Comparing Irenicus and Sarevok's presence in the narrative is interesting. Despite being a warrior and looking like Darth Vader, Sarevok spents the majority of the first game in the shadows, manipulating the events and only gets fought at the endgame. Meanwhile, Irenicus, despite being a mage, has like this brutish dominating presence and you fight and confront him multiple times throughout the game.
It's an interesting subversion on those typical fantasy tropes, and it also manages to have Irenicus be a proactive villain that's more directly involved in and interested by the Bhaalspawn's actions, compared to Sarevok who's more a looming shadow over the adventures you have during the first game.
well in this edition, a mage was literally one spell level short of Godhood. A flaw Irenics saught multiple times to rectify. He had no reason to be shy or bookish considering his power level.
@@bunnieskitties293What you can ultimately see though, is that he was inflamed by his failed love. Many men equate it to loss of power and project blame to others (YOU WILL ALL SUFFER.) I think if Irenicus ultimately assumed full responsibility he could not have been stopped, even been protagonistic. That’s what makes him great as the villain, there is no regret in us unless there is something lost.
I believe this kind of inverted approach with regards to the narrative of each antagonist is what gives them more depth. Sarevok isn't reduced to an angry brute, he is a giant of a warrior, yes, but he is also well read on the prophecy of Alaundo and knew enough about Bhaal and Bhaalspawn to have his armor and weapon specially crafted to work with and enhance his divine potential. He's cunning enough to orchestrate all of the plot from the shadows. Irenicus, by a similar token, isn't restricted to being this absentee plotter in his distant tower, doomed to go "curse you heroes" as he is foiled by the one artifact or the one oversight in his brilliant masterplan. This is a mage who, when a thieves guild attacks his stronghold and messes up his plans, flips his lid, kicks everyone's teeth in and then procees to adapt, improvise and roll with the changes to keep his plans on track, making him all the more menacing.
I thought it was interesting how he just kinda bowled over commas in his dialogue. Made it very distinctive, but once I noticed it I couldn't stop noticing.
Jon's villainy is made next level by the fact that he says "you'll get no villain's exposition from me." Even the worst villains are merciful enough to assuage their enemies curiosity before killing them.
The opening of BG2 immediately establishes that this going to be a darker story. Several companions from the first are either dead or, in the case of Imoen, utterly traumatized and violated. Searching desperately for an exit while Imoen continues to crack, until you finally reach the light-and then Imoen is dragged away with your tormentor.
The best version of Irenicus is the version that’s your Bhaal essence cosplaying as Irenicus to teach you about power in your dreams. “Life... is strength. That is not to be contested; it seems logical enough. You live; you affect your world.” “This woman had power, of a sort. She lost her parents to plague, her husband to war, but she persevered. She was well respected, her farm was prosperous and her children were well fed. And now she is dead.”
I have to believe that these monologues in your dreams were ones that Charname actually overheard while prisoner in Chateau Irenicus. They're far too literate and on-point in emulating him to be merely the thuggish Bhaal essence's brainchild.
In the original BG1 Jon was called "Jon Icarus" only retroactively being changed to mentioning "Irenicus" in EE edition. Obviously, the writers were still designing the story for bg2 back then but the inspirations were clear from the start
My absolutely favorite line of his is the "to end... LIKE THIS?" In the final cutscene He's not sad that he ended up in some pit in hell, he's disappointed about THE PIT in hell he's in
My favorite parts you missed were his journals in Spellhold. He talks like he doesn't even remember what spells he's casting. He's just some twisted shade of fury. But then he gets your soul and it's day and night.
I’m pretty sure Imoen isn’t revealed as a Bhaalspawn to Irenicus (or anyone) until the breakout/in at the start of 2. That’s why he agrees to go quietly so long as Imoen also gets arrested. The main character doesn’t know about Imoen until Irenicus tells him halfway through the game.
he knew, he just could tell her essence was weaker than yours and wasn't that interested, so he tested all the stuff he did to you on her first, just in case.
David Warner was incredible, but as a Pole I have to give praise to an amazing polish actor- Krzysztof Kolberger who voiced Irenicus in polish location of the game. His performance is what made Irenicus for me one of the greatest villains in history of games, books and cinema.
From the best game in the series as well. Really the peak of the FR during this period as well. TSR was doing a lot of things wrong, but FR and Planescape were firing on all cylinders before wotc burst through the wall like the coolaid man.
When I first saw that Jon was working with the drow, I just laughed and was like "why am I not surprised?" I was playing a modded copy that let you play as Drow in the first two games which added to it for me. In my defense I really liked the Drizzt books as a kid though I was a sorcerer if I recall.
I think my personal favorite path of getting into spellhold is having Minsc talk to the pirate lord and in his eternal beautiful insanity -pointing- Boo at the man and questioning why he doesnt look like a storybook pirate. I know the other route is more direct but any chance to have Minsc be Minsc, I'm taking it.
They just don't make villains, or narratives, or player characters with this kinda agency anymore. Jon was at the peak of elven magical knowledge, greedy for ascension. Damning everything he ever loved.
They didn't take their souls, merely the elven quality of it, which severed them from the Elven Afterlife and all the other benefits of being elves. they still go to the normal afterlife. (a similar thing happened with the Drow though because their gods went with them, nothing major changed beyond them no longer going to Arvadore for judgement when they die and instead enter the Fugue plane like other mortals). (when Irenicus tries to steal your soul, he's merely filling part of his that used to contain the elvish parts). Also Ellisemme's punishment was actually decried as favoritism by the people of Suldenessalar, as all they had to do to get it undone was to genuinely repent and ask forgiveness. Since Ellismeme considered it more like putting them in timeout to think about what they've done. She just grossly underestimated how prideful Irenicus was and that he would literally never do that.
I fucking despise Jon Irenicus. His arrogance and self entitled yapping throughout the game, dude acts like you should feel blessed to be used as a sacrifice to his pitiful "revenge" against people who were fully justified in banishing him for his powerhungry hubris. 10/10 easily one of the very best antagonists in video games, will let him live rent free in my head forever.
Sidenote but Imoen’s arc in this game is one of the best narratives about surviving SA I’ve ever seen. She’s broken again and again, but through the help of her friends and family is able to literally reclaim her life from her violator. Such a beautiful yet terrible story.
@@warlordofbritannia This guy doesn't know what an allegory is man. He probably thinks Star Wars is just about monk wizard's fighting aliens with laser swords and nothing else too.
I low key dont buy that Irenicus gave himself up for arrest to get away from the guild war and you. He literally wants you to come to him and was ready to fight you on the spot. With the power he has, he could easily just reappear somewhere else and fuck off from you and the guild war on his own, without the need of being arrested, if that was really his goal.
This is probably why even after multiple replays, I find it hard to get attached to Baldur's Gate 3 compared to 2 and 1. The villains are lacking in 3, even if there's three of them. We don't get to know them that much or spend time with them. Jon Irenicus is such a memorable villain, and I can't even remember that emo guy and psycho chick's names in BG3.
@@asura7915 Correction: Baldur's Gate 3 was the final nail in the coffin. The Abdel Adrian Novels actively butchered the Bhaalspawn Saga before that. So, you are correct.
BG 1 and 2 both you meet the antagonist in the prologue. They are murdering your friends and family, sending assassins after you from minute one. Bg3 you don’t even know who the main antagonists are until halfway through. Then it’s just a nebulous group that you barely interact with until their boss fight.
You made me want to replay this game while I am in the middle of an angel wotr run. You bastard. The abyss must have put you up to this to distract me from the campaign.
I'm in exactly the same position. Just started an angel run on WotR. But since I played BG2 rather recently for the millionth time, I should be able to resist. I think. Maybe.
@@AlmarilQC and how is your run going? Am closing in on end rank 9/angel/lvl 20 oread dovier druid. Planning on going for ascension ending. And it has me wondering how well would ascended KC measure up against ascended Bhaalspawn. Think Demon KC might be strongest KC if he also gets to have nocticula's domain besides those of baphomet and deskari.
@@lakkakka I'm still at the start in Kenabres, I'm going for a sword saint with an elven curved blade (might respec since it's 2 handed and magus works better with a free hand). It's my second playthrough, I played the first one as an azata lightning kineticist and enjoyed it a shitton, best RPG since BG2 and Planescape Torment imo. As for the power level stuff, no idea, I'm not a fan of comparing characters' power levels as it's all fiction in which the characters have the power the writers give them. As long as said power is used well narratively or gameplaywise, I'm happy :D
Love this video and the Sarevok video! You should definitely consider doing Villainpedia entries on the Sith Triumvirate from Knights of the Old Republic 2. At the very least one entry on Kreia/Traya
David Warner also voiced the character The Archmage from the cartoon series Gargoyles (if anyone has not seen it I _HIGHLY_ recommend watching the first 2 seasons). In fact, the Archmage character in and of himself was kind of bland and was originally meant to be a one-off character shown in a small flashback story early in the series... yet David nailed the role so god damn well that the creator of the Gargoyles series actively wrote out a whole additional sub plot for the character which vastly increased his role in the story. Honestly, David Warner never got as much recognition I felt he deserved, but god damn was that man born to play Evil Wizards... I honestly always imagine David Warner's voice for any evil wizard NPC I make for any D&D game I run... he's just that synonymous with the trope for me
@@chatarrra7457 dude. Irenicus gives a whole speech on free will and that's the opening line. Life is strength. This is not to be contested, it seems logical enough. You live and you affect your world.
9:43 further fictional evidence that true justice is ending it right then and there, without further passion for the matter. the queens desire to find a punishment worse than the finality of death was the moral failing and karmatic feedback that led to, well, Baldurs Gate 2
You have a point, though the matter does get muddied in a setting with demonstrable afterlives and souls as well as the possibility of resurrection or even reconstitution of oneself even. Ask Sarevok about that.
this being my first actually intense mid level dnd experience I restarted this game dozens of times, enough for me to be able to recite the irenicus dungeon voice lines from memory
Yep, Khalid was definitely a pillar of my party in BG1 and was absolutely not backstabbed before his corpse got the boot inside a tent so Jaheria couldn't leave.
Woah! I don't remember the serevak video that well, guess I gotta go back, watch that, then this, and just to be safe, every other video you've made. Daaaaang
Excellent video ! as an old fan of Baldur's Gate it brought back some great memories so thank you, i have been watching all of your videos bit by bit and i can't wait for you to cover ToB :)
If I was transformed into a cat, I think I would be happy to have transcended to a higher form. Also this was a defining voice/character of my childhood thanks for the vid
Maaaan, your channel is like sitting around a fire with a warm mug of hot cocoa in your hands. Your voice and inflection is perfect for commentary, keep it up brotha
the original BG series is the only series I remember playing over and over and over again. The plot, the villans, the action, it was all perfect. I dont think I ever played a more epic game. I thought I might never see a better villain than Sarevok, and Irenicus blew him out of the water. Such an in depth character, so much understandable ambition, so much legitimate philosophy. Sometimes I wish life was such an epic adventure with such intriguing characters.
there's one thing i love during his rise to villainy. there's this witch saying: "with his wife out of the picture, he'll pay attention to me" and behind her, i imagine Jon being like: "Oh believe me, you have my undivided attention now."
I will say that while she is connected to Jon, Bodhi is an evil in her own right, and she reaches her peak when she turns your lover into a vampire and uses them against you in the final fight.
Awesome video! The Baldur's Gate series will always have a special place in my heart and a lot of that has to do with the villains being so damn good. Cheers!
I recently replayed the first dungeon of BG2 and the entire warped and twisted place is a microcosm of Irenicus' mind. The comrades like Rieliev that he kept in stasis, promising to save once a cure for their disease is discovered but remain forgottoen. The many hollow copies he made of Ellesime, his true love and how he's kept her room as it is. The dryads he keeps to create emotion or humanity within him. The various torture chambers, and mysterious pools showing scenes of the future of Amn etc. These are all just glimpse into the hollow mind of Irenicus, you almost pity him and can understand why he wants to gain power to forget how broken he is.
I just discovered Jon Irenicus through Magic the Gathering and it's so cool to learn more about him! I didn't even know that he is a villain xD This is nice listening to while I build my Jon Commander deck ^^
I love how Ellesime wanted him to be heroic. But he was stuck with only the search for power. Lacking a soul made him lose his ability to love, and therefore, he couldn't use that as his motivation to do heroic acts. If he had, he might have regained what he lost.
“Me and Boo have traveled far and wide and wide and far. Over mountains and under mountains and beside mountains. In all these places we have fought evil...for evil is everywhere. We have fought evil that is as evil as a green dragon that assaults your senses with tremendously loud and stinky belches. But never have we fought evil quite like Jon and Bodhi.” - MINSC & BOO!
Oh man, that intro line still just sends fucking chills down my spine. The voice actor for Irenicus did such an amazing job of getting the inflections just right to make him work.
Bro, literally my fav video on UA-cam is you villainpedia on Saverok. Beyound excited for this next masterpiece from you Thank you sir and keep pumping up this quality content ! Best channel on UA-cam 🎉
It is worth remembering that when we meet Irenicus, he has been weakening for decades. Then he gains a soul and the drives of a Bhaalspawn in the last 3rd of the game. Gaining strength while losing his ability to fully focus. Becoming all annoyed and impatient.
It was pretty clear when I originally played this game that the scene with Irenicus and the Matron Mother shows that he is in a somewhat vulnerable position with his Drow allies. The Drow despise all things elven when it comes to the surface elves. No matter what he is an elf. The elven prisoners call him by his elven name. Were his surface-elven nature to be revealed to the Drow they would betray him. He is both male and elf-born. It would not matter if they both wished to see the surface elves destroyed. Bear in mind that the Matron Mother is very powerful and has significant magic resistance.
Great video. I missed playing through BG 1+2 when they were new, and trying to get into them now has been difficult. But episodes like this and the one on Sarevok help me understand why they're so beloved.
I really liked that Irenicus had no hate towards the player, but the player was just a tool for him to get his soul back and to seek revenge against Suldanessellar.
Picked up BG1/2 when BG3 was announced in 2019. It is now my favorite game of all time and I have completed it numerous times and currently running a deathless run. It is a terrific game
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"I cannot be caged.
I cannot be controlled.
Understand this as you die, ever pathetic, ever fools." - Irencius.
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all his dialogue hits hard, even when it's not really him (dream realm)
"Silence dog! You have no purpose but to die by my hand." - Irencius
You dare attack me here? Do you even know whom you face!?
Comparing Irenicus and Sarevok's presence in the narrative is interesting. Despite being a warrior and looking like Darth Vader, Sarevok spents the majority of the first game in the shadows, manipulating the events and only gets fought at the endgame. Meanwhile, Irenicus, despite being a mage, has like this brutish dominating presence and you fight and confront him multiple times throughout the game.
It's an interesting subversion on those typical fantasy tropes, and it also manages to have Irenicus be a proactive villain that's more directly involved in and interested by the Bhaalspawn's actions, compared to Sarevok who's more a looming shadow over the adventures you have during the first game.
He's an unstoppable force of will. Pure focused totally amoral ambition. Right up there with Shodan as the most compelling villain in gaming.
well in this edition, a mage was literally one spell level short of Godhood. A flaw Irenics saught multiple times to rectify.
He had no reason to be shy or bookish considering his power level.
@@bunnieskitties293What you can ultimately see though, is that he was inflamed by his failed love. Many men equate it to loss of power and project blame to others (YOU WILL ALL SUFFER.) I think if Irenicus ultimately assumed full responsibility he could not have been stopped, even been protagonistic. That’s what makes him great as the villain, there is no regret in us unless there is something lost.
I believe this kind of inverted approach with regards to the narrative of each antagonist is what gives them more depth. Sarevok isn't reduced to an angry brute, he is a giant of a warrior, yes, but he is also well read on the prophecy of Alaundo and knew enough about Bhaal and Bhaalspawn to have his armor and weapon specially crafted to work with and enhance his divine potential. He's cunning enough to orchestrate all of the plot from the shadows. Irenicus, by a similar token, isn't restricted to being this absentee plotter in his distant tower, doomed to go "curse you heroes" as he is foiled by the one artifact or the one oversight in his brilliant masterplan. This is a mage who, when a thieves guild attacks his stronghold and messes up his plans, flips his lid, kicks everyone's teeth in and then procees to adapt, improvise and roll with the changes to keep his plans on track, making him all the more menacing.
RIP David Warner, what a voice and what a legacy.
I thought it was interesting how he just kinda bowled over commas in his dialogue. Made it very distinctive, but once I noticed it I couldn't stop noticing.
Tron, Time Bandits etc….
@@tranceightseven TMNT2 :D
"First I clung to the memory... then the memory of the memory." Never has a villain been so relatable despite making no excuses.
Jon's villainy is made next level by the fact that he says "you'll get no villain's exposition from me." Even the worst villains are merciful enough to assuage their enemies curiosity before killing them.
Can't believe they made a whole game about the guy from Irenicus's Vile Duplication
The opening of BG2 immediately establishes that this going to be a darker story. Several companions from the first are either dead or, in the case of Imoen, utterly traumatized and violated. Searching desperately for an exit while Imoen continues to crack, until you finally reach the light-and then Imoen is dragged away with your tormentor.
One of the alltime great rpgs. But man did that intro zone have too many mephits.
„Ahhh, the child of Bhaal has awoken. It is time for more experiments…”
Director: What's the bad guy's original name?
Dev:....um, John
Director: C'mon dude, this is D&D
Dev: John...eleth?
Director: Good enough
Reminds me of Bunyans and Flagons (Grog's one shot Critical Role). Ah yes, the tavernkeep Bob, and his wife... Bob-aline.
The best version of Irenicus is the version that’s your Bhaal essence cosplaying as Irenicus to teach you about power in your dreams.
“Life... is strength. That is not to be contested; it seems logical enough. You live; you affect your world.”
“This woman had power, of a sort. She lost her parents to plague, her husband to war, but she persevered. She was well respected, her farm was prosperous and her children were well fed. And now she is dead.”
I have to believe that these monologues in your dreams were ones that Charname actually overheard while prisoner in Chateau Irenicus. They're far too literate and on-point in emulating him to be merely the thuggish Bhaal essence's brainchild.
I was disappointed when i found out it was the bhaalspawn essence saying it rather than Irenicus himself :/
One thing is that Cential, the sorceress who killed Jon's human wife, is found and mentions him by name in Baldur's Gate 1
In the original BG1 Jon was called "Jon Icarus" only retroactively being changed to mentioning "Irenicus" in EE edition. Obviously, the writers were still designing the story for bg2 back then but the inspirations were clear from the start
56:51 That last demon is living his best life. Doesn’t even need to go over the edge but is chasing that perfect 10/10 dive.
3 minutes ago, AND THE DUDE THAT SAID IT WAS GONNA BE JON IRENICUS WAS RIGHT?!? damn I really am having a blessed day
I thought the same thing, dude got it spot on
Badass.
Hello, I am that dude. So stoked we got this video on my favorite villain in all of gaming :D
LOVE THIS TYPE OF CONTENT!!! Keep it cominf ❤
My absolutely favorite line of his is the "to end... LIKE THIS?" In the final cutscene
He's not sad that he ended up in some pit in hell, he's disappointed about THE PIT in hell he's in
I am so thankful his first name is the supremely unthreatening: Jon.
Jonaleth. Gotta be one of the best villains in gaming for sure.
Yeah it reminds me of that moment in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where the enchanter says his name is Tim :D
@@ahtoomians less threatening even , lol
@@AllfatherBlack yeah little bitchass Elven name. You're right the shortform is better.
Why is this called a Jeffrey?!
Because who could be scared of a Jeffrey.
My favorite parts you missed were his journals in Spellhold. He talks like he doesn't even remember what spells he's casting. He's just some twisted shade of fury. But then he gets your soul and it's day and night.
The depth of this guy and the execution of his voicelines. You can hear the pain, the sorrow. Holy shit..
I’m pretty sure Imoen isn’t revealed as a Bhaalspawn to Irenicus (or anyone) until the breakout/in at the start of 2. That’s why he agrees to go quietly so long as Imoen also gets arrested. The main character doesn’t know about Imoen until Irenicus tells him halfway through the game.
he knew, he just could tell her essence was weaker than yours and wasn't that interested, so he tested all the stuff he did to you on her first, just in case.
"Silence, child, allow the fool to make his judgement" 😄
The dev’s themselves didn’t know about Imoen being a Bhaalspawn until the end of production 😅
@@Rod0411
That’s the out-of-universe truth, yes 😂
David Warner was incredible, but as a Pole I have to give praise to an amazing polish actor- Krzysztof Kolberger who voiced Irenicus in polish location of the game. His performance is what made Irenicus for me one of the greatest villains in history of games, books and cinema.
He's one of the best written villains in gaming. He's honestly pretty high up there in terms of literature even. What a guy.
I knew I recognized that voice and then I saw the Tron clip and it all came together lol.
Yeah, polish localization was great in the baldurs gate 1&2, one of the rare cases where the translated dialogues are way better than the original
@@SagieRzy no theyre not
@@666Kaca bro never experienced the polish dub for shrek
Time to play BG2 again.
Let's fckn go the true best antagonist of the baldurs gate series! My boy Jon jon Irenicus
Nah, it is Bodhi. LOL
One can't be without the other.
From the best game in the series as well. Really the peak of the FR during this period as well. TSR was doing a lot of things wrong, but FR and Planescape were firing on all cylinders before wotc burst through the wall like the coolaid man.
When I first saw that Jon was working with the drow, I just laughed and was like "why am I not surprised?" I was playing a modded copy that let you play as Drow in the first two games which added to it for me. In my defense I really liked the Drizzt books as a kid though I was a sorcerer if I recall.
No other villian ever comes close. Voice acting still gives me chills to this day.
David Warner was awesome in that role. RIP.
The GOAT has been finally dissected. There is no better executed villain.
I think my personal favorite path of getting into spellhold is having Minsc talk to the pirate lord and in his eternal beautiful insanity -pointing- Boo at the man and questioning why he doesnt look like a storybook pirate. I know the other route is more direct but any chance to have Minsc be Minsc, I'm taking it.
They just don't make villains, or narratives, or player characters with this kinda agency anymore.
Jon was at the peak of elven magical knowledge, greedy for ascension. Damning everything he ever loved.
They didn't take their souls, merely the elven quality of it, which severed them from the Elven Afterlife and all the other benefits of being elves. they still go to the normal afterlife. (a similar thing happened with the Drow though because their gods went with them, nothing major changed beyond them no longer going to Arvadore for judgement when they die and instead enter the Fugue plane like other mortals). (when Irenicus tries to steal your soul, he's merely filling part of his that used to contain the elvish parts).
Also Ellisemme's punishment was actually decried as favoritism by the people of Suldenessalar, as all they had to do to get it undone was to genuinely repent and ask forgiveness.
Since Ellismeme considered it more like putting them in timeout to think about what they've done. She just grossly underestimated how prideful Irenicus was and that he would literally never do that.
I fucking despise Jon Irenicus. His arrogance and self entitled yapping throughout the game, dude acts like you should feel blessed to be used as a sacrifice to his pitiful "revenge" against people who were fully justified in banishing him for his powerhungry hubris.
10/10 easily one of the very best antagonists in video games, will let him live rent free in my head forever.
Arrogance is typical wizard behavior. But his is dialed up, considering he is the big bad and has a god complex.
My favorite mini game watching this video is spot the MTG art
Ah, Ghostcharm has awoken. It is time for more... villain-related content
Sidenote but Imoen’s arc in this game is one of the best narratives about surviving SA I’ve ever seen. She’s broken again and again, but through the help of her friends and family is able to literally reclaim her life from her violator. Such a beautiful yet terrible story.
Lol stop lying. She wasn't sa'd
@@KarlKapo
It’s a clear allegory
@@warlordofbritannia
This guy doesn't know what an allegory is man. He probably thinks Star Wars is just about monk wizard's fighting aliens with laser swords and nothing else too.
@@KarlKapo Have you ever heard of a metaphor?
@@misterbiscuitbarrel stop lying.
I low key dont buy that Irenicus gave himself up for arrest to get away from the guild war and you. He literally wants you to come to him and was ready to fight you on the spot. With the power he has, he could easily just reappear somewhere else and fuck off from you and the guild war on his own, without the need of being arrested, if that was really his goal.
This is probably why even after multiple replays, I find it hard to get attached to Baldur's Gate 3 compared to 2 and 1.
The villains are lacking in 3, even if there's three of them. We don't get to know them that much or spend time with them.
Jon Irenicus is such a memorable villain, and I can't even remember that emo guy and psycho chick's names in BG3.
Tbh true I thought kethric could’ve been absolutely amazing tho but he got killed off too quickly imo
And after what they did to Viconia, Baldur's Gate 3 left a bad taste in my mouth to be honest.
@@TheNamelessScholarOfficial they dint do anything, it was already done by wizards of the coast in the lore a long time ago
@@asura7915 Correction: Baldur's Gate 3 was the final nail in the coffin. The Abdel Adrian Novels actively butchered the Bhaalspawn Saga before that. So, you are correct.
BG 1 and 2 both you meet the antagonist in the prologue. They are murdering your friends and family, sending assassins after you from minute one.
Bg3 you don’t even know who the main antagonists are until halfway through. Then it’s just a nebulous group that you barely interact with until their boss fight.
Jon Irenicus is such an interesting antagonist
oh boy, here I go installin' again !
You made me want to replay this game while I am in the middle of an angel wotr run. You bastard. The abyss must have put you up to this to distract me from the campaign.
I'm in exactly the same position. Just started an angel run on WotR. But since I played BG2 rather recently for the millionth time, I should be able to resist. I think. Maybe.
@@AlmarilQC and how is your run going? Am closing in on end rank 9/angel/lvl 20 oread dovier druid. Planning on going for ascension ending. And it has me wondering how well would ascended KC measure up against ascended Bhaalspawn. Think Demon KC might be strongest KC if he also gets to have nocticula's domain besides those of baphomet and deskari.
@@lakkakka I'm still at the start in Kenabres, I'm going for a sword saint with an elven curved blade (might respec since it's 2 handed and magus works better with a free hand). It's my second playthrough, I played the first one as an azata lightning kineticist and enjoyed it a shitton, best RPG since BG2 and Planescape Torment imo. As for the power level stuff, no idea, I'm not a fan of comparing characters' power levels as it's all fiction in which the characters have the power the writers give them. As long as said power is used well narratively or gameplaywise, I'm happy :D
Love this video and the Sarevok video! You should definitely consider doing Villainpedia entries on the Sith Triumvirate from Knights of the Old Republic 2. At the very least one entry on Kreia/Traya
That was amazing to watch. As someone who never played any Baldur's Gate games, you explained so well how Irenicus' character was written.
A voice so iconic that I kept instinctively waiting for him to refer to the player as "Detective."
David Warner also voiced the character The Archmage from the cartoon series Gargoyles (if anyone has not seen it I _HIGHLY_ recommend watching the first 2 seasons). In fact, the Archmage character in and of himself was kind of bland and was originally meant to be a one-off character shown in a small flashback story early in the series... yet David nailed the role so god damn well that the creator of the Gargoyles series actively wrote out a whole additional sub plot for the character which vastly increased his role in the story.
Honestly, David Warner never got as much recognition I felt he deserved, but god damn was that man born to play Evil Wizards... I honestly always imagine David Warner's voice for any evil wizard NPC I make for any D&D game I run... he's just that synonymous with the trope for me
David Warner as Irenicus was such a great casting decision. RIP to a legend.
Life is strength.
Well that’s Bhaal not Irenicus
@@chatarrra7457 dude. Irenicus gives a whole speech on free will and that's the opening line.
Life is strength. This is not to be contested, it seems logical enough. You live and you affect your world.
@@Loreweavverno, that's bhaal in charnames dreams
@@SashaGrey-nf7yb y'know what. I'm gonna give this one to you on the basis that I like the idea of Sasha Grey winning an argument on semantics.
the voice acting is elite on this mans
I love Irenicus because the voice acting is absolutely stellar.
Ahhh, the child of Bhaal has awoken. . .
YES!!!
9:43 further fictional evidence that true justice is ending it right then and there, without further passion for the matter. the queens desire to find a punishment worse than the finality of death was the moral failing and karmatic feedback that led to, well, Baldurs Gate 2
You have a point, though the matter does get muddied in a setting with demonstrable afterlives and souls as well as the possibility of resurrection or even reconstitution of oneself even. Ask Sarevok about that.
Checkmate, Irenicus. 🤷♀️
I just woke up to the last few minutes of the glados video playing and here i am watching another ghostcharm video keep up the good work man
- Star Wars The Old Republic villain Tenebrae (Lord Vitiate/Sith Emperor/Eternal Emperor Valkorion).
- Knights of the Old Republic 2 villain Kreia.
this being my first actually intense mid level dnd experience I restarted this game dozens of times, enough for me to be able to recite the irenicus dungeon voice lines from memory
I love the shock in the VO when you meet him at the tree. The “What!” Hits home.
"This battle is tough" - laughs in polymorph into illithid and then time stop xD
Yep, Khalid was definitely a pillar of my party in BG1 and was absolutely not backstabbed before his corpse got the boot inside a tent so Jaheria couldn't leave.
This really deserves more than 84K views. This was some damn fine work explaining this villain. God I love these games
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Woah! I don't remember the serevak video that well, guess I gotta go back, watch that, then this, and just to be safe, every other video you've made. Daaaaang
Sometimes I just watch the video of Jon Irenicus' full Dialogue for BG 2 to bask in the glory of David Warner's maniacally dulcet tones. R.I.P
Excellent video ! as an old fan of Baldur's Gate it brought back some great memories so thank you, i have been watching all of your videos bit by bit and i can't wait for you to cover ToB :)
The guy that says “NO DONT DO THIS, I DONT WANNA DIE!” Is the incredibly talented Rob Paulsen (voice of Pinky)
my favourite lines: "I cannot be caged" I cannot be controlled!".
If I was transformed into a cat, I think I would be happy to have transcended to a higher form.
Also this was a defining voice/character of my childhood thanks for the vid
Maaaan, your channel is like sitting around a fire with a warm mug of hot cocoa in your hands. Your voice and inflection is perfect for commentary, keep it up brotha
Great topic young one
Is he voiced by the same dude who voiced Morpheus in Fallout 1?
Yes it is, the one and only David Warner.
Rest in Peace (He passed away in 2022)
the original BG series is the only series I remember playing over and over and over again. The plot, the villans, the action, it was all perfect. I dont think I ever played a more epic game. I thought I might never see a better villain than Sarevok, and Irenicus blew him out of the water. Such an in depth character, so much understandable ambition, so much legitimate philosophy. Sometimes I wish life was such an epic adventure with such intriguing characters.
Great job as always.
there's one thing i love during his rise to villainy.
there's this witch saying: "with his wife out of the picture, he'll pay attention to me"
and behind her, i imagine Jon being like: "Oh believe me, you have my undivided attention now."
"I cannot be caged! I cannot be controlled! Remember this as you die. Ever pathetic. Ever fools."
I will say that while she is connected to Jon, Bodhi is an evil in her own right, and she reaches her peak when she turns your lover into a vampire and uses them against you in the final fight.
Awesome video! The Baldur's Gate series will always have a special place in my heart and a lot of that has to do with the villains being so damn good.
Cheers!
I've just realized the VA Areelu Vorlesh in Pathfinder WoTR was talking in the same manner as Irenicus. I bet she studied Irenicus way of speech.
Absolute masterpiece! Got my pc broken when I was in the third act. Then the cds of the game were lost. Finally learned the whole story. Thanks!
I recently replayed the first dungeon of BG2 and the entire warped and twisted place is a microcosm of Irenicus' mind. The comrades like Rieliev that he kept in stasis, promising to save once a cure for their disease is discovered but remain forgottoen. The many hollow copies he made of Ellesime, his true love and how he's kept her room as it is. The dryads he keeps to create emotion or humanity within him. The various torture chambers, and mysterious pools showing scenes of the future of Amn etc. These are all just glimpse into the hollow mind of Irenicus, you almost pity him and can understand why he wants to gain power to forget how broken he is.
I just discovered Jon Irenicus through Magic the Gathering and it's so cool to learn more about him! I didn't even know that he is a villain xD
This is nice listening to while I build my Jon Commander deck ^^
I love how Ellesime wanted him to be heroic. But he was stuck with only the search for power.
Lacking a soul made him lose his ability to love, and therefore, he couldn't use that as his motivation to do heroic acts. If he had, he might have regained what he lost.
Knock off work, get home, and see this beauty. What a day to be alive.
Thank you Ghost for everything my friend. ❤
I’ve been savoring this video for a while. I’m so excited to be getting into it now.
DUDE, this guy is all my time FAVORITE. I am going to rewatch this video for AGES
“Me and Boo have traveled far and wide and wide and far. Over mountains and under mountains and beside mountains. In all these places we have fought evil...for evil is everywhere. We have fought evil that is as evil as a green dragon that assaults your senses with tremendously loud and stinky belches. But never have we fought evil quite like Jon and Bodhi.”
- MINSC & BOO!
"You will suffer. You will ALL suffer."
Easily a top 5 catchphrase ever uttered by a villain.
44:39 Not just you not giving up, he's got a soul and can feel irritation rather than just generic hate.
Finally another upload 🙌
Eyy new ghost upload!
Irenicus has one of the best voice actors in a game ever in my opinion, i regularly just listen to him.
God tier video essay, gave me chills and brought me back to the memories of this villain from my childhood. Thank you for this art
i see villianpedia, i click.
Oh man, that intro line still just sends fucking chills down my spine. The voice actor for Irenicus did such an amazing job of getting the inflections just right to make him work.
Bro, literally my fav video on UA-cam is you villainpedia on Saverok. Beyound excited for this next masterpiece from you Thank you sir and keep pumping up this quality content ! Best channel on UA-cam 🎉
It is worth remembering that when we meet Irenicus, he has been weakening for decades.
Then he gains a soul and the drives of a Bhaalspawn in the last 3rd of the game. Gaining strength while losing his ability to fully focus. Becoming all annoyed and impatient.
He started as a top and ended as a bottom. Rest in peace, David Warner.
I got chills from the intro
It was pretty clear when I originally played this game that the scene with Irenicus and the Matron Mother shows that he is in a somewhat vulnerable position with his Drow allies. The Drow despise all things elven when it comes to the surface elves. No matter what he is an elf. The elven prisoners call him by his elven name. Were his surface-elven nature to be revealed to the Drow they would betray him. He is both male and elf-born. It would not matter if they both wished to see the surface elves destroyed. Bear in mind that the Matron Mother is very powerful and has significant magic resistance.
Great video. I missed playing through BG 1+2 when they were new, and trying to get into them now has been difficult. But episodes like this and the one on Sarevok help me understand why they're so beloved.
I really liked that Irenicus had no hate towards the player, but the player was just a tool for him to get his soul back and to seek revenge against Suldanessellar.
I can feel the kid in me 30 years ago being so excited to finally have this.
Picked up BG1/2 when BG3 was announced in 2019. It is now my favorite game of all time and I have completed it numerous times and currently running a deathless run. It is a terrific game
Irenicus doing his best pinhead impersonation 14:42
Horse boy
As a non BG1-2 player, him being named Jon is just funny. Its almost "Bob"