I don’t have any definitive proof, my personal headcanon is that Irileth fell in love with Balgruuf during their many battles together, but was aware that he was married and that nobody in Whiterun would support an interracial marriage. To get her way, she made a deal with Mephala and brought the blade into Whiterun on her orders. With the blade’s powers, Balgruuf became corrupted, murdered his wife, and later got drunk and impregnated a woman of Whiterun, but somewhere along the line, Mephala became displeased with Irileth (that or she just wanted to watch Irileth suffer, which isn’t surprising for a god of lies and deceit) and so she had Balgruuf’s children murder him under the influence of the same exact blade Mephala ordered Irileth to carry into Whiterun.
It’s likely not true, but damn would it have been a good direction for the story if they had decided to implement it.
@@gekka39 That actually makes a hell of a lot of sense, and would make a lot more of this story click for me personally.
Actually this makes a lot of sense in a way, what I would edit from your theory is the Mephala being displeased part, what I think happened was that Irileth, did her job for the Morag Tong and under the orders of Mephala brought the blade to Whiterun, during the time the blade was corrupting Balgruuf's family, Irileth and Balgruuf became closer and she eventually fell for him causing her to leave the Tong all togeter, the cheating happens and that triggers the wife, Irileth in love with the man does not recognize the subtle changes in Balgruuf's or just attributes them to him being a man, they did fight together in battle, so she ignores the blade all together or if she didn't she does not tell Balgruuf so he doesn't kill her or abandon her, when Balgruuf is forced to kill his wife who had the blade at the time, he suspected the blade probably because it was a weapon he did not recognize or that when Farengar was examining the corpse after the event, due to the sudden actions of his wife, he noticed that the blade had unknown enchantments, this lead to them sealing the blade with both having a copy of they, Balgruuf because he is jarl and Farengar so he can study the blade and find a way to destroy it since the skyforge did not work. The dragons come and they are both too distracted to notice that the blade is working on Nelikir. The reason why I say that Mephala is not displeased with Irileth is because someone has to be protecting her from the Morag Tong, I don't think you can just leave that organization and if Mephala was displeased no name change or mortal magic could protect Irileth, hell she could have used the influence of the blade to target her as revenge and not just Baalgruuf. Anyway that is my theory
@@KradXinam very interesting approach as well!! Oh boy do I live for the whiterun drama
This can't be true, he's Jarl Ballin' no way he's evil. You can't change my mind Nate.
Looks like Whiterun’s walls still make you feel safe then huh?
Just like how you’ve heard things about Ulfric you don’t like, but you still know he’s right for Skyrim. Makes sense.
Edit: PS
Ballin ballin jarl ballin.
then he's already got you
What are you? A cursed hybrid of Keannu Reeves, Ralof and Jhonny Silverhand?
You neglected to bring up the skeleton under the bridge...
I was thinking this!!!!
that actually has it's own back story to do with Maven and having someone assassinated... nothing to do with the Jarl 😊 x
@@liamsimpson2702 Maybe Nelkir is Maven's son.
Liam Simpson could you elaborate?? I’ve wondered about that
@@maraazura sure ! so basically Mavan had a dealing that went wrong with somebody ( the note can actually be found on the table where you have fisticuffs with Uthgerd the unbroken, that will give you more details ) and it is HIGHYLY thought that the Skeleton under the bridge? is that of the man who betrayed or wronged Maven Blackbriar :)
Carlotta’s fancy house is why she can barely feed her daughter 😂
or she lies about struggling to raise the prices without people complaining, when ysolda comments she can raise prices on green apples she is interested in doing so
The UA-cam captions for Balgruuf are amazing, "Ball growth, bowl drop, bowl graph, ball grip."
😂😂
Conspiracy theory: Nate is Hermaeus Mora
Wait, that's not confirmed yet?
He shares the information too freely.
An avatar of Julianos, maybe.
Long, drawn out words - check
Knows far more than a mortal could - check
Weird, tentacle like limbs...?
There's a skeleton floating under Dragonsreach' pool bridge near the staircase right at the entrance. I never discovered who that skeleton belonged to. I wonder if that's his wife...
That's a big yikes from me
Holy potato. Mind blown.
😱😱😱
Its a guy killed off by an Assassin sent by Maven Black Briar
Plaag Geest Yeah, that’s one possibility that he talked about in another video
But it isn’t confirmed, so maybe this other theory is right 🤨
1:51 - Matricide is the killing of one's mother. Uxoricide is the killing of one's wife. Unless you're implying Balgruuf was extra disturbed. Alternatively, Regicide can be applied to a king or queen, but likely wouldn't be applicable in Balgruff's case.
Edit: okay, not sure if that was intentional foreshadowing, but well played.
Good heccin job lol
Option 3 for the youngest child. He is the son of Balgruuf's father and a palace maid. Balgruuf appears from design and behavior a man in his mid to late 30s. The youngest child appears to be around 10.
What if Balgruuf only assumed the throne after his children were born. The older children would have some vague memories of their grandfather and such. The youngest child is seen by the public to have been born around the time Balgruuf becomes Jarl. At the same time Balgruuf's father gets a maid pregnant and dies. To prevent his father from being shown negatively near the time of his death and the problems that come with installation of a new ruler, Balgruuf says the child is his instead of his Father's. Keeping the child in the royal family and seeing to the raising of the kid as a member of the family.
This prevents a scandal during the transition of power and all the problems that occur.
Nate: accuses Balgruuf of killing his wife.
Also Nate: accuses Balgruuf of committing matricide.
Wait a minute ...
Talk about Oedipus complex...
Just remember, the bard refers to Calotta as the "Widow" which implies her husband died or was killed. So I don't think the child is Balgruuf's.
Maybe carlotta cheated, (which I doubt) or she laid with balgruuf after her husbands death?
She also has nightshade planted behind her house - a ceremonial plant meant to signify and honor the dead. It's pretty clear that she's just a widow.
The skeleton under dragons reach bridge is one of maven black briars former employees who she had someone take care of. I believe that there’s a letter in mavens house in riften to back that up
@@Jackieyeet1 it's highly improbable that Nelkir is Carlotta's son. In the Elder Scrolls the child is almost always the race of the mother. Nelkir is nord by race. It's not impossible for the female to have offspring that are of the race of the father but it is statistically very unlikely. If he is in fact an illegitimate child the mother is almost certainly a Nord.
@@ReformedSauron wait I thought Carlotta was a nord? Or is she an imperial?
It really warms my heart that Skyrim STILL has an honored place in our lives to this day! Cheers to those of you still enjoying the game during these trying times. I've got over 2500 hrs and it's not stopping there!
Skyrim VR is the most advanced virtual sex simulator on the planet
I bought it 2 weeks after it came out and am still playing it, lol! Skyrim 2020!
I'm at 2652 hrs myself and just figured out most of the mods work together
@@tyronelannister9922 Lovers Lab mods?
This man is like a brother to me. I will not tolerate any slander against him.
I wonder if his wife came into possession of the blade and he HAD to kill her because it made her crazy
And the youngest child was adopted after the Mrs. whacked his family. That's a heck of a secret. "You're not my son, my wife killed your parents."
Seems understandable, and makes the most sense
@@jamesbenthul4590 i like this theory
This was pretty much the same idea I had. Not that the Jarl killed his wife, but that his wife killed others. Perhaps the Jarl only survived due to the actions of his loyal bodyguard, who recognized the influence of the daedra at work.
That is the theory I want to believe as I don't want the jarl to be evil
“I’m Jarl Ballin’ , and I be Ballin”
Swag
Swag
Swag
@@M_u_t_e96024 Holler if you need me
Draw me like one of your sexy french maids
"Balgruuf may have got it on with his own mother."
*Dueling Banjos intensifies*
Its possible that Balgruuf's wife was the one who was under the sword's influence and tried to kill Balgruuf and/or their children so Balgruuf did what needed to do to protect himself and his children.
You know, there's still a pretty high chance that Mephala was lying to Nelkir. A lie is a lot easier to believe if it's sandwiched between two truths, and the god of lies would know that. "Well she said he worships talos, and I know that's true. And she also said he's afraid of being run out of Whiterun, and that's true too. Why would she lie about me not having the same mother?"
Exactly shes the daedric prince of lies/deceit, plots and murder - lying and twisting a vunerable child's mind to try and convince him to murder his father would be... yaknow, EXACTLY what she's about and you're totally right about the "two truths" thing; as if you side with the stormcloaks he is cast out of being thane and basically despises you.
@@ContentConfessional that what I thought..
Only a fool trusts daedra
"Bethesda would never Insinuate that Balgruuf laid with his own mother"... Have you never played Morrowind?
There's so much implied and explicit beastiality in the Elder Scrolls, that incest seems like the least one could worry about. Not even saying its right, but Elder Scrolls standards are very far from our own.
Also that necromancer Arondil
I will say, during the development of skyrim, Bethesda were on a downward spiraling road. Todays bethesda is a very different bethesda than in the days of morrowind. Today, Besthesda is reeking of political correctness, inclusion and feminism. ESO forces it down your throat by the boatload, and it is sad, and as much as i look forward to TES:VI, i fear greatly for it too. (I know the flag of the ship is ZOS, but it is governed by Behtesda, who now actually is governed by Microsoft- which surely can only make matters worse..)
I want the writers of morrowind to write the next elder scrolls game, without any unfluence from Microsoft or any political correct bullshit. Not the current Bethesda.
@@jull444 we need to lock them in a room with nothing but a typewriter and a banana crate full of Cocaine
@@scorchedhand1508 genocide also happens in the lore
I swear bethesda thinks it's a Hollywood director...
"CUT! CUT! CUT!"
My theory: Mephala used the blade to corrupt Balgruuf’s wife, who would have known Nelkir was her husband’s illegitimate child and probably held strong negative feelings about the whole thing but kept quiet to prevent a controversy. It worked her sanity and Mephala would tell her it was no drunken accident, and every time he snuck out at night, he was visiting the mother. Eventually, she took hold of the blade and sought him out one night, and he was forced to disarm and kill her, maybe even falling under the blade’s influence to do so. He realizes what he’s done and buries her in secret, writing the book and locking the blade away to ward off anyone who might think of using it. That would reference how the ‘men and women of high’ fell under the influence, as written in the book. Both the Jarl and his wife did. Anyways, just my own crack theory
It's been 8 years since Skyrim was released and yet you still upload content regularly. Mad lad.
9, it was released november the 11th, 2011
@@Wyaldisthebestapostle its not November 11 2020 yet so its still only 8 years and 6 months old
Skyrim is sooo ahead of it’s age, him uploading these vids still is amazing
Maybe Irileth, with her Morag Tong background, "engineered" Mrs. Balgruff's death (possibly even at the hand of the Jarl). I mean she seems very protective of him and my first playthough of the game I thought they were secret lovers.
And Dark Elves definately worship Mephala. Ya might have something here....
I definitely like your idea of them being lovers. It would make more sense then why she is angry that Balgruuf went to the tavern late at night and his reply was an excuse.
When I saw them I didn't know that he wasn't the wife of balgroff can't spell lol
Same
I think the same I reckon since she worshipped mephala at some point she made sure he or his wife became corrupted by the blade so that the wife would die
"sLaUGhtER mY pEOpLE!" rings in my ears forever
Where's that from?
@@JJ_-fp9sj when you tell him about helgen and hes talking about sending troops to riverwood
ShLoUGhThuR mY PeapLE!
@@JJ_-fp9sj from the game. Balgruff himself said it.
@@johnsheppard5257 ...Referring to Milmulnir who was attacking the castle.
Fun fact. If you go to Windhelm in eso Mera Stormcloak is Ulfric Stormcloak’s ancestor. And the Stormcloak family came to Skyrim with Ysgramor. Proves that the Stormcloak family is one of the oldest families in Skyrim.
0:48 i must say... those mooves are more magical and graceful than auriels bow.
Overheard in Dragonsreach:
Balgruuf: "Irileth, how many guards can we commit to the defence of Whiterun?"
Irileth: "I have 387 men, my jarl."
Balgruuf: "Round them up because Ulfric is on his way."
Irileth: "Very well, my jarl. 400."
Dammit, wasted potential for a 300 reference
The Jarl's first name is Balgruuf. His last name is the Greater.
Wouldn't "the greater" be a title, more than a name?
tank girl23 ^Exactly, that is a title not a name. Not all Nords seem to have last names though, so it’s not really strange.
tank girl23 It’s a joke guy, get a sense of humor.
Sara Thul ^
@@corbinbarron8772 what are you talking about? I'm replying to Arielle's comment.
My favorite thing is that it's been 11 years (as of I've been typing this) since Skyrim came, and we're all still trying to figure everything out about it. That's how big Skyrim is.
Carlottas husband died it’s said my mikeal the bard when u beat him up he says “that fiery widow is mine, she just doesn’t know it yet”
while probably true it doesn't actually discount her being the mistress. one a widow of the court (you dont have her house without the husband being a member of the court) who probably died in the war (or to the blade during the war) is in a key spot for the relationship. 2 it could be a lie. a woman shows up in the city with a kid and no husband. saying I'm a widow is probably safer then saying yes I'm the attractive harlot that gets the rich house.
@@umbradens6129 Pretty much 👍
I will have you thrown im dragons reach dungeon for spreading these "Rumors"
if you kill your wife you are a gamer
And then you be ballin?
We need explanations, Jarl Balgruff
Wait wait wait I thought your living in a basement in solitude after the storm cloaks overthrew you
We know you are a dark elf smasher
Tbh I wouldn't be surprised if they cut it for being too dark. Like seriously, there isn't much darker than that in Skyrim, or even the whole of the Elder Scrolls. Kids being corrupted to kill a horse, then to kill their own father. That's dark. I would have loved it in the game, don't get me wrong, but man that would have been dark.
Edit:
A better way of putting it: This would have been ONE OF the darkest things (not the most dark) in skyrim/elder scrolls, and considering it has children involved it makes sense that they would scrap it. I do wish they kept it though, it would have made the quest much better.
Also, all of you saying "hurr durr you didn't play Morrowind if you think that this was the darkest" 1. It isn't the darkest, and I never claimed that. 2. Yes I consider this darker than MOST (not all) parts of the elder scrolls. 3. You all missed the chance to say something along the lines of "You think this is dark? What a grand and Intoxicating Innocence." And for that you all should be ashamed.
Also also, Cannibalism < This for all of you bringing Namira up.
Now hopefully that will catch more people from repeating the same comments.
Aventus Aretino: Allow me to introduce myself.
Um.. Killing a companion for that Daedric Lord? EATING THE FLESH OF A HUMAN? Allowing cannibals to roam in Markarth? The way rhe Dark Brotherhood ended. I can't think of what ISN'T dark in this game lol. I dunno, Balgruuf sleeping with his mother (He doesn't look that young, so may have been an adult) seems tame compared to eating a Priest alive just so you can have a ring. Not to mention the stuff that we know about Harkon's family.
Have you
Have you not played oblivion
@@Xaveston no no, let them show they've only played 5 minutes of any elder scrolls game.
I hate Barlgruf he’s a greedy jarl
17:44
"Okay, so this is a very evil blade and you need to forget about it because it is extremely dangerous"
*immediately picks it up after reading the book*
I always assumed the "not same mother" line was just that Balgruuf's first wife died some time after the second child was born and Balgruuf simply got married to a second, but didn't explain it to Nelkir yet because it might confuse the boy too much at a young age, so I never really agreed with the "Balgruuf was cheating on his wife" theory. But the idea that the Whiterun court knows about the power of the Ebony Blade because they had a horrifying first-hand experience with it in the hands of Balgruuf is a really convincing and interesting theory that I totally dig. It makes Balgruuf a pretty interesting character: a lord who's noble for the most part but holds a trauma of having murdered his own wife by being possessed by the Ebony Blade, somehow coming to his senses afterwards and locking up the Blade, and choosing to hide this information. He'd be both the criminal and the victim, and hiding the information obviously makes sense to not disclose the presence of the Ebony Blade, but how much of that decision was made in the interest of protecting his own honor? And is he liable to be condemned if the latter purpose was heavier in the decision? A lot of interesting discussion can be made about this and I really wish Bethesda expanded further on this quest (like I do about a lot of quests in their games).
Totally agree! I like to think that it was the other way around, and that his wife was the one that got corrupted and tried to kill him, and he or his thane/guards had to protect him and she was killed. And now it's trying to do the same with his children, have them murder him to death.
I remember hearing a rumour that the original ending of the ebony blade quest was cut where one of the kids use the ebony blade and kill Balgruuf, no clue if it’s true or not but I just thought it sounded cool
@@ozthewizard1 it was supposed to end that way. They even have cut dialogue in the game files. It's a shame, really!
Considering how the elder scrolls blades as the type of game it is, i wouldnt consider anything from it as lore, so I think its highly possible that the blade has been locked in there for hundreds of years.
I heard about that to I think this guy done the video on it actually 🤔 in regards to the supposed ending that they got rid of
Y’know, I always wondered how he had 3 kids when the most the Dragonborn can have is 2. Maybe they flagged the kid as “brother” to avoid needing to break the game’s “2 child” rule for when they implemented HF dlc
Good point. Jarl Laila has only two children, both adults. The crone lady in Morthal has one adultish, one child. The couple in Winterhold have only one. The rest of the jarls don't seem to have any, unless Skald the Elder has one or two out fighting with the Stormcloaks that aren't mentioned, and considering Skald's personality, he'd probably be bragging about it.. Trying to think of any families in Skyrim that has more than two children - well, Eorland and Fralia has three, but they are all adults. I don't think I can. Real dearth of children in that province.
How do you edit posts? I had Fralia on her own, then added the hubby and forgot to change the verb to match.
pedigreeann the three dots on your comment
Maven Black Briar has more than 2 kids(?)
Poly Pegasus yep she has three, although they’re all adults so i guess they don’t count
13:18 Carlotta got the Jarl payin' child support
Mila might have a different baby daddy who ran out on them.
This feels like something Todd decided halfway through development that this should be a mystery. It makes sense to keep Balgruuf neutral considering his position in the Civil War storyline, so that could be a good reason to cut anything that messes with Todd's idea for the vision he wants you to have about the Jarl. It's the most reasonable explaination I can think of for why it would be cut aside from time constraints.
Balgruuf's housecarl Irileth killed Balgruuf's wife.
When confronting him about sneaking out to the tavern she said she would always try to protect him. Did she mean protection against scandals such as a potential heir birthed out of wedlock, or a curse attached to a certain sword?
Possible hmmmmm
We still don't know who the skeleton in the water is under the walkway into Dragon's Reach.
*By the gods. I KNEW IT.*
That’s why you took an arrow to the knee. So the Jarl can keep an eye on you....
Whiterun Guard tell me off/tease me again, and I’ll shout you off a cliff.
Whiterun guard can you brew me an ale
Alright the thing this is, WHERE IS MY SWEETROLL?!!!!! I don’t care if you’ve heard about my honeyed words, I just want my sweetroll...
You should get knee guards.And Skyforge steel blades, petition for better weapons.Vampire and dragon attacks are dangerous although dragon attacks are somewhat rare.You should also visit a healer,maybe at the temple of Kynarethe,get your knee checked.Your service is appreciated.
Your dedication for this (and other guest) series made me want to give you a sub - keep it up man into the unforeseen future
The thought of Baalgruf was once the wielder of Ebony Blade is interesting. Makes sense why his kids are odd and have secrets of their own