Miquella Has Always Been The True Villain Of Elden Ring - Elden Ring DLC Lore Theory

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Edit edit: I feel so embarrassed.. I have about 200gb of elden ring footage ranging back two years, at around the two minute mark I made a point about the bombers in the hailgtree having purple mist around their heads, turns out the clip I was thinking of was one of me two years ago getting better footage of the effects of the bewitching branch, it was never my intention to deceive or lie and I am very sorry. I do want to mention it is still heavily implied that they are bewitched from their manic devotion but the bewitching mist part was a mistake on my part again, I am very sorry Edit: I made such a silly mistake I said Leonard (Radahns horse) wrong, super sorry everyone!! Hey everyone! I really hope you do enjoy the video! If you do please consider leaving a like and subscribe as it greatly helps the channel! I'll link the original video from a year and a half ago here in case you want to give it a check, but please beware the audio is screwed to hell and back! kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZK7kqyjbcucqJo Don't you dare go hollow! The discord for the channel: discord.gg/xv8t5bFSzd

[@ravoniesravenshir3926]

If you look over ALL the lore, there is nothing about Radahn replying to Miquella... AT ALL.

[@marystone860]

ALSO, I have something else, you know the music that they used for Miquella in the DLC Trailers, I CALLED IT AGAIN, it's his Boss Theme in his Second Phase! JUST like in the Main Game, I didn't see the trailers for it, but, the Theme in the Main Menu, SAME as Radagon's Theme in HIS Boss Fight, but, that most everyone know that already, LOL! MAN, I just LOVE, I called the DLC Trailer music, IS Miquella's Boss Theme! When THAT Theme gets going, after the beginning, it just SOUNDS like Final Boss Theme quality! And, Thank You, for your replies earlier, man, I was REALLY close, BOTH of us almost called the whole DAMN THING!🥰

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@marystone860 you really did!! I didn’t notice if I’m being honest, but now I see it and it’s so cool! This dlc really is the bloody best? You don’t need to thank me :)

[@ThatRandomJew]

Also, I’d point out that Radahn has to be killed before accessing the DLC so that he can be reborn, so I doubt his soul was stolen. Furthermore, Miquella could have enchanted Radahn before he left, making the entirety of the Malenia fight pointless. We already know that he can bewitch a demigod, even with a great rune; though we DO know that Radahn’s rune corrupted him. My theory is that he wasn’t bewitched, but he left Miquella because the rune caused him to be consumed by bloodlust

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

@@marystone860 It does not sound evil or sinister one bit though. The one thing I disagree with about this take, is that Miquella is evil. Evil is defined by intent, and his intentions are not malicious, even if some of his actions are.

[@RedForman007]

We killed Radahn and Mogh and that's how Miquella got the body and soul. That's why they needed to die first before we could enter the dlc

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Good point! I was probably stretching at that point!

[@RedForman007]

@theemeraldgecko310 good video though either way 👏

[@gilcorrea283]

I believe the meteor that opens a hole on the map so you can access the underground area (after beating Radahn) is probably Radahn’s soul heading to Mogh’s palace going to the shadow Realms. I think Malenia almost killed him but it wasn’t able to. The Tarnished finished the job. Also I think Malenia is them only One who isn’t on Miquella’s Spell. I think because she’s his protector since he spent a long time trying to cure her.

[@caiocarvalho8844]

We killed Radahn for Ranni and Mohg because we wanted to. Miquella didn’t do anything

[@fenixchief7]

​@@gilcorrea283 its a meteor bro...

[@Dbonesburneraccount]

From everything I’ve seen he’s a willfully ignorant antagonist to the tarnished player. On the surface he’s right, there should be a lot more compassion in the world. But he’s literally casted away his love&charmed countless beings to become a god. His curse really was eternal youth because he never matured&saw the world how a child would for centuries.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I agree, he truly thinks he’s just in his actions! I hadn’t thought of it like that, but you’re right! He really never did mature from that child’s mind

[@theresnothinghere1745]

I saw another comment that put it well 'Eternal Youth means eternal naivety'. Miquella had good intentions but that child like view twisted all his actions and led him down this path. He gave up all the parts of himself in an attempt to cleanse himself from sin, a naivee approach that forgets those sins are inseperable from the things worth protecting.

[@6arakinap3d0]

​@@theemeraldgecko310 Also have that dialogue that says "in both body and mind, miquella is cursed as a child" (I'm paraphrasing but it was new to the DLC)

[@Atarius]

@Dbonesburneraccount toxic compassion. Loving the world so much, he seeks to flatten it under his loving boot.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@6arakinap3d0 you’re right! God the dialogue in this dlc really is next level?

[@geordiejones5618]

I will always defend Radahn as the final boss because its not THE Radahn, it's Miquella's childhood ideation of Radahn, and most likely an emotional surrogate for Godwyn, whose soul is gone forever and can't ever be revived. Both Godwyn and Radahn achieved incredible feats of strength that earned them respect from pretty much everyone, and it makes sense that Miquella would look up to him after Godwyn is lost forever. Starscourge Radahn would NEVER agree to an Age of Compassion. He was a warlord who absolutely could have conquered The Lands Between and then would have used his gravity magic to literally drag down new challengers from the depths of the cosmos until he simply found something too crazy to kill.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I completely get where you’re coming from and I agree, not to mention the young lion set which reinforces you’re point…

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Bruh, Radahn's remembrance literally states: ''In their childhood, Miquella saw in Radahn a lord. His strength, and his kindness, that stood in stark contrast with their afflicted selves.'' Getting to wage a global war so your sexy half-bro can become a god and you his Elden Lord (something we know for a fact he wanted) to make the world a gentler place is literally an ideal scenario for a kind warmonger like Radahn. He gets to fight all the evil bastards like the Godskins and Black Knives and Blackflame Monks and Blasphemers and the tyrannical Golden Order he once already besieged alone, all to make a more compassionate era. That's 100% in character for him. Stop pretending he was a mindless warmonger. What Miquella specifically loved about Radahn was that he was kind in addition to his strength. From what we can tell, only Godwyn and Radahn held those attributed among all the demigods.

[@spracketskooch]

@@TheStraightestWhitest Nah, Radahn loved battle. He would not agree to a future without battle, or conflict. He doesn't get to fight in the age of compassion, that's the point. It's not a more compassionate era, it's an era dominated by forced compassion. Radahn would also not agree to an age without free will. His independence is a big part of his character. He does what he thinks is right, instead of what will benefit him the most. Miquella is like communism, sounds great, the intentions are noble, but the reality is far different, far worse than what's imagined. His compassion is not really compassion, as it ends up hurting, or fundamentally altering what he's trying to protect.

[@chiefpurrfect8389]

​@@TheStraightestWhitest Tbh, while I'm definitely open to the theory of Radahn being in on this, I'm not particularly convinced. For one, not once do we actually get his perspective, whether it's the present or past version of him. We meet him face to face twice and he's clearly not himself either time. We actually don't have the slightest clue on how Radahn felt about Miquella- in that, Miquella certainly *acts* like he promised to be his consort out of his own volition- but other than this single implication based on Miquella's word (so excuse me if I don't take it as hard fact, with his disregard for people's c*nsent) there's nothing in Radahn's lore to suggest he returned his feelings. Even when we get to see the moment Miquella asked Radahn to be his consort we never got to hear his answer. We mostly get to know Radahn through the eyes of other people, and their accounts of who he was as a person and what he wanted can be conflicting. According to what we know of him in the base game, he was a warrior nerd since he was a kid, his greatest passion was becoming a noble warrior with feats to rival those of his idols, he had his men's adoration and an undeniably more sensitive side to him as seen with Leonard. According to Messmer's lore, we're told Radahn used to look up to him when they were young but the implication is that he no longer did when they grew older, likely when Messmer took up Marika's cr*sade (why, occasionally characterized as an "endless w*r" in-game, even) painting him as someone who doesn't just care about fighting but about the nobility of the cause behind it (which is also in keeping with his "noble and strong" characterization and a pattern in the warriors he admired). According to (former) Redmane Freyja however- whose word I wouldn't necessarily treat as fact either since she's sipping the Miquella koolaid now- "endless w*r" at Miquella's side is what she conveniently thinks would suit Radahn best- which is certainly in keeping with the "w*rmonger" characterization, but not with the "kind" part. According to Miquella, it's Radahn's kindness that made him desirable in the first place, but "age of compassion" and "not a mindless w*rmonger" do not mix with "endless w*r". It makes sense that they do for Miquella- with his childlike understanding of compassion and prosperity- but Radahn can't have both. He can't be a gentle person and noble warrior *and* down for an age of endless w*r, even if he- yes- does indeed love to battle. Starscourge!Radahn and Consort!Radahn may share the same core traits of compassion and strength, but they seem to lean more heavily on one respectively. Something in all this doesn't quite add up and I think it's by design. And then there are a slew of other questions. If Radahn willingly promised to be Miquella's consort, shouldn't he *want* to reunite with him in the Land of Shadow? But if so, why make Miquella wait to the point Malenia had to attempt to forcefully collect him in his name? Why did he cling to life so desperately to hold back the stars and stall fate with the last of his strength (which messed up Miquella’s plans btw, so much for Radahn being on board with them) through *llness and m*dness, battle after battle if he had a lover and the never-ending w*r he supposedly yearned for waiting for him on the other side? Why did he build his castle in Caelid, about as far away from the Haligtree as one can get? If he is where he wanted to be all along at the end, why does he look like an emotionless husk of a person who won't even speak when he's finally at Miquella's side? We know from personal experience that Miquella uses magic to charm people by stealing their hearts and the circlet he uses to do it doesn't seem to be new; there's a (in retrospect ominous) statue in Loretta's arena that depicts him wearing it while embracing two children- who I'm pretty sure are Malenia and Radahn. Is it really that much of a stretch to theorize that Radahn might have well been one of the people he put under his spell when it perfectly explains the dissonance in his characterization? Yes, it's still a possibility that Radahn reciprocated Miquella's feelings, but I would also like to point out that they were actual children when they supposedly took the vow- even if there wasn't any heart-stealing involved. In this context- to me- this vow reminds me of that little child who declares they love you most and will marry you when they grow up and you- being older- humor them because you think it's adorable and pure. Maybe it was never that deep for Radahn even if he agreed, but Miquella- cursed to be a child forever- never outgrew this version of himself or their promise. I doubt they were fully aware of what that vow entailed at the time. Or maybe Radahn could have agreed to be his consort, but seeing that Miquella isn't going to uphold his end of the vow (make the world a gentler place) he turned away from him and held the stars back to prevent Miquella's ascension and their marriage from coming to pass. I also feel like "Ranni needs the stars in motion to escape an undesirable betrothal and fate while Radahn needs them to stop to escape his" is exactly the kind of ironic parallel Miyazaki would go for. “Well-intentioned but immature forever-child tries to bring an era of peace that is actually nightmare fuel as he forces his crush into loving him" just feel a lot more like a FromSoft narrative than "Radahn and Miquella masterminded the whole thing". Not to mention, Miyazaki wears his Berserk inspirations on his sleeve and from that standpoint the parallels between Miquella and Griffith- complete with their obsession with a beefy, exceptionally talented warrior with hidden depths- support this theory further, but tbf this is all conjecture. At the end of the day that's intentional, since they purposely omit Radahn's perspective in all this. I'm just going with what feels more likely to me personally. *Guys I'm so sorry for the stupidly censored words, YT just keeps flagging this comment and I'm so done trying to figure out exactly which of these words flew too close to the sun for their dumb policy*

[@justhair17]

You are right about some things but Radahn could not have conquered the LB. He tried, but he failed, as he got defeated by Morgott and his army and couldnt take Leyndell

[@MrPatchy248]

Lionel is the round man, Leonard is the horse

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I feel so stupid lmoooo mb dude

[@MrPatchy248]

@@theemeraldgecko310 tbf they ARE both present in the Radahn Festival

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@MrPatchy248 yeah but still lmao. I doubled checked things made sure I didn’t make an oopsie like I’ve done before AND IT WAS THE HORSE I SCREWED UP ON

[@Tarnished_Onryo]

Ah, so it was a mistake. I was so confused lol

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@Tarnished_Onryo massive mistake Lmfao

[@bazookaace]

I love the unexpected shift from "mohglested" to "miquellested"

[@theemeraldgecko310]

EVERYONE CALLED ME CRAZY

[@bazookaace]

@@theemeraldgecko310 pretty privilege is real.

[@YaboitheCadian]

ALLEGATIONS BEATEN

[@bigchungus6827]

I'm mainly surprised that people consider it such a twist. In the base game we had "Mohg felt affection for Miquella" and "Miquella learned very well how to compel affection" and somehow that majority didn't put those two together.

[@microwave4928]

People are quick to forget that miquella is cursed with the eternal mind of a child And children are cruel …

[@davesthrowawayacc1162]

Kids are cruel Jack

[@theemeraldgecko310]

That’s actually really a great point!

[@microwave4928]

@@davesthrowawayacc1162 And I’m VERY in touch with my inner child. To clear up the pointless arguing below, miquella is cursed with eternal stagnation, he will never complete anything he starts: His plans, His future, His development of body and mind. None will ever come to pass for that is his curse

[@ИгошинНикита]

Sundowner Miquella would be rad, not gonna lie

[@revengance4149]

I thought cruelty meant having no concern for the suffering of others, in Miquellas case his empathy is the reason why he's willing to hurt so many to achieve what he thinks is a better world

[@mokadelic4037]

Also, Seluvis used the fate of Miquella in the form of an amber crystal shard to make the potion he would've used to enslave Ranni and make her his puppet. Let that sink in.

[@Phoenix-jv7jm]

But lore wise it didn't matter that is was Miquella, he just needed a stronger faith to make a demi god into a puppet then a normal being. Miquellas is just the one we find, but I believe any would have been sufficient.

[@HouseofRedWine]

His intentions maybe pure but the way hes going about it by bewitching people against their will is where i disagree with him

[@theemeraldgecko310]

That's the most terrifying part, he thinks he is right and so he gives no head to anything else..

[@Corazon-6]

@@theemeraldgecko310 what he did was necessary

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@Corazon-6 what part was necessary?

[@SeanHummer]

Miquella did nothing wrong.​@@Corazon-6

[@Marcellius_weave]

@@theemeraldgecko310he’s eternally a child. Its like he wants to do something with pure intention, but goes out of his way doing everything wrong

[@mralabbad7]

The fact that caelid is the way it is because miquella wanted a bf, and when he speakes about his dying rotting sister, he doesn't mention anything regarding curing her or even calls her sister or by her name. He says "my loyal blade" like the tool that she is for him! While she kept apologizing and calling his name in her dying breath!

[@theemeraldgecko310]

He’s a cold asshole. I hadn’t clicked it WAS MELANIA WHO HE WAS MENTIONING!!! But you make such great points I just end up hating him more and more

[@kingaj06]

This dude really wanted his brother thats family love on a whole different level

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@kingaj06 dudes a mega brother lover

[@marystone860]

Miquella NEVER deserved Malenia for a Twin Sister!

[@NeloBladeOfRanni]

​@@marystone860facts #justiceformalenia

[@dragonlordplacidusax9413]

Miquella is a threat to individual identity & sense of self. Second only to the frenzied flame itself.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Agreed! Evil Mofo lmao

[@DonPetexX]

Frenzy burns both body and soul which is why torrent is scared to enter the abysal woods and why he dies in the lord of frenzy flame ending

[@your_neko]

Ranni comes third here. She's not taking away identities of people, but takes their future. To replace everything in the Lands Between with a different world ruled by the moon.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@your_neko completely agree she’s almost as bad as Miquella!

[@DonPetexX]

@your_neko thing is that Rani doesn't even become a god to the people, Rani just leaves. She let's the people to their own devices soo not exacly a good thing but not a bad one either.

[@red16091]

Miquella: "I will create an age of Love and Compassion" Also Miquella: "Here I abandon my love" Evil bastard

[@theemeraldgecko310]

He really is, how can you make a world based on something you cannot even begin to imagine it

[@JamesTheTurnbull]

Such an age can't be born from such a loveless god.

[@Maxwell-mb7xn]

It's bad writing

[@TheGreatAndMightyGoBo]

@@Maxwell-mb7xn😂😂😂

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@JamesTheTurnbull very true!!

[@bazookaace]

9:22 DAMN GOOD THOUGHT HERE! The idea of Miquella being entirely unaware of empathy or sentiment to the degree that he is simply incapable of compelling affections sincerely and resents St. Trina for her capacity for exactly that. Ur killing it home slice

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thanks so much! I really pity St trina, I was under the impression she would be evil, but she’s such a sad character, haven’t took off her flower piece since I got it 🥲

[@orestis444]

yall realize they are the same character , right? how can you say Miquella is devoid of love, he litterally got rid of his love (foolishly) to try and bring about the age of compassion. sure he did it all wrong, but he tried to make the world a better place. i dont get why yall r hating on him so muhc, consodering its a world wiht litteral genocidal dictator gods lmao

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

@@orestis444 This. Miquella's attempts were misguided. Either sacrifice countless souls to become a God, or sacrifice yourself, including your love. Either way, you won't be ''The Kind'' anymore, because kind people don't commit genocide, and kind people have love and empathy. Whatever path Miquella took, Godhood would be his prison as St. Trina says. But he is not evil.

[@jinhaiviktorgimenez2872]

@@orestis444literally lol

[@bazookaace]

@orestis444 I guess it really is down to speculation but worth discussing the difference: are demigod identities different people in the same body or are they PARTS of the same person? You present that they are parts and that traits are more aligned with the entity than the identity. Identities being miquella and st Trina and the entity being Miquella the demigod ofc. I don't know though it seems radagon and marika are entirely different people or consciousness to me. I don't know that but if we follow that logic I think it's entirely possible that st Trina is the ONLY source of empathy miquella ever held if he's been so willing to manipulate people especially within the DLC once st Trina was discarded. I know that's a lot but I'd love to hear what you think about their separation or oneness.

[@luckyowl6432]

Great video I disagree that he's pure evil. I think he's a child with the power to bewitch and control and is desperate to make what he considers to be a better world. Don't get me wrong he's doing evil things but it's the cursed eternal childhood mindset that makes me think he does have good intentions. He was planning like a "child". Just my take.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thank you! Another comment mentions something along these lines and honestly it makes so much sense and I agree, he really never did hit puberty and mature!

[@madfox7758]

Hell is paid with good intentions.

[@princeofpoverty]

People keep saying he is a child but isn't he like a thousand year old demigod?

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@princeofpoverty4063 I totally get what you mean and agree to an extent, what I think they mean by that, is although he’s 1000+ years old, he still has the mind of a child as he wasn’t allowed to mature. Idk that’s just my interpretation of what they mean :)

[@luckyowl6432]

@@theemeraldgecko310 that's how I thought his cursed worked. That no matter how much time passes or whatever he tried he would eternally be young both physically and mentally. Makes me wonder if his curse is broken after he steps out of the Divine Gateway or if he's trapped as the Eternal Young God.

[@miguelvizuetecano6449]

I agree with the video except two things: - malenia didn't steal radahn's soul, in fact, that's why you cannot enter the dlc without killing radahn. Miquella needs his soul to revive him - Malenia is not bewitched by miquella. Every character who recognizes miquella as being fearsome or dangerous is not under miquella's charm (ansbach once the rune is broken, or malenia, who describes miquella as the most fearsome empyrian)

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thank you so much! I can totally see where you’re coming from on the Radahn point. On the Melania point, imo when she says Fearsome it felt to me like it was in reverence not fear!

[@miguelvizuetecano6449]

@@theemeraldgecko310 totally, just saying that she can perceive miquella as dangerous, like, he is not weak or anything like that. She acknowledges miquella as the most fearsome empyrian, meaning he is to be feared because of how strong he actually is (she obviulsy says it in admiration of his brother). I don't think any other character talks about miquella that way (only malenia and ansbach I think, although ansbach is really afraid of miquella)

[@crios8307]

​@@miguelvizuetecano6449we will never know, but I have my doubts on her true personaloty ever since i saw t bewitching branch: she even ask forgiveness to Miquella in her dying breath and calls him "dearest Miquella" even when she becomes the Goddes of Rot (aka loses any ties with any unalloyed gold). Who else calls Miquella like this? Our blood boi Mohg. We don't know the extent that Miquella's powers had in his youth either, but since his only item describes "winning other's affections" we could deduce that a prolonged exposure would likely make him at least the mai object of your thoughts. Combine this with a protective big sister sentiment and you have an Empyrean, which could rival Ranni and her brother, be reduce to a Damocles sword with no hesitation or apperent free will even after her bloom in Caelid. Personally, I always felt that something was wrong in her writing: she is a warrior and even a paladin of the weak with her loyalty to the Haligtree, yet only the cleanrot knights seem exclusively faithful to Malenia, with Finlay dying to bring her back instead of dying trying to give one last hit at Radahn. This view paints her as a much more tragic character who probably never knew real freedom, an unknowingly puppet to a childlike master, which stays in line with ER overall themes and also emphasises how she has been forsaken by his brother. Miquella was supposed to cure her, but then just sent her to get "his promised consort", where, without Finlay's sacrificial pilgrimage, she would have almost surely died. Take into account that I love a feminine representation of knights, so the lack of apparent depth in her character broke a very consistent pattern (Nepheli and Millicent are some of my fav characters despite others being much more popular).

[@danielrobinson7872]

The circlet of light isn’t just what Miquella is wearing, it’s also the charm he puts on you that floats above your head. Proving he was just going to bewitch the entire world.

[@sanktpierre8025]

I think what came out of no where for many people, is not that Miquella was the big bad. But that Radahn was the chosen consort over his older brother Godwyn. I'll keep watching your video now.

[@Michijere77]

This.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I definitely agree with this, it would have added such an interesting level to godwyns character, finally released from his monstrous form only for free will to have been taken. Saying that though, the fact Melania whispers in radahns ear in the story trailer from before even the game released, and considering the importance of that, imo it shows this wasn’t something that was rushed :)

[@Dujma]

yeah, I didn't see anyone saying that about Miquela, it's literally all Radahn

[@courtneycherry5582]

My husband really really wanted to fight miquella. I was obsessing over radahns hair turning from red to gold. 😢 He loved his hair

[@Blthze]

@@theemeraldgecko310 I dont understand why anyone would want godwyn back? The entire horror and theme of his story is about a horrible place between life and death that CANNOT be fixed. If he could be ressurcted and brought back in any sense it would completely destroy the entire narrative and theme he exists to represent.

[@christianlaw1992]

At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if miquella charmed malenia from the womb

[@theemeraldgecko310]

It really tells you everything you need to know about Miquella that I wouldn’t even be surprised

[@es-rh8oo]

Miquella went back in time to get his mother/father to birth them

[@hallij9477]

I don't think that Miquella is evil as a whole, he was just another child of Marika, like Ranni, who was willing to sacrifice everything to rid the world of the Outer Gods presence. Only difference between the two is Ranni is boundless freedom and Miquella is endless servitude!

[@rclaws3230]

@@hallij9477 They're both evil cosmic midwits. Ranni's "freedom" is to make everything cloudy and hard to understand, which will just result in worldwide tribal warfare as people suffer and believe whatever they want. Miquella's "age of compassion" is just to force everyone to believe the same things by conquest and brainwashing. There's no "good" in Elden Ring, just varying shades of "bad" and "worse".

[@ghoulboards]

Agreed. What Ranni did to godwyn is arguably more horrific than mogh and radahn imo. Godwyn is a husk damned to spread like a plague for eternity.

[@justhair17]

​@@ghoulboardsits not. Godwyn's soul is completely dead, so he cant suffer. Meanwhile, same is not true for either Mohg or Radahn, meaning they prolly suffer underneath and do things against their will

[@ghoulboards]

@@justhair17 this is a philosophical slippery slope considering a soul is not well defined nor agreed upon. In the same idea, current Radahn effectively doesn't have one either if he was stripped of all freewill and is just a shell for Miquella's control.

[@crazy13alex]

​@@justhair17Mohg's soul is gone. Miquella didn't need it, so it met the same fate as Morgott. We can't say for certainty if Radahn was opposed to Miquella, either. Godwyn is GONE, not even able to be reborn. His soul was obliterated with no chance of rebirth or reincarnation. How is that any better?

[@koenkohrt1531]

4:10 Interestingly enough, what is going on with Mogh is so much worse than that. Mogh's soul no longer exists within his body whatsoever. His soul has been vacated from his body and left behind, completely destitute. Ansbach says as much in his questline. Normally souls remain in their bodies until they are returned to the Erdtree, but because Mogh's soul who vacated from his body and he is an Omen his soul will not return. What happened to Mogh's soul is exactly what happens to the souls of the victims of the Dung Eater. So since soul is unable to remain in his body or return to the Erdtree, Mogh's soul has no anchor and is left to who knows what fate. He would likely be left to become a vengeful spirit like the Wraith Calling Bell implies about those who are cursed. So Miquella charmed Mogh, had him killed, vacated his soul from his body, and put Radahn's soul into it. Meanwhile Mogh's soul is left to wander as a vengeful spirit that will never be able to obtain peace. Love the video, keep the good work!

[@theemeraldgecko310]

God I hadn’t thought of it like this, Jesus this game is bloody dark! Thanks so much!!

[@tardigrade9343]

I want to add the... mildly mitigating circumstance that Miquella, no matter how old he is, is probably mentally a child. He's a genius, he's an ancient being, yet his body never went through puberty and no matter how many books he reads about the topic or how long he lives, he will ironically never understand what love actually is for most humans. His personal knowledge of love is this primordial, childish understanding of it: an innate yearning for protection, for safety, for everyone to get along and for him to be the center of it all. It's how children function. He doesn't "lust over his brother", he can't do that. He loves him dearly, as a big brother. But in combination with his great rune, this love is a magical force, a powerful entity us mortals can't possibly understand and it turns into a scary weapon in the hands of such an eternal toddler. It reminds me of the ending of the book/movie "Perfume". Spoilers if you haven't read it: it's this artfully haunting story of a boy who has this inhumane ability to smell. Almost like a super power, he can smell even the slightest molecule and therefore sees the world, and its people, very differently than others. The dilemma: he does not have an inherent odour himself. He smells like.. nothing. Which has the curious effect that he is basically ignored by everyone. Almost like he's instinctively shunned. Nobody loves him, nor notices him. It's like he lacks the ability to be loved. And so he becomes somewhat of a psychopath, eventually ending up creating perfumes with his extraordinary sense for smells. His perfumes get so unearthly well that they can even control the minds of people. And it all culminates in him creating THE perfect, divine essence. Basically pure love. And when he's about to get executed for his crimes in the face of society's wrath, with the clergy men, soldiers, politicians, aristocrats and farmers, everyone watching, he pulls out his tiny flask of liquid divine love, puts a drop of it on a handkerchief and waves it at the masses. And with that, society collapses. This pure, primordial love equalizes everything and everyone loses their minds. They get into a love induced frenzy, and it basically ends in a huge orgy. Now, everyone loves him. So much so that they lose themselves to have a piece of him. They even think of him as an angel. Shocked by the sudden realization that love, and by an extent the human nature itself, is not this valuable, holy thing worth pursuing but only a primordial urge, a biological function, he pours the rest of the perfume on himself and the masses literally tear him apart in a frenzy of love until not even an atom is left. And when he's gone, they regain control and collectively decide to erase this shameful event from human memory and go about their daily lives. As if he never existed. This gut-wrenching story and ending has a really impactful message about love that I immediately thought of when Miquella's story got more ironed out in the DLC. The tragedy of a being that is incapable of understanding TRUE love due to his affliction, which gives him no real personal understanding of it. And his powers only teach him that love is an obsessive and controlling force, so he uses it accordingly. It's all reflected in Miquella. No wonder he went cray cray is what I'm trying to say. Everyone would in his position. He never had a chance to be different.

[@thesnatcher3616]

I mean, I see the resemblance. Granted, even without the so-called charms, Miquella was able to inspire genuine loyalty anyway due to his goals being something people can sympathize with. In that sense, he's more akin to a charismatic political leader. And the perfume does seem to be more in line with inspiring primordial sexual urges and desire to procreate/be intimate with rather than "love" which is a more complex term than just yknow, pink notecards, flirtations, and sex. Some definitions of the term are as simple as "wanting someone to succeed" which was how I believe catholic philosopher Thomas Aquinas defined the term. Desires for possession, attention, etc. as demonstrated within the novel(as they literally tear him apart and eat him) is not too dissimilar from hedonism rather than a genuine sense of altruism and understanding(arguably the two most crucial aspects of true love) as it is done for THERE own pleasures and/or personal goals. Something that apparently extends to the virginity of the different girls Jean Baptiste kills as well. But I guess that's the point. Jean Baptiste and I guess Miquella always struggled to inspire TRUE and genuine love.

[@kkswerz]

Idk, I don’t think believing that everyone can get along is childish. If anything adults being childish is the reason everyone cannot get along. Murdering other people because you cannot control them may seem adult but it’s really just the easiest path through. Which is what every god has done en masse in this game besides Miquella who keeps it to a minimum and it at least trying to pull the land between out of its war cycle. Which let’s not forget it why the landbetween is the way it is. So if everyone else can do the scorch the ground method why are we demonizing Miquella for mind control that you don’t even notice.

[@Kenkenlegend64]

I don’t think Miquella is a pure evil character. In fact, he can be seen as good and evil as Ranni. Both are two sides of the same coin. They look at the state of world, identify a problem and offer a solution. For Ranni, it’s the lack of free will, for Miquella it’s the lack of love and compassion. Ranni thinks that we should be able to walk our own path, to be the riders of our own destiny, and she also understands that fear, death and uncertainty are natural parts of life. Meanwhile, Miquella is willing to sacrifice freedom in his search for love, peace and compassion. He’s someone that has lost all hope after witnessing this unending cycle of pain and violence and prefers to live in a lie. Ranni, on the other hand, embodies what Aldia says at the end of DS2: "Beyond the scope of light, beyond the reach of Dark... ...what could possibly await us? And yet, we seek it, insatiably... Such is our fate."

[@blackbomber72]

6:45 i think Radahn was holding onto his life precisely because he knew if he died his soul would be taken, he looks like a husk because rot usually destroys your mental capabilities

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I really like this theory and I definitely can see it! We give him the sweet release of death thinking we’re freeing him… I assume those at redmane assume the same…

[@SublimedHaze]

And people still refuse to admit that the only true ending is returning to the One Great. Melt it all away.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

MAY CHAOS TAKE THE WORLD

[@sion7651]

it is either that or the Dark Moon. dont see how the other endings fit. you just sit on the throne and the sky changes. i prefere the Dark Moon ending. Order so far removed you wont even notice it.

[@NaitorYT]

When you said Miquella controls Malenia all that came to my mind was the statues in the Haligtree of Malenia hugging with Miquella

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Miquella’s little comfort doll…

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

We do know Miquella has a soft spot for those blood relatives... 💀

[@kaeleeraerush2093]

I feel like this take makes Miquella entirely one-dimensional. Here’s a couple of points to be made. 1. I do not think Miquella knew Malenia was going to bloom. I do believe she went there to kill Radahn but wasn’t able to at that time, so she bloomed as a last resort. So the thing about Malenia stealing Radahn’s soul is entirely false considering she had to be dragged by Finley all the way back to the Halgtree due to her injuries being so severe. We were the ones to release Radahn’s soul, not Melania. 2. I think Miquella originally wanted Godwyn as his consort and Ranni as well as Merika stopped that from happening. So he went to Radahn as a last resort in order to revive Godwyn but became obsessed with Radahn in the process. I think Radahn did agree at first but learned of Ranni’s fate as well as his and Miquella’s. Which is why he halted the stars for the Golden Order, and in doing so betrayed Miquella and most likely led to the battle in Caelid. 3. Him discarding St. Trina was obviously hard for him. It seems that St Trina might have been enabling the curse of his eternal youth considering she seems to be the embodiment of eternal sleep and borderline a physical poison. Not only that, St. Trina knows Miquella better than anyone and obviously pities him despite everything. Miquella wasn’t able to save his sister nor Godwyn, so I believe that Miquella was broken when he decided to take Radahn as his consort as well as cast away his own flesh and emotions. I don’t think the Miquella we see in the final fight is what Miquella always was. I think this God that we fight is almost a husk of Miquella in the same way Radahn is. He is now a slave to his godhood. 4. I do not think Mohg is a “good guy.” He is a victim yes, but in no way a good guy. I do feel sorry for Mohg for having Merika as a mother and then Miquella taking advantage of this. But we know that Mohg cherished blood and wounds through his god even before Miquella. 5. Miquella did start out with the best intentions. He created the Haligtree in order to bring in all the Misfits that the Golden Order threw away. But failure with in regards to Malenia, Godwyn, the Golden Order led to his morals being warped. The Golden Order failed in helping his sister. The Golden Order failed to protect Godwyn. And in the end he learned of his mother’s Genocide which was the final straw for him. 6. Him choosing Mohg had nothing to do with armies. It had everything to do with using Omen blood in order to enter the Land of Shadow outside of actually dying. Everything in death washes up in the Land of Shadow, meaning that Miquella and Radahn reuniting was never actually set in stone unless Radahn died. This was a big what if for Miquella. So again I do believe Miquella didn’t fully believe that his plans would ever actually come to pass and when they did he seemed to have many doubts before reaching the Gate of Divinity. Evil is defined as something that is wicked and in people, take pleasure in harming others. Miquella never took pleasure it seems in the things he did, but believed truly that control was the only way for everyone to get along and understand one another. That everyone would accept each other whether they wanted to or not. Do I agree with this, absolutely not, but do I understand why Miquella did certain things, yes. Miquella is the villain from a narrative stand point in his way of opposing us, the hero. Though outside that, I do not think Miquella was ever truly evil through out his journey.

[@toomeyeh1]

Much better summation. It over simplifies it to think that miquella was just a mustache twirling villain the whole time. Also, It cracks me up how anyone can look at the finger maiden murdering blood worshipping apostle mohg is a good guy 😂

[@kaeleeraerush2093]

@@toomeyeh1 Exactly. In thinking Miquella was always like this from the start again makes him entirely too one dimensional. Like I said before, I think Miquella going through so many failures led to his morals of kindness and compassion being warped. When he failed Malenia and Godwyn, it must of deeply traumatized him. So he must of tried to find solace and help in Radahn and somehow this led to him coming up with the plans he did. Then my theory is Radahn must have betrayed him, he found out about Merika’s misdeeds, and then decided to put a plan together to kill two birds with one stone. Radahn was the only person left that Miquella believed he could save and like I said before the Miquella we see in godhood is most likely nothing like the person that he was before failing his sister and Godwyn, then being most likely betrayed by Radahn, on top of learning of his mothers original misdeeds. It also makes me wonder if Miquella even knew about what happened to the Shaman Village and why Merika did what she did in the first place. The village is both well hidden and there is no cross left in the area by Miquella. So I think he honestly thought his mother hated the hornsent, on top of the Omen/Crucible/Misbegotten, only because the Golden Order willed it. Not because she had a personal vendetta. Again I do not believe Miquella is right, but I understand his motives and why he did the things he did. Thinking he was always just some, evil, heartless, bastard, truly takes away from his character as a whole. He lost everyone he cared about and failed at everything he tried to accomplish in saving them. So him becoming obsessed with keeping Radahn by his side at any cost doesn’t surprise me one bit.

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Only things I disagree with is Miquella wanting Godwyn as consort (literally nothing implies it), and Radahn changing his mind on marrying Miquella (again, nothing implies it, and some things outright contradict it). Radahn and Miquella were young when they made their vows. The Collapsing Stars spell states this: ''A gravitational technique mastered by the young Radahn. "I thank you for your tutelage, for now I can challenge the stars."'' It specifically says the ''Young Radahn''. Miquella remakes Radahn's body from just before he became the Starscourge as said by his new blades, so this means Radahn made his vow to Miquella around the same time he halted the stars. It's even possible that he halted the stars BEFORE vowing to marry Miquella, and in fact that would make more sense as this means it does not contradict his fate to marry Miquella. Nothing in the game says he did this to halt his fate. In fact, that doesn't even work, because we kill the guy, and thus he marries Miquella. If his fate was halted, that wouldn't be possible, unless like I said, he halted the stars prior to vowing to marry, which is honestly the only possibility left. Radahn halted the stars to protect Sellia. The Sellia Sword Monument states it outright. Ranni's fate being held in stasis was collateral damage. That said, I'm glad people are calling out the whole ''evil mastermind puppeteering Griffith ripoff'' Miquella bullshit. That's definitely not what they were going for. One listen to The Promised Consort OST tells you enough. It's sheer joyous celebration ascending into beautiful divine orchestra. None of that screams sinister or evil in any way. Wanna hear evil? Listen to Midra's OST. Anyone who thinks Radahn is a controlled flesh puppet and Miquella an evil puppetmaster needs to do that and then come back to listen to Radahn's & Miquella's. I bet they'll change their minds right quick on what evil sounds like, LMAO!

[@cutebunny6361]

I agree. I think Miquella truly had the best intentions for everyone in mind. But went insane and used some odd strategies in order to have his age come into fruition. And I believe Radahn may have agreed to be his consort as long as he died in an honorable battle, I first thought this because of his name: “PROMISED consort” as in he promised to be his consort after he dies. And malenia whispers what she said to remind him of what he has promised.

[@valka-u5p]

Thank you for this take! Honestly the game through and through from all the characters tells us about all the characters tragedy is that they want better world while sacrificing so much they lose themselves in the the process. But i disagree with you on one thing here the thing is Miquellas fate was never was of a godhood In the trailer we know that st trina was his fate and she was opposed to godhood. I believe if Mogh didn't kidnapped Miq from Haligtree he would went through whole metamorphosis and being a saint? There fore becoming one with his other part.

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

4:09 Is incorrect. Ansbach himself says he discovered that Miquella has completely discarded Mohg's soul. And we're not fighting Mohg. Not even his body. His body was simply used to remake Radahn's younger self. You could view this like viewing an iron ingot being used to forge a sword. If someone swings that sword at you, is he swinging an iron ingot at you? Of course not. The ingot was simply used to make the sword. Its properties now belong to the blade, good and bad. That is why Radahn has omen horns, and bloodflame abilities. Those were properties of the material used to remake his body with, AKA Mohg. 5:05 This too is speculation, and especially when you pull the original version (The Japanese one) into the mix, seems outright wrong. Radahn is almost certainly a willing participant. This is what everyone gets wrong. The Secret Rite scroll says that the god's consort will require a vessel for him to ascend through the gate of divinity. Radahn loves war. Miquella says ''We'' when referring to his vow, and almost certainly refers to Malenia. He says ''If we honour our part of the vow, promise me you'll be my consort.'' And Radahn is called the promised consort, which means he did promise. So what was their vow? Miquella's and (likely) Malenia's? Well, to kill him. Because this guy is a Godfrey/Radagon idolizer, and he doesn't just want to die without a fight. When you translate the Japanese version of Miquella's memory, Miquella is very submissive in his speech, and instead of saying ''I'm going to be a god'' like he's just sharing the news, he says it more like he's answering a question, closer to ''I can become a god, if''. This puts it into an entirely different perspective, and makes it seem more like it was Radahn's plan (we all know he wanted to become Elden Lord, he even besieged Leyndell for it), and that he asked Miquella if he could manage it, with Miquella attempting to reassure him. Let's assume this theory is true, it makes sense of everything else too. Why the hell would Miquella have such reverence and praise for Radahn if he's just a mindless puppet? Why would he clutch him so tightly when they die like he's so in love? Why even have a vow at all if you can just control someone? Do you see Seluvis making vows to Nepheli or any of his puppets? No. You don't make vows with puppets. You just tell them to jump. But if the vow is willing, all of it makes sense. Radahn's vow was that he would join him as husband/king (which the Japanese version calls him instead of just ''consort'') if he was slain in battle, and Miquella and Malenia's two part vow was for Malenia to manage it and for Miquella to bring him back. ''If we honour our part of the vow'', followed by ''Now the vow will be honoured, and my Lord Brother's soul will return.'' That part seems to be completely ignored by everyone. The vow was that his soul would return. Miquella straight up says it. How the hell can that ever be non-consensual? Malenia's words to Radahn; 'Miquella awaits thee, O promised consort.'' were a kindness. She was about to let bloom the rot, and thought it would kill him. It was like someone saying ''You'll see them again'' about passed relatives when they too are about to die, only this time in the most literal sense as she knew Miquella would bring him back. It got ruined by the fact that his Great Rune burned the rot, keeping it partially at bay, at least enough for his durability to endure the rest. There's basically nothing that contradicts this theory except for one thing; Radahn holding the stars, and thus his fate. But the answer to that is simple: Sellia. The game straight up says he held the stars in stasis to protect Sellia, both in item descriptions and in the Sellia Sword Monument. Him holding his fate in stasis was a side effect for sure, but it didn't even work since his fate was to marry Miquella, which ended up happening anyway. People look too deep into the whole holding the stars thing. He didn't do it to halt his fate. That is NEVER mentioned. He did it to protect his place of birth and training. That's outright confirmed. He learned gravity magic to keep riding his horse (confirmed), and he halted the stars to protect Sellia (confirmed). The Collapsing Stars spell even says this: ''A gravitational technique mastered by the young Radahn. "I thank you for your tutelage, for now I can challenge the stars."'' Notice how it says Young Radahn. There's a lot of people claiming that it was only when Radahn got older that he changed his mind and challenged the stars in a sort of panic to halt his fate. This spell description blatantly contradicts that headcanon, because it says young Radahn specifically wished to challenge the stars, not the later older Radahn. And this aligns with his new blade descriptions, which state that Miquella remade the young Radahn from just before he became the Starscourge, meaning we know for a fact that Radahn did not have a change of heart as his young version promised himself to Miquella, and his young version also challenged the stars. I'm so tired of seeing the misinformation spread, with everyone mindlessly calling Radahn a Frankenstein's Monster, a mindless puppet for Miquella to control. Not only is that not how Miquella's powers work, but there's also NOTHING indicating this to be the case. In fact, Light of Miquella states: ''Miquella sought to accept all that was and would be, but found one that refused to be embraced. No wonder, as one god, and one king consort, is all the world needs.'' This is so blatantly saying that only we resisted Miquella, just like we did all the other Lords. We make our own order. We are the other god, the other king consort. And the world only has room for one pair. Miquella & Radahn tried to replace Marika & The Tarnished. That makes us the only ones refusing to be embraced. This means Radahn did accept it. There's no other alternative. Radahn is not being mind controlled. Everything is going according to plan. He gets to wage a global war to foster an age of compassion. That is exactly why Miquella fell in love with him. His power, but his gentle nature besides. This is an ideal scenario for the guy. He gets to be the next Godfrey for an age of compassion rather than tyranny. Miquella's methods were sometimes reprehensible, but he was not evil.

[@johncmcham]

we dont just owe mohg an apology, we owe him damages for the post-mortem molestation and then some for whatever happened to his soul

[@theemeraldgecko310]

This comment is gold, we really do need to help pay the bill for his post-mortem Miquellastation

[@bombthing]

Something you do have to remember is that all of Miquella's followers were better when they were charmed. Once the charm was broken Moore became depressed, Thiollier wanted to sleep forever, Leda and Hornsent became total psychopaths, and Ansbach was a Pureblood Knight again. You dont lose your whole free will, you can still make your own choices, you just cant make choices that would harm someone else physically or emotionally. (A great rune has shattered, and so too, a powerful charm). Huh, what was I talking about I dont remember?

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I was gonna comment on this thinking “ah good points to be fair”, then that line hit and it became 19 times better lmao

[@heinrich4208]

I mean Ansbach seemed like a reasonable guy. His goal is noble, he's not mad that you killed his lord, maybe Mohg's dynasty was more noble before Miquella began controlling him?

[@bombthing]

@@heinrich4208 Well Mogh's dynasty in general was disguised as warm an inviting, look at Varre, he too is very polite and helps you at the beginning, pointing you in the direction to go. Keep in mind that his dynasty is based on his communion with the formless mother, a blood god, and involves invading and killing other tarnished. It's unlikely that this bloodlust has anything to do with Miquella since that doesnt add up with his goals at all. So basically Mogh, despite not being a diddler, he is still on a similar level of evil to Rykard.

[@rclaws3230]

@@bombthing This take genuinely annoys me. By "better", you mean murderously serving Miquella's ends. They weren't inactive, they were just channeling their destructive energies toward killing Miquella's enemies, like the residual hornsent who were still trying to retake their ancestral home, or trying to protect Enir-Ilim, and Rellana and her Carian outpost. Hornsent would have murdered Messmer whether or not he was mesmerized. They were not "good" when Miquella had a hold of them. They just weren't disorganized.

[@bombthing]

@@rclaws3230 The followers of Miquella did not become murderous zealots of him following being charmed. Hornsent and Leda were murderous before they were charmed, Ansbach and Freyja were actively trying to figure out stuff about their lords before getting charmed and would have had to get to the shadow keep to get their answers, which requires killing Rellana since they cant use spiritsprings. Not to mention Ansbach certainly killed a lot of people in the name of Mogh. Moore and Thiollier can't be summoned for any boss before the charm breaks. So they werent charmed into being ruthless murderers. All followers of Miquella in the dlc were either already violent and stayed violent, were violent and became less violent, or werent violent and stayed non violent. No one became more violent under the charm. On top of that, Miquella had no beef with the dancing lion or the tower folk, in fact he was considered their savior. I cant imagine why he would want the Carians dead either.

[@jamesnorman9160]

If I could ask Miquella one question, it would be simple: How can you have an Age of Compassion when you've cast off your love? I think I was getting worried in finding the different Miquella crosses and seeing the different things he had cast off, from his flesh to his arms and his doubts and finally his love. And that latter one he abandoned in a fissure off of the Cerulean Coast where no-one would find it unless they were determined enough to fight their way there (determined like a Tarnished, perhaps?). It's almost like Miquella is under the impression that you can only ascend to Godhood by giving up everything of your previous self, but took it way too far. He was on the right track to be Marika 2.0, but when you can get everything you want by bewitching and charming those around you you don't really spend a lot of time thinking 'maybe I should calm down a little here...' Miquella the Kind? Miquella the Gentle? Miquella the Monster, more like. Also, looking at how dignifed and wise that Ansbach is makes me think the Mohgwyn Dynasty was actually a respectful and somewhat pure body, and onyl degerated into a blood-soaked nightmare as Mohg was falling victim to Miquella's charms.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Miquella the monster is by far the best title I’ve seen given to him! I’m of the same thought, definitely think the mohgwyn dynasty was more peaceful a long time before Miquella’s emergence!

[@MrFujisawa]

My thinking is, Miquella asked the promise to Radahn, who said no, or resisted the charm. He THEN held back the stars to stall his fate (since he's Carian, and we know from Radahns new swords he's pre-starscourge at this point in Miquella's mind). So he sends Malania to kill him, but she can't, and so nukes him with rot (last ditch attempt i think). But Radahn STILL holds on, he won't die, because he doesn't want to be Miquella's lord. The balls on the lad. When we kill him, and free his soul, we actualyl do what Miquella wanted, the little sh1t!

[@theemeraldgecko310]

He’s so conniving! Radahn is that guy though lmao!

[@apollodivine]

Nobody has mentioned the fact Radahn never speaks - why? Because it’s not actually Radahn, it’s a husk of flesh being controlled by Miquella

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Oooo I like this!

[@apollodivine]

@@theemeraldgecko310 Also notice his eyes, why are they glowing yellow? It seems that Miquella merely transformed the corpse of Mohg and its physical appearance to resemble Radahn - while controlling it himself We see Radahn using Light/Holy incantations, but since when has he learned those? It’s all Miquella’s incantations which implies it’s Miquella in their, not Radahn

[@Tkyoking]

⁠​⁠@@apollodivineto be fair radahns soul is in the body so part of him might be there it’s just being controlled by miquella to do what he wants He also uses gravity magic in the fight and since miquella isn’t stated to know any gravity magic we’d have to assume that it comes from radahn

[@EraVulgarity]

@@Tkyokingyeah he doesn’t use any holy incantations until the second phases where Miquella rides piggy back a la Lorian and Lothric. The entire first phases is all gravity and… one blood incant lol which is a bit of a missed opportunity

[@Satsaru]

@@apollodivine Radahn's eyes were always glowing yellow, actually. Take a look back at the trailer fight with Malenia or his starscourge ingame model. Glowing yellow the whole time.

[@carrier2823]

That body in the cocoon is mohg’s not miquellas. He manifests from his blood which drips out of his body in there, his body is being used as a doorway to the shadowlands. Miquella’s body is used in the DLC and discarded there. Whatsmore the body in the cocoon is identical to morgotts when he dies. What we fight in the bossfight is his blood taking his original shape, a true lord of blood if you will.

[@PlatinumAltaria]

Miquella isn't a hideous monster, that's kinda the point. In Elden Ring all the things that appear good are consistently dark and cold. The grace of gold, Marika, the Erdtree, the Elden Beast. Meanwhile cursed things are actually good. The Scarlet Rot is life unbounded, the omens are blessed creatures, Morgot is the truest king and the lineage of Godwyn (Godrick) is pathetic. This is a clear pattern.

[@alifhafizbinjasni5644]

But not godwyn. He is kind, appear good, strong. Before he become the force of nature ofc

[@PlatinumAltaria]

@@alifhafizbinjasni5644 We don’t know anything about Godwyn except what other untrustworthy characters tell us. Who’s to say Godwyn the Golden was any better than Miquella the Kind?

[@WOLFxLORD]

The bewitching branch was all it took to convince me he was rotten. Maybe not at the start, but like most of his family, he became a bastard in the end.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

100% agree, he’s rotten to the core in the present day

[@davesthrowawayacc1162]

And Mohg was innocent all along. He was Miquellested

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Poor bloke

[@luckyowl6432]

@@davesthrowawayacc1162 my take is that Mohg is still a bit creepy. I think when Miquella bewitches someone he is forcing affection and compassion not the kind of love like "share a bloody bedchamber". I'm happy Mohg beat his allegations and he's definitely A victim but I still feel iffy about him. TLDR: Imagine a PDF File being mind controlled by a eternally young boy, maybe thats why Miquella was fine using him and Recycling his body for a better soul. I think if given the opportunity the Moghlester would Moghlest the Miquellester.

[@Mohgenstein]

Not so innocent, he ran a murder cult 💀

[@Mohgenstein]

Nah Mohg was still gonna use him, miquella just bewitched him when Mohg tried to kidnap him.

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

@@Mohgenstein This is backed up by the fact that nothing about Miquella's powers suggests he can force behaviours, only feelings. He compels affection. So while he can likely make others love him, he cannot choose what they do thereafter. Their actions are still their own. Mohg's actions still showed his character. He was possessive and selfish and obsessive.

[@rclaws3230]

I'm amused because Miquella is absolutely the avatar of all the new players loudly complaining that Souls games are too hard and need to be made easier (gentler) and are willing to try to force Miyazaki to make easy games. Miyazaki is basically saying, "I understand what you're doing, I forgive you, but kindly eff right the eff off, please."

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Miyazaki really out here using Miquella’s great rune 😭🙏

[@anarche4900]

Should have had a third phase where miquella becomes a femto like monster

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@anarche4900 would have been so cool!

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

@@anarche4900 But he isn't one.

[@tuckddd9]

A life without the choice to be evil isn’t life at all, it’s just programming.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

100%!!!

[@obazu3727]

If I choose to be evil, I don't have to be a programmer anymore?

[@pimmelstrumpf2411]

I like pommes in my mund

[@ravoniesravenshir3926]

@@theemeraldgecko310 Miquella THE MAD. Also Eternal Youth.... in all things, he is still a immature brat.

[@tuckddd9]

@@obazu3727 exactly, let the evil ai do it all 😌

[@saxongamer2323]

Mogue also had a habit of killing people's maidens so he was reducing the amount of people that could possibly become elden lord

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I’ve actually been toying with the idea maybe he didn’t!!

[@kanealterius6631]

There was always one detail that didn't make sense to me within the "mohg bad" eco-sphere. "How did mohg get passed Malenia?" No way she would have let that happen. Unless MIQUELLA had deemed it so.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Agreed! If Melania wanted to truly find Miquella I’m convinced she would have raised hell and earth, scorched earth the lands between to find him, yet she didn’t. Definitely agree with what you’re saying!

[@lcjjeff9808]

It just occurred to me how Radahn resisted the first charming of Miquella, but was bewitched the second time upon completion of the ritual. Just like how in the fight, we resist the first charming, but get our hearts stolen on the second charming

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Interesting catch! Love it!

[@caiocarvalho8844]

Imagine sacrifice everything to offer the only way possible to achieve peace and end misery, pain and war and be called the true villain.

[@fancypantsy08]

He's that worst kind of evil, the evil that really deeply believes it is good.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

The very worst kind!

[@kyverkameya6619]

I think that Radahn was Miquella's plan b. We know that Godwyn's soul was killed by the rune of death and as such he is the only character in the entire game that is truly dead. This is speculation on my part but i think that whatever is in that coccoon isn't actually Miquella. We know he discarded parts of himself all over the lands of shadow so how is that possible if his body is in Mogwhyn palace? Also, it's much too large to be a child, even an empyrean child, the arm alone is the size of the tarnished. I think whatever he was doing at the Haligtree was an attempt to ressurect Godwyn in a new body before he gave up and moved on to using Radahn as his consort.

[@Blindcontroller]

People forget Miquella is not actually a child. He’s the same age as Melania.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

That’s a good point to be fair!

[@Scyclo]

Yes however he has the mind of a child. He doesn't think like an adult he thinks like a child.

[@Blindcontroller]

@@Scyclo he thinks like a broken person that’s out of options. It’s just easy to say child because of his appearance. Delusions aren’t just children’s thoughts.

[@pretzelboi64]

It's truly disturbing how Miquella's actually that nasty husk in the cocoon now that you mention it. I kinda just forgot about it mid-DLC

[@theemeraldgecko310]

It’s easy to overlook as it’s only at the start of the dlc!!!

[@shirakaiizanami6122]

6:41 Radahn's soul was still within his body. What was gone was his mind

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Yeah I think you’re probably right!

[@AlexAegisOfficial]

My headcanon is that the Putrescent Knight protecting St Trina is Leonard. The horse's skeleton riding its own flesh.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Mine too!!

[@catalopeminiatures2979]

As a Berserk reader all I thought was OMG St Trina is like the Moonlight boy, the only good part of Griffith. The moonlight boy only comes about when Griffith is asleep on a full moon for those who haven’t read Berserk.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Wow! That’s an amazing detail, I need to get round to reading Beserk haven’t yet!!

[@xperimental839]

I hope Fromsoft reveals the texts between Miquella and Radahn so that Critical can do a lore vid on it

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I’d pay so much to see this

[@Dev_Six]

Mohg is not without sin of his own, he chose to become the Lord of Blood, even if he was cast to die in obscurity. His lands are covered in the blood of his victims.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I agree, but considering everything we know now, whose to say he was in control?

[@crimmycat117]

Ill take the unapologetic genocidal part of mohg over the miquellested mohg

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@crimmycat117 I mean even that part might not been him!

[@dantex341]

@@theemeraldgecko310 ...His lore. There are several items that depict this even when he was still in the sewers. Miquella has nothing to do with Mohg's insanity and the formless mother. Miquella probably didn't even cause the kidnapping (why would the mastermind need to be kidnapped from his own home?), he just took advantage of it. Mohg is a monster, as is...just about everyone in power in this setting.

[@hermesalexandria]

Is there any evidence to show that Miquella somehow tricked -us- to kill Radahn? Just like he tricked his sister Mallenea? We know that Radahn, even in his devolved state, is still "holding back the stars", but why? In Astrolgy, the sun and moon are stars... what if Radahn was NOT trying to hold back the fate of Ranni, but interferring in Miquella's resurrection of Godwyn through the eclipse of Castle Sol???? What if Radahn knew already knew Miquella's plan for godhood and has been trying to prevent it all along???? Is Mohg just a second best corpse for Miquella's consort instead best boy Godwyn?

[@hermesalexandria]

Further rabbit hole.... what if Godwyn was meant to be the first consort of Miquella... was the Night of the Black Knives orchestrated prevent Miquella's first attempt at godhood??? Miquella then tries to ressurect Godwyn, fails, tried to compel Radhan who ran away to the end of the map to avoid him, so he sent his sister to kill him and then resurrects him in a corpse????

[@hermesalexandria]

Rabbithole 2.0.... Free will is a BIG DEAL to Ranni, she will kill herself and others to achieve it. The questline invloving Startlight Amber is talking about Ranni's free will. Her ending is her leaving everyone alone for a 1000 years. Miquella's 1000 year journey is an Age of compassion through mind slavery. Ranni's 1000 year journey is one that grants free will to the Lands Between. Did Ranni killing her body rid her both of the mind control of the Fingers AND that of Miquella?

[@pk-one597]

Basically Miquella is Griffith from Berserk, and Miquella becoming a God is Griffith becoming Femto

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I need to read Beserk big time

[@Selfdepprik8]

Bingo!! There are so many similarities with berserk it’s amazing I love it!!! The art style alone but if you read all the items many are homage to berserk

[@ciro_costa]

​@@theemeraldgecko310 do a review after

[@ShxpxRok]

no way after what he did to Mohg could hMiquella claim to champion compassion no way could someone wanting a gentle world knowingly leave their followers to kill amongst themselves. I mean it's a long asked question can evil bring goodness? personally I will always say no because Evil always has a cost at some point someone's got to pay.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Even if that evil did create a loving world, that world will always be soiled by the blood and sins of the past

[@hankbudjenska5128]

Only thing on the 'Radahn Soul', we have to kill radahn before we can access the DLC and Miyazaku was very explicit about it. And Miquella calls us the 'Champion of the Festival' who would be storied in 'Song'.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

That’s a great point actually!!! Also I thought that to begin with too, but the dlc confirms he’s talking to Radahn at that line :)

[@1papakirk]

The most important reason for Miquella to control Radahn isn’t his physical prowess, that is just a bonus. Radahn’s gravity magic is so hyper potent he is the only person to ever live that can literally stop the stars from taking their path, influences, and everything that comes along with that. It would be a must to have that magic on his side, being it would be the only power available in order to divert Ranni and every other issue that the stars/moons would create as a challenge to his reign.

[@fernandogaray8215]

Well, also that while Radahn keeps the start stuck Miquella's fate cannot move forward, just like Ranni

[@bigchungus6827]

The thing is that the swords Radahn wields in the DLC fight have this description when the player gets them "These were in his possession immediately before his triumph over the stars-the swords of a lord who does not rely on physical strength and gravity alone." so it doesn't really seem to me like Miquella was fond of the Starscourge.

[@guilttv2031]

Miquella nuking an entire region cause he couldn’t take no for an answer. Malenia was trained by the blind blue dancer to suppress the rot. Why would she willingly release it and go against her own beliefs and well being? She was bewitched to an extent

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Great point! I hadn’t thought of that part but you’re right!!

[@trulybarr5341]

But why would Miquella want her to release her rot? Most of his character in the base game was relating to him trying to cure his sister of the rot, why would he abandon fundamentalism and make unalloyed gold just for him to undo all of it by telling her to do that?

[@guilttv2031]

@@trulybarr5341 his plan> curing her rot. Order had to be at all costs

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@guilttv2031 definitely, really did wish that Miquella wanted to truly cure Melania

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Radahn never said no. Their battle was part of the vow.

[@revengance4149]

I don't think he did it to Malenia though. The two seem to genuinely share a close sibling bond, similar to Miquella and Godwyn back in the day. it's also possible that Malenia is only so devoted to him and admires him so much, because he goes so far to cure her. It feels like you're right that he's ultimatly a villain but went to far with Malenia. Miquella is all about kindness even when it can be damaging, so is it to hard to believe that he could care for his twin sister especially due to their curses giving them a shared expierience. What's next did he only want to give Godwyn a true death because he thought the deathroot might interfere with his master plan? or did he gift Radagon and incantation in order to gain favor with the Elden Lord and to increase his chances to succeed Marika? or did he abandon fundamentalism because it wasn't useful to his own ends and he used the Malenia excuse as a easy way out without damaging his reputation? At some point it seems like rather than just being misguided or naive your trying to make him a irredemable psychopath even when that goes against what were told by item descriptions. OR MAYBE HE CHARMED THE ITEM DESCRIPTIONS TOO, you get the point. Doesn't mean I dislike the video though Im just getting hung up on 1 point. also no Malenia didn't steal his soul grim reaper style we have to kill him to access the dlc because only then is his soul freed

[@feroxultimate3711]

My god, GRRM really shows up here.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

100% he’s just his mark all over this lmao

[@joseph7471]

What do you mean, cure the rot? Play millicent's quest again. Her last dialogue reveals that, though the needle had restored her mind it wasn't cutting the rot. Instead, it was allowing the rot to grow. She let's herself *die to the rot*. Rot kills. Next, go back to gowry. He is crying over millicent's death, asking if that's how much she hates them. Lamenting that she *never bloomed into a flower*. What is the form of Saint Trina? Theory: Miquella was turning malenia into a flower. Maybe even in a similar way he turned Trina into a flower.

[@vincentbeton]

Ye know, gotta wonder what Marika thought of him. She must've expected him to be a pretty big issue in the future, shattered Elden Ring or not

[@theemeraldgecko310]

This is a great point! Would be super interesting to see her opinion!

[@tylerrobbins8311]

To be honest Miquella is the most likely Marika of all her children. Think about it both are "evil" by flawed narrow minded idealism, both are are trying to create a perfect world, both disregard the wills of others, and lastly both have an other self if they opposite sex.

[@kyleblomquist2235]

Another banger. Your speculations and investigative theories are captivating, I can’t wait til your voice is up there with vaati and the like. You’ve made me look at the game with entirely new perspectives and I’ve replayed a few times just to explore your ideas myself. Can’t get enough, keep it up

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thank you so much, I really can’t put into words how much this means to me! Have a blessed day brother 💚

[@danielrobinson7872]

It also occurred to me that Miquella doesn’t even want to fix any problems. He just wants everything to be accepted. Deathblight, scarlet rot, and even frenzied flame. He’s just going to be putting a bandage over the festering wounds that plague the world via mind control.

[@GreatRoostar]

I disagree. Miquella wants to fix the problems of the world, he would not have tried so hard to cure Malania and Godwyn or create a home for the albernaurics of he didn't want to help. But with the way the world was at the time helping them would be very difficult if not impossible. Like seriously, curing your sister from the influence of an ancient outer god is a REALLY steep hill to climb and so is fighting the effect of a THE LITERAL fragment of death. He needed to become a god and change the world to even have at achieving those goals. Also, most other ending don't intend to fix anything either. Ranni just froze the elden ring and took a thousand year vacation, I don't see her curing Caelid or helping albanaurics. Frenzied flame ending just burns the world down. Dung eater's ending just curses everyone. Fia's ending just makes death acceptable (which atleast tries to fix one thing) Goldmasks ending doesn't fix much but it does repel the outer gods without leaving the land between ungaurded like Ranni does. Which give us the player the chance to try and fix things. And the fractured ending is just wiping dust off the table. The dust will be back. Tldr: Miquella wanted to help people he just needed the power of a god to do so.

[@SuppositionalBox]

Keep in mind that the body inside the cocoon was also contorted by the blood god to force Miquella's growth into an adult form. I remember reading that quite a while ago in several reddit posts. It's likely that is why its larger and shriveled, from being blood-letted constantly by Mohg lol

[@TheoJay615]

I don't think he's evil but I do think he's extremely misguided. The path to hell is paved with good intentions. Edit: The Putrescent Knight is Leonard. That is an amazing theory.

[@bombthing]

Yeah I mean he really did want to help people, and he did. After all the purpose of the haligtree was to be a place of refuge by those who were less favored by the Golden Order, like the Misbegotten. But his search for godhood made him get rid of most of his sense of self and he became power hungry and manipulative. Even as a god he wanted a better world, but not every one wanted his idea of his better world

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I’m on the Fence if I’m being honest, he speaks his opinions, and while it could be good intentions, maybe his idea of “good intentions” is actually the misguided actions we see? Glad you liked it, thank you! As I said in the video I saw it on a comment from someone’s lore video a few days ago, it wasn’t my original theory, annoyed I can’t remember where it was from!

[@thelionofjudah5318]

Bewitchment says otherwise

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

@@thelionofjudah5318 Bewitchment how? Making people love him? It's not like he's controlling their actions. Some items even suggest he's not charming them on purpose, only that he *can.*

[@bwhit7919]

Miquella wanted to control the Outer gods. This is why he let Radahn get infected, then bewitched Mohg to contact the formless mother. Now, Miquella can control both the Formless Mother and Scarlet Rot. Now, note that Radahn was the child of Radagon and Rennala, which already gave him powers from the Golden Order and Glintstone Sorcery. Remember, Miquella created a needle of unalloyed gold. This cured Malenia and you can use it to remove the mark of the Frenzied Flame. Miquella’s entire goal, from even before the story, has been to control the outer gods. This makes sense, if you think about it. When Marika shattered the Elden Ring, the Greater Will imprisoned her. Miquella doesn’t want to make the same mistake. He wants to be in control. This is a nice contrast to Ranni’s questline. Ranni, our other four-armed Empyrean, wanted to escape the outer gods by destroying the two fingers. Miquella wanted to control the outer gods, Ranni wanted to escape them.

[@bwhit7919]

@@NocturneJester it’s possible. I think she draws power from the primeval current, which functions kind of like an outer god but lacks sentience.

[@Nuchraptor]

I thought there would be Melina and Godywin influences in the dlc but Im so confused with what we got. Like i rly dont know what to think about this dlc.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

On the topic of Godwyn I think we did actually get a little bit, Melina wise? The description virtually confirming Melina as Messmers little sister seems to have been cut…

[@glowindark64]

​@@theemeraldgecko310there is a description on game that alludes to mesmmer little sister who also has kindling abilities.

[@glowindark64]

​@@theemeraldgecko310yeah look at mesmers remembrance I think...its not explicit but it's got to be her

[@Daliakes]

The topic about Godwyn is maybe for another DLC (lets hope)

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@Daliakes fingers bloody crossed that or Elden ring 2…. BLOODBORNE REMAKE PLEASE AND THANK YOU FIRST

[@LovespencerLove]

Why does he look like Ranni. Is 4 arms a sign of something?

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I’m not sure!!! Ranni is a doll, so maybe it’s a hint Miquella’s body is not real?

[@busstop2302]

Finally someone point out suicide man in haligtree! I alway feel weird how this soldier bomb themself for his kindly lord.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

They’ve freaked me out for so long! It’s really sad!

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Miquella said to them ''The afterlife consists of a plethora of beautiful femboys to smash at your leisure if you sacrifice yourself for the age of compassion.'' And the rest was history.

[@GreatRoostar]

I disagree Those guys are just desperate and lost. Soldiers in the lands between give their lives for their Lords all the time. Miquellas soldiers are just doing it in their own way. Desperately trying to guide their master back to the haligtree. Maybe they were bewitched, but the bomb thing was probably their own choice.

[@MartinPEngebraaten]

Is war and all other atrocities we humans inflict upon each other a price worth paying for free will? Miquella's goal is to bewitch the entire world, to bring forth an age of love and compassion, by ways of removing every living being's choice to do bad things.

[@hsick184]

He would have to hug everyone to do that brainwashing. Some will be like the tarnished and call that bs and then Miquella's forces vs people who disagree with him will just start another conflict. The Elden Beast, Godfrey and Ranni will definitely disagree. That's already 3 powerful beings that will oppose Miquella. The Erdtree has an army of its own, Godfrey has the Crucible Knights, and Ranni will probably find a way to ally with the people of Raya Lucaria as well as her forces in Caria Manor. Radahn and his forces will eventually bore to death of the age of compassion if they ever succeed. Robbing them of their literal purpose, they would succumb shortly In short it's the age of "accept the brainwashing or get culled"

[@WaltGfromCPT]

I thought the horse was Leonard?

[@theemeraldgecko310]

That's my head cannon lmao, not sure if it's confirmed in game though!

[@icards7986]

​@@theemeraldgecko310 the game mentions that the horse's name is Leonard a few times. Mainly in gravity magic spells. Also, there is also a character named Lionel. One of Fia's Deathbed Champions has a Heavy Armor set, and the set is called Lionel's Armor. You can get the Armor from a rundown church in Lyndale.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I thought they meant the one next to st Trina! The whole name thing was such a silly mistake on my part, I knew his name no idea why I said the name I did lmaooo

[@joe.todddq]

Miquella the unalloyed Creeper

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Mofo has the same Delu Lu level as joe goldberg 😭🙏

[@TheHarrisontemple]

​@@theemeraldgecko310Miquella eats corn the long way.

[@xportaleerx9287]

At first I found it pretty random myself that "Radahn" was the final boss, but in hindsight this was actually hinted to us repeatedly. "Champion of the festival.", the lion motif throughout the expansion, Frejya mentioning Miquella and Radahn's pact from the first cross, the rites scroll found in Shadow Keep. And then you consider Radahn's importance with stars tied to destiny/fate. It all makes sense now. We were had. I know I was.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Not to mention, wasn’t Radahn mentioned as a champion of the festival in the base game? Could be completely wrong! I might be one of the only people, but I actually really liked the twist. We couldn’t have come to this conclusion with just the base game, but knowing this now we can see it’s been in the works for a long time!

[@GrandWizardCaprisun]

It does make me wonder just how much we know that this stuff about Kindest Miquella is real and how much is it, throughout the DLC we hear how people speak highly and have faith in Miquella, it’s the first thing we hear when we first meet them before he breaks his rune, so how do we know that some of the stuff throughout the base game hasn’t been fabricated by manipulated people? What if it’s a lie that’s so well put that even we, as the players, were fooled into thinking that Miquella was the only kind in the family that he truly wanted to save his sister from the rot, or revive Godwyn’s soul through the eclipse, maybe some of these thing are true but with alternative motive behind it.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

This makes so much sense especially considering looking at it from what you’re saying, whose to say there was any effort to revive Godwyn in the first place? Maybe he bewitched people to believe that to get Godwyns people to his side? Some of the castle sol knights do after all wield death and Godwyns knights in the dlc have what looks like an eclipse symbol… notice we don’t see hardly anything to do with the eclipse in the dlc… whose to the Same not only is the plan to revive Godwyn fake but also the very means (the eclipse)?

[@majrbacon1293]

I think base-game radahn is still radahn and not controlled because he fought against malenia, the scarlet rot, and every combatant in his boss arena. Had he wanted to uphold the vow he would have went with malenia or gave up at any point but it seems heavily implied to me that he changes his great rune after the fight with malenia just to keep surviving, and in turn continue to avoid his promise as consort to miquella. Radahn learned something about miquella after their initial promise which is likely what causes him to lose faith in miquella and fight so hard to survive.

[@mcsquared5005]

Miquellas spell says 'only one ever rejected him' refering to Radahn. He didnt want this. Maybe Radahn learned to stop the stars so that Miquellas control of him couldnt occur as well. PS Im so happy I predicted the plot twist as well. The ring on the finger, the ring on the Halig Knights, the ring on the Halig soldiers, the ring on literally every prosthesis Mallenia has on. It always seemed to me like Miquella could've cured Mallenia but chose not to because she was an Empyrean and competition. He got an empyrean and mohg a shard bearer out of the way while using them as tools.

[@bigchungus6827]

While I've heard people say that the japanese translation supports that, the english description on that is kinda weird imo. "Miquella sought to accept all that was and would be, but found one that refused to be embraced. No wonder, as one god, and one king consort, is all the world needs." It reads to me like the one that refused to be embraced is different from the one god (Miquella) and one king consort (Radahn). My read is that it's referencing the player.

[@AlexisTheDragon]

Everyone was wrong back then, who says everyone isn't wrong now? Villain? Give me a break, so 99% of players nuking the world with the cthulhu nightmare frenzied flame, just so they don't get damaged by a slightly better frenzied stone are what? Heroes? The lore isn't straight forward, people have endlessly been mistaken about these games lore from the getgo. One thing is for certain, most people who follow Miquella AREN'T compelled, and two we know, Needle Knight Leda and Dryleaf Dane, were literally compelled, not because they weren't loyal, they already were, but because they were SO FANATICALLY LOYAL, THEY KEPT KILLING EVERYONE WHO WASn'T INSANELY LOYAL TO MIQUELLA. He charmed them to stop them killing random people and each other, It was never about compelling loyalty, it was always about making a gentler world. What a sad world we live in, where someone is so selfless they literally give up their selflessness itself to help the world, aswell as everything else, but because he's wielding love and kisses, instead of chopping peopels heads off with a big fucking sword, it's suddenly "OH HES THE MOST EVIL CHAR IN ELDEN RING" have some nuance. Oh just FYI, Radahn didn't wanna consort with Miquella, not because he wasn't attracted to him, but literally because Radahn wants war and conflict, because he is a naturally powerful demi god that enjoys throwing around that power, that is it, completely, and so a world of peace would mean he couldn't justifiably be slaughtering people and warring left and right, but aw Miquella wanting to stop him is the asshole because he likes his horse, yeah guess what, Miquella likes leonard too and everyone else too, the love and compassion was genuine, that's not even contested.

[@Skwish6952]

I feel like Radahn was subbed in later. Godwin is who I believe was supposed to be the consort. Radahn needed to die to free the stars, not just for Ranni but also for the eclipse that was required to give Godwin a full death, basically bringing his soul back to be shoved in mogues body. That's just what I think tho.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I get what you’re saying! But also Melania whispered in Radahns ear in a trailer pre Elden ring release, imo it seems to have been the plan for a long time!

[@Skwish6952]

@@theemeraldgecko310 yea but what she said wasn't put in till the DLC. It could just as easy been, "Release the stars." Or "Now you die." Or a bunch of things. AgtJake said in one of his videos a few days ago that the community has been very vocal about wanting a Prime Radahn fight and he thinks the devs caved and gave it to them. I have to agree. I understand it from a game play stand point but it doesn't match up from where the lore was pointing to in the main game. Miquilla even calls Godwin Lord brother at one point.

[@Flashstrike4]

Love the video and i can see the setup being there form even before the game was released(talking about the trailer), but the Godwyn aspect was and imo still is sooo much more interesting, can you imagine that if we got Godwyn back as the final boss we could have potentially gotten Radahn in Mogh’s body and Godwyn as bosses effectively 3 demigods used as pawns by Miquella the cruel, also Godwyn would just be such a tragic story his soul destroyed by his half sister, revived by his half brother only to be enslaved by the same half brother And one other thing the Melania taking Radahn’s soul angle just doesn’t work since then there would be no need to beat Radahn before entering the dlc but he is a mandatory boss

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thank you!!!! I can definitely see where you’re coming from and I agree, personally would have loved for Godwyn to be the final boss as well! Can see where you’re coming from there!

[@FhervyS]

Charmed by a heartless twink who became a god. I had to use Guts sword to end him. R.I.P Miura

[@theemeraldgecko310]

No idea who Miura is but amen man

[@DLYoung-bu5ui]

Looking at Miquella in this light, and then going back to the base game gives the lore around him and Godwyn a whole new meaning. It makes me wonder if Godwyn was Miquella's original consort pick, but that plan got derailed by Ranni's scheme, so Radahn became a plan b situation, as Miquella needed Godwyn to have a "proper death" in order to complete his plan.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

On the topic of all this, it makes you wonder as well just where these souls of Demi gods go after a “proper death”…

[@logicaldude3611]

I don’t think Miquella did anything wrong. He’s an eternal child and he’s living in this bizarre, evil world and he just wants to make it a nice place.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I won’t lie dude I think I can feel the bewitching branch through the screen

[@gimligloinson972]

One thing to bear in mind is that during Radahn’s phase transition, before miquella appears. He begins to glow red and the stone around him begin to rise. I think that this is radahn breaking free because of the battle fever he is getting from fighting us, and it only disappears (and the rocks fall back down) when miquella comes out and exerts his influence over him. Thus creating a another parallel between radahn here and Godfrey, the only difference being that his ‘regent’ so to speak is controlling him

[@MichaelChapmanArt]

I just need someone to answer this question... Did Miquella, force Merika to shatter the elden ring...

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Can’t 100% say yes or no because we weren’t there, but I honestly really do like this theory!!

[@joe.todddq]

She was a GOD so I dont think so

[@theemeraldgecko310]

@@joe.todddq I mean if my theory is true about Malenia she became a god and was still mega bewitched..

[@glowindark64]

​@@theemeraldgecko310truueeee and based

[@Meldiocre]

On your “doesn’t want the fun to end” point, I genuinely believe this now. Specifically because Miquella would not want an outer god’s influence on his puppet. Absolutely chilling stuff.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

It really is chilling, Miquella is imo pure evil, not in the comical sense, but in a truly disturbing way

[@whoisj]

Villain or antagonist? Not sure if he was a true villain. More like a misguided individual with the best intentions, but the worst executions. Mohg was never a good guy. Nobody that flays the living so that he can bathe in their blood for random dark god is a "good guy".

[@theemeraldgecko310]

That’s a good point to be fair! There’s points to be made for both! My interpretation was this action was Miquella’s doing, he’s supposedly bewitching mohg, we know “mohg” drenched Miquella’s body in blood, the same cocoon that now allows transport to the land of shadows… I don’t know, maybe I’m reaching but seems to me like this is Miquella’s doing!

[@quadrupoltensor]

@@theemeraldgecko310 Ah, but Mogh encountered the Formless Mother deep underground (presumably where the Omen siblings were shackled). So I think Mogh created his dynasty before Miquella enchanted him, so that his god has worshipers. And the Formless Mother craves a wound, so...

[@bigchungus6827]

@@quadrupoltensor Yea, but the descriptions relating to the Formless Mother more often than not specify that the one getting wounded was Mohg himself. He gave up his own blood to the Formless Mother.

[@shwaig1]

I always took it as Miquella not even understanding that he's cursing people to obey him.

[@ryanmesk996]

Great video

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thank you!!!!

[@BoarwithTea]

I love your theroy that miquella is an omen. That he was born an omen but also with the fact that everyone loves hims (st trina side) would be a curse - not directly to miquella but to markia/radagon which then made her use her veil on him - making him always look as a pure and young boy - is a really cool idea This could explain why he never ages as, thinking about it why would you curse someone with eternal youth - not as a actual baby form but with a childs form - isnt a great curse idea outer god.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thanks so much! I don’t know if he’s an omen but I definitely think he’s hiding his appearance? Not to mention the form he’s in is a young child… not a fully grown child seems strange to me

[@OtherPeoplesCars]

You got a lot wrong on this one bud

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Could you give some examples please? Would hate to be spreading misinformation

[@xavcast007]

Malenia didn't steal radahn soul, she tried to kill him so his soul then will go to the realm of shadow, the place where souls go after death. So there he could use Mogh body to put in Radahn soul

[@zachariahjonahmaldonado5897]

I can't get over how hard I called this one. A month after the game came out, everyone was calling him the Greater Scope Paragon and off screen hero and postulating his return being the coming golden age but I wasn't fooled. The Bewitching Branch told me all I needed to hear, and not enough was adding up with the Haligtree and his kidnapping. I had to go through a game length side quest just to *find* his tree house and fight through waves of Cleanrot Knights to get to the bottom, how did Mohg sneak in? It's almost like he was... let in... Pair with it seeming to me like he was making an Army out of the downtrodden and everyone left behind by Marika's age and how odd it is that no one had a mean thing to say about him. I was like 'Nah B, this dude is sketch' and behold! True Final Boss of Elden Ring.

[@nickw4320]

I feel like even without lore videos the second miquella sees me and calls me his blade I'd be like "oh shit i got played too"

[@KnightofEkron]

If Malenia stole Radahn's soul then there would be no point in killing him to get into the DLC, so I don't think that makes sense. I think the reason he chose Radhan is because if the stars control fate, then if you control the one who controls that which controls fate(the stars), you thereby can control fate and bind everything in "compassion".

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Yeah you’re probably right, that point was just something I thought of and wanted to add even if it was a bit out there :)

[@CharlesZane_]

I wonder if Miquella was originally a female in GRRM’s original outline, and Miyazaki changed it to for the Gwendolyn/Griffith reference. Martin has done the incest thing but he also understands that a ruling pair would require children and that’s not possible here. He has also said in at least one interview that his work on Elden Ring wasn’t very much. He only made a historical timeline to set the stage with some minor details of certain characters.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

This is a great thought and I could definitely see this being the case! Miyazaki did say he twisted the what Martin had wrote…

[@Ombrifère]

I think Miquella isn’t wrong, most people would do that with that type of power, especially if they have good intentions. Like Goldmask’s rune implies the only problem is for gods to be no different from man.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

I definitely get where you’re coming from! I mean I don’t think every person would, but quite a few would definitely fall to their arrogance like Miquella

[@hnhenrique2984]

Ok, now I want to see Charlie reacting to Miquella beinf a creep

[@theemeraldgecko310]

That would be so funny lmao, Charlie is literally the Goat when it comes to KZbin

[@farmerjohnTV]

Glad to see another one who solidifies my thoughts about Miquella. When I finished the DLC, the first thing that came to my mind was what Morgott claims of the council before you fight him. "Traitors." I always wondered why he seems so sure even of the empyrians such as Miquella. Now I know....I wish there's a questline that lets you align with Morgott.

[@earnshawheathcliff5189]

“Miquellaested”. I can’t stop laughing. Amazing video, you’re a great narrator also. Thanks for uploading.

[@theemeraldgecko310]

Thanks so much dude ❤️🙏

[@RuslanHod-m7z]

During the transition to the second phase, Radahn begins to glow red, but after Miquella envelops him with her golden radiance and fills him. Could the red light mean that the Mohg is trying to get his body back. Sorry for my English. I use a translator.