WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE LATEST STORYLINE


Like many who have completed the War of Thorns quest line to its completion, I was stunned at the end result. I might have been absent from World of Warcraft for many years, but I have always kept apace with the storyline. What transpired at the end of the questline saw a forthright and confident leader appearing petulant, scorned by a Night Elf that was on her knees. 

While Sylvanas has always had somewhat of a grubby history in experimentation and necromancy, she has proved a worthy leader of the Horde after Vol'jin's death. To then see her not only cut through hundreds (thousands?) of Night Elves with impunity, with little protest from her own generals, it does make one wonder as to what her motives are. Even under the cloak of securing Azerite, so that the Alliance do not, doesn't really justify her rampage and descent into madness.

Although Sylvanas' dialogue after the burning of the tree suggests it wasn't in the original plan, it doesn't change the fact that her actions were rash, and aren't neccesarily in-keeping with her style of leadership. Even she admits it, "I did not foresee this outcome. Our attack was meant to end a war before it began. To capture an enemies home, and annihilate their leaders in one stroke and inflict a wound that would bleed the alliance dry."

Such sentiment is fine, any retaliation from the Alliance is now drastically increased as a result of her burning down the World Tree in Teldrassil. Oh, and there's also the small matter of her almost murding Malfurion, were it not for Saurfang failing in his duties. 

Having said all that, I don't quite think this storyline is worth the WoW Reddit hysteria. You see, there's so much that's unknown, and we don't yet know if Sylvanas is aware of something we're not. With Jaina's Warbringer video having been released, I'm left with many questions and theories.

  • Could Sylvanas have become aware of something else happening outside of Teldrassil between part 1 and 2 of War of Thorns?
  • Is Jaina's Warbringer video linked to this?
  • Is the burning of the World Tree a neccesity as a result of the above?
  • Did Sylvanas ask Saurfang to kill Malfurion knowing he wouldn't? If so, why does she want Malfurion alive?
  • Is the burning of the World Tree linked to Azerite? Did it need such a fire as a catalyst for something greater? 
  • Why didn't a single one of Sylvanas' generals intervene or even show a shred of leadership against her?
  • Why did Blizzard make the decision to change the narrative from that of the novella? Will this be added later?

While many might disagree with me, I'm thoroughly curious as to what's going on. Based on the fact that Chris Metzen has also come forwards today to encourage people to have faith, I remain confident. 


What are your thoughts on Sylvanas and her actions? Let me know.

 


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.

Last Updated: Aug 02, 2018

About The Author

Lewis is a long standing journalist, who freelances to a variety of outlets.

Comments