Chapter 9: What Lies Ahead - 9.1 Chains of Domination [Lore]

[@gokibros4451]

The compass makes sense. Even after Arthas/LK cut his heart out and cast it down he still held on to a box of belongings including, I think, Jaina's locket. It is not far fetched to think Anduin is being protected or aided by the light. Remember in the intro to shadowlands he says "Even here the light can hear me." and the jailer said that was really interesting/dope af? Probably gonna become relevant

[@elchikoriko592]

You must have missed the part where that ‘payed off’ already. The reason the jailer thought he was interesting was because he had a soul that could walk into bastion. There ya :) and now u can drop that plot point faster than the blizzard stock is.

[@mokarokas-1727]

@@elchikoriko592 - There obviously must be more to it, or he wouldn't bring Anduin when he left (or use him as a third arm in fights for that matter).

[@iceman3317]

Although it is from a book, Anduin said the Divine Bell was speaking to him. There is something about the Divine Bell that has not be revealed in the game yet. My guess his power of Void in Shadow is working together to over power the Death Magic, which is why he can't be completely controlled. It is very possible that the Divine Bell was an artifact of the First Ones.

[@mokarokas-1727]

@@iceman3317 - "Very possible"? As far as I know it's a Mogu/Titan artifact, implied to have had parts of Ra'den used in building it, and having connections to the Void (but later "purified" with Light). Then shattered and some fragments infused into Anduin, who does seem to get some painful premonitions from it occasionally. So I'm with you that far, but what exactly would connect it to the First Ones?

[@sergiovergaramontemiranda2116]

The Kael one was a heart warming one. Like from a strict teacher to a troubled student or like an Aunt to a Nephew

[@mokarokas-1727]

Seriously, the dynamic between the Accuser and Kael'thas is one of the greatest things about this expansion.

[@stormstrider1990]

"You didn't fail us, Kael'thas. You gave us hope, when we thought all hope was lost. We knew the grief you shared with us was genuine, and Kil'jaeden used that grief to lead you down a dark path. But we chose redemption over vengeance. This is why you're in Revendreth, so that you may find redemption as well. The Accuser has faith in you, and so do I." -Althran Stormstrider, blood elf paladin, Venthyr covenant.

[@mokarokas-1727]

@@stormstrider1990 - That's... that's kinda cringe RP.

[@jalicea1650]

Does he say anything different if you're a sin'dorei or ren'dorei?

[@sergiovergaramontemiranda2116]

@@jalicea1650 i think not.

[@Cruzadu]

when in-game characters admit and acknowledge more faults than the company that crafted them.

[@SuperGamefreak18]

more props to the writing team than the actual company itself

[@devo076]

When is that?

[@DrApplezman]

I have to admit I kinda liked that this chapter was just cutscenes, knowing beforehand probably helped tho since I just relaxed while story was happening. Hope Anduin gets to be free by the end of the story, I liked where they were taking his character and I wanted to see him try to create a lasting peace with the new new horde.

[@Amadorius1k]

They also throw some hind where the story is goin hope they don't scrap the expansion like wod

[@FranciscoSantos-lw8nz]

@@Amadorius1k they wouldnt do that , it’d be way too bad when people are already invested in this story

[@cesarmillan5657]

I’m glad they finally gave Sylvannas a properly moving set of lips

[@greyworld6242]

Now they just need todo or for a lot of other characters! Lol

[@patriousthefallenknight3185]

where is Sylvanas now?

[@briankeys5941]

chat says to you: gigidy

[@ArlongSun]

I always thought in game cinematic, the bad lip syncing was a creative choice, an homage to the original Warcraft games, where everyone looks like a Muppet talking. LOL I too hope they start moving away from the old style of talking as they update all the character models.

[@Altrantis]

@@patriousthefallenknight3185 Presumably Oribos, though I think the best place to keep a prisoner in the shadowlands is Castle Naria.

[@Thromash]

Can we talk about how good the detail is on Thrall's armor when the camera is up close? Can we get that stuff? It looks so good

[@WuxianTec]

Doomhammers armor? I don't think everyone should run around in that, but I miss the beautiful creative detailed sets that we used to get (on the tech of the past even). Now it's all just one style themed, this time we got dark spiky maw armor, which leaves a lot to be desired imo, especially seeing that the pvp set is just the same look.

[@Thromash]

@@WuxianTec I mean we do have the older version available, but I just mean gear that looks that good and detailed. It's simple, but they put a lot of effort into smoothing it out

[@zurie35]

No lol. Wow dont make cool looking armor unique to classes anymore - they make generic bulky shit - 1 per armor class. no different pvp/pve skins either, just a slight colour change.

[@paulepsimos8396]

“Once the cycle of life and death has been broken and remade we will…..” they never let These characters finish their sentences… 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@vexorian]

Not even the writers know what's up in Sylvanas' mind

[@Galejro]

​@@vexorian Indeed it's not as much they don't wanna tell you as it is that they haven't even written this shit cause their fucking corporate commanders released the expansion before they even came up with the full picture of what this expansion is going to be about. And now they use their lawsuits of domination to force out these rushed up patches that pour more BS atop this pile of BS, until they can't BS you more and it'll come to a disappointment *sigh* It's like the Jailor is a metaphor to their bosses forcing them into this evil BS to reshape this company more into money-milking hell and Anduin/Sylvanas/Arthas are metaphors to the employees lol.

[@NoOne-cb3hc]

".... be free"? Isn't the same thing she have already told him (us)?

[@torylva]

18:00 Or more likely that Blizzard writers are a bunch of hacks that didn't bother remembering that

[@Thromash]

I've seen the theory that when The Jailor comes to take Azeroth that the TItans show up, Sarg finds out he was manipulated & fights Zovaal. Although I don't think it will end up happening, we would get a cinematic of Sarg Vs Zovaal in space while being bigger than a planet. Could look pretty awesome. Zovaal tries to turn Sargs sword into a mourne blade using Azeroths soul, Sarg if turned to our side would probably become either uncorrupted, maybe just less. The sword in azeroth is still the broken version of Sargs original so might play a part. Maybe Azeroth wakes up, turns out she is actually a First One, pulls the sword out and reforges.

[@mendecino8306]

sargeras probably told illidan everything and now they have to send him back to get his sword XD

[@Marqrk]

It would be really cool if we could be fighting a final boss while the Sarg v Zoval fight happens in the skybox and progresses as the boss’s HP goes down, but idk what we could possibly be fighting that wouldn’t be Zoval himself or maybe Anduin

[@Thromash]

@@Marqrk I'd say if they did something like that we would probably be fighting Anduin at the time.

[@monkeysk8er33]

Honestly, considering what we know now, that Zovaal was the original Arbiter of Souls, I would argue that out of all the Eternal Ones, Zovaal is the most educated, therefore his decision to remake reality is likely the best decision, considering all there is to know. He may have information the Eternal Ones did not, mirroring Sargeras' Revelations about the Void, and discussing it with the Pantheon. It's the same event, except with opposite outcomes. In Sargeras' story, Sargeras won that debate, and then was later stopped. In Zovaal's he initially lost but is now on the verge of victory. We might just see Zovaal win next patch, and the announcement of a WoW2. This would be the absolute perfect time to do it, because the lore sets it up perfectly. Since the events are mirroring Sargeras' so much, it's so plausible that it's almost the likeliest scenario right now.

[@Nairneh]

Props for using classic Warcraft footage... not the garbage that is Reforged... Nice catch with the Halls of Reflection conv (I completely forgot about it)

[@cryam6428]

"Once Zovaal stood as the Arbiter. He betrayed us. We stripped him of his power. We created a new Arbiter." I wish this was a surprise. I wish this was a big reveal. But no, this is literally a thing that ANY of the other Coventant leaders should had said. At the LITERAL expansion launch. Player Character: "Who's the big bad person." Leaders: "Oh thats Zovaal." Player Character: "Okay but why is he a bad dude." Leaders: "He used to lead us. We replaced him with the Arbiter." Player Character: "Ok so that thing that looks like a machine is actually a machine?" Leaders: "Yep. We're not proud of our punishment, but Zovaal was going against the first ones." Player Character: "So if Zovaal gets to the Arbiter he gets a massive power up and we will have a hard time stopping him?" Leaders: "Yep." Not hard to do!

[@Toast4tw]

It's hard to do when you have to make the lore up as you go.

[@helmthunderson9218]

Blizzard sucks so hard at writing they have to hide basic context as "mystery" to keep people engaged

[@cryam6428]

@@helmthunderson9218 When we join Oribos after escaping the Maw all the denizens are freaking out. The Arbiter is not responding and they don't know why. The entire Shadowlands was freaking out not knowing why or how there was an anima shortage. And all I can think is don't they have right-to-repair? Shouldn't there be this massive user manual right next to the Arbiter or held by the covenants that say "In the event your Arbiter stops working, call 1-800-oh-shit-zovaal-is-escaping!"

[@thomasthalberg92]

@@helmthunderson9218 I personally think that some amount of lore was written as a general path for the Shadowlands expansion, and Activision was like "yo, Blizz... dragg the f*** out of that thing, so that players who are invested in the game will be forced to keep their sub in order to see how it develops and make sense of any of this" Honesly, at this point, this kind of dick move won't even surprise me anymore... Activision was the worst thing that happened to Blizz...

[@Aceries_]

It's like Medivh part 2

[@Necrodoge]

thought this week was neat and makes me exited for next patch now to go into hiding since i just said something positive about the game

[@buddyj5VCO]

you are allowed to like content and clear ups!

[@KakoriWow]

Exactly how I feel … hide from the bandwagon!!

[@nightwi5h959]

Being excited for the new patch is great! The wait though? Well....

[@Necrodoge]

@@nightwi5h959 yea pandemic and stuff fucked up development shit

[@Dragonace1555]

I’m looking forward to the next patch.

[@jcmahrt5100]

There is a lot of sketchy stuff about the brokers in the Grimoire of the Shadowlands and that includes what is said of Ve'nari within it. Bwonsamdi is right, the brokers are up to something.

[@lucasbauer834]

Explain

[@northp3214]

my question is why the compass scene is so important? what we learn here, what does it all mean? blizzard wants us to sympathize with the anduin or sylvanas? why didn't they show a scene with Jailer when he says something important to the plot I'm confused

[@TheAwesomoe]

if I were to speculate, it's Anduin's farewell. What we want are some explanations though.

[@MrRafting]

it revealed that anduin still has *some* form of self control

[@Ortokolo]

It's a borrowed power he got from his dad but now compass system is revamped to arthas 2.0 so he deleted the item cus there were no vendors nearby to sell

[@monkpawfire]

Seems to imply that anduin has freedom of action as long as he does as the jailer pleases but if he chooses not to can be taken control of and whenever this happens he feels like he loses a part of himself.

[@Ortokolo]

Well thank god the biggest and the deadliest and most powerful threat to all life on the universe releases his hold on the *ONE* person which he made his reaper of souls and god harbinger whenever he wants to talk about betrayal and losing his mind and using his power to record stuff. while constantly watching ungeared players on maw. what a koinkidink :O

[@monkeysk8er33]

WHOA, I just thought of something. All this plotting and planning by the Dreadlords, by Denathrius. What if Denathrius is a double agent! What if Zovaal approached Denathrius, and told him of his plans, and Denathrius, unlike the others, realized that Zovaal was far more powerful than the rest of them, and knew that one day Zovaal would prevail. Knowing this, rather than trying to deny Zovaal outright, he pulled a Snape, and "joined" (infiltrated, just as the Dreadlords, his greatest creation do) Zovaal so that he would have information on the inner workings of Zovaal's plans. Perhaps he willingly helped, only to sabotage Zovaal in his greatest hour of need later on. THAT would be an amazing story!

[@angelangelis8362]

I mean, he leads the Dreadlords after all, and they seem to adore him. Considering sneaky backstabbery is their bread and butter, he'd have to be the king of such skullduggery to make them love him so. I don't think Denathrius is doing this for good motives mind you, I bet he had his own goal, but double crossing Zovaal is DEFINITELY something he would probably do. It's also probably why Zovaal left him with his ass fluttering in the sun, never trust a traitor even if they sided with you after all. The Dreadlords WERE working on their own after all, no help from the Maw. Guess we will see.

[@NoOne-cb3hc]

I really liked this Chapter! Thanks Nobbel for all your hard work! :)

[@NoOne-cb3hc]

I just figured something: the Jailer is now more like Darkseid than Thanos: searching for forbitten knowledge to enslave/kill/wathever the universe like Darkseid is searching for the Anti-Life Equation for the same purpose XD On another hand: we now know that domination magic is not the 'original' Zorvaal magic used to have, it's Primus's; the Primus forged the Helm of Domination and Frostmourne too (and enscribed the "Frostmoune Runes", the Runes of Domination on his flesh), so I think, is possible that when Sylvanas entered the Maw for the first time (end WoTLK) the Jailer baited her by making himself the victim and putting all the blame on the other Eternal Ones! 0.0 The conversation myght be like as "See Sylvanas? The other Eternal Ones are wery bad people and have punished me with the same magic used to create the Lich King on your word and wronged you for eternity! Help me free myself and I will make all Just again! I promise! In order to do so, we need to do some cruel, cuel things, but all will be well in the end, trust me! Or... would you like to spend eternity in this dump and let the bad guys win?" (or something like that XD) With this take the "I will never... serve" made more sense (perhaps) ^^ Just my two cents, nothing more ;)

[@buddyj5VCO]

Nobbel do be looking good.

[@gallifreyaninquisition4672]

That gloriously beardless face

[@bluebird_9999]

this expansion has been a rough journey, i just hope the ending can be an epic one

[@KAMZA.]

Ooof bad news :(

[@bluebird_9999]

@@KAMZA. :(

[@tambow13]

I can imagine Drakka not being happy with Thrall and Garrosh' Mak'gora

[@ThePaganwicca]

I'm happy about the bit with Kael'thas :) I want more (but then again, considering how starved for story we've been, who doesn't ...) Nothing on Vash'j side ?

[@mikhailg4667]

Agreed. I also liked the Nerzul and Garrosh bits, and do wished they wouldve took more advantage of having ALL of Azeroth's souls available to meet potentially. I really would've liked to seen Lothar or maybe older wc2 type characters who haven't been depicted in WoW yet, personally!

[@Zutraxi]

Anduins voice actor, so good.

[@thomasdr08]

“With your powers combined, I am Captain Primus” Oh my god… don’t tell me Azeroth is the Sepulchre…. 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

[@urbannus]

From what I got the sepulcher is a place to gather knowledge. Azeroth is either a tool or a catalyst wanted by both void and death.

[@thomasdr08]

@@urbannus watch that’s what ties Elune to the living world… watch that’s why Sargeras was so hell bent on Azeroth… why the Old Gods had a hard on for it… why the Pantheon built facilities and beings in their image and protected it from Sargeras… I swear if they do this I’ll be so sad 😤

[@penqu1ns]

Zorvaal is Kirkland-brand Sargeras, keystone of Arcane is gonna be how they bring back/probably kill Khadgar since he's too much of a auto-win button, and Anduin is gonna hard gank Velen for their na'aru to bring InterestingTension(TM) to the Alliance now that they think Tyrande is overdone. Wouldn't be shocked if Anduin kills Velen and then Velen like saves him with his dying breath or something. They probably planned on an old-world reboot like Cata and are just gonna settle for a few more zones like in the end of BFA so that they can push the content out faster and just update a few major cities.

[@beoborf8877]

She doesn't refer to Halls of Reflection because that Uther isn't this Uther. His soul split remember. This one came straight to Shadowlands, the one she talked to was the fragment stuck in Frostmourne.

[@magdalenaborowka7894]

I just love how you say "For the Alliance"

[@chgreene9848]

Alright fellas, see you next year for 9.2

[@micahskaret]

I don't mean any offense to the new guy but I liked Kaelthas's old voice better.

[@hvyarms4496]

Wasn't that dude proven innocent? Watta shame

[@mokarokas-1727]

Yeah, this guy could be voicing some random dude on the street. I wonder if he was told to play Kael'thas that way.

[@madtitan4892]

​@@hvyarms4496 He was proven innocent on the most recent accusation alone, Quinton Flynn was still a creep though.

[@hartke2305]

Feels like they are making all the main characters repent for choices they have make to move them forward into taking on the big bad

[@wizzolo]

the jailer needs something (perhaps just informations or secret knowledge) from the sepulcher to rewrite reality, I don't think the sepulcher is on azeroth, but I bet that he will need to go on azeroth to use it.

[@blake6402]

What if he needs the soul of a titan to actually use what he gets from the sepulcher to unmake reality? As that Azeroth being ground 0 for it all, the same way as Sargeras used Argus to speed up the "rebirth" of the demons?

[@adam3comp]

I think Uther's soul in Halls of Reflection and the Tomb and those kinds of things are like in Dr Who, Twice Upon A Time, when the glass people use past memories and decisions to simulate a conscience and predict what decisions the person would make or what they would say

[@DestructoPop]

My partner and I just came to the heartbreaking conclusion on rewatching Go'el and Draka's conversation that Durotan would likely be a Kyrian... And judging by the fact that we haven't seen him, he probably has a new name and forgone memories. Which is all awful.

[@Izzymoose1]

you'd think Sylvanas has turned into a demon hunter considering all this sacrifice talk lol

[@horrorfan117]

Nah. She is not prepared.

[@lostcrusader8053]

@@horrorfan117 True, not from Zovaal’s obvious betrayal she didn’t

[@ericc2530]

Wow you are really good at polishing this turd. Love you man

[@BioMatic2]

the mawalker/champion of azeroth seems like a creepy stalker butting on everyones private moment.

[@d9nx239]

Love your channel. Ive been here forever. Thanks for making wow content.

[@nesto2947]

The sylv version of halls of reflection is cannon. The reason she didnt help fight arthas in the icc raid is she was recovering from the fight she haf in the dungeon

[@AzAlexzZ]

13:10 It's funny that they used Mortis for the land of the first ones. In Star Wars, The Father, The Son, and The Daughter lived in an ethereal realm called Mortis, and it was believed that the force had derived from the realm of Mortis, The 3, Father, Son and Daughter represented all aspects of the Force

[@Rhaniel]

Between that and the Jailer winning at Oribos and leaving with a portal which gives strong Thanos vibes... Yup, the team definitely spent too much time watching Disney+ x)

[@nikopawlowic6557]

Nobbel the confusion surrounding Jaina and Uther can be easily explained in one of two ways 1: Uther was referring to the last time when he was alive and hasn't fully recovered his memories after his soul was split. 2: All the water in Kul'Tiras causes Amnesia. XD OH WAIT I THOUGHT OF ANOTHER ONE!!! 3: Jaina went on the Kirin tor bar crawl ( I wonder if that holiday is gonna get cancelled due to the whole blizz cubicle crawl)

[@Hirotoro4692]

4. Blizzard really have no idea what they're writing and you glorious fans are filling in the gaps for them

[@NoOne-cb3hc]

@@Hirotoro4692 5. Or pheraps the canon lore is that was Sylvans who encounter Uther in the Halls of Reflection like just said.

[@jackjack-uo9if]

so the jailer wants the anti life equation. got it.

[@MagicMaster515]

Thanks for guiding me through the lore while my sub collects eternal dust. KING!

[@ReatuKrentor]

A suspicion I have is that the devs intended the "serve" voices Sylvanas to be her making the connection that Arthas, the Lich King and Zovaal are the same entity speaking. And that she just hadn't realised it untill that very moment he said it to the others. Didn't quite communicate that to me the first few times I saw the cinematic.

[@Marqrk]

I think she knew but was just in denial and coping because to her the concept of being freed from her fear of everlasting torment in the maw was so tantalizing that she willingly ignored the red flags in order to hold onto some kind of hope, and hearing Arthas in Zoval’s declaration of victory was the point where she couldn’t pretend any longer.

[@d9nx239]

I would love to see a video speculation of future expansions! that used to hype me up so much. Remember Danger Dolan expansion videos? something like that. Whats your take in the future of the lore?

[@StoovTV]

Glad you got to see the Kael one. It seems a few people are missing it although that makes sense since its in Sinfall

[@Burred11]

17:05 Wait, which faction does the Chronicle books say canonically did the Halls of Reflection?

[@calebstearns5571]

I dont think it was specified, but if I had to guess it would be the alliance it would just be more fitting

[@Ortokolo]

Jaina, Cus Information is given to Jaina is more foreshadowing and informative about what's going to happen in the ICC fight. Slyvanas one is just "oh you" "Yes I" "Leave here I am Uther I am a soul" "No I Will not This Sword is shiny" "Leave Arthas Kill kill go go I cry cry" /Que arthas entering the room

[@talrasha1985]

As far as I remember, the book doesn't say anything about it. Just Lich King fought the heroes in a duel. But the deves once said that according to the canon there was an Alliance, although this could already have changed. The only thing I could think of: After the Jailer returned a part of soul to Sylvanas, Jaina realized that in the Halls she spoke only with a piece of Uther, and not "normal" one. And although he regained a part of his soul, he does not remember this moment, so the last time they saw each other was in Stratholme, lol. We should ask Ann Stickney about this and why she forgot about the halls, she wrote this chapter. Sorry for my English :)

[@Ortokolo]

@@talrasha1985 But it was not Uther who made the statement "we last met at Stratholme". I see the point you're trying to make but It does not work. Jaina Encountered Uther In Halls Of Reflection Pyhsically and Canonically. So When uther said "when did we see each other last time", He should've been the one to claim Stratholme, not Jaina. Jaina and the player characters Physically encountered Uther in Halls of reflection even tho he was not Physically there Jaina and Player character were. So no, that argument can't be used because the person who claims their last encounter place is Jaina.

[@debiw8599]

I think the reason Nobbel got the conversation he did is because he was on a Horde character, and they went through with Sylvanas. Alliance probably has a mention of Halls of Reflection.

[@ravenmourne]

17:08 - THANK YOU! I WAS SO... GAAAH. I couldn't help but ask myself "does Uther not remember that because that was the part of his soul trapped in Frostmourne?" but it was Jaina who said "Stratholme" so then I asked myself "Did she did a GoT kinda forget or is HoR dialogue non-cannon because Horde and Alliance get different dialogues in there?"

[@seankkg]

In the Afterlives video it shows his soul being separated into Frostmourne. The one that speaking in Halls of Reflection is Frostmourne's spirit but Jaina would have remembered it even though Uther wouldn't.

[@SimplyVanis]

Sylvanas is literally becoming the Kerrigan of World of Warcraft.

[@Thessalin]

Yeah. It's been my fear since last expansion. Just... please no. No golden wings.

[@EdgedShadow]

Love that you used the clip from the original WCIII instead of the Refunded version

[@SchubertAloysius]

It's funny now Uther leaves out the part where he damned Arthas to the Maw and talks about some goddamn Bullcrap!

[@debiw8599]

Nobbel, I think the omission of the Halls of Reflection is because you were on a Tauren and the Horde went through the Halls with Sylvanas. Is it different for the Alliance, since they went through with Jaina?

[@sergiovergaramontemiranda2116]

If i am not mistaking the idea its the same but the explanation its more emotional and gives us a bit details

[@DracoDatura]

The conversation is the same if you listen in with an alliance character.

[@fadedtimes]

I actually liked these lore items, I hope we don't have to wait long for more.

[@StarShopping69]

I'm so exhausted hearing the words sepulcher and dominated/domination.

[@friskybitzboi]

I set aside time for this chapter but turns out it was like 20 minutes max of content 😭 it was alright tho, just sad there wasn’t a cinematic

[@andrew51723]

Arthas story sounds like anakin becoming darth Vader and going to the temple to slay the younglings then heads to mustafar

[@samtemdo8]

Even though it came out before Revenge of the Sith.

[@TheDeekins]

genuinely wish I had faith they'll pay this off in a satisfying way, I just don't see it

[@twelvezeros]

Venari is like Little Mermaid's Ursula :^) "poor unfortunate souls... in pain, in need"

[@saracee4296]

I thought it was lazy story telling to have Zooval be the former Arbiter. It's too much along the lines of Sargeras, imo. Guy does his job, guy has an epiphany doing his job, guy wants to change the course of things, his pantheon casts him out. I hope that at least Zooval's storyline is going to enlighten us on why Azeroth seems to be so special that seemingly every force in the universe either wants to conquer or to protect it.

[@Marqrk]

It’s actually kind of inverse to Sargeras because Sarg ostensibly won until we came along. He killed the entire pantheon and was pretty close to bending all of them to his will by the time we were assaulting Antorus, whereas Zoval was pretty decisively lost until eons passed and he found a way to escape using our reality and planet in particular.

[@saracee4296]

@@Marqrk I agree with you on the different paths their stories took. My disappointment lies in the similarities in their initial stories. Both of them were dedicated members of a pantheon. Both of them were charged with tasks far different from other members of their respective pantheon, separating them from their brothers and sisters. Then, both of them decided to abandon their task or reinterpret it, in order to right a wrong/supposedly prevent a greater evil. Because of Sargeras, I don't feel Zooval's story is as unique or orginial as it could have been.

[@drkTmplar422a]

In Sargeras’ case, his rebellion was unique due to the threat of the void lords and how the old gods would corrupt world souls, hence why he started the legion and the crusade. But for Zovaal, his reason is just... bland. He doesn’t agree with the designs of the first ones which he finds flawed but that’s it. We don’t even know why he finds it flawed.

[@ScumlordStudio]

uther stop making me feel things its 3 am damn it

[@andreware2039]

That last part with Kael'thas was 👌👌👌

[@liaevans4483]

Holy heck the eternal ones are just the titan keepers again. The first ones are the titans again.

[@stanislavmigra]

It kinda reminds me of Silmarilion and the Morgoth (Melkor), who was bannished outside. But then he still have a plot to return to the world after Sauron was defeated and Ring destroyed. And we look to the story from perspective of lets say Frodo, who have no knowledge of the first Age.

[@Groxigar]

The covenants said stuff when they presented their sigils? I didn’t get voice lines or even speech bubbles. Damn blizz

[@urbannus]

Yeah, it as weird. I only got lines from necro and nf, the two I joined at some point

[@TheVinny115]

The story of Shadowland will end. But, the characters in those short "Stay a while" will remain. Like Nobbel said the story could not be fixed in one chapter. Making us like the characters within is a good start to either rescue the story or at least set up future stories.

[@lurven141]

About the Jaina, Uther halls of reflection: I think you point out a very interesting thought about this. I wonder how many times we do something in World of Warcraft as alliance or horde and I wonder which side is canon or not?

[@GlamdringandOrcrist]

It’s pretty incredible that despite Blizzard’s best intentions of mucking up the story, Jaina has been one of the better parts of the last two expansions, and Thrall has continued to be as great as he’s ever been. I need Kael’thas and Jaina to talk at some point too.

[@blackrose8418]

Kael'thas and Jaina to talk and later near the end of the expansion Arthas plays a role somehow since he was cast into the Maw

[@Chilllaxxinn]

That's because Jania is a dreadlord, it had no knowledge of jania's experiences in icecrown.That's why it also makes sense since the dreadlords are also back now

[@chasesallenbach165]

Thanks for the video and saving me money. The story is the only thing I still like about the game

[@riftorsill]

Hi guys I’m super late to the game but can someone please catch me up ?? I stopped playing after cataclysm and I wanted to ask if it’s still worth returning back? I’m going to be very casual and just want to relax and have a. Fun time leveling up! Last time i remember sylvannas was evil

[@freakindamnshiki]

i can't pass over the surprised pikachu face moment... i mean the dominator, the guy making mind slaves, the guy that his whole gimmick is chains... does not want to free everyone? OMG who could have forseen that?? And btw, stratholme was the right choice! a hard one sure, but the right one

[@TheLun4tic]

Who will be our lucky Arbiter: 1. Sylvanas the adorable Banshee Queen with a taste for cosy Bonfires 2. The Lich King formerly known as Prince Arthas with his Anger against father figures and some mommy issues? 3. Thrall, the Orc formerly known as Green Jesus, Warchief of the Horde, Proud Dad and even better Father Figure to Garrosh? 4. Bolvar, the Lich King and former Jailer of the Damned who we don't seem to need anymore now that Zovaal is gone?

[@bononoz2948]

I hope we get to see Zovaal's sexy face again and those ripped pecs and abs. I sure hope he will explain his motives while giving the players a shoulder massage.

[@jamesnelson5741]

Hello Nobbel. I love your videos and I can not wait to see more. I do have a question though. Any idea how Kil'Jaeden got his hands on the Helm of Domination so that he could imprison Ner'zhul's soul in it.? The story in the Shadowlands said that The Jailer had The Runecarver create the Helm and Frostmourne.

[@Nobbel87]

through the dreadlords that are (as was revealed in sl) agent from sire denathrius/the jailer

[@iriswaldenburger2315]

So, technically ... it’s as I thought. Zorvaal didn’t like this forced “balance” and wanted to change it. And the others - being the suckers they are - turned against him and imprisoned him for having different beliefs ... sounds familiar and just like real life in a way. The Primus said he wanted to get knowledge, and the other Eternal Ones didn’t want him to find this knowledge. Question is, IF this domination magic they forced onto Zoorval corrupted him in a different way and therefore his original plans to change the system. I mean I have a feeling he - being immune to corruption from the void, but maybe not other kinds - succumbed to some form of corruption that eventually sees chaos. In the end, chaos IS THE NATURAL “order” of the universe.

[@ryanmoore6259]

Depends on what he wanted to change? He could have just wanted power

[@israelblanco7490]

He said he wanted to forge a reality where everyone would serve, that's the reason everyone turned on him

[@FlasKamel]

I like this theory, have for a while, and I' agree with you if he didn't say "ALL SHALL SERVE!" That line ruined everything.

[@acidk44]

Order by its true definition is just oppression of chaos. It's defined by who ever is enforcing it. I think the best example ever presented in gaming was the elder scrolls Sheogorath and its alter ego the daedric prince of Order Jyggalag.

[@Rakshiir]

My guess for the Uther Soul situation is that either Jaina being there isn't canon, or Uther can`t know of it since that part of his soul was split from him. As far as we know, those two parts never reunited or did I miss that? Or they just overlooked it. Which is also perfectly possible...

[@calendil]

Fan service.. The entire stay awhile and listen is just a catch-up tv show episode.. Not gonna lie it works.. I don't recognize any work done, since they are just milking the work of past creators but I enjoyed it.

[@pinion666]

how come parts of the cinematic are shaky, some Anduin and some of Sylv. intentional or shotty work. Sylv also has no neck, so covered up as well... the Victoria's Secret shows are done... sucks.

[@SuperGamefreak18]

what I'm hoping though its unlikely, is Sylvanas gets her full mind back and has to actually sit and realize everything she done, and have to live with her actions...all of them. Like I like the idea of making tryanda a foil to her since they went and are going through similar paths, but sylvanas is a very toxic individual usually using people because one person hurt her. While tryanda even with her flaws always cared deeply for everyone.

[@RoninBlackwing]

On the Draka convo. While I strongly believe that Garrosh was responsible for his own choices (as was Arthas for that matter - he did plenty of shady, fucked up shit BEFORE he picked up Frostmourne) I am also firmly against absolving Thrall of responsibility for putting him in the position to make those choices in the first place. He was warned, more than once that it was a bad idea and he ignored the advice. Additionally I don't think Draka should be leaning this far in the direction she did - Thrall's mother or not she is pragmatist (that much I got from what I managed to play through of the campaign before I gave up 3 months ago) and we had good reasons to expect her to call him out at least a little bit on the mistakes he DID make. To me this feels like the typical Blizzard writing of the last several years - wishi-washi with no care for characterization and only looking to move whatever idea someone on the writing team had for a character regardless of if it makes sense or not. The writing has been getting progressively weaker for some time now but the mind numbing boredom that the covenant campaign provided was the last straw for me to unsub. And this is the longest I've been off sub since I first signed one in Dec 2008. And it's likely I will extend the record if what I've seen of 9.1 is any indication for the quality of the content.

[@petermaguire8139]

If supporting Thrall helps him get over his Garrosh issues then it would make sense for Draka to support rather than challenge him, considering the challenge faced by the Shadowlands, at least for now. Also maybe she sees he's punishing himself enough? Anyways she seems to be saying what Thrall needs to hear to get him back to peak powers, imo. Though I do hope that Thrall is called out for his mistakes later on, and then he could say "yeah, I f'ed up, but I'm gonna crush some fools anyways"

[@hvyarms4496]

I HATE seeing Slyvannas' regret or pondering face. So ridiculous

[@theregalknight8366]

I agree I to enjoy the little convos even if ppl see it as a bore, yes there should be more for the nerdy ass ppl ( such as everyone whose watching these videos :D ) I enjoy when not just the story but the characters around that story Dead or Alive make u feel for them :)

[@angelangelis8362]

I have a feeling that, if Blizzard does it intelligently at least, Anduin will have more help in breaking free of the Jailer than he thinks. If that shared that was used to make Kingsmourne IS a part of Arthas, no matter what bit, the Prince of Lorderon isn't going to allow this to go unanswered. Even before he became the Lich King or a death knight, his rage and righteous fury was something to be feared. I could totally see Anduin reaching that last bit of Arthas within the blade and, together, breaking the bond long enough for Arthas to get his revenge on the Jailer who, in his own way, orchestrated all of this. "I don't seek redemption, there IS no redemption for me now...but I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE, ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

[@ZeratKJ]

I like that Nobbel is using original Warcraft 3 clips, not Reforged

[@datemasamune2904]

11:31 Ana was missing from Overwatch, because she was too busy trying to fix the Shadowlands. XD

[@WuxianTec]

The last thing we need is a lore connection between Zovaal and the Pantheon. Just imagine how truly ridiculous it would be if the jailer would return Sargeras on his quest to remake reality. That's the worst plot turn I can imagine, so that's pretty much what I'm expecting now.

[@iPanicyt]

Not to ruin a good joke, but, the jailer didn't exactly "tell himself" when he told Anduin to witness reality's end. He let the domination magic fade a bit to torment Anduin and let Anduin see that the jailer had won. This is likely because Anduin is more powerful if he joins the Jailer out of his own will. But it instead backfires and Anduin is able to drop a clue for us while he acts as if he is willingly following the jailer. Poor writing but yeah, dropping the locket kinda means the Jailer had lowered the "domination" for Anduin to lose hope for every being freed and instead being free through following the jailer.

[@kazzy2920]

The Kael'thas one hurt my heart oh god i love him

[@kevint8476]

The jailer wants souls. Not of the people of Azeroth, but Azeroth herself. The sleeping titan.

[@seankkg]

The fact that The Arbiter wasn't a beyond understanding divine being really, really, really made me sad.

[@InexorWoW]

Maybe this 'keystone of death' is what zovaal created with the covenant sigils and he needs to collect the other cosmic power's keystones to force one that lets his access the sepulcher of the first ones. Maybe this 'keystone of life/arcane' is located on Azeroth? Maybe the seat of the pantheon has a keystone? Maybe we get to see Illidan again?

[@opxh]

Thanos?

[@lucashurpia7474]

I really dislike how we got the end of the story before the development because of time-gating shenaningans in the campaign

[@gscgold]

Great video

[@uncleruckus1476]

One thing about The sepulcher Nobbel and would reeeally like to get your nerd mind on it. noun: sepulcher a small room or monument, cut in rock or built of stone, in which a DEAD PERSON IS LAID OR BURRIED. Could a first one be in there???

[@dtulip1]

Maybe it's where zorvals body is?

[@nikolaosdimitrokallis6074]

When all lore commentators miss the moment jaina dares to mention that Varian was carrying the compass when "we fought the Legion".... Jaina and thrall of all chars

[@Lunethzero]

kinda sucks now we gotta wait another potential 6 months just for a bit more story and context.

[@Bonebounder93]

more like 10

[@db7610]

They unlocked flying yet in shadowlands?

[@Zutraxi]

Perhaps Anduin used "THE" light to send us a message. /giggle

[@Altrantis]

Sylvanas' story makes a lot more sense when you keep in mind that the way the Jailer looks an his powers are not his, but of the Primus'. The Primus carved the Frostmourne-like runes on him, his domination powers seem to be tied to his role as the Jailer, which was forced onto him. And all because of an unspecified deviation from the first ones' plan, and we (or Sylvanas) have no reason to think the first ones were any good, if anything the more you think about it the more it seems they created souls (us) to be used for their own purposes. So it would be natural for Sylvanas to think the Primus, not the Jailer, is the bad guy.

[@stormstrider1990]

This cutscene shows Sylvanas was fully aware that the evil she had allied with was the same evil behind her suffering, but she believed everything that happened to her, the Thalassians, the Forsaken, the Kaldorei, and Anduin was for the greater good. That all the death and torment would ultimately pay off. From what you're saying, It's possible the Jailer used his own predicament to manipulate Sylvanas. He may even have told her it was the Primus who created the Lich King, which is partially true. Much of the Scourge's design originates from Maldraxxus, and Frostmourne and the Helm of Domination were originally his ideas. But the Primus never intended those things for the mortal realm, and the Jailer literally ripped the ideas from his head, and had the Mawsworn forge them. We've seen from his allies' motivations Zovaal is a master manipulator, so pinning Sylvanas' suffering on the the Primus makes perfect sense. If you look back at the raid cinematic, Sylvanas' expression changes from a hopeful smile to a frown, when Zovaal shows his true colors. She finally realizes Anduin was right all along, and Zovaal never intended to set everyone free, quite the opposite. And with her soul restored, she might look at all the "sacrifices" she made from a new perspective, and feel remorse for the first time. If she feels remorse, she may yet be redeemable.

[@Altrantis]

@@stormstrider1990 What I mean is it's easy to say "how could Sylvanas believe the Jailer was the good guy, he's obviously the bad guy, look at him and his domination powers". But if you know Frostmourne, the Helm and so on were all things of the Primus it'd be logical for Sylvanas to think it was him who was behind everything bad that happened and the Jailer is a fellow victim of the Primus and the plan of the first ones. She had no reason to doubt the Jailer, they had a cordial relationship, he didn't give her orders, only established timetables, which is why eventually she had to use domination magic on Anduin, to her dismay, not because the Jailer told her to, but because he said they had ran out of time. The first time he acted in a forceful manner was when he got his... heart, I suppose, back. Sylvanas wanted to just go and get it done, but Zorvaal wanted to dominate those who were trying to stop him, and that's the first time Sylvanas saw him as anything but a fellow freedom seeker. But you're right. She knows everything bad that happened to her was needed to get to this point and she's going along with it because it has to have been a point to it all, it has to have been worth it. That seems to be her main motivation, making things right so that all the suffering wasn't for nothing, coupled with sunken cost fallacy. She keeps hammering on it being worth it, and having come this far.

[@stormstrider1990]

@@Altrantis Exactly. But I also think her split soul played a huge role. When Frostmourne claimed a part of her soul, all she had left was vengeance. After jumping down from Icecrown and ending up in the Maw, that vengeance turned towards the cycle of Life and Death. Sylvanas was willing to go through any lengths to claim vengeance against Arthas. As an ally of the Jailer, she was willing to sacrifice countless souls to the Jailer, to free everyone from a reality that had given her nothing but shit. There were no moral issues holding her back, because her morals were in the soul fragment that Arthas and the Jailer had taken. Anduin's predicament and Zovaal's true intentions were exceptions because they were personal. She did say "I will never "serve". This is why I hope they use Sylvanas' restored soul to reconnect her to her morals, so that she can feel remorse for her actions, especially now when she knows what she really has been fighting for. With vengeance out of the picture, the only way for us to gain justice for all the atrocities she has committed, is through atonement. She's definitely going to provide us with more information about Zovaal, and she may even join us in the final battle. I see two ways they could end her story: Either sacrifice herself to defeat Zovaal, or spend the rest of the story repenting for her sins.

[@DEML91]

Asmon and people who don't play WOW any more need to start watching Nobbels videos instead of just the cutscenes, the quest give it much more context , to much to be added in a cutscene even without reading them just with the voice acting.

[@ianjessop7336]

I personally think that this knowledge is more akin to the Anti-Life Equation; the equation that grants the user complete knowledge of the very secrets of the universe, allowing them to ascend to godhood and, like Nobbel said, reshape reality to befit the desires of the individual who has that knowledge. So yeah, that's my theory. :/

[@kyrias9391]

Wow they sure are trying to paint Tyrandas rightfull urge and right for vengence as a no we must all forgive and give it up so wifu genocide can have a arc thats not her head ontop of Onyxia as it should be.