A Story Analysis of Elden Ring + DLC

[@kaijionline]

“Thank you, Gingy!” We all yell in unison

[@Indy_Bendy]

Not all but a lot do.

[@chipskyshart87]

@@Indy_Bendyboo you stink

[@kaijionline]

@@Indy_Bendy ok

[@LeRuggie]

I said fuck yeah Gingy

[@shrunkenderp]

Thanks, Gingy!

[@Cartoonbrains]

I think one of my favorite little details is there's no stake of Marika for Renalla's boss fight as she's upset that Radagon left her for Marika, so she probably made sure there was no reminder of her

[@kirbeeez6131]

Wait that’s a crazy cool detail

[@user-783hhss7w2oifhe]

Still doesn't forgive that shitty runback

[@avo2986]

See I’d agree except it makes a horrible run back

[@nikotsapaliaris4919]

What they should've done is put stakes of radagon, because radagon is marika

[@AM_61102]

@@user-783hhss7w2oifheyou guys act like she’s the bed of chaos 2.0. It’s not even that bad, the rolling ball has literally one moveset that can be easily avoided and moongrum can be cheesed

[@Ssosmooth69]

I kind of like what this dlc did for Marika’s character as to why she shattered the Elden Ring. There was no ultimate plan or 4d game of chess, it was never that. She shattered the Elden Ring out of sheer wrath. The very thing she built to prevent losing anyone ever again, failed to stop the death of her favorite son. The shattering of the Elden Ring was Marika finally surrendering herself to the cruelty of the world, for attaining the status of a god and establishing the largest spanning empire the Lands Between has ever seen could not stop the death of her kin.

[@asura7915]

yep it makes sense, her entire village died so when she gained the power of a god she removed death from the world so she never loses anyone again

[@rayafk8502]

@@asura7915and yet she still did…

[@benedictjajo]

And her son inherited her nativity and cranked it up to eleven. Malenia and Godfrey deserve a better family.

[@psychoticbreaks167justletm4]

Arguably, the most prevailing theme underscoring all of these titles, is the inevitability of loss, and the coping.

[@fenixchief7]

​​@@benedictjajo naivety? Also, if that was what you meant, Godfrey and Melania were even more naive considering they were just dogs of war for Marika and Miquella

[@fleetwooodzach]

babe wake up, Gingy just uploaded a new retrospective

[@DRENIC10]

Dude you don't know how many times I've seen the dark souls trilogy retrospective that he uploaded

[@a.trance6997]

@@DRENIC10 ahh my go-to sleep video aside from Mandalore's druids.

[@Kageravager]

What a minute. I'm not dating currently, so who's this stranger drinking all of the good alcohol in my fridge and cabinets??

[@carterj.184]

Damn came here to say this, beat me to it

[@HeyGuy4321]

Weird dude your with

[@goonstier4761]

well got something to keep me occupied for the next 2 hours, thank you Gingy

[@joshp.1682]

"The fallen leaves, tell a story...." Been waiting for this one Gingy. Thank you and excellent analysis as always.

[@jameswest6232]

It's interesting how Ranni and Miquella parallel and contrast each other. Both see the damage their mother caused and want to establish an order that fixes the land, however, they have radically different approaches. Ranni essentially seeks free will and to do away with the influence of the gods that wrecked the place to begin with. Miquella basically wants to brainwash everyone into following his 'compassion' while treading a lot of the same ground Marika did to become the monster she was. It's even interesting looking at the collateral damage the two caused. Ranni was a major player in the Night of Black Knives, kicking off the war and killing someone who by all accounts was as far from deserving of their fate as possible. Meanwhile, because of Miquella, Caelid was nuked beyond repair and his ties to Mohg bring into question how responsible the twerp might be for blood-soaked actions of the latter's dynasty. There is, in typical FS fashion, tons of ambiguity in both cases. Marika is heavily implied to have been involved in Godwyn's murder as well nor is it ever explained WHY Godwyn specifically was picked for sacrifice to begin with. Was Malenia's actions and unleashing the Scarlet Rot fully her own or was she charmed by her own brother to some extent? How much did Miquella's influence lead to radicalizing Mohg's camp into the band of serial killers we see in the base game?

[@oldstarouijaboard42]

Miquella also wants no interference from the gods that's why he made the unalloyed gold

[@zora508]

Can you explain to me what part ranni played in the shattering wars? I'm pretty sure she only offed godwyn and the rest was in marika and the other demigods hands no?

[@AhmedOmar-ul6wc]

i don't think miquella has any hands in mohg's and his followers to be this extreme I think miquella only charmed mohg to be obsessed with miquella

[@AhmedOmar-ul6wc]

@@zora508 there is theory that death of godwyn is what pushed marika to shatter the elden ring

[@joshuakim5240]

Another thing to account for is that, according to Melina, Marika herself outright instructed her children to war against each other so The Shattering in its entirety was adhering to Marika's wishes. It seems that she intended for the Golden Order to weaken itself via the massive amount of infighting she ordained to happen which would allow for Godfrey's returning Tarnished to take over, except Godwyn was the equivalent of a Gary Stu with perfect power and charisma who would end The Shattering in maybe a year tops via uniting everyone together while being strong enough to defeat any who defied him. So Godwyn had to go. However, the way Godwyn was offed seemed to have gone horribly wrong and nowhere near what Marika intended due to Ranni's meddling in the assassination process. It's also possible that Marika broke the Elden Ring specifically because of the unintended process of Godwyn's death, and maybe wasn't originally going to break it but Godwyn becoming a soulless fish zombie thing pushed her over the edge. After all, she did everything she could to make a world where those she cared for wouldn't become mutilated flesh monsters...only for that to happen to Godwyn at her behest.

[@MrRenanHappy]

Radagon is a God, because he is Marika. That is why Rykard, Ranni and Radahn are demigods. It wasnt simply a title to be given. You even say the description that says that Malenia and Miquella are born of a SINGLE god, meaning Radagon and Marika. Ranni and her brothers were born from both a god and a woman, Radagon/Marika with Renalla.

[@Kris-wo4pj]

Yup tho still dont get how out of like 9-10 kids only 2 could actually become full gods while the rest could only become consorts or followers to said possible gods. Even those that served other outer world gods could only be servents.

[@kaingates]

​@Kris-wo4pj Malenia was an Empyrean, too. She would've brought the age of rot. You actually kill her I'm god-mode in phase 2 meaning you've killed 3 gods in ER. Ranni is tye only Empyrean you can't fight

[@maxb2244]

@@Kris-wo4pj All three empyreans we are told about have the ability to give birth. Melania and Ranni by virtue of being women, and Miquella with his ability to conjure St Trina (the same way Marika can conjure a separate body for Radagon). That seems to be the only defining link between why they were chosen.

[@b1bbscraz3y]

the girl at 45:55 in the green dress looks like Helaena from House of the Dragon

[@drunkinmcirish23]

@@kaingatesMetyr is the second most important being in the greater wills scheme Metyr much like the Elden beast was a messenger of the greater will meaning if you kill Her you’ve killed another God if the Elden beast is a god Metyr 100% is a god she literally holds and summons microcosms

[@KaiHarizor]

Holy smokes! I can stop falling asleep to the Dark Souls video!!! It will be second in the sleep playlist for the 6 times a night I wake up.

[@SilentGameplay1]

Been waiting for this forever can’t even lie, it’s like waiting for your fav movie series to drop the next installment

[@namenlossterbliche6239]

37:15 I've always assumed that these walls are not to keep someone in or out, the are to stop\halt the scarlet rot itself, so that it does not spread through the land. "Even today, the survivors of Radahn's battalion employ fire to stave off the scarlet rot." With the wall being all fiery, I think it makes sense

[@HeyHeyHayden]

In case you didn't notice Gingy: The Elden beast has a roots-like tail, which looks extremely similar to the depiction of the Elden Ring in Maliketh's arena. This just further reinforces that the Elden Beast IS the Elden Ring, although you obviously covered that.

[@theroguerider]

What I found disappointing was that Midra didn’t recognize the frenzied flame within my character. Imagine that he changes his motivations once you walk into his Manse. Instead of telling you to leave and never come back and instead enticing you to come in so he can take the flame from you. I dunno, I just wish something happened that noted your earlier choice.

[@mariaasombrada3964]

Guess I know my plans for Friday night...

[@carlsoll]

1:12:21

[@Romapolitan]

I find it really great that you understand that there are multiple reasons why someone would choose certain endings, while also acknowledging that some of these endings are very much not positive. I see way to many people sell certain endings as unquestionably good. When the greyish morality always has been a big point of Fromsoft games. Would be great if you also did Armored Core. While it would be pretty hard to play all the old titles, Armored Core 6 is a great stand alone title

[@lucasschmidt9621]

This is why you are one of my all time favorite KZbin channels, I’ve been waiting for this one

[@itsliqs]

This video is incredible. You covered so much while still explaining everything thoroughly and in a way that's easy to understand, which is not easy to do with Elden Ring's lore. FANTASTIC job!

[@60gritphil66]

the quiet and subtle theme that plays when you enter the shaman village had me teary eyed when i first found it. and now after knowing the lore to it i cant help but feel that same emotion every time i hear it. in my mind just slowly galloping through it makes me think this is the only ever peace the tarnished will ever obtain, even though where there is peace lies only tragedy and loss remain.

[@Lukaphono]

Been waiting for this 🙏

[@Clipsdawg]

I like that you mentioned marika guiding us, I beleive that among the others like melina and hewg, marika is one of the few true 'friends' we as a tarnished have in the lands between, and in the dlc leda also makes a comment about how we were guided there by grace and not by miquella.

[@Jinxyoutoheaven]

Marika is not our friend. only Torrent, Melina, and Ranni if you side with her. Marika is a scheming manipulator that use her own husbands and discards them when needed. Same with her children and same with us. We really were a nobody. She just wanted radagon not to win simple. No matter which path we took we must always kill Radagon. No matter the ending he dies and she wins in the end. She is easily the best character in my opinion in the entire game and she never spoke to us.

[@brackmibbleton1631]

Fun fact you can see your maiden dead in the first room of the chapel of anticipation.

[@Idontevenknowman779]

How do we know its OUR Maiden?

[@yourdad5799]

​@@Idontevenknowman779 Whose is it then?

[@Kirisapostle12]

​@@yourdad5799 could be anyone's, Maidens die all the time, you even get a Maiden puppet, there is another dead in the church later down the line

[@chancebiggs4044]

If you go through the portal back to the chapel of anticipation there is a prompt by her that confirms she is our maiden

[@someone4370]

What prompt are you referring to?

[@ohsnapdds8494]

I can only imagine how much work goes into these lore videos. I can't get enough of them, keep'em coming!

[@Valyrael]

chatgpt helps im sure.

[@Alexander-lu2vh]

@@Valyrael it may help with the structure of the video and connecting lore, but i dont think chatgpt has access to the lore of elden ring since the lore is build upon item descriptions and other hidden things

[@Valyrael]

@@Alexander-lu2vh chatgpt has access to wikis and people talking about the lore and making lore theories. Ask chatgpt something about lore.

[@youtubeenjoyer1743]

@@Valyrael You can tell the Elden Ring lore was developed with chatgpt as well. It's a joke, and the DLC is the final spit in the face.

[@10million-on-X]

@@youtubeenjoyer1743 Chat GPT has been around for 2 years and this game has been developed over many years what are u smoking

[@Murakami2077]

The theory Marika shattered the Elden Ring after becoming crestfallen because Godwyn's death makes sense, but at the same time ignores some other clear parts of the lore. As it was mentioned before, Marika made plans not only for the Long March, but also for the future return of the Tarnished, welded into even more powerful warriors after the trials offered from places outside the Lands Between, so they could claim the title of Elden Lord again. Also, she tasked Hewg to create a weapon capable of slaying a God, meaning she had plans to kill the Elden Beast. Granted, this last part could have been done after she shattered the Elden Ring or briefly before. There's the weird relationship between Marika and the Black Knife Assassins as well, being all Numen and one even being right outside Marika's bedchamber. That suggests she might've had something to do in the planning of Godwyn's death. Complementing this, there's Maliketh's remembrance, who states that, even when all Marika used him for was a vessel to the Rune of Death, she betrayed him. Betrayal that, being stealing the Rune of Death from Maliketh and putting him in this state of shredding guilt. As another example, there's also Melina herself, who was tasked by Marika "long ago" to be the kindling to the flame that would burn the Erdtree, meaning it was something Marika envisioned some time in the past.

[@User-xw6kd]

Honestly.. there's a possibility that everything that happens in the game is a part of Marikas plan. An Elden Ring 2 would be pretty epic.

[@hylianxbox6586]

To me it's clear radhan didn't agree to the deal with miquella and this is shown just how much he fought to not die and it's only because of us why miquella planned work. I love elden ring and great video

[@Oknahidwin]

He did agree to the deal with miquella. Canonically. That's why there's a cutscene showing that the vow had conditions for both of them. That's why he's called the " promised" consort. Not the chosen consort. That's why malenia whispers to him " miquella awaits thee oh promised consort". That's why Redmane freyja fights against us even after the charm is broken and also states the vow was mutual. That is why radhan himself fights us after the charm was broken. The vow was completely mutual. Radhan wanted an honorable death. That was part of miquellas part of the vow to give him that. He just didn't expect his great rune to protect him. Which is why jerren wants to give him an honorable death that bad. Idk why you think it wasn't mutual even with ALL this proof. It makes no sense for radhan to be against miquellas plan when miquella gives him the 1 thing he always dreamed about. Being elden lord

[@Jinxyoutoheaven]

@@Oknahidwin hmmm I can see op point of view because Rahdan at the divine gate fight has not spoken a single word during our fight which is rather odd to me. Nor was he even shown in the cutscene. However I do agree with you. Malainia did remind him of the promise, and Freyja must have known of it otherwise she would have been against Miquella once the bewitchment was released. Plus like you said his name was not “chosen” consort lol.

[@joshitheidiot7676]

I haven't anticipated a video this much in ages. Finally we have been blessed :)

[@MrLemonhead333]

Great video and as a Renalla stan I loved your description of her 😭😭

[@alduin3208]

Genuinely thank you gingy, i struggle to get through my night shifts and you always make it easier

[@battlespartn311]

8:20 Gingy giving shoutouts to our ancestors is pure primordial gold

[@zwashere444]

That was a clean jump bro 49:51

[@billgamingop8486]

I just watched a 2 hour YT vid on a game’s lore in one sitting. If tht doesn’t show how well of a story teller you are idk what will. Fantastic work👏🏾👏🏾

[@graygoldman9655]

This is by far the greatest game I’ve ever played

[@HeyTarnished]

OMG me too, best game ever❤🎉

[@LuM4rex]

play more

[@HeyTarnished]

@@LuM4rex "I see opinion I disagree with, I say "Play more"" Absolute Neanderthal retort.

[@LuM4rex]

@@HeyTarnished And blind fanaticism from a mainstream game, where the community is like jackals ready to “gnaw at throats” for any criticism of their favorite game, is not “Neanderthal retort”

[@HeyTarnished]

@@LuM4rex Oh so basing someone else’s opinion legitimacy on how much mainstream a game is or how bad/good its fanbase is? I thought you had something to come back with & you gave me even less reason to take you seriously. 😭 Me or someone else saying it’s their favorite game doesn’t mean it’s a bad opinion, I’m sure you have your favorite game, not going to deride you for that lol.

[@wideface344]

Amazing work. This video is so well put together and I love how you formatted the narrative so it follows the progression of the gameplay as well. Another banger 🔥

[@Excruciate.]

This man is the future of video game lore videos

[@GRAVYBEATS]

I was waiting for this one 🔥

[@flaminghotcheetos]

Never been so early but stoked to watch through this Keep up the great work man

[@Idontevenknowman779]

I never noticed Godfreys guidance pointing to the player character. That adds so much context to this game

[@graysenm1320]

Dude I can't wait to watch. Thank you for the hard work.

[@WaWestie]

Two notable things that occured to me recently. If the shamans that Marika were apart of could have people fused together, Radagon may have been fused to her early on in life, then she went on to have Messmer and Melina. I saw a video before the DLC dropped stating the thing Marika pulls golden threads from may have been the eye of a snake, maybe both of her first children were cursed with serpents. If Melina is the gloam-eyed queen, a snake cursing her wouldn't be out of the question and with the godskins having serpentine features. Marika starting the golden order with her defeat at the hands of Malekith could also explain why she's a spirit throughout the game.

[@garbageprince]

I think that Marika did pull the threads from a snake and that snake was the GEQ. I think Melina and messmer are the children of Radagon and the GEQ (no item ever says they're the children of Marika). Messmer even looks like the Godskin nobles (under all that gross skin of course 😅). Those nobles even have snake tails! The trailer mentions her seduction and betrayal which is basically what they did to Rennala and I don't think it was the first time they pulled this trick. You should check out the video Kitetales put out yesterday. Blew my mind. I was always a "Melina is GEQ" person but this finally changed my mind 💖🔥

[@WaWestie]

@@garbageprince will be sure to check it out, cheers for the different perspective.

[@darellinares3956]

Don’t both Messmer and Melina state that Marika is their mother? (Messmer says it straight up, and Melina says her mother is inside the Erdtree)

[@SweetDaddo2.0]

@@darellinares3956 Within the game data it is stated that Melina is Marika's Daughter. This is it's most primordial form of evidence for the fact that Melina is Marika's daughter. We also have butterflies within the game. Pyre is Messmer, Smoldering is Melina, Nascent is Miquella, and Aeonia is Malenia. If you read the description of Smoldering, then you'll see it closely ties to Melina's character. This also explains their very basic name scheme. Description of Smoldering Butterfly, "An eternally burning butterfly found near wildfires and elsewhere. Material used for crafting items. Serves as the kindling for a number of items." The butterflies have always been known to be closely tied to children of Marika and more specifically children of Radagon and Marika. Considering that Marika had not met Godfrey pre-land of shadow then she most likely conceived her children with her counterpart Radagon.

[@SweetDaddo2.0]

​@@garbageprince Wow the ability to spread misinformation online is impressive! Anyways let's talk about it. Messmer during his 2nd phase stage plucks out his eye and crushes it. We realize it's not an eye but rather it's a fake eye filled with what seems like grace and contains the literal image that we see on Marika's sore seal (weird looking cross thing she's nailed to in base game). He looks toward a statue that resembles many statues throughout the DLC and states clearly and loudly for us, "O mother, forgive me". The statue clearly represents Marika as throughout the land they're all broken down except this one, mind you the reasoning is obvious considering Marika pulls the rug under everyone in the land of shadows so many of her statues have been destroyed. Makes sense only the child of Marika would still keep a pristine statue of his own mother while everyone else has abandoned hope. In fact, this explains why he states for his mother, Marika, to forgive him. The seal placed within his eye was meant to hold back the Serpent and him crushing it allowed it to fully release itself. I mean seriously it's just the most basic dialogue they gave us explains fully what is happening before us. Before you say, "how do we know the statue is Marika?". The women on the statue quite literally has braids. No offense but that's one of the main physical features of Marika. The game even embodies that by giving us a part of her Golden Braid as a talisman. Quick tangent, I find it funny how Miquella is so insistent on following the path of Marika to the absolute finest detail even fully committing to braids. No other demi-god or offspring has braids yet Miquella seems insistent to not only grow his hair long but also braid it. Similar to Marika. Tangent over. For the other things you've said I have no care for, but I simply wanted to deny and quickly adjust the misinformation you accidentally or ignorantly were spreading. I don't blame you but you have to be careful. Just because you don't know doesn't mean it isn't true. You simply have not looked into the details fully yet and are clearly missing the clear story notes that the game has fed to us. Mind you that Messmer, Melina, Miquella. and Malenia all have their respective butterfly in the game. Black Pyre, Smoldering, Nascent, and Aeonia. They also all share the naming scheme of M. I don't believe it's going to be more obvious and at some point I simply acknowledge you aren't allowing yourself to be immersed in the world created, but you are more insistent on creating your own world. A grafting of the lore for your own desire. Ironic really. Oh and another thing. GEQ is an Empyrean. All known Empyreans are demigods with exception of Marika. Ranni, Miquella, Malenia, and GEQ are the Empryreans. Now tell me why is it so suspicious all of them are children of Marika/Radagon... I mean GEQ can't be one of their offspring! I mean she's just some random person they needed to insert! Isn't it weird how Melina has such close ties to the Erdtree. Isn't it weird how she's burned and bodiless? Isn't it weird how the rune of death was taken from the GEQ and has been known to affect both the soul and body (separately applicable in some cases)? Isn't it REALLY WEIRD HOW THE BEAST EYE IS DESCRIBED AS MURKEY VIOLET IRIS AND WITHIN THE FRENZIED FLAME ENDING WE LITERALLY SEE MELINA OPEN HER CLOSED EYE AND IT REVEALS A VIOLET SPECTRUM COLOR? WEIRD RIGHT? Isn't it REALLY WEIRD HOW MALIKETH HAS THIS EYE AND IT CAN DETECT DEATHROOT WHICH BASICALLY CONTAINS ESSENCE OF THE RUNE OF DEATH. Melina shows up with one violet Eye only and we don't think that's weird at all? Mind you that Gloam does not mean purple/violet but it's clearly used as a way to describe the eye. Considering all of these notions if you can't piece together the fact that Maliketh has a very specifically colored eye, then I have no words left to state. The game writes itself, but you're spending too much time writing for it. Another fun little fact about Melina is she shares a strikingly similar move set to Black Knives (numen who are related to Marika). Even her Ash of War looks almost exactly like the Black Knives. " EVEN ANOTHER FUN FACT. Both Melina and Messmer have close ties to flame. GEQ is also closely tied to Black Flame. Messmer of course already showing his own Flame. Melina flame isn't really shown beyond the Golden Flame from her Ash of War. Interestingly if I'm wrong about Melina being GEQ, regardless, the flame more likely than not refers to the flame that would end up burning the Erdtree which is Melina's purpose as kindling but it's funny how close of a tie to flame she has. Weird! That both Messmer and his sister would end up as Kindling in some way to burn down something related to a tree... weird! Oh also if you're still curious all offsprings share a naming Scheme. Radagon + Renalla = Ranni, Rykard, and Rahdan. Marika + Godfrey = Godwyn, Mohg, and Morgott. -Goldfrey and Godrick continue it as well of course. Marika + Radagon = Melina, Messmer, Miquella, and Malenia. Here are sources you can check out. -Messmer's Kindling -"Messmer, much like his younger sister, bore a vision of fire." -Blade of Calling (Melina's Weapon) -"Dagger given to one who set out on a journey to fulfill her duty long ago. The power of its former owner, the kindling maiden, is still apparent. The one who walks alongside flame, Shall one day meet the road of Destined Death." -Smoldering Butterfly (represents Melina) -"Serves as the kindling for a number of items." -Black Pyre -"Flies in war-torn lands that have been scoured by Messmer's flame."

[@Shin-fj9pb]

you don’t know how long I have waited for this

[@watchingyoutube_]

Could you tell us? Could you tell us how long you've waited for this? I must know.

[@User-xw6kd]

Bro is glazing. (I'm kidding)

[@corvus4600]

This going to be a good weekend. Thanks, Gingy!

[@ghostyt3502]

GINGY HAS DONE IT AGAIN 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@berryven]

I keep replaying the DS trilogy one, this one is a real treat. Thank you

[@The_JpD_Show]

Perfect timing got a big work project to get started in and this will get me through

[@BreezyBroly]

Thank you so much, Gingy, for the video. I've been having a long week of work, and I've been waiting for a video like this again. Keep up the good work, I love your videos.

[@horrorspidey7033]

Thank you, been waiting for this

[@hughemungus5237]

Ah yes the last 2 and a half hours of my shift will no longer be miserable

[@SICK_O]

Thanks Gingy. I've watched many Elden Ring lore videos over the last two years, including those from that one very specialist From Soft lore master with the dreamy voice, but even he has been unable to articulate the who, when, where, how, why of this high fantasy with sufficient brevity that a slow f*ck like myself was actually able to appreciate all the integral narrative details and causality that I missed after three playthroughs. Elden Ring's sprawling tragedies, subplots, cultures, crimes, and histories is a gift that continues to wither my memory of Amazon's Rings of Power lol, and subsequently of Lord of the Rings being THE go-to 'most influential fantasy worth thinking about'. And now I am content that my understanding has become a little deeper (without me needing a PhD in Miyazaki - 'cause we all know where G.R.R.Martin's contributions ended) . I hope you make a video about Remedy's impending connected universe. ❤

[@Gingy]

@@SICK_O Thanks! Glad to hear you enjoyed the video :) Regarding Remedy I suspect their next title whether sequel or new entry will be apart of the universe so I’ll probably make a video talking about the connected universe when that game releases. Whatever that ends up being.

[@a.trance6997]

the classic battle axe lore discussion build lol.

[@doggocapitano]

Damn, I'm so greatful. Got a new gingy lore video to fall asleep to. Thank you so much dude!

[@THETYMEKK12]

Absolutely amazing! One of the best, most cohesive and well written videos. And it also matches the online consensus, making it one of the most reliable sources of Elden Ring lore. Stellar job!

[@wasaliveonce8990]

Always a good day when a Gingy video drops 🤙🏼 been waiting on this

[@mattbelusa2022]

Miquella was not cursed with eternal youth, he was cursed with eternal nacense, or potential. This, to me, means that Miquella can never complete something he starts. He couldn't save his sister, he couldn't revive Godwyn, and he couldn't usher in his Age of Compassion. Miquella is cursed to never realize is potential.

[@teakay1412]

That makes sense. Took me four essays to realize that fact.

[@Tokiomy]

Unintentionaly you created the best lore video ever!

[@titaniumteddybear]

Ok, don't freak out. But there are multiple points where this lore is slightly wrong. For example, Maliketh only put the Rune of Death in his body after Godwyn was killed. Before that it was just in the form of his sword, which is how Ranni stole part of it to kill Godwyn. It was after the murder that Maliketh bound Destined Death (i.e. his cool black sword) inside his own body, so that pieces of it could never be stolen again. Also, the Ancient Dragons' attack on Leyendell occurred many years after someone (probably Godfrey) took the Elden Ring from Placidusax. So Marika definitely struck first, because that's the only way she could have gotten the Elden Ring. But I'm actually not trying to criticise the video because these are all incredibly fine points. And you're still very accurate in your lore: far more accurate than most. You've clearly put in the hours. I think this video is going to be a huge benefit to a lot of players who don't have time to watch every SmoughTown video and don't really care about the minutiae. And I enjoyed watching it too.

[@WAR3600]

Where do you got that information about Marika taking the Elden Ring from the dragons?

[@apolloisnotashirt]

how to pronounce minutiae

[@apolloisnotashirt]

@@WAR3600I also disagree with the part Godfrey took the elden ring from the first God. My theory for this was, The Nox who are related to Marika, experimented on creating artificial life. So much of them exist even till now, one example are the Dragonkin... and Bayle. The Nox sent Bayle in a full frontal assault towards Placidusax to scare off his God leaving the Elden Ring but likely taking with her the rune of Death. Additionally, the falling star that destroyed Farum Azula could have been the Elden Beast himself taking with him the old Elden Ring or breaking it to replace it. And when Marika stood atop the Divine Gate presenting Gold and Order is when the Elden Beast introduced itself and roared at her.

[@LAK_770]

Sorry dude but this comment doesn't correct anything from the video, it actually has a few clear misconceptions. We have no evidence that anyone took the Elden Ring from the Ancient Dragons. We just know that their God "fled", which would have severed their connection to the Ring, and this could have happened long before Marika ascended. We certainly have zero reason to believe Godfrey himself went and stole the ER from the Dragons. Marika 'striking first' is not the only way she could have gotten the ER - this assumption just doesn't have any basis and it seems like you're basing further conclusions on this. Also, Maliketh definitely did not bind Destined Death after the murder of Godwyn, he bound it after defeating the Gloam Eyed Queen - the sealing of the Rune is what created the Golden Order, we're told this explicitly. Godwyn was killed a long time after Destined Death was sealed and the Golden Order was established, this is very clear.

[@Tkyoking]

⁠​⁠@@apolloisnotashirtthe ruins greatsword is said to be made from the ruins of a city in the sky and the meteorite that struck the city gave the sword its power so it’s more than likely a astel type creature that destroyed farum azula

[@slothknight47]

"And they wear the horns of their dead brethr-" Domino's now has free pizza when you order online!

[@theleaningaxehd]

Something to keep me sane at work for the next couple hours, thanks Gingy

[@watchingyoutube_]

I played this before bed at .75x speed to help me sleep. Ended up having a wet dream instead, thanks Gingy 😔

[@zanman3552]

Does anyone know what happened to his Wukong video?

[@rachaelthorne5201]

same here, was watching the video and it turned private

[@gruggyo]

@@rachaelthorne5201same here, must had been a error or something

[@RidenX]

Same, was about to keep watching and now its gone

[@ZeroTwo-cr8rj]

was literally a few seconds into the video and out of nowhere it was reloaded and then private😭

[@liammoylan5968]

i really appreciate how succinct the video is written. only watched the first 25 mins and i love how evocative and straightforward is. this story is pretty machiavellian and can be very hard to follow, but actually having everything layed out is pretty insightful.

[@DashXero]

If Loyalty were Radagon's primary attribute, he either wouldn't have married Renalla in the first place, or wouldn't have gone back to Marika.

[@lucasbatista9197]

loyalt to the greater will, meaning he would do anything to protect the golden order, even marry his enemy.

[@Meese12]

He married Rennala to end the war between the Golden Order and Caria and Miriel (turtle pope) says "when Godfrey, first Elden Lord, was hounded from the Lands Between, Radagon left Rennala to return to the Erdtree Capital", implying that Marika was married to Godfrey the entire time Radagon was with Rennala. Sounds like a political marriage that was cut off as soon as Marika needed a lord.

[@Warrior-Of-Virtue]

I would love to hear more details behind that story. Maybe he had no choice in the matter and Marika basically sent a message saying, "I need a new husband. You're it. Get here ASAP."

[@lukasdewulf]

I have seen so many lore videos and none of them are as clear as this one! I love your videos man!

[@928kkkk5]

12:46 is a solid reason to go gay

[@leosinhoreto]

good lord what a ride, during this video i had all my questions answered, and i can tell now, that the love that i had for the game before watching just grew a lot, thank you, gingy for this amazing experience and i hope that you continue with your awesome work

[@iiizaiii9107]

Where did the wukong vid go?

[@solarianvoid-pi9428]

1:42:54 “it’s gonna make some waves on AO3”, bro I dropped my phone 😂 Always great to be acknowledged for being a freak 😊 But tbh I have watched your original Eldenring video thrice and I’m still confused because the names are so similar 😅

[@alexthewolf767]

In my opinion, with my character in my theory of our character being the same regardless of the game. (Except Sekiro of course) My character went with the flame of frenzy because he was tired and fed up with being a hero and saving the world, only to lose people he cares about along the way in doing it. In his eyes, the world should burn into nothing and suffer the same pain he went through time and time again, from the very start in Demon's Souls to Elden Ring. It should all burn because of his own suffering; it isn't nihilistic but some form of twisted justice to whatever entity gave him an immortal soul back in Demon's Souls and had him going to these different worlds. In demon souls, he succumbed to the lure of souls like a demon does, dark souls 1 he walked away from the flame because of his shame from demon souls. Dark Souls 2 he sat on the throne in hopes to cleanse his sin, in 3 he ends the age and hopes to die properly, Bloodborne he accepts being killed by Gehrman and hopes to live a proper life, after being through all of these games, meeting and seeing all those characters fates and outcomes. By Elden ring's time and end, he is done with it all. May chaos take the world indeed.

[@maumau9884]

This is very interesting to think about!

[@AshuraTerumi]

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOO, another one of his videos im gonna watch over and over again for background noise and relaxation

[@EJaDav]

I swear Gingy always chooses one character in these breakdowns to purposely mispronounce the name of despite the game itself telling you how to pronounce it correctly 😂

[@viciouscoach]

Our Lord and saviour Gingy back with another W retrospective

[@rhymenoceros3303]

The story and lore of this game is so deep and rich that even though I know Fromsoft doesn't like to make sequels, I would be 100% on board for an Elden Ring 2. There's just a lot of stuff for them that they could still explore or heck just add new stuff that changes our perspective of the original game much like the DLC did. Regardless of what they do decide to make in the future, I eagerly await Fromsofts next work.

[@Vengeance_I_m]

Imagine Elden Ring movie saga, just like Lord of the Rings. Probably would be the next best thing in cinema, considering just how rich and beautiful the story, world building and characters are

[@Valyrael]

@@Vengeance_I_m lord of the rings is based on a much more detailed story in the books. This on other hand has very little details, you actually have no clue about characters and think that fans interpretation has enough substance. You guys need to actually read a proper story sometime in your life.

[@LeafyLau]

Just watched the Elden Ring story explained video and then you dropped this nuke! Much appreciated!

[@Sidorio]

There's a few subjective things I disagree with in this video, and there's a few statements that are just flat out wrong, such as stating that Mohgwyn palace is in the western field of the Consecrated Snow Fields; though a gateway to the palace can be found in that location, the palace itself is underground in the Siofra River opposite Nokron which much further south on the map. Or calling Miquella's cocoon an egg (the site of grace in front of it is literally named Cocoon of the Empyrean). It's hard to fact check a game as large and as dense as Elden Ring, especially when so much of Fromsoft's lore is obscure or hard to find, but I thought it important to point out that this video doesn't just have the subjective opinions of the author, but also has objective inaccuracies that I assume are the result of paraphrasing during script writing. With the above disclaimer I'd say this video does present itself as a really good lore primer for someone that has never played the game, and as someone familiar with the game I did still enjoy watching it and listening to Gingy. 7/10 Edit: reduced cringe to appease auburnstreyer2843

[@auburnstreyer2843]

None of this matters. This is a fictional game. Calling yourself a veteran of Elden Ring and rating a video essay is cringy. You need to go outside or something.

[@Sidorio]

@@auburnstreyer2843 Hmm yeah the vet thing was a little cringe in hindsight, I'll remove that. I don't think critiquing an opinion piece by pointing out how accurate it is though? Or leaving a score? It's a perfectly valid form of feedback. Like if I replied to someone else's comment and called them cringe, for example.

[@corvuscallosum5079]

I don't know that the cocoon/egg distinction is terribly important. Even if you contend that there is specific meaning in it being a cocoon rather than an egg (which I don't currently see), the word egg is commonly used to refer to the shape.

[@NightWolf4223]

Oh shit been waiting for this video 😊 also love that gingy stuck with the ax😂

[@BakesKamuari]

what happened to wukong

[@guilhermealmeida1150]

He had posted a wukong video earlier but deleted it to add more to it, he recently uploaded another one

[@Tulleku]

Another banger of a video. Gonna rewatch this an absurdly amount of times

[@heibk-2019]

I wish people would actually analyze the lore when they call a video "analysis" and not just tell what happens in the story....what are the themes of the story, what does the director want to tell us, what does this story mean for us in real life...

[@outlawsuperstar8888]

YES!! Been waiting 2 years for this.

[@Causeofthe2032gasincident]

Hey gingy, I’m pretty sure Godfrey was exiled because he intervened with Marika’s plan to de-horn Mohg and Morgott which would likely kill them. And Godfrey being the not omen hating dad that he is did not want to see his children die

[@corvuscallosum5079]

Were they slated for de-horning? I thought that royal omens were "only" confined to the shunning grounds. Is there any direct evidence for this connection you propose? Regardless it seems clear that Marika had plans for the future of Godfrey and his Tarnished.

[@Romapolitan]

Yeah no, that is never stated anywhere and is extremly unlikely since royals do not get dehorned. It also would not be a good enough reason to exile him. But we do know he became tarnished. And we do know that Marika planned him coming back in advance. So it's even more unlikely. I have no idea where you have that from but it sounds like bad fannon

[@captainlovebug]

YASSSSSSSSS. I can't wait to watch this after work. I am in LOVE with your dark souls story recap. This is gonna be good.

[@zsolti357]

Even after watching this video.... I still don't get it...

[@dragonknight6972]

That's from soft games in a nutshell

[@WildSenpai]

U must use the staff with lowest intelligence requirement

[@TATERplaysGAMES]

Watched the DLC video earlier today, thinking 'damn I can't wait for that full video.' not at all expecting it to come out now. 🤣 Hell yeah gingy. 🤘

[@gato313]

The lore seemed great in the base game but in the DLC instead of closing loops on the existing lore they just made the story a million times more convoluted. To me, the “story” just seems silly with the addition of what we learned from the DLC.

[@Dumbguy-w7i]

We have all been waiting for this

[@jovan9989]

We need a new word for masterpiece also DLC was a massive disappointment from a narrative and quest design point. Character questlines tied to miquella are so short and predictable and St. Trina was teadious and wasted. And the ending was obviously horrible. Only actually good questline was Ymirs and it tied nicely with the Goldmask quest from the base game. I guess the Igons questline was pretty cool as well. But the main "fellowship" ones were awful and nowadays i expect more from Fromsoftware. You can still keep the sense of mistery and ambiguity and all the esoteric themes and talking while still fleshing out the characters in the game. It seems to me that they have failed to evolve in that aspect in past 13 years.

[@Schattenkatze]

Thank you for your hard work and for the AO3 mention!! 😄

[@justsomeguywithlonghair6595]

Great analysis, new subscriber

[@Christian-o8t9n]

4:35 For my first act as Elden Lord, I shall remove the rune of gravity! So that we may all gain the power of flight! *removes rune* Oh sh**! On second thought, I shall instead severely Weaken the rune of gravity! So that we may jump high and make our loads more bearable!

[@themaniac8596]

Thx for the awesome Video my man, been looking forward to it!

[@Hayantix]

Well, time to spend my evening away! Thank you Gingy 👍🏻

[@bobtheninjafrog]

I’m ngl out of all your videos this one is probably my favorite

[@barunmajumdar679]

I like how Ranni tries to run away from from the golden order and the fingers and stuff but the greater wills influence is ingrained into her very fate she is an empyrean who will bring about new age as its god so even if Ranni thinks she's free she did as she thinks she discarded every related to the golden order her flesh her fingers and even her shadow but as long it controls her fate she's never truly free

[@LethalEagleSW]

Amazing job man🤝

[@eternity303.]

im rebinging every single gingy video im addicted to gingy like cocaine

[@RurouniiJay]

Another 2 and a half hour video? Yes a tremendous project for me to watch throughout the day multiple meals and going to sleep

[@epicfail9271]

A new Gingy video in time for me to start my work week? Yesssss

[@wezeyman4654]

You make amazing content keep up the Fantastic work and I am totally joining that patreon.

[@Zeyadinho11]

So you wished for Honda Accord? Great video and nice work!!

[@joshuafreeman3745]

Saw one of these in person yesterday and I can't exadurate how pristine and quite literally perfect it was. I searched my absolute hardest and couldn't find a single cut corner in the production. Incredible

[@DirtyBobBojangles]

Can't even spell exaggerate

[@SergioMendoza760]

I’m actually glad for this video explaining all the story and its details. Main reason being is that this game is so big I would never be able to find all the lore myself and piece it together because that’s just not how I play/enjoy Elden ring. All the other souls games are much more compact so it’s easier to get all the lore from just playing the game, but Elden ring has more optional content then all previous souls games combined so it’s not exactly the same task getting all the lore from the various weapons, armor and key items in elden ring compared to like bloodborne which is kinda just a straight shot from beginning to end.

[@lifeon2wheels86]

I thank you for the time effort and dedication to making this video man