Filmmaker Reacts: World of Warcraft - Reckoning Cinematic

[@PhilipHarts]

Who is your favorite character in the Battle for Azeroth expansion? Subscribe here and Follow me on twitch.tv/philiphartshorn Join my discord to help me choose my next video: discord.gg/J85mKhG Watch my film work here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fILKZpVsl8aafdU Follow my Twitter: Twitter.com/philipharts

[@corbin_4738]

Jaina. 😁

[@semi6544]

Sylvanas. A lot of people don't like this arc of Sylvanas. I don't really like it either but in all stories I don't like the people being lead around by their noses. I like the person doing the leading. I like the strong and intelligent characters the most. Sylvanas was the only character to put on a strong front even if it was done in a way many can't accept. We were never let in on why Sylvanas was trying to create so much death, but she executed that terrible plan flawlessly. The Horde never said no to any of her abominable orders and the Alliance was always a step slow, late, or lacking. She was the only competent character. Sauerfang was featured a lot but he took an L in every scene except the one where he followed the assassins.

[@semi6544]

Sauerfang -- Sylvanas Warbringer -- fails to stop the burning of Teldrisil although he believed there was no honor in it. Lorderon -- He was just a pawn used to keep the Alliance fighting while the city was hit with a Blight bomb and ended up captured. Stormwind Prison -- He is pitied and has to go to the other side for help. Ogrimmar -- Old Soldier has to be talked out of suicide. Ogrimmar -- Battle between Alliance and Horde gets shot with 3 arrows. Ogrimmar -- Makgora he gets killed. A selfish death. Not an honorable death. He gets to leave the Horde and all its problems behind for someone else to solve. He said he wanted his Horde back but it appears he just wanted his "Honorable Death" more. Sauerfang just kept taking Ls. I don't believe he was a great character at all.

[@Kyriae]

@@semi6544 lol - You're a poor sod. Anyone who associates mass murder with strength must be pretty sick. Sylvanas wasn't strong because then she would have thought a little more, but she let herself be fooled. By the way, there is no shame in seeking help elsewhere if you know that your people are afraid of doing something against a dictator. Unfortunately, the horde has the problem that it is subservient and does not think for itself and immediately labels anyone who thinks for themselves as a traitor. The Horde is always as good as its warchief and when it's a dictator, like Garrosh or Sylvanas, then you weren't allowed to have your own opinion. But there are people who think things like that are good. And then vote for Trump or Putin.

[@semi6544]

@@Kyriae -- There is no shame in seeking help from elsewhere. Is that what Sauerfang did? Sauerfang didn't seek aid. Anduin did. Sauerfang was a prisoner with nowhere to turn and was presented with an option. The Horde isn't subservient. The idea of Makgora is a mechanism that exists to prevent what is happening in the horde from happening. If you see bad leadership you can challenge it with no restrictions. This is a work of fiction btw. Power dynamics in fiction and reality aren't the same. The reasons you admire ruthlessness in a fantasy instead of real life aren't similar. We like power and oppressiveness because we know it is fiction. Your mentioning of Putin and Trump is silly and shows the same delusion people show when they act like comedy should be judged by the face value of the words said ignoring context. I was not too fond of Sauerfang. He was a sad character. He was tragic and didn't help his own cause. I didn't like Sylvanas but in a mini-story full of mediocre characters, I like the character leading the plot the most. The power I liked with Sylvanas wasn't her authority. The power I like is the physical and magical strength. This is a fantasy. The reason people like One Punch Man is because he is OP is what Sylvanas is in this plot. She is OP compared to everyone in this little minidrama.

[@hugomendoza5665]

I just realized that all 3 characters carrying Saurfang into Orgrimmar are all sons without fathers.

[@brunopereira6789]

And Saurfang is a father without a son, perfect!

[@Miroku2235]

Sylvanas: "The Horde is nothing!" Everybody on the wall: "The fuck did she just say?!"

[@miriamweller812]

To be fair: "You are ALL nothing." And explanation for that PoV is simple: life is pointless in comparison to the eternitys of death and how the whole system is a farce with mortals just pawns and caddle.

[@Lironah]

The standard-bearer is all of us.

[@TrafalgarWaterDLaw-dl5cm]

She triggered the FOR THE HORDE! *Sylvanas has been kicked out of the guild*

[@IronWolf_345]

But all the Sylvie simps still sided with her 😂

[@furydeath]

*pulls out phone and records*

[@cosmintirlea7095]

Saurfang said "Let it be finished" just as he went up against her in the duel. That's the same line his son said when he faced the Lich King at the Wrath Gate (cinematic) and shortly after, he got struck dead. That line gave me chills when I heard it here.

[@TrafalgarWaterDLaw-dl5cm]

Now we know who he has it from. Makes it even sadder.

[@Xazorath]

The most powerful and impactful part of this cinematic is the look the standard bearer gives Sylvanas after she shouts ”The horde is NOTHING!”. The undead race was hated, hunted, shunned and desperate after they broke free of the Lich Kings grasp. They had no one to turn to for help, nowhere was safe - until the Horde took them in. Most of the horde races have similar histories, only through eachother they have a place to call home. Sylvanas just called that ”nothing”, prompting ’the look’ from the standard bearer. The horde is nothing? Is home, family, friends and a sense of belonging nothing? This is why they open the gate to the so-called invaders, Sylvanas was the invader all along.

[@drAq44]

As Zappy Boy said: "The Horde is all we have"

[@PsycHoOone]

Best boi

[@victoriasullivan1394]

its also a big deal that its a forsaken that gives the look. sylvanas had a massive cult of personality, she was basically their moses/mother figure. wasnt just a huge betrayal of the horde, but her own very loyal people

[@srkares]

also the forsaken on the walls are the ones starting the banging with their standards. assumedly high-ranking ones too, maybe even sylvanas dark rangers, by the looks.

[@Wheeljack678]

See... this is not a cheap reaction video where the creator simply takes someone elses content and do exaggerated "ooh"s and "aah"s. You do a full-blown, in-depth analysis of the technical aspect of the cinematic, and now that you have more or less devoured almost the entire library of Blizzard , you also have learned a lot about the lore behind the characters. As a fan of WoW, this is both entertaining, wholesome and interesting to me. Thank you.

[@PhilipHarts]

Thank you so much!!!

[@jordannew3803]

Bro, when you said "It's like she's opening a maw" ... you dont know how truthful that was 😅

[@kevinlecompte5169]

horde is very honor bound in general (the original wc3 races orc tauren troll anyway) so that's why alot were still defending orgrimmar, they don't want to betray their warchief even though they all knew how horrible she was. They probably respected saurfang and thrall far more than her in the first place and let them in when she just abandoned them. Thrall literally founded orgrimmar in the first place so the horde had a place to live when he was warchief.

[@TrafalgarWaterDLaw-dl5cm]

Its the sad way Nazgrim dies. He basicly tells you and Saurfang its a honor to die at your hands. He really knew Garrosh overdid things, but he xouldnt dishonor his duty.

[@semi6544]

In this plot for Sylvanas, she is fighting for death. Every war she was just rooting for people to die. She was on death's side. Every death was a soul delivered to the afterlife. She didn't care for the horde. The horde was just a tool to facilitate more war and death. The next expansion is the Shadowlands, the realm of death and the afterlife.

[@shirtlessviking9225]

great premise, bad execution in the end D:

[@pentifexmonolith]

@@shirtlessviking9225 mainly because they changed everything 6 months before launch

[@LichtdesMorgens]

yeah I had to stop readind before the storm because I was so angry at her lol

[@Gharr.]

I like this line: "It's like she's just opened the Maw of Death."

[@PhilipHarts]

That shot gave me chills!! 🥶

[@corbin_4738]

​@@PhilipHarts When you watch Shadowlands, what you said will have a lot more relevance. Specifically using the words "... the maw..."

[@akaHius]

​@@PhilipHartsI wonder you have idea how right you are? Literally.

[@Century_Chandra]

Saurfang splitting Shalamane is so significant for so many reasons, first of all, he's the first to do so since the death of Varian, Anduin was never able to do it. Second of all, the two blades represent Varians two personalities that he was divided into during his kidnapping by the broodmother Onyxia, One half of varian was coerced and puppeteered, while the warrior side of Varian was sold of to a orcish gladiator arena, in which he earned the name Lo'gosh, the great wolf. Lo'gosh is an important figure in orc mythology and also one of the ancients, known to other people as Goldrinn, Goldrinn did bestow his blessing upon Varian which is pretty much unheard of for a human, but a great honour for an orc. Anduin didnt possess the ferocity of varian, he was never able to divide shalamane because of that, but Saurfang does, in a way showing that he too is worthy of Goldrinns blessing.

[@Kyriae]

It has nothing to do with Goldrinn whether someone can split the blade. Shalamayne decides that himself, because Shalamayne is the symbiosis of two elven swords and basically has a life of its own. Thus, Shalamayne was able to save part of Varok's soul, just as it had already saved part of Varian's soul.

[@Century_Chandra]

@@Kyriae practically no, goldrinn has nothing to do with the sword, but the sword being tied to varian and lo'gosh gives symbolic meaning when viewing it from the perspective of orc culture

[@boballab]

For those that think that Thrall "cheated" and thus Sylvanas as well haven't been paying attention. Blizz has stated that everything is allowed in a Mak'Gora when Hardcore came out. The whole "cheat" thing comes from Thrall thinking he should have been able to defeat Garrosh without his Shaman abilities and it wasn't the spirits turning from him, but Thrall from the spirits. Hell that was a whole plot point in Shadowlands where Draka gets Thrall out of his own head and that he didn't cheat.

[@LittlepipMLP]

Correct. There's only two things that are universal with regards to a Mak'gora, and the first is that there is to be no outside interference. You can't have an ally snipe your opponent from the sidelines or heal you during the fight. Magic, potions, engineering devices; everything you carry, apply before the fight or use personally is allowed however, unless agreed upon otherwise. The second fixed requirement is that there need to be witnesses, so that someone can't just claim things happened a particular way once it's over. It's important to note that while traditionally a Mak'gora was to the death, you COULD have it be merely until the other party submits, and in these contexts, it could be used to settle minor disputes between warriors, not just grave affronts to one's honor. Both participants would need to agree on this before the duel, and they could also negotiate any additional restrictions if so desired. Bare-handed fisticuffs, or with specific weapons, for example. Completely non-violent competitions could also be chosen, even something as mundane as several rounds of Hearthstone! Thrall outlawed the extreme (where someone dies) version, but when Garrosh and Sylvanas were Warchief, they reinstated the original, and all such declarations are inevitably fatal. Oh, and needless to say, fleeing from a Mak'gora in-progress is even worse than cheating, because you're so fearful that you couldn't even face your opponent properly at all. In Hardcore WoW, this is reflected by such a player getting stricken with a 72-hour effect (which does NOT count down while offline!) that massively penalizes all their stats, and declares to the world and all who see you that you're a coward!

[@atinygoose6199]

Understandable confusion though, given to understand it required playing and/or paying attention to Shadowlands.

[@drAq44]

All of this. Thank you for that explanation! Magic is not, and never was forbidden in Mak'gora. Thrall did not cheat, and Sylvanas also, technically, won within rules of Mak'gora. Varok's win was in forcing her to admit, the she does not care for the Horde, and thus making her win irrelevant.

[@Sdogofdoom]

Yeah, i don't think we ever get told the original orcish rules. Closest we get is cairne vs garrosh, where garrosh requests a traditional duel, and then immediately asks what weapons and armor and such was allowed, which made cairne taunt him about not knowing about the traditional orcish mak'gora. Then cairne declares the 1 weapon, shaman blessed, loincloth only.

[@demon1103]

I personally think the whole "using magic in a Mak'Gora" debate was best said in the Warcraft movie. Not by the Orcs saying Gul'dan cheats, but when Durotan says "you have no honor". Unless dictated beforehand, using magic is "allowed"....but when using it against a non magic opponent it can be seen as dishonorable, and honor is a big thing for the Horde, especially the Orcs.

[@RainbowQueen23]

Sylvanas is one of my favorite characters because of her book. It's an entire book about her growing up, and eventually seeing her perspective of having her soul torn in two and being forced to literally murder her own people by the dozens with her magic infused Banshee wail against her will and so much more of all the horrible things she's been forced to witness and do. She's such a tragic tail that just makes you want her to have a happy ending 💔 She also Voices her book on audible and it's an amazing performance, had me captivated instantly ❤

[@LichtdesMorgens]

How is the book about her called?

[@TheNarghes]

@@LichtdesMorgens Its just ''Sylvanas'' by Christie Golden. An amazing audiobook, which explains her motives and perspective along side flashbacks from her, her sisters and brother's youth in Silvermoon

[@VenomGamingCenter]

Tragic Tale* Cats and dogs have tails, not Sylvanas

[@TheAyme83]

​@@VenomGamingCenter well some Fanart gave her one, but that's not the point 😂

[@AliyaWill]

This was an insane watch. I love your input as always my love 🖤

[@PhilipHarts]

Thank you my love 🖤

[@metaleastern4403]

I've been completely hooked on your reactions to these cinematics. Next step would be to watch you live!

[@PhilipHarts]

I’ll be live later tonight!!!

[@metaleastern4403]

Yessirrrr!!@@PhilipHarts

[@actavisprime514]

I love Thrall looking up at Orgrimmar the city he founded like “I know your gonna let me in I won’t even ask”

[@shirtlessviking9225]

the whole old soldier saga goes in a whole day, starting at night, then morning at the BFA cinematic, day with thrall and late day/noon at reckogning

[@Malavander]

This is Sylvanus' "You're goddamn right I ordered the code red!" moment from A Few Good Men. They know she has ulterior motives beyond leading the Horde. You'll see her plans revealed in the Shadowlands intro.

[@miriamweller812]

Overall: she had enough souls collected, so she just could have left. Of course that would have been prettys anticlimatic regarding the story telling and you can explaint it that she still has to hide the motives beyond all that. Imagine she would have opened the gate toward the Shadowlands and then all he dumbos from Alliance and Horde would instantly run to the other Death Gods: "Hey! Hey! Listen! The guy you imprisoned there, he got a plan to break out and has amassed quite a lot of souls for that." Yeah, wouldn't have been that good for the whole plan. So it's better for Sylvanas and her actual motives if they just think she's powerhungry or whatever.

[@virriathus]

When she says "Toy soldiers in tin plate" we feel she's talking about us, the players.... 🙄 And so we feel directly insulted... 😅

[@mattphoenix4702]

Long story short, Sylvanas was in league with the big bad dude from the next expansion. He gave her great power, literally death magic. In order for the Jailer to escape his imprisonment in what is more or less Warcraft hell, he needed a lot of souls. He gives Sylvanas power, and Sylvanas in return starts the war that leads into battle for Azeroth. The moment that kicks off the start of the “real” plan is when we, the player characters, kill a titan infused with death magic. He was never meant to go to the Shadowlands, which is meant exclusively for mortal beings, and his soul breaks the Arbiter, a machine-being that sorts all souls into their proper afterlives. Without the arbiter to sort the souls, they ALL start going into the Maw/Hell. This is when Sylvanas burns teldrasil. She WANTED the Alliance to basically lose its shit and go for the throat. The more people that die, the sooner the Jailer can enact his plan. And Horde souls are just as good as Alliance souls, she had no loyalty to the Horde. It was a tool for her to use to get what she wanted. The Horde literally meant nothing to her. One of Sylvanas’s major flaws is her impulsiveness. Saurfang knew he couldn’t beat her, but he thought he might at least be able to expose her as a fraud and betrayer. Basically just piss her off until she says or does something that opens everyone’s eyes to what kind of being she actually is. And it worked

[@Wh8teKn9ght]

most people forget that Sylvanas is a banshee. Her scream is literally deadly.

[@yaboi5047]

The idea of anduin, a leader of the alliance, Walking into orgrimmar is amazing. In game all through our time playing. We would get near an enemy city, we'd be marked for attack and our status was hated.

[@dylankrabbenhoft2617]

It's so funny he keeps saying "maw". I love watching reaction videos of WoW cinematics and the person is not a WoW person. I've been an avid player since 2007, read a BUNCH of the lore and books and seeing someone that's new to this story and they enjoy it is just awesome to me

[@TruOnyxfire]

She didn't cheat because there were no rules established beforehand. ANYTHING GOES when no terms are agreed upon. And that was the entire point of this challenge. Saurfang didn't attach rules or restrictions because he already knew he was going to die, Thrall knew it too, everyone did. His entire purpose was to spare the lives of his soldiers and to piss off Sylvanas and use her legendary temper and ego to make her show her true colors. Once she got cut and yelled out "The Horde is NOTHING!", Saurfang achieved his goal in the challenge. He won. She just lost her entire Horde faction of Forsaken by showing what she really thought of them all, just fodder and fuel for the Maw. She realized it, too and that's why she just said "F*** it" and ended him. She was pissed that he goaded her into screwing herself over. But either way, the Mak'Gora was issued, accepted without terms, and then played out to the death. No cheating, no dishonor (even by Orc rules because there were no terms). His goal was his warrior's death, saving his people from battle and taking Sylvanas' army away, all in one stroke.

[@OhNoTheFace]

I love the Forsaken when she yells "The Horde is nothing" Her guard is like, "Fucking excuse me?"

[@jpjfrey5673]

High Overlord Varok Saurfang Varian Wrynn of the Horde. Warrior capable of using two specializations - Arms and Fury - at once without issue. Orc which had survived too many battles to count, lost his son to the Lich King, and yet had enough strength and conviction to goad Sylvanas into using magic in a Mak'gora and losing her patronizing tone along with her stoicism By those facts alone, our brothers and sisters of the Horde opened the gates for him to be escorted and held a warrior's funeral for

[@clogs4956]

Two deaths that bring me to tears every time: BeastWars Dinobot and WoW’s Varok Saurfang. Honour to the end.

[@IamDeathIncarnate1337]

what Blizzard did right with Sylvanas' heel-turn was sowing the story seeds here and there, and then when she "springs" it on you, you find yourself re-watching the BfA into cinematic and wondering again what she meant when she said "... we have forgotten what makes us strong."

[@JaszaricOrionheim]

The Soldiers on the Ramparts that start tapping they're Halberds were holding Sylvanus Banners. After the old soldier exposed Sylvanus,she knew she lost the Horde and fled to Ice Crown.

[@MiosPanties]

It's so meaningful to me that the Forsaken on the walls are the first to begin stamping their flags for Saurfang.

[@BaskingInObscurity]

You made it here! I've been wanting you to get to it. :) Varok and Thrall are facing north, and the light is southwest of them, so I'd say late afternoon. They're in Durotar, the land to which the Prophet guided Thrall to take his people, and which Thrall named after his father. [As I've said: Green Moses, not Green Jesus.] Its terrain and atmosphere evoke the Colorado River Basin (Escalante National Park, especially) and film auteur John Ford's aesthetic for the perpetual golden hour. Yeah, the characters and we know that she is stronger than she used to be; but we don't know yet to what extent. This battle shows us all that she has acquired something too powerful. What did she trade THIS time for more power? And with whom? Sauerfang forced her to reveal her dishonor, her manipulation in which she had engaged of all of them, slowly destroying all of them. How does a true warrior regain his public honor while finally getting a proper warrior's death for which he yearned? Expose the true traitor in their midst, forcing her to flee. Varok doesn't just prove he'd never lost his honor and earned yet more, he proves it to the Alliance and Horde as one. Where Sylvanas deliberately precipitated The Third War with no purpose, no goal (that she told anyone, anyway), and seemingly no end, Varok Saurfang brought Horde and Alliance together, as Baine, Thrall, Jaina, and Anduin, had all wanted and failed to effect, Varok Sauerfang is the ultimate epic hero, It takes Sylvanas the entire next xpac, Shadowlands, to realize that SHE was the one duped by a more masterful manipulator, that she was worse. But no more said. Shadowlands is bad enough without spoilers.

[@TheTaratsu]

A missed detail on why she's so hateful is, She wanted to seige the city but Saurfang spared the Male Leader of the Nightelves. She gave him the killing blow, but not only that, the whole plan is his. He wanted to kill one leader to demoralize the people so they wouldn't rebel under threat of burning. Every step including killing Malfurion and burning the Tree as a contigency, was planned by Saurfang. She chose him over Nathanos for this, to his annoyance.

[@TheTaratsu]

He spared Malfurion because he struck him from behind, he didn't want a dishonourable kill. He suddenly gained clarity on how evil his plan is, and that's why he is so guilty throughout the expansion.

[@SilverKnight16]

That opening music beat that feels all about war is, in fact, the intro music to Orgrimmar, the capital city of the Orcs/Horde. So it's fitting for multiple reasons.

[@RushavMohanty]

Only two swords have wounded Sylvanas in a metaphysical way. Frostmourne was first, then many many years later, Shalamayne. Each took something away too, life and leadership.

[@Kyriae]

My favorite character is Anduin. I've been following him for so long now and I'm still mad at Blizzard for the timeskip between Shadowlands and Dragonflight (around 3-5 years). But I'm also a fan of Varok, for me he symbolizes what the orcs once were before they drank the demonic blood. Sylvanas is also an interesting character and a tragic one. Unfortunately, Blizzard neglected to properly tell the story of her and the Jailor in the game. Everyone was wondering how this smart woman, the top tactician and strategist could fall for this guy (Zovaal aka Jailor). This is explained in the book "Sylvanas" and she actually believed that what she was doing in BfA was the right thing to do to save Azeroth and its inhabitants. Anduin tried to get her to think again at the beginning of Shadowlands. (That's some wonderful cinematics) And yes, he probably raised doubts in her, but she didn't really believe it until later and by then it was too late.

[@Dreamfox-df6bg]

There is also another detail. After Sylvanas shouted 'you are all nothing', Saurfang's smile is not just because he got to her. He also knows that this is the moment he will finally die. With honour. And yet, his last words make his death count for even more. Everyone now will know he dies for Azaroth. Not for the Alliance or even for the Horde. He dies, sacrifices himself, for the world. This references an in-game video that happens before this trailer. The video gives this trailer a lot more depth: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWGTnXxulNJjq5o

[@atholkay4172]

In fairness to Sylvanus she has already died quite horribly at the hands of Arthas. She was extremely vain, but did die a heroic death defending her homeland and just straight up bit off more than she could chew in taking on Arthas who one shot her. In a sense she's already been the "old soldier" herself.

[@mattphoenix4702]

Don’t know if anyone else has mentioned it yet, but when the gates of Orgrimmar open and Sylvanas walks into the light to accept the challenge, Saurfang has literally pulled her out of the shadows, illuminating her true nature

[@KdVSerpentinit]

In my opinion the whole rewriting of the Sylvannas character does her more harm than benefit. I understand why the rewrite happened with the knowledge of the events in Shadowlands but I still miss the old Sylvannas that was looking to find a place for her people. She even sings the Lament of the Highborne at the end of a questline for you. There are some brilliant videos about the rewrite so I hope your chat will help you with them so to understand why she was (and for some still is) a fan favourite. Oh, and about this Mak'gora: They did not define any specific rules here so she did not cheat there! Here a little quote from the wowpedia: "The rules of a Mak'gora seem to be different between each Mak'gora since they are chosen and set by the participants themselves. Generally, there are thus no specific rules. There are only two consistent themes in all Mak'gora: once dropped, a weapon cannot be retrieved by either opponent and that the pair must fight to the death or until submission. Magic, for example, has never been stated to be forbidden, and has, in fact, been used in multiple Mak'gora duels and thus seems to be permitted. Similarly, many Mak'gora duels have involved both fighters wearing body armor as well, but it can also be forbidden when explicitly required. For example, the "traditional", "old way" rules chosen for the Mak'gora between Garrosh and Cairne were: The combat was to the death. One weapon was allowed. A blessing of this weapon by a shaman of their choosing was permitted. Both body armor and clothing were forbidden, only a loincloth was allowed. Each participant had to have at least one witness. The rules chosen for the Mak'gora between Shagara and Ashra were: One weapon was allowed. Body armor was forbidden, but not clothing. The combat was to the death. In many instances of Mak'gora, no rules whatsoever are defined beforehand. For instance in both the first and the second Mak'gora between Thrall and Garrosh, the Mak'gora between Saurfang and Malfurion, or the Mak'gora between Saurfang and Sylvanas."

[@chrismaples9392]

Funnily enough, Sylvannas has technically died 3 times before this point.

[@bounce6958]

Saw this live! Love the streams! Never fails to be a great time. But we need another MAP seek and find event. 😅

[@uberfastfoot]

Shalamane only divides into two swords when the heart of a true warrior wields it! it's Varok proving that he is indeed a WARRIOR!

[@LibertyPanacea]

I've been waiting for you to see this one!

[@akaHius]

Father of Anduin -- Varian Wrinn not "simply the human king and nobile warrior". He have personal great respect in all Horde aspecially from orcs (but also trolls and taurens) as great warrior with high warrior skills, valor, fearless, fidelity with friends and keeping his word strong. It just so happened, what Varian many time was known in the Horde as Lo'Gosh ("Ghost Wolf" in Taur-ahe), the great gladiator fighter. And many-many Horde people all around of Kalimdor seen him in action on the arenas.

[@Brooke-rw8rc]

clink clink! We love Banner Bae! Also, magic is allowed in a mok'gora. The rules of a Mok'gora are whatever they combatants agree to. But Saurfang got Sylvanas to lash out, just like he saw her do in the Tel'drassil burning and when she attacked the siege engine at Lordaeron. He had no idea she would destroy her own authority so completely. Rewatch and keep an eye out for Banner Bae's side-eye. The side-eye that ended the war!

[@inuyasha0413]

Even though Sylvanas Windrunner started off as a Blood Elf after her retcon, before that she was a Night Elf, and when she was killed by Arthas Menethil, he turned her into a type of Scourge known as a Banshee, and she basically used Fel-Demonic abilities to attack him which was already corrupting her further. Basically the thing that Saurfang calls is a friendly match in-game but he's asking for a fight to the death for rights to be Warchief, a Horde members honored tradition, to be Warchief, she denounces herself from the Horde by saying, the Horde is nothing. You all are Nothing. Which finalized her corruption, which is what exposes her as a traitor unworthy to rule as Warchief

[@mikleman996]

The Saurfang family line is so legendary to the Horde, at this point Sylvanas is so deep the the old gods corrupted power there was no going back, pretty much admitted she used the Horde, even her undead disavowed her at that point also.

[@Kyriae]

Hm, did you read the Sylvanas-Book? And why "old gods corrupted"? The Jailor gives her the power and it is the power of the death.

[@mikleman996]

@@Kyriae Didn't she make a pact after finding Athas was already dead and couldn't get revenge so she threw herself off the frozen throne, and in the darkness can't remember which (N'Zoth)? Gave her this power before Shadow lands happened... I haven't read her book yet I am well behind on warcraft books :(

[@roefane2258]

@@mikleman996I think they retconned the old gods power for the jailer only power.

[@mikleman996]

@@roefane2258 aww ok fair enough, I didn't think it was a bit bizarre, but I guess it's a little bit like how Azhara got her power. I'll have to catch up with the books

[@roefane2258]

@@mikleman996 yeah I think so. TBH I’m not a lore master by any means, so I could very well be wrong.

[@sero21]

I love your analysis. These videos are a treat.

[@EloquentTroll]

And the duel takes place outside the South gate of Orgrimmar where Horde players go to duel each other in game.

[@Papaneeks]

I can’t wait to see the reaction to the cutscene with Anduin in the Sepulcher raid

[@TheGoldenAngel82]

I am VERY late to this video, however I just want to point out the lore behind Varians (now Anduins) sword. Back when Varian was Kidnapped by Onyxia, his soul was split in two, he practically got dublicated into two persons: Theres a MASSIVE bunch of Off-screen lore about this that woudl take ages to write. Eventually his split personality was merged again, and the sword was forged, representing each of those two people that he was. It is not often we see it split - We saw it in the Legion Cinematic when Varian comes up from the water and go ham, I don't think we have ever seen it split with Anduin, but then we saw it in this video, and I have always wondered What exactly it is supposed to represent. I guess it's to represent Bothe the Horde and the Alliance in the hands of Saurfang, but always wondered if there was more to it.

[@valkarie00]

@philipharts I also like how when they’re framing that hip shot on Sylvanas that they’re kind of alluding the to the power she’s gained to become as powerful as she is, from the jailer. You can see the wisps of it’s coming off of her hand. They always tell so much with these cinematics, which make them some of the best out there. Always fun to see your breakdowns though, keep them coming!

[@welshman100]

It hurt me so much what they did to her storyline. It shouldn't have been this way :(

[@TyrannosavageRekt]

I still don’t understand how people think Sylvanas’ story was going to play out. From the moment Arthas raised her as a banshee, she was consumed by vengeance. His demise, and that of any who discriminated against the Forsaken were her only concerns. From Cataclysm onwards, once she understood that her peoples’ longevity was in question, she started walking in her nemesis’ footsteps in a lot of ways (raising the dead against their will, to fill the ranks of the Forsaken). Her whole story has always been about how her quest for revenge was turning her into Arthas 2.0. Nothing about Battle for Azeroth (raising Derek Proudmoore, amongst other things), or Shadowlands (forcing Anduin to serve the Jailer) really contradicted that. The only thing that made the story feel contrived was having her voice her self-awareness of the issue of free will, but still going along with stripping Anduin of his.

[@erickchristensen746]

@@TyrannosavageRekt Pretty much this. She was set up back in Og Warcraft 3 to become a villain later with her torment yet people get so pissy at it. That being said all the “twists” in the plot of shadowlands were such crap

[@milofah]

⁠​⁠@@erickchristensen746she wasn’t set up to be a villain she was set up to be a ruthless leader. In a story with green Jesus, the milkybar kid and other one dimensional paragons of virtue it was an enticing character. The Forsaken were the most interesting faction because of their origin and nature. The worst thing about Sylvanas is that blizzard are unable to write anything but hero or villain. Sylvanas entire story she was capable of being a deeply flawed and interesting character but she slid into moustache twirling. Despite having all the correct motivations. Her revenge was understandable, she was tortured more than anyone by Arthas, and she led people who were similar. Then after he’s dead she goes to commit suicide and finds out THE WHOLE AFTERLIFE is completely broken. Like Sylvanas or not, but the whole afterlife and fate of every soul being sent to the maw is an everyone problem. There was a way of doing Sylvanas story without her being just evil for the sake of it. But blizzard can’t write nuance. So the closest we can get is pretending Anduin being upset that he isn’t perfect is depth. Blizzard had two characters that weren’t a Mary Sue (illidain being the other) but they wrote them both so wonkily.

[@JBKNL]

36:02 accepting his death? You can see Varok 'smile' a bit in a way like "don't worry Zappy.. I got this..." So yes he accepts that he will die. But he also knows he got Sylvie where he wants her. he can't attack her physically cos he doesn't stand a chance. So he goes after her mentally. I love the whole story for Varok and I feel sad he hardly had a role to play in most of WoW. For the most part he just stood around doing F all.... Blizz had a legendary character and finally decided (save from AQ Event) to do something with him. About time they will utilize Eitrigg and give us same great Orcs again. The Orc racial quest was moving though...The Horde is not really about statues, but Varok really deserves one.

[@dandrummond9154]

A. Sylvanas is saying I trusted you to do x, and they trusted you to do x. You just keep failing. She is emphasizing that he let everybody down. B. I am not scrolling through all of the comments. Sylvanas did not cheat, but realistically, she did not win. That is not her power. She acquired it from somebody else. C. Oberyn Martell v The Mountain D. The best part about taking Saurfang inside is that they lift him, and then they say nothing. They just look at the standard-bearer. E. I am Forsaken.

[@Arty_McParty]

You have the best reactions !!!! I love your channel I don't konw why it took so long for me to subscribe , but here it is! After watching till this video from the start! LOL Also Makgora means Duel of Honor rules are -1 weapon of choice -NO ARMOR only linen cloth what Sourfang hand, she had armor and two weapons (That's why they said she cheated from the beggining) -NO MAGIC -Blessing of the weapon by a shaman of their choosing was only permitted -Each Participants had to have at elast one wintess , That's how bloodhuf died Challenging Garrosh Hellscream, poison. -Once weapon dropped it can't be picked up by ether party. But you have to take this as a consideration because it's on ORC culture... Ogres din't participate , Humans did not participate , Elfs specially... So when he said I chellange you to Makgora , that means just Duel to the Death , it's weird because Sourfang had two weapons... so they both cheated... And by her using magic "Technically" it still not cheating because they both cheated from get go. So it went from "Traditional Orc 1 on 1 Duel of Honor to Just DUEL to the Death" Magic is banned from "Traditional Makgora"... only shaman blessing are okay.

[@graycenfelts9257]

Dude I love your reactions so much

[@AVBRIZE]

the music at the start is actually the theme music of Orgrimmar, the song all players hear when they enter Orgrimmar since day 1 of wow. also about these saurfang series, i dont know if you noticed, the first one starts at dawn of the day (before battle of undercity), he talks with thrall (midday), and the last one ends at a dusk (in Orgimmar).

[@jimmiekarlsson4458]

Fking love Sylvanas voice, Patty Mattysson is one of the best voice actors in warcraft-

[@BigBWolf90]

Genn Greymane may have become a fatherly substitute for Anduin but unexpectedly he found another in Saurfang just like Zekhan did

[@christianstout6390]

Please Note: You -CAN- / are -ALLOWED- to use magic in a Mok'gora. It's seen as untasteful; however, there are no laws against using magic in one. Typically, mok'gora are fought between warriors and melee combatants, but you can use magic.

[@Drake844221]

Even as a member of the Alliance, I have a lot of respect for Saurfang and what he did here. The Horde is not, by nature cruel. Still, those who rise to power within it are... entirely too often the wrong people. Garosh. Sylvannas. It is very telling, to me, that this was the second time that the Alliance had to join with members of the Horde to invade Orgrimar to unseat an evil leader. Varian wasn't always honorable, and the Alliance has its share of wrongdoings, but never at the level of what the Horde has done.

[@ronsparks1001]

Been waiting for you to get to this one. Epic cinematic

[@RainbowQueen23]

When you play Warcraft on stream btw MAYBE hide the server your character is on as many people like to swarm streamers and it would be far better if you had either 1 guide to just answer questions you will have or just hide what server/realm your on 😊

[@amiralavi5895]

Haha love your reactions!

[@riqueoak7256]

Just to clarify, using magic in a Mak'gora isn't cheating, Thrall did the same agains't Garrosh and there was nothing wrong with that, what matters is the honor involved, not the methods used.

[@justinnielsen4574]

Chills. Every time.

[@samshils4812]

you probably already saw this but it was Saurfang that said that to thrall in another cinematic that came out before this one, then thrall said it to him realizing what he meant. then thrall says it to anduin in the war within trailer when Anduin has been hiding/wandering after the events of shadowlands. Its super poetic

[@Median0-Fran]

Btw.... A walking corpse like Sylvanas may not be able to blink because her eyelids dried half a century ago.

[@srkares]

10:04 the rules of the orcs honor duel are simply not clear. it used to be just a weapon and no armor? (would have to look it up), but the tradition is from a time when orcs literally couldnt do any form of magic. 12:48 ironically, saurfang isnt the monster here 30:17 cute little continuity error: sylvanas blade is higher on the axe from saurfangs view, than it is when the camera is turning over to her side. 52:33 some probably already pointed out that they are all forsaken flags in the center, sylvanas people, likely high-ranking soldiers too, like the ones she joined in the BfA cinematic (possibly her own personal elite troop, the Dark Rangers). also if my ears dont deceive me, the clanging gets louder and more echo-y, indicating that more and more people join in. BfA would make a great movie... in a trilogy, starting with garrosh becoming warchief of the horde, which lead to the events of Legion, leading to the Broken Shore and varians death and sylvanas becoming warchief and possibly even going into the Shadowlands expansion, revealing what Sylvanas true motive was, all these years. i feel like you'd have a hard time, hot-dropping people into the Siege of Lordaeron (the BfA intro cinematic), without showing them the reason for the war, without showing them how much of a monster Sylvanas had been, depicted in several novels and her Warbringer short. Similarly, also showing how Anduin tried for peace time and time again.

[@isaaclloyd8132]

Not the most pertinent, or timely, of comments. But when saurfang and thrall are in shot just as they arrive at Org, the soundtracks does a little tune that is the 'principle auditory signature' of durotan, the territory that the city is set it.

[@The_Scryer]

Varrock Saurfang is just Saurfang's full name. Only his closest friends call him Varrock.

[@corbin_4738]

I would like to make a point - to my recollection, we never seen Jaina in any cinematic like this. Hers are always in game at best.

[@PhilipHarts]

They really need to put her in one!!

[@boballab]

Not exactly. Jaina isn't the focus of the big production cinematic but she does have an outside the game cinematic... Warbringers: Jaina. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKCaiYOsrLeafZo

[@corbin_4738]

@@boballab I was referring to the style of these cinematics. Her Warbringers is awesome, my favorite even, but it isn't in the same quality

[@boballab]

@@corbin_4738 You stated: " Hers are always in game at best". I was pointing out that this wasn't true.

[@corbin_4738]

@@boballab Pardon for not going through the entirety of WoW and naming off all possible ones. I figured since 99% of hers are the same way, it wouldn't have been hard to understand what I meant. I will clarify for people such as yourself: Jaina has never had or been in a cinematic such as these, not that I can remember.

[@Lironah]

I don't know that she cheated so much as rage-quit. She's like oops, I spilled the beans. Well here's what I really think of all of you, and by the way I'm still the better fighter.

[@sadmadbro]

You are absolutely right. excellent analysis. completely with you from Russia. Whatever that means to you now. You are well done

[@FutayuriShironeko]

1. Mak'gora rules are agreed upon before each fight. If nothing is said between the challenge and the fight, everything is on the table. 2. Sylvanas was absolutely in the right, but following only cinematics doesn't give you context of cosmic forces and how messed up greater cycle is. 3. Alex Afrosiabi hated Sylvanas with the passion and fucked up her writing as much as he could before getting kicked out. 4. Blizzard makes every complex antagonist into purely evil villain, because they can't write the story where villain is in the right. On top of that they forgot to do the writing for the main villain at all in this arc, since Sylvanas was only secondary antagonist. 5. Sylvanas is more wronged, tortured and tormented than everyone in this cinematic put together, but certain blizzard writers only care about Anduin and old MAN pain. They go as far as to gaslight and invalidate shit Sylvanas had to go throught in her own personal novel... 6. Saurfang's "honor" only makes sence if you only watch cutscenes and cinematics. Bro's "honor" was changing every 15 minutes. His "honor" is not honorable at all and vapid bs at best if you have full context. He plans and executes honorless nightelf outposts slaughter, but then 3 minutes later won't kill their Elf leader because it's not "honorable". Sure...

[@epic-o2215]

hope you do alll the other bfa cutscenes, including terror of darkshore, azshara/nzoth, tyrande vs nathanos etc! Wether you think Sylvanas cheated or not, she wasnt losing a match of strength to Saurfang while empowered. Sylvanas says it herself, in her view honor isnt real , and if you die, it doesn't matter. If you know her story it makes sense why she doesn't give a shit about the concept, and at this time she didnt really have a choice (or at least she thought, but realistically she didnt) Also at this point, No one knew the kind of power she had acquired, so the magic she used was not fully understood yet, many expert magical users that witnessed the fight commented that they didnt recognize Sylvanas magic (the blast), as it wasnt something she weilded before and it wasnt a known type of magic. No one, not even Saurfang knew the extent of her strength at this moment. Not that he would have cared

[@Saztrah]

There is no rule that magic is forbidden in Mak'gora, and Thrall's first Mak'gora with Garrosh in the Wrath of the Lich King pre-expansion event involved tons of magic, with no parties complaining. The "no magic" rule is never stated or even alluded to anywhere in lore, and remains one of WoW's most enduring pieces of fake lore. It's the Mandela Effect, invented because people think it should be true, but it isn't even hinted at being true anywhere in lore. Garrosh's use of poison against Cairne was frowned upon because it isn't in Garrosh's expected arsenal (so Cairne couldn't prepare for it) and therefore a bit underhanded and less-than-honorable, but it is not forbidden.

[@EvoXoverdrive]

Mok'gora is phisical prowes only, she killed him using magic so she lost. Also Garosh once cheated by using poison on his blade

[@riddleharriet]

Hang fire, you say Sylvanas lacks honor, but the first time she died was literally trying to save her people...let's not forget she was the Ranger-General, no matter the banshee she became. When I see Sylvanas I see a tragedy. She commits heinous acts but it's very sad how she got there.

[@jeffturner2975]

Varok is his name, Saurfang is the family name

[@MegaChickenfish]

13:10 I also think of this shot, besides the Wrathgate parallel, as Sylvanas coming out of the darkness into the light. When she originally was given leadership it was to "step out of the shadows and lead" but here we also see the real Sylvanas, called out into the open for all to see, rather than acting in the shadows as she prefers to like her attempt to assassinate Saurfang under the guise of "finding" him after his escape from Stormwind prison.

[@senno9910]

After this, the title of warchief and of a single person to lead the horde was changed. Instead, we now have a war council, where a member from each race of the horde makes up it's leadership and together they run the horde. This cinematic led to the absolvement of the 4th war (battle for azeroth) and led to sylvanas going to shadowlands, where we later find she had just been a puppet for someone even more powerful. This can be noted as she uses a type of magic that others don't. Thrall is part of that war council now, so he is no longer in hiding, but he doesn't lead the horde so much as lead his people.

[@robgraham5697]

I never not tear up at this cinematic. A death all of us should hope for, one that makes a difference.

[@ВладиславШаклеин-ч7м]

A common misconception: there wasn't a single shown mak'gora that had someone "cheating". Rules of mak'gora are established by the participants, if they do not agree on "no magic", it is a fair game. Epecially if you consider the place shamans hold in orcish society. Was it otherwise, any dumbass brute can outmakgora a venerated spiritual mentor of the clan. Also there are like 4 mak'goras described and shown to be fought at Orgrimmar's Arena, which involve at least two shamans (Thrall included) and a paladin in addition to warriors and no one screams about "cheating".

[@Stratimone]

Now that you have seen the arc of Saurfang you should watch the in game wrath gate cinimatic to witness the fate of his son

[@MegaChickenfish]

Another stepping stone on Sylvanas's path following Arthas. Specifically the Wrathgate. She had been falling for some time, but here her people, The Forsaken, finally recognize it for themselves.

[@Polydueces]

The storytelling for BfA was definitely on another level.

[@philosofree]

I hope you've been told about watching all wrath of the lich king cinematics, before starting the shadowlamds cinematics! Otherwise its easy to mistake one important character for another.... Love the content! Keep it coming!

[@Sintakhra]

Ding ding for Saurfang

[@Kjetilstorm]

omg how do I watch the stream? Where to see it?

[@PhilipHarts]

I’ll be live in 1.5 hours here on the channel! You can already find the live stream and wait for it to start

[@zeb1296]

She was already empowered by the jailer

[@marcoh703]

Magic is not allowed when the bad guy uses it. But if the good guy needs to win then its fine.

[@youlikathesauce3600]

ting ting. ting ting. ting ting.

[@Fsindu]

U seemed a bit confused after Sylvanas killed him, she cheated, true u got that right. The point is that it made her actually lose the duell.

[@corundummohs9719]

Victory for Sylvanas!

[@virriathus]

You're talking about "Shakespeare's Hamlet", so keep that in your mind when you will watch the Shadowlands trailer. 😉

[@viper9833]

Using magic in a Mak’gora isn’t cheating, it’s a huge misconception that lots of players have, who most of the time base themselves on the movie, which is not at all considered canon.

[@Booliciously]

Unfortunately Sylvanas’ character was assassinated by unsavory people like Alex Afrasiabi. Hopefully Metzen can revive the franchise.

[@sirzorba7633]

That's a tough challenge after everything Danuser has done to it as well, but I'm cautiously optimistic since War Within seems more like a Legion followup than anything. Hopefully Metzen sweeps as much of Shadowlands and Dragonflight under the rug as he can.

[@miriamweller812]

No, she wasn't, you crybabies simply love to throw shit and just ignore the story telling for that.

[@JBKNL]

Not sure if youre on point on honor... Saurfang been wanting a meaningful, glorious death in battle for ages. In the battle for UC cinematic he is about to commit suicide... Honor.. the mention of honor pisses him off in his chat with Anduin. Varok Saurfang has done antrocities as a soldier. Am sure he is conflicted. Am sure many soldiers today feel conflicted about what they have done as well. Taking lives is not honorable.... in the end Varok didnt take a life. But gave his own to save the many. And THAT is honorable....