A Script Editor's Take On The League Cinematic's Visual Storytelling

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[@nickysonll]

Aatrox wants to die Yasuo accepts death Trynda refuses it

[@Gargorok.]

I love when they use champion's skills as part of the narrative while still keeping the idea of the in game mechanics and especially how they used Trydamere's entire fight to depict his ultimate

[@adrienconverset6571]

While, as you explained, this cinematic is already wonderful for people who don't know the lore, this cinematic has even more depth to it when you know the lore behind it. Kindred, being both the masked Lamb and the Wolf are two personifications of death. The Lamb kills those who accept death, the Wolf hunts those who refuse it. Yasuo accepts his fate, that's why it's an brilliant arrow coming for him. Wolfs jumps in first, above Tryndamere. To me it doesn't look like Wolf was actually attacking, just offering an option. "You can fight me". Lamb also offers an option, a single shot at Tryndamere, to end this quickly and painlessly. But Tryndamere fights back, so Wolf engages for real this time. Lamb is not even fighting, only curious about that man who refuses death, and just stays idle looking at Wolf doing his part from a distance. Tryndamere has slashed through, or deflected Wolf three times now. I can almost hear Lambs thoughts : "He should understand how this will end now. And so, Lamb offers death again. But Tryndamere keeps fighting, literally pushing back against Wolf, against death. Lamb readies another arrow, but waits. Lamb can wait literally forever, until Tryndamere accepts death, or until Wolf takes him down. Notice how Tryndamere is only defending against Wolf ... Up until he rages, at which point he suddenly can step forward and strike once through Wolf, and almost hitting Lamb. But Ashe comes in, saving Tryndamere. The Kindred understand Tryndamere is no longer their prey, and so they disappear. They are not here to take lives, but to give death to those who accept it. Meanwhile, for Aatrox ... Lamb is just a shadow, because Aatrox can not die (lore reasons) The Kayle/Morgana lore isn't quite accurate to actual lore, but since the two blades were actually halves of a single weapon their (pretty much) divine mother wielded, Kayle wielding both does indeed ascend, with a dnd paladin's Lawful Stupid alignment.

[@santiagojara8056]

Plus, it's lamb's shadow because Aatrox WANTS to die, he's just unable to.

[@dwell7315]

Not to just quote Necrit, but that scene with Morgana and Kayle isn't actually depicting Morgana's fall and Kayle's ascension. You can see from the walls behind them that this is NOT modern Demacia, nor even a heavily Petricite-using Demacia yet. We know the story that leads to Kayle and Morgana's eventual fight, and Aatrox wasn't involved at all. This is just depicting a scene from the past, where both sisters acted as the Winged Defenders of Demacia. Morgana temporarily dropping her sword and Kayle temporarily using it in one battle isn't necessarily supposed to represent the singular moment they split and Kayle took Morgana's sword.

[@chrishaven1489]

@@dwell7315 " that scene with Morgana and Kayle isn't actually depicting Morgana's fall and Kayle's ascension" Well, it is........thematically. Not literally

[@xavierburval4128]

The best part is that when you know the lore, everything you just explains gets turned up to eleven. Every scene gets so much more depth and detail, and it improves upon literally every aspect of the cinematic. Except the opening scene, that one loses its drama when you actually know Tryndamere lol. It goes from “oh no he’s surrounded and on the brink of death, will he make it out alive?!?” to “nah he’ll be fine” real quick

[@quanleanh6548]

The cinematic's depiction of Kindred is lore-wise very accurate. As the manifestation of Death, and a literal soul collector Kindred is there at the final moments of everyone, offering either a quick painless delivery to the afterlife by the means of a shining light arrow of the Lamb, or the violent and struggle-filled eventually losing fight against the Wolf (for those who dont accept death), never at once (the two never fights, together, against one common foe, also depicted in the final segment where they took turn attacking). As Yasuo accepted death the Wolf stayed silently while the Lamb delivered her final blow. But for Trynd he chose the struggle against the Wolf for a glimpse of hope, this both happens in the physical realm (against his actual babaric enemies) and the mental one (against Kindred pair). With his death denying ability he stood his ground for quite some time, even when this is a losing battle (the Wolf never loses, never fades completely, and the Lamb barely have to do anything but curious ab how the man denied her offered mercy arrow 3 times, and chose to fight the Wolf - or, deny death - again and again). Lastly, as Ashe rushed into the scene and saved Trynd life, Kindred vanished as Trynd is not dying anymo. This is hevily inspired by Death in Puss In Boots and its so cool.

[@maciejleszczynski7131]

A pretty nice thing about the Morgana/Kayel scene is that, while visual storytelling sets up Morgana as falling to the darkness in order to win, in lore its kayle who is so obsessed with "justice" and their mother's legacy (both swords are halves of the mother's original) that she punishes without giving a chance for redemption. Morgana is less sucomming to "darknes", rather she refuses the radiance of aspect of Justice (her mother and now her and Kayle), which isn't as good as it seems.

[@AugustRx]

It's nice to see league's non-arcane stories getting attention

[@crimsoneclipse0618]

I love how it tells a story even if you don't know the characters and lore, but once you do know the lore the depth of the story increases exponentially.

[@zolopane117]

at 18:24, you can see Tryndamere's eyes go from blue to red. In game, Tryn's ult (called Undying Rage) prevents him from dying for a fixed period of time Kindred realizes that it's not his time and retreats as Ashe saves him from what was otherwise certain death

[@ChloeAriT]

what's also interesting is that relative to the Tryndamere's part, which is broadly in the game's present, the Kayle and Morgana part seems to be set in the past, when they were still fighting alongside eachother, while Yasuo's part is obviously set in the future. Aatrox refuses death, Yasuo accepts it. there's kind of a thesis - antithesis - synthesis going on.

[@juliak9122]

*Aatrox can't have it (he's immortal not by choice), Yasuo accepts it, Trynda fights it

[@emperorarima3225]

Aatrox would accept death if he could. To be more accurate Aatrox has been trying to die, which is why lamb is there, in the end he can't take the lamb because he's immortal Yasuo has been running from death his whole life trying to atone for his failures first, which is why wolf shows up, but in the end the wolf can't act because he accepted death by lamb. Tryndamere however is the other spoil. Unlike aatrox he CAN die, but unlike anyone else he can fight off death. Kindred knows who can die. That's why she doesn't bother shooting aatrox, but shoots tryndamere. This is also why Kindred is surprised, because tryn is weird. You either can die and therefore fighting it is futile, or you can't, in which case there is no fight. For lore reasons tryndamere can fight off death (blood magic from aatrox himself), but I also think Riot's Lore team see themselves in tryndamere lol

[@SillyNep]

Little nitpic but the archer is called Lamb, Kindred is the name for both her and the wolf together. Anyway great video, it really is amazing how much information you can fit in so little time.

[@failurextreme7084]

Something else to note is the time periods it's past future and present. The theme is impacted further by the idea that death is also always here, no matter what time, no matter what place. The character that is death shows up in all 3 stories.

[@EmrysMerlin8807]

Ok, watched all the way through. You did not disappoint in the slightest. You successfully used context clues throughout the plot to weave together a narrative that defined what so many people could not. This video finally gets you my Patreon. Well done, SB. Well done.

[@savagebooks7482]

Thanks and happy to have you here (and there)!

[@aristosachaion_]

This cinematic being canon completely recontextualizes Tryndamere's ultimate. He's not functionally immortal or invulnerable because of Aatrox' blood magic; he can absolutely still be killed in canon, but his undying rage is so powerful that he simply just overwhelms whoever or whatever he's fighting against with brute force and unrelenting aggression, and that detail alone makes him a far more interesting character to me.

[@Yesnomu]

Outstanding stuff! Kindred is one of my favorite champs and one of my favorite character designs in fiction, and I was thrilled to get a cinematic centered on them. Thanks for breaking all of this down, and especially for relating things to the three act structure, which makes a ton of sense. (tiny point: Kindred is just standing in the flames, not taking a shot, because Aatrox is cursed with immortality and isn't dying here. You probably knew that but in case any commenters have that question, haha.)

[@Treebohr]

I knew Kindred had to be in the Morgana/Kayle scene somewhere, but I didn't catch it until you pointed it out.

[@pippin45]

Also on the note of “literalizing” a theme, at least 2 of the 3 scenes have the main characters abandoning a covered face to reveal their “truest” self. Kayle and Morgana both ditch their helmets to face down Aatrox in their final stand, and Yasuo’s final stand begins after the hat covering his face is lost. You could also argue that Tryndamere rising to fight after having his face in the ground is a nod to the same idea.

[@Envy_Dragon]

I'd have pointed to the way Tryndamere's eyes lose their red when Ashe shows up, but either one could count

[@Stolanis]

Funny you should mention that - if you look up Tryndamere's appearance in-game you can see he's wearing a horned helmet which, right at the beginning of the cinematic, is on the ground off to the side, presumably where it fell when Tryn was knocked down. Tryn STARTED the fight ready to go.

[@EmrysMerlin8807]

Wait really? My favorite writing KZbinr is covering Still here?!? Did Christmas come early?!!!!

[@savagebooks7482]

12 months early yes

[@shanefoster2132]

While maybe not an entirely accurate interpretation, it is fun to imagine that Kindred is also singing. That death is still here.

[@eriktoth9584]

Without knowing the lore, the Kayle/Morgana scene can be a bit misinterpreted, but I think that is pretty much intentional on Riot's part. Morgana is not an evil person, and while the purple stuff looks definitely evil, she still uses the same source of power as Kayle does (technically) its just a different manifestation because its Morgana who uses it, and Kayle uses it differently. (kind of mimicing their mother's angelic power who was the aspect of justice, so kinda a god) If you know the lore, the whole scene has a different meaning: In Demacia (the place the two are defending) magic is looked down because their people fear it, so Morgana taking down her armor to use magic to fight is a symbol of how she defines the system, and leaves her responsibilities that she had with Kayle to face the danger on her own way. That is why you can see Kayle giving her "the bombastic side eye" XD But that being, i think its cool that the same very short scene gets to carry two extensive meaning depending how much you know. Morgana and Kayle definitely have one of the more exciting thematics in LoL

[@Throwing_Spoon]

Please tell me we can end up getting a Riot SavageBook working on the narrative team for the MMO.

[@SrCipotebatea]

Oh man! I leaving home right now!! I know what i will do as soon as i get back

[@FlippieCocu]

What an excellent analysis of what is already a great cinematic. As always, thanks for your hard work!

[@thomasbuchanan4539]

Loved this breakdown. Really enjoying your content so jumped in and signed up for the Patreon. Keep up the great work.

[@savagebooks7482]

Thanks! Appreciate it.

[@WonderWanderer07]

Been waiting for this.

[@andrealabor3225]

Thank you so much for covering this cinematic. While I would love for you to someday break down some of the others ("Warriors 2020," "Awaken," "Almost Home," etc) I appreciate the choice to use this one specifically. Your own script also tied the thematic elements together quite well. Thank you for the comment on the lyrics, especially; they matched the writing to the characters fabulously, this time. I wasn't sure that WAS Yasuo until the line, "All my reasons cut like knives/Keep on playing in my mind." Then, the lack of lines during the fight with Kindred simply helped sell the supernatural wills at play there.

[@DarkFoolJin]

Just read the titel of the video and was like: "Well sir, you picked a very interesting and surely complex topic there, lets see what you have to tell"

[@RavenDreadful]

This is a big ask but I feel that a potential video on Kratos. After GOW: Valhalla, Kratos becomes a fully realized character which I believe has heaps of good writing content to sift through!

[@alex4833]

Excellent video! I haven't played League of Legends, but I LOVE the cinematic and it got me intrigued. Your analysis is very helpful. I am a writer myself who wants to learn more about story structure, so this video helps a lot. :) I also feel even more excited to write after seeing your video! Great work. Have a fabulous rest of your weekend 😊😊.

[@thesamuraiman]

I saw the wolf in the forest in Yasuo's scene but didn't notice Kindred in the fire. That's sick.

[@flipout_1216]

Always a good day when Savage posts 😁

[@savagebooks7482]

Thanks!

[@justsomeguywhoneverdies9210]

It's already that good for casual viewer, but if you know the lore, you can find even more details and foreshadowing in this cinematic, it becomes 10x times better

[@quanleanh6548]

One of my friends told me that the cinematic is suppose to represent the game as a whole, dividing its history respectively to those parts as the past, the future and the present.

[@shadenym5094]

This is the crossover I needed

[@thangmong2999]

Holy, love these types of video !

[@savagebooks7482]

Thanks!

[@BE-hjvvfv]

Kindred are just such a cool character

[@The.Official.Serpentine]

This video is perfect because I'm making a silent film for the first time rn XD

[@masterchief7301]

The 2003 clone wars cartoon was so good at this.

[@alitoleubayev3582]

Your video is chefs kiss

[@st0ned450]

00:02 Breaking down League of Legends cinematic from a writing perspective. 02:07 Establishing theme and message in visual storytelling 04:21 Skillshare offers a variety of classes on different subjects and passions. 06:34 The opening scene engages the audience and creates mystery. 08:48 Transition into Act 2 with a classic execution and antagonist introduction 11:29 Morana seeks dark power to restrain Atrox, while Kale takes up the burden of righteousness 14:00 Yasuo's portrayal and significance in League Cinematic 17:12 The final scene heavily focuses on visual storytelling and contextual depth. 19:11 Kindred's presence in three key scenes signifies a deeper thematic message of fighting against death. 21:11 Kindred's appearance linked the differing scenes to create a holistic story. Crafted by Merlin AI.

[@TalenkauenTV]

Go away bot

[@Hibernape]

I like the part where they specifically showed Yasuo simply grazing the raiders with Wind magic on his sword instead of slicing through them.

[@huuuuuumpy]

Def did not expect the Eva music lol.

[@skellyp7804]

Can’t wait for you to make another video on AoT. Hope you have one planned.

[@savagebooks7482]

uploading it on the second channel shortly lol

[@skellyp7804]

@@savagebooks7482 I shall look up your second channel then

[@user-pm2b47ar8d]

the first one is about Aatrox. The thing about aatrox is that he badly wants to die(he's immortal and he is bound to his weapon like a prison), so much so that he's willingly going to destroy the whole planet of runeterra. Yasuo, accepted death as a punishment for his crimes when he was younger(his ability to control the wind led to his bloodthirsty and unforgiving nature. With Tryndamere, he is pretty much a semi-immortal because of blood magic.(Kayle and morgana fought Aatrox and he's eventually sealed in the 1st act, but after a thousand years he was unsealed again in freljord where he fought tryndamere and aatrox eventually stabbed him and infused him with darkin blood magic) Tryndamere's Undying Rage is what make him immortal.

[@Canadoscope]

I imagined that Tryndamere was in ultimate and was literally defying death and he has to every single time. Not sure if that makes complete sense I am not too versed in lore, Kindred just being there because they thought he was going to die could be another reason. Pretty cool breakdown!

[@MegaCoupie]

This isnt the crossover i knew i needed

[@izshtar]

goated for this

[@josegregorio4135]

Tryndamere's fight is my favorite, bcuz he, being sorrounded, weakened and with a certain death in his future, is suddenly fighting Kindread (death itself in LOL universe), and they (worlf and sheep) dissapeard when his life is no longer in danger, after he fought with all his strength (in game ,his ultimate skill makes him inmortal for few seconds). Also, death is called kindread and is represented by 2 beings, the sheep (which brings KIND and pacific death like yasuo) and wolf (which bring violent and DREAD death); even more cooler, yasuo having a pacific death after being a ronin without honor andhaving killed his brother is... beautiful Y.Y

[@zm467]

I think you mightve missed one detail in particular. Although it is based on an assumption on my part. In the Tyr's fight with death it is not only literal but still meant to be figurative as well. What im refering to specifically is that when he goes down there are several people surrounding him. Then he fights death. Then Ash saves him from the two remaining attackers. When death disperses he is standing in a battle stance and no longer on the floor. This implies that while he could only see the fight with death he was actually fighting in the real world. I assume this was the original attackers until Ash saves him from the last two bringing him back. I feel the shadow beast in particular gave a constant feeling of being surrounded which tied into him actualy being surrounded in the real world. Also undying berzerker ability OP

[@DjuraValtr]

This whole cinematic really reminded me of Puss and Death from Puss and boots the last wish.

[@savagebooks7482]

I made a video on that too actually

[@izshtar]

that's probably because Kindred and the Wolf are the same type of character.

[@sleepycritical6950]

I always thought the Kindred and Trynd scene was a figment of his imagination. Trynd refuses to die, and in his blind rage he perceives all his enemies as death and manifests it as Lamb and Wolf. We can see this because the last two attacks from Ashe revealed that Trynd was still fighting enemies. Furthermore, Kindred was never explicitly shown in the Aatrox and Yasuo shots, but they appear for Trynd. Lore wise, no one escapes once they have shown themselves, unless their targets weren’t them at all, exemplified when the two arrows pierce the two enemies rather than Trynd and she disappears to reveal Ashe. We can take this to mean that Trynd was never the target at all. He was fighting and imaginary kindred while the real one was taking the lives of his enemies.

[@AugustRx]

You should checkout blue eye samurai. It's your type to the T.

[@gregoriobuenagua1235]

16:53 wolf's bite has caused damage pattern similar to an animals'. Maybe Tryn was fighting off the claw tribe but how did his enemies manage to make such an impression on his armor? a rake type weapon with 4 prongs? i dunno, just a detail i keep thinking about. Maybe he was actually fighting off wolf in his own world and at the same time in the world of his enemies? or kindred does leave damage to real life realm? or magic?

[@zionleach3001]

@Savage Books can you do a video on pragmatic heroes.

[@savagebooks7482]

Sounds interesting

[@FaeridaeCrawford]

Trynd is on the ground and his melee enemies are meters away, I guess that after he butchered 10 of their clansmen, they took their distance and fired projectiles at him (arrows, throwing knives) to kill from safety, but his body seems unscathed because the cinematic is pg13 which is disappointing. Same with old Yas swinging his rubber sword and the raiders fall on their own like its a very good acted live theater show

[@rexvyoli8657]

Here is another explaination Scene 1 Its you classsical Top Lane Match Up you Win Lane even thou you are getting 2 v 1 by the jungler and Top but you lost Gamw cause your team matee are straight up bad. Scene 2 You play Yasuo go 0/10 but still its a skill diff because you got to your power spikw and spam Mastery 7 Scene 3 Going back to Top Lane you lose lane cause are camp by the jungler Kindred but it doesnt matter cause you win the game cause your team is good and they win the game for you. The Kindred wouldnt kill Tryndamere that easily cause he will just press R and say skill diff. The Kindred is the strongest "current" Death Spirit of the world of Runeterra. There is a spirit that got lonely called the "Gay Man" he split himself into two thus creating the Kindred. Lamb (she)has a bow. People who face Lamb will always seek a quick death or accept death. Wolf(he) chases his victims. People run away from death or evade death will get chased by Wolf and the wolf will give them a fight until death.

[@reigtrain]

first

[@HumanAki]

Sooooo.... + Start with Theme. + Establish a unique perspective on the Theme for characters involved. (Dying, accepting Death, Saved from Death in this example) + Dramatize the Theme visually through Character Action and Story Structure. + Accent Character Action with symbolism (visual and auditory) found in the Story World. + Reasses the Hook to reflect the above steps. + Give the fans that delicious lore using subtext and without beating them over the head with it with a 2-ton hammer. Got it! 🫡 I know very little about League, and the way you took the time to break this punchy piece of media down, Savage, let's me know that there are some powerhouse creators at Riot...if Arcane wasn't indication enough! 🤣🤣🤣