Filmmaker Reacts: League Of Legends - Still Here Season 2024 Cinematic

[@PhilipHarts]

Who is your favorite League of Legends character and why? Subscribe here and Follow me on twitch.tv/philiphartshorn Join my discord to help me choose my next video: discord.gg/J85mKhG Watch my film work here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fILKZpVsl8aafdU Follow my Twitter: Twitter.com/philipharts

[@amandaargyelan220]

here is the story behind this cinematic if you are interested: This whole Cinematic is based around Kindred (Lamb and Wolf). In the World of Runeterra, Kindred is essentially the grim reaper. She collects those in death. there are signs of Kindred in all 3 scenes. the Scenes are broken up into Past, Future, and Present. In the Past, Two Demi-Angels, Kayle (blonde) and Morgana (Brunette) Defended and dealt justice in a Land that would eventually become known as Demacia. The Scene Depicts an area under siege by the Darkin Aatroxx (the demon). Darkin were originally ascendant beings but they were driven mad by the void in a war long ago. Kayle and Morgana are sisters, their Mother is an angel, and they both hold 1 half of their mother's sword. They defeat Aatrox. In the lore, Kayle is stoic and brings justice in a very cold and unemotional way, while Morgana is more affected by the plight of humans and reasons that judgement and justice can be tempered. In the scene Morgana drops her mothers weapon and taps into darker powers to fight Aatrox, you can see the disdain Kayle has for Morgana in the quick glance she gives her, even as she takes up both halves of her mothers sword and causes the firestorm. if you look closely, there is an afterimage in the fire that is Kindred. Then you go to the Future, in Ionia, where we are greeted by an Old man version of Yasuo, the Wind swordsman. After he uses his whirlwind, you see many arrows in the sky coming for Yasuo, including a bright one, which appears to hit him, this is the Arrow of Kindred, claiming Yasuo. if you look in the sky, you can also see the apparent shape of a wolfs head. in the last scene, which would be considered the Present, in Frejord, you see Tryndamere, who has the power to avoid death by tapping into his rage via blood magic. He is married to Ashe, a Frostborn Tribal Leader. In the scene, Trendamere is fighting death (literally) by fighting against Kindred (the Lamb and the Wolf). Tryndamere power in game is literally to become un-killable for a short period of time. As the fight goes on, Kindred lets her bow go because Ashe has arrived, and saves Tryndamere. It's not his time to die.

[@tryndamere3117]

@@amandaargyelan220 Trynda all the time

[@worminaround]

Ok My favourite character is overall is Viego, some may call we basic and some edgy but his story is soo deeply made well, a narcissist prince reluctantly given kingship but fell in love with a soft and caring commoner that changed his way, basically bad boy meets the right woman... But goes horribly wrong and went downhill, its sad and tragic, perfect for my sad Friday nights. In this cinematic, definitely Yasuo, in this cinematic is his "possible" future where he falls protecting his country in alleged "civil war" or just some random guys, but Yasuo is a honourable samurai, willing to protect his country, but circumstances made him into a fugitive, allegedly killed his master, he's hunted, he accidentally killed his brother who he holds dear, living in self hate of violence, he's a character who suffered enough, that's why I sympathise him.

[@litrize1]

My Favorite champions(s) happends to be Kindred who is basically the grim reaper(s). And wouldnt you know it theu made it i to a cinematic and i was hype af when i saw it for the first time and now this is my favorite cinematic. The way the lore is shown is fantastic.

[@litrize1]

@@amandaargyelan220 could not have said it better myself.

[@SvetlinDimitrov]

All 3 scenes are told by or at least feature Death (Kindred - an entity consisting of the Lamb and the Wolf, Lamb's arrow grants you a peaceful death while wolf comes for those who refuse to die). 1st scene is in the past, where Kindred is shown in the flame and tries to take Aatrox (big sword guy) soul, but he always comes back as his soul is in the sword (you can see it's "heart" beating), Kindred can be seen for a brief moment in the fires. The 2nd scene is the potential future, where Yasuo accepts Lamb's arrow and dies, you can also see Wolf's eyes in the background. And the 3rd one is Tryndamere refusing to die therefore fighting Kindred (his ultimate ability - the red eyes) but his wife (Ashe) saves him at the end.

[@Ower8x]

I would say the life taken is the atroxes host .... that is why Lamb makes an appearance in the fire ...

[@peterszabo5991]

I think that face in the background might also be Yone. The mask he has is the same shaped as the shadow. It would also makes sense because Yasuo fulfilled his duty that time.

[@Eresteban1]

NO, is kindred.@@peterszabo5991

[@theoxish]

​@@peterszabo5991 although that would be a cool instance where Yone does that we have to remember that Yone did say that it wouldn't be by his hand that he would take Yasuo's life in the cinematic where Yasuo meets Yone after the azakana fight

[@naosou921]

@@peterszabo5991 It "makes sense", but doesn't fit the theme of the video. The protagonist of this video is Kindred. It being in all 3 scenes, "past, present and future", as said in the description of the video, is what makes the most sense. Plus, you know, the silver arrow coming for Yasuo.

[@athieshgaming2659]

I'm Still Here can also refer to the Kindred The Lamb Archer and Wolf, collectively known as Kindred, are the personification of Death Basically the League Grim Reaper. For those that accept their death Lamb's arrow grants them swift release For those that fight their fate Wolf chases and tears them apart. Each scene is a different place in time. The two angels (Kayle and Morgana) are fighting in the past. You can see Kindred in the flames of their sword. The demon literally cannot die and seeks to destroy all existence to erase his misery. The samurai (Yasuo) is a potential future. His country descending into war and banditry. You can see wolf's eyes shining in the trees before he accepts his death and lamb's arrow finds him. The barbarian (tryndamere) is "cursed" with a rage fueled magic that prevents his death. That is the glowing eyes and why he is directly fighting the grim reaper. I think he is still fighting the soldiers from the beginning. The scene we see is the blood magic duel against the grim reaper happening during his rage. So throughout all of time Kindred (Death) is still here. Always present and the choice is yours whether you choose the lamb or the wolf.

[@casualboysirius]

Fantastic description haha 👍

[@mrzaadr]

Kindred buff + Legendary skin incoming

[@jong519]

Love the breakdown but I see I'm Still Here as more of a reference to a "no matter the odds, I'll keep fighting" mentality but I can definitely see how it could be seen as referring to Kindred always looming. Like he mentioned, there is a recurring image of characters being down and struggling to get back up which leads me to believe its more about rising up aka still here and less about Kindred always looming. I could be completely wrong though. Knowing Riot, its probably both tbh.

[@Malohdek]

@@jong519 It really is just a reference to life. Death is always looming and it's your choice to stand up and keep going or die peacefully. I feel this can also be seen as a reference to the game itself. It's gone through many hardships but continues to be one of the most popular online games, and easily the most popular MOBA.

[@ImPhen0n]

You can also see Wolf's claw marks on Tryndamere's armor after the fight.

[@lukitasbruh3225]

in the minute 3:59 i love the symbolism and the metaphor we see a big guy (tryndamere)and he is about to die, then we see kindred (the wolf and the lamb and they are the incarnation of death if you accept death lamb will kill you fast but if you refused the wolf will kill you slow and painful) He uses his ability that makes him immortal for a few seconds, that's why we see him fighting Kindred, literally death, Kindred is confused because this human does not die and it is because of his skill, he keeps fighting and then Ashe appears and saves him from the enemies who were going to kill him, that's why Kindred disappears, because he won't die anymore.

[@lukitasbruh3225]

I fucking love the symbolism.

[@JuicyPinkism]

Ashe, his wife, which is political not out of love. She could have let him die and allowed Kindred to take him, no one would have second guessed it. She chose to save him, and he looks at her as in “wait, do you actually have love for me?”

[@XiaoyuuuYT]

​@@JuicyPinkismApparently it ain't political anymore so 🤷

[@pauliussipavicius4658]

@@JuicyPinkism Its not political for a long time now. I mean yeah it started as political, but in exact same story it was told that they started loving each other.

[@JeffreyBezeau]

@@JuicyPinkism i think Kindred decided not to kill him anymore. Tryndamere's probably been fighting Kindred for years now, fighting Wolf is clearly a constant struggle of him, and i'm pretty sure Kindred is always on the hunt against him. But i think Kindred recongnized that for once, Tryndamere wasn't cheating death for his own selfish reasons anymore, and the fact that Ashe comes, and it instantly ends his rage, meaning that there are emotions behind both of them (as seen by Ashe's concerns about Trynd's well being). I'll take a guess and say that they're probably gonna have a kid soon lore wise and that is why Kindred decided to stop her hunt this time. Tryn is about to bring life to the world and Kindred doesn't have the power to stop life from happening, it only kills when time is due. Death isn't due yet for a reason and it's probably not just "love" between him and Ashe, but rather the product that will come from it...which is life.

[@1990erre]

One of the best things for a League player is to see the champions they have been playing for years come alive and their power showcased in these cinematics. There is 167 champions currently, so many have never been shown like this and its always a treat whenever a classic champ gets a spotlight for the first time.

[@litrize1]

Kindred finally made it 😁😁😭

[@cassiusbrutius]

Alright, finally my turn to be the loremaster! This is gonna be long one. The video description is Past, Present and possible futures, which describes the 3 scenes. The intro line is delivered by Kindred, which was the ethereal figure that the warrior Tryndamere fought in the final sequence. Kindred is the embodiment of death, split into two parts: The lamb, the archer who takes the lives of those whose time has come gently, and the wolf for those that resist their time. The past: The sequence with the two Valkyries, Kayle and Morgana, takes place in ancient Demacia where they are protectors. They are fighting Aatrox, who is a Darkin, which is essentially a corrupted "God Warrior" from a region that doesn't appear in this cinematic. He is essentially an aspect of war and slaughter that inhabits that giant sword and corrupts the wielder until they become that monster. Kayle and Morgana are sisters who have a lot of story depicted in the literary universe of Runeterra. I'm less knowledgeable about this particular part of the lore so I'll move past it . The possible future: You actually rightfully recognized Yasuo, who is the swordsman you have seen previously and remembered. Old man Yasuo is the new appearance, and there is little to explain because this potential future is new lore so who knows! The only thing of note is the arrow of light at the end was likely from Kindred because he had closed his eyes and accepted his death. (windwall still on cooldown can't block the arrows xDD) The present: Both the first and last sequence depicts Tryndamere, a chieftain and warrior in the Freljord, which you previously saw in The Call. Kindred came because it was time for him to die and because he fought back, he had to battle the Wolf. His eyes turn red in reference to his ultimate ability in game Undying Rage which prevents him from dying for a few seconds. Interestingly, he got this ability in an encounter with Aatrox, who wanted him to become a better host for the Darkin entity. I personally think the fight with Kindred was mostly symbolic in this video and he was actually fighting against the other warriors and metaphorically challenging death. I think this is supported when Kindred lowers her bow and vanishes when Ashe, Tryndamere's wife, appears and kills the last two that were coming from behind. There are obviously a lot of references to abilities from the games but I'll skip them except Tryndamere because it's relevant to the story being told.

[@brisngrfiftysix6085]

I might be wrong here. But I do not recall tryndamere being in The Call. There were Sejuanni and Olaf, but I'm pretty sure Tryn was not there. Since the duo of Ashe/Tryn and Sej/Olaf's duo are from rival tribes if I am getting my LoL lore right.

[@SiMeGamer]

@@brisngrfiftysix6085 He meant that the region (Freljord - frozen tundra) is in The Call.

[@brisngrfiftysix6085]

@SiMeGamer yeah, that makes sense lol.

[@PhilipHarts]

Wow , there’s amazing lore here!! Thank you for being a lore master today !!

[@Iamthecrazyone]

For the Kayle and Morgana bit, their mother was the divine Aspect of Justice, and they grew to embody two sides of it, which basically boils down to Morgana being more about redemption and Kayle being more about punishment. They each originally weilded half of their mothers blade as well before Morgana bound her wings and chose to live among mortals and Kayle took both halves to seek Ascension. That parting of ways happens some time after their fight with Aatrox here but we do get some fun storytelling through subtlety that you see here when Morgan drops her half of the sword(letting go of her divinity) to draw on her magic, binding Aatrox, and then Kayle picks up the blade. Kayle idolises their mother and wants to ascend, and she gives Morgana a look of disgust/disappointment before drawing on her divinity to unleash that holy fire in contrast to her sister.

[@Deeplight32]

The muscle sword dude is Tryndamere (one of the game's oldest characters). His specialty (or ultimate ability) is the capability to become unkillable for a few seconds. Any damage that would drop him below 1 instead just keeps him at one. So in this cinematic he's at death's door, fighting for his last breath. And even though it looks like to us the viewers that he's fighting a monster wolf and a mysterious archer, he's actually fighting the other human soldiers that were surrounding him at the beginning of the video. The mysterious white archer and her wolf companion are an entity known as Kindred (also the speaker in the video's opening "Tomorrow is a hope, not a promise"). Kindred is the Grim Reaper of this universe and appears to those who are dying. She provides a peaceful death with her arrow, but if people try to escape her, the wolf hunts you down. Notably the wolf's eyes and her white arrow are both seen at the end of Yasuo's scene, as he accepts his death. So famously, Tryndamere is capable of literally "fighting off death", and this video showcases this by showing him fight Kindred instead of the actual brigands who are is literal opponents. The fight between Tryndamere and Kindred is probably my favorite video game fight animation, and thus has raised this cinematic above the others. I was there when Tryndamere was first released in May of 2009. He's always had that ability to fight off death. To see it portrayed this way shook something deep inside of me. Oh and the archer with the frost arrows who saves him is Ashe, Tryndamere's wife and one of the games very first characters.

[@vatsalsrivastava5649]

Also might I add just as the Angel Kayle(fire one) hits Aatrox(the demon), in the transition where the flames show Ionia, you can see the Lamb's silhouette appear

[@CARVERitUP]

Big awww moment when Trynd thinks he will die, but his wife shows up at the last second, and you almost tear up when you see the undying rage fade from his eyes as he sees Ashe.

[@joshuageerlofs7751]

Yeah that's so powerful for me; and for a brief second you see the care in her eyes after she arrives before she surveys the battlefield. Such powerful storytelling in just a couple of seconds.

[@XionDarkblood13]

Idk if it’s still the case, been many years since I played, but tryndamere had an ability to turn his rage into health. So to me the rage leaving his eyes is him healing now that he knows he’s saved.

[@QuinnDang-n8k]

I'm so moved to tears by the storytelling potential for Riot in the future. They have such a rich lore of stories to tell. Can't wait, and I'm glad they're taking their time.

[@667AMATERASU]

This whole Cinematic is based around Kindred (Lamb and Wolf). In the World of Runeterra, Kindred is essentially the grim reaper. She collects those in death. there are signs of Kindred in all 3 scenes. the Scenes are broken up into Past, Future, and Present. In the Past, Two Demi-Angels, Kayle (blonde) and Morgana (Brunette) Defended and dealt justice in a Land that would eventually become known as Demacia. The Scene Depicts an area under siege by the Darkin Aatroxx (the demon). Darkin were originally ascendant beings but they were driven mad by the void in a war long ago. Kayle and Morgana are sisters, their Mother is an angel, and they both hold 1 half of their mother's sword. They defeat Aatrox. In the lore, Kayle is stoic and brings justice in a very cold and unemotional way, while Morgana is more affected by the plight of humans and reasons that judgement and justice can be tempered. In the scene Morgana drops her mothers weapon and taps into darker powers to fight Aatrox, you can see the disdain Kayle has for Morgana in the quick glance she gives her, even as she takes up both halves of her mothers sword and causes the firestorm. if you look closely, there is an afterimage in the fire that is Kindred. Then you go to the Future, in Ionia, where we are greeted by an Old man version of Yasuo, the Wind swordsman. After he uses his whirlwind, you see many arrows in the sky coming for Yasuo, including a bright one, which appears to hit him, this is the Arrow of Kindred, claiming Yasuo. if you look in the sky, you can also see the apparent shape of a wolfs head. in the last scene, which would be considered the Present, in Frejord, you see Tryndamere, who has the power to avoid death by tapping into his rage via blood magic. He is married to Ashe, a Frostborn Tribal Leader. In the scene, Trendamere is fighting death (literally) by fighting against Kindred (the Lamb and the Wolf). Tryndamere power in game is literally to become un-killable for a short period of time. As the fight goes on, Kindred lets her bow go because Ashe has arrived, and saves Tryndamere. It's not his time to die.

[@bloodknyte]

Honestly, the swordsman could be Souma, Yasuo's master

[@BlascoClips]

@@bloodknyte He has the same scar that Yone made on Yasuo when they fought, and he is getting a "older self" skin

[@anonymouschase333]

​@bloodknyte it was just confirmed it is Yasuo. Riot is making a Skin for it

[@kristiyangrigorov5232]

​@@BlascoClips Also, the bandages could be a reference to Yone

[@francisreidpalmes3348]

I have a question since I'm confused. If Tryndamere is defying death, it should be only the Wolf attacking him right? I know in Kindred's lore, if you accept death Lamb would give you a swift death but defying it means you get attacked and killed slowly and painfully by Wolf. Does this mean that Tryndamere is worthy enough for a swift and painless death even if he is defying death?

[@Culperistic]

I'd need to rewatch the previous ones to be certain, but this cinematic resonated with me a lot compared to other ones. I feel like they displayed character motivations much better in this one than others. I connected with all the league characters they showed. I was blown away.

[@louisrobitaille5810]

This cinematic is the first one that is 100% canon. The previous ones were more about creating hype for the season to come than depicting the lore exactly.

[@JBlandford]

This gets so much better when you understand the lore. The archer and wolf are called Kindred, and they’re similar to the Grim Reaper. The lamb’s arrow claims those at peace with death (You can see one at the very end of the Yasuo segment), and the wolf takes those who fight back. The man fighting them is Tryndamer. His Ultimate ability in the game makes him immortal for a short time, so the symbolism is of him literally fighting off his death, while death tries to take him. Kindred is confused, because nobody has ever fought off wolf before. Once Ashe (the other archer) saves him, Kindred leaves him because he’s not meant to die anymore.

[@MelvaCross]

The character animation is so stellar. The golden angel's side eye, completely disgusted and disapproving of her sister's rejection of their mother's legacy (the sword) and using magic (forbidden in that country). Old man Yasuo's resignation, picking up a sword again against his vow of pacifism (he also didn't kill a single person, just knocked them out with wind). His acceptance of death at the end. Lamb's head tilt, curious, confused, as her prey turns out to be undying. It's outstanding how Lamb's emotions are so clear without fascial expressions. And my favourite is Tryndamere's love. Rage subsiding, hope, relief, adoration and just this incredible love for his wife (who he fell in love with way after their political marriage). Riot has outdone themselves with their character animation this time.

[@aleyaitsuka]

"Tomorrow is a hope, never a promise...." Such a short quote, but oh so cold, deep, and meaningful

[@UncleHerc]

For those curious on the timeline of the cinematic, from an article on dotesports, the Creative Director said the scenes are basically divided into 3 different eras of Runeterra. One during old Demacia era approx. 1000 years ago, The other when Ashe joined Tryndamere after becoming Oathsworn, and the final one into a potential future of Ionia.

[@OpalHydra]

The three stories are all tied to Kindred. They are like the embodiment of death in league, Lamb (the character with the bow and mask) represents the acceptance of death and Wolf represents the violent struggle against it. The song is Kindred reminding you that they are still there, death is never far away. (and they will always be there, in the past, the present and the future as you can see is also a theme in this video) In the scene with Kayle and Morgana (Daughters to the aspect of justice, kinda celestial beeings) fighting Aatrox (a darkin) you can see Kindred in the fire at the end of the scene. (They are probably there for the army behind Aatrox close to the end, since we know that the three main characters are still alive since this is an event from the past) The scene with Yasuo (in a future vision) You can in the tree line see Wolf's eyes, but since Yasuo accepted his death Lamb's arrow is the one that took him out. And lastly Tryndamere at the end defies both Wolf and Lamb, fighting against death, with Lamb then lowering her bow at the end as he is saved by Ashe (his wife). And also see how it implied that he's the only one seeing wolf and lamb as this fight happens since he is on the brink of death, litterally staring death into it's eyes, and he's acctually in another fight against other humans that you can see Ashe shoot at the end to save him, and you see Kindred dissapear since he is no longer "supposed to die". (Tryndameres ultimate in game is that he kinda gets too angry to die, which is basically whats shown here, but this is how he sees it.) "Tomorrow is a hope, never a promise" - Kindred

[@Mariannesolbi]

You saw so much details!! Love your reaction

[@MiraPacku]

League's Storys and Characters have always been about struggle and continuing on that's why they'll always be so great to me

[@cannibalcatgirl]

Tryndamere's expression softening when he realizes Ashe is there is so beautiful. Such a subtle moment that made me emotional. They convey his relief very palpably

[@mateussss453]

14:20 I don't really know about the lore there, but from my perspective it's a remorse face, like if he had sworn not to use a sword and his powers again, he's even hiding his arm that emanates as he uses the wind abilities

[@mishu7578]

Nice video, seems like a genuine reaction to me (not like other reactions). I can see the excitement on your face and i love it

[@andrewcampbell9277]

Everyone's explained that Kindred is League's grim reaper, but there's so many cool little shots where they're not immediately noticed, my favorite is 3:33 where you can see Wolf's eyes in the trees as they're coming to claim Yasuo

[@DanKindopp]

I think the best note here is that even without a solid knowledge of the lore, all the major points you were bang on. They hit the major beats and emotional impact incredibly well so even the casual or non player can get into it and get a ton OUT of it too.

[@wgns9645]

You should also watch Necrits "The Lore of "Still Here" Cinematic Explained" to understand how truly epic this cinematic was. Super entertaining to hear and see these in other peoples view. Deserved like!

[@Drake844221]

I pulled up the video before watching this, and even then, it brought tears to my eyes. The whole message of "I'm still here," along with the theme of pushing through adversity is very significant to me. I've been through a lot over the last few years. Over the last decade, honestly (though, it was one of those 'if you put a lobster in a pot of cold water and raise the temperature, they won't notice until it is too late' kind of decades). But I've survived it and I'm moving on from all of that, and in the last year, as I've been focusing on rebuilding myself, this whole message of "I may be beaten down and tired, but I am still here despite all of that" is very much frontmost in my brain. But, apparently, this one is a fully canon cinematic from League, and it is filled to the brim with lore deep cuts. I actually watched a video from Necrit going over the lore in it. I knew... next to none of the lore going into this, but one thing is that the character with the round glowing eyes and the wolf are, fundamentally, this world's embodiment of death, and they show up in each of the three scenes. In the one with the 'valkyries,' as you called them, it doesn't step in because that great demon isn't able to die. In the middle story, you see the wolf as the arrows are flying up to come down on the samurai character (who is the guy with the wind powers, just decades later than the in-game present), and the one that comes straight for him is the same kind of glowing arrow that we see the death archer firing in the last scene, implying that this is his death years later. Most interestingly, the scene implies that he's at a point in life where he has forsaken killing - none of the bandits that he fights are killed. Even the leader, who he blasts with the wind... it seems as though he is knocking him away from the rain of arrows. And the last scene is a character... having a kind of near-death experience, with some of the implications being that he isn't actually fighting death, but rather the warriors who were surrounding him in the first place. Phenomenal storytelling all around!

[@danielwilms5072]

If you are interested in the lore behind every champion and/or want to see more details that you previously missed than im sure that everyone can recommend Necrits video about this cinematic

[@MrJoned15]

I LOVE this cinematic and I love your breakdown of it! Others have already given their lore dumps but I'm so excited, I just feel like I have to as well lol. All 3 battles we see revolve around Kindred, a dual/split entity representing death. The "Lamb" is the archer who gives quick, merciful deaths to those who embrace death, and then "Wolf" chases down those who try to run. The cinematic opens with Kindred's Lamb voice speaking, then shows Tryndamere on death's door and surrounded by enemies. The figure he sees is more than likely Kindred's Lamb form, sort of alluding to a "light at the end of the tunnel" or further acknowledging that he is indeed on death's door. The first battle we see is twin sisters, and daughters of the vessel of the Aspect of Justice, Kayle(white wings) and Morgana(purple wings) defending the kingdom of Demacia from an army led by a Darkin called Aatrox, or the "World Ender." This is actually a significant moment in both sisters' lore because it represents(I believe anyways, if the old lore still stands) the moment Morgana "falls" and renounces her mother's powers and using her own "shadow" magic to become The Fallen and Kayle embraces her mother's powers and ascends, using her divine judgement to smite Aatrox. Kindred's lamb form can also actually be seen in the flames/smoke of Kayle's attack. The second battle is a potential or "foreseen" future, shown to Yasuo by Kindred. I don't have as much to say for this one since it appears to be new lore, but this is apparently supposed to be Kindred showing Yasuo what his future holds for him. You can see Kindred's Wolf eyes in the trees and the arrow of light is from Kindred's Lamb form bow. The arrow implies that at the end when Yasuo closes his eyes he is accepting death, and thus receives the quick, merciful death. The final battle is Tryndamere fighting off all the people surrounding him in the beginning, but since he's actually supposed to die here and is resisting, we see him fighting off Kindred instead. It's a very powerful scene considering he's probably one of the only ones to ever have fought off Kindred and won. In-game it's his ultimate ability allowing him to do this, in lore it's his "rage," which explains him seeming to "lose himself" and "become the beast" he's fighting. He's just too darn mad to die! Now I'll imagine him fighting off the Lamb and Wolf every time he ults in game. At the end when Kindred finally stops fighting him and the two icy arrows kill the final two opponents that's actually his wife, Ashe, coming to his rescue, and the arrow of light she shoots into the air is another of her abilities. The overall message of perseverance makes this one seem more grounded than past ones. Also, I'm a Kayle main so I love seeing more lore for her lol! This cinematic is definitely the best one yet, and I can't wait for more. Nor can I wait for Arcane season 2 in November!!!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

[@louisrobitaille5810]

1:38 Many League songs/cinematics have the music and sometimes lyrics coincide with the actions on screen. Two other great examples are "The Call" and "Awaken".

[@JBasilix]

This cinematic is incredibly awesome. That much is just expected by now. I will say I liked the storytelling style of the previous few years better with the different stories being told in parallel and not one after the other. But maybe they decided to switch it up because they have done that style for so many years now. In terms of themes it is the same every year just through a different lens: "You may be down but never give up. Get back up". Them bringing in Kindred is very appreciated. Kindred is one of the coolest interpretations of "Personified Death" and very appropriate for the world. So seeing them being a thing is really cool

[@Hoigwai]

I so prefer your style. Watch it with us, go on the ride with us and feel what we feel then break it down and explain why it works, why it makes you feel these things.

[@shayking7662]

4:37 this girl (Ashe) is actually his wife

[@AnotherGuy-t1f]

I interpret the scene with the swordsmen (Yasuo) quite differently. I do not see concentration but regret. Every time they show his face it seems like he is pondering if he should do what he does. Even the position of the sword in the ground looks like it symbolises a temptation and choice, which is why he picks it up so late. And during the fight you can see how the binding of his left arm becomes undone. While that can be attributed to his increasing flow (a mechanic he has in the game) it looks to me like the shackles he put onto himself become undone.

[@Zolaalathaia]

you should stream this to get the extra info live that makes this trailer so much better o.o

[@brightestlight9462]

Yes you are thinking of the right character! that ronin character is yasuo, and this is a "possible future" of his death. he's a wandering swordsman with a SUPER interesting story that i'll let others get into. suffice to say, that last arrow of light is from the same character as the one fighting our hero in the last section. "Lamb", who comes with "Wolf". In league of legends, Lamb and Wolf are the personifications of death, known as kindred. Hence, in the last video, Tryndamere is using his in game ultimate ability, which makes it so that you cannot kill him. you can bring him to 1 HP, but you can't put him down. And in the lore, his big thing is that the man JUST WILL NOT DIE. He's fighting a battle on the brink of death, and kindred is there to take him. But he resists, and Ashe, who is his wife, comes to save him from the "real" threat, the men trying to kill him. The first one is set I believe maybe a thousand years before current lore? A long time ago, when these half-angel half-human twins, Kayle, the blonde, and Morgana, the dark haired, who are fighting a Darkin, Aatrox (Ay-Trox). Long story short, Aatrox IS the weapon, and dominates whoever wields it, completely overpowering and destroying the person that existed beforehand. He is essentially an unkillable and godlike being, and Morgana and Kayle are defending one of the nations in League that at the time of the cinematic is in it's infancy--Demacia. However, in modern lore, Morgana has bound her wings and forsaken her angelic heritage, while Kayle has forsaken her humanity and taken justice to it's utmost extremes--and this is a part of morgana's "fall from grace. Those chains are the same ones that bind her wings, and she puts down her mothers sword to use them. I don't know if this is *the moment* that they go their separate ways, but it's a step on that path, and you can see that with the disdainful look Kayle gives her twin sister before she uses her and her sisters swords (twin swords, both from their angelic mother) to strike down Aatrox. very cliff notes and meandering, but yeah! This is my second favorite after The Call--I like the call's music better and think it does a better job of building, but Kayle and Morgana are some of my favorite characters, as well as Kindred, so it's definitely pretty close.

[@Glopo2k]

Great reaction always a pleasure. Love the details u get out of these cinematics. Found you because of FF7 stayed for ur reactions. A bit off topic, but did u hear about the Netflix Series "Blue Eyed Samurai"? Would love to see your reaction on this. Epic show with great themes think would be a perfect fit for u.

[@mykolaisurotiyk6810]

Why do i get CaptainFlowers vibes from this guy. Loving it. Love the bright childish and yet still professional reaction

[@adammarsi3817]

Lore guy here: 0. Scene Tryndamere is dying. Warriors closing at him. 1. Scene They are Kayle and Morgana (purple one). They are the twin aspect of justice (God of justice choose them to be their avatar) Big red guy is Aatrox (He has a lot of lore, but it doesn't realy matter for this. He is a currupted holy warrior of Shurima, aka darkin, and technicly he is the sword the human part is only a vessel, which he morfed into this). This is in the past when Kayle and Morgana worked together. Later they had a fight about what is justice, Kayle wins, Morgana gives up her sword and goes to live with the mortals and she is trying to help them. 2. Scene This is a possible future. The sword guy is an old Yasuo, a practicioner of the wind technique. At the end arrows are shot at him, Kindred(Wolf) is visible in the trees (eyes) and blue arrow is Kindred(Lamb)'s arrow as he accepts death. 3. Scene This is the present. Tryndamere fight Kindred, the death itself (LoL's version of the grim reaper). Kindred(Lamb) offers quick death to those who accept it, Kindred(Wolf) gives painfull death to those who runs from death. Tryndamere was infused with blood magic, so he can cheat death (red eyes). In this scene kindred comes as he is about to die to the warriors, but he is fighting death, as such Wolf does the most of the work. When Ashe his wife comes and kills the last two warriors, he is no longer close to death, so kindred disapears. (Kindred isn't a physical thing, more like in his head, Kindred is a very complicated character to tell) I think this should be enough, to better understand the cinematic. It is hard to not write 5 pages of lore after a cinematic like this. They have a lot more lore, but the rest isn't realy important to understand this.

[@Gabriel_Lima0910]

TBH i love seing the interpretation of those who don't know the lore, they are always cool, not always accurate, but cool anyways. >< keep the amazing work i love seing you cuting down the scenes and talking about the things on the scenes, the angles, the shots, the decisions that were made. AMAZING

[@Vazinek]

Another cool cinematic from League is Wild Magic. It was an introduction of another pair of characters which was released together: Xayah and Rakan. Even in game their abilities influence each other when played as duo unlike with other champions.

[@surpriseyasuo1935]

Hello! Your local League Lore nerd here. Ill be breaking down each part of the scene and the characters involved! Scene 1 "Tomorrow is a hope, never a promise" This line was said actually by the odd masked lamb spirit that was fighting red eyed man with sword. The spirit is literally death in the League of Legends universe, their name is Kindred. Lamb and Wolf, they are one in the same. The man laying on the ground with the big sword is Tryndamere, his entire theme is he cannot die. He goes into a berserker rage called "Undying rage". Anyways we will get to this later. Queue the "valkyries" This is Kayle (The one in the silver) and Morgana (the one in the Purple). These beings are literal aspects of the league of legends universe, Kayle representing Justice and Morgana representing Justice as well for a time.. They are fighting a being known as an Ascended, Aatrox, the world ender. His goal is in his namesake, to end all life. He is currently attacking an ancient Demacia with an army of followers. Kayle and Morgana sent to defend this kingdom which in much of the world is a symbol of justice itself. Morgana during this scene demonstrates her character, she is using magic that is considered "evil" and falls from grace, this is why Kayle gives her a very callous look when she uses those dark chains to bind Aatrox. Although her reasoning to stop the world ender makes sense, in the eyes of Justice, that magic is evil. Next scene, you guessed correctly, you are seeing an Old man Yasuo. This scene takes place much further than many League lore nuts were expecting, OR there could be another explanation but sometimes simple is what makes more sense. Anyways, he is defending his home of Ionia from some sort of threat, based on the clothing it is hard to determine who the attackers are. If you look closely at the battle, Yasuo is intentionally not killing anyone and using his wind to just knock people out dulling the sharp edge of his sword. Most likely due to his complicated violent past. At the end of the scene it is implied Yasuo dies here, as there is a visage of Kindred (death) Next scene: queue back to Tryndamere, who is seeing a vision of death and is fighting while using his undying rage (this is when his eyes glow red) to stay alive. Kindred lowered their bow because Ashe (woman with the frost arrows, and funny enough Tryndamere's wife and very important person in the lore of where this is taking place) arrives on the scene to save him, so death disappears. MOST LIKELY they are fighting either followers of The Volibear (Another god who is a giant thunder bear) OR a rival tribe led by Sejuani. Not enough detail to know yet. Anyways I hope this was informative! If you have any questions feel free to comment!

[@Kalolui94]

Ashe coming and trynda going out of his ulti like in relief because she arrived is so wholesome xD

[@alilith3476]

They should kiss

[@KluTzYDaZhy]

@@alilith3476 oh that would destroy me so hard (in a good way) or at least embrace each otherr

[@MelvaCross]

The animator's captured his love, respect and adoration for her perfectly.

[@Kalolui94]

@@MelvaCross indeed

[@Talguy21]

The majority of these characters have been in cinematics before, actually- just not recently. The first character, the berserker dude with the big sword is Tryndamere. He was in A Twist of Fate, albeit in one of his skins. You may remember him as the guy who got run through. It just made him angry, though. From the next scene, the "valkyries" are Kayle (the light one) and Morgana (the dark one)- they were both in the original "Welcome to League of Legends" cinematic. They've both undergone redesigns since 2011, though, so they're a bit harder to recognize. That and they're in historical skins here. I'm not super current on League so I don't know if they're playable looking like this or not. Aatrox, the big demon guy, made his cinematic debut here. In the village, the old man is indeed Yasuo, as seen in several cinematics at this point. This is a look at a hypothetical future. The theme of this cinematic being "Past, Present, Future"- with this being the future, the snow scene being the present, and the battlefield being in the past. And in the final scene, the specters are Kindred, as the comments have told already- you could technically consider Wolf to have appeared in "The Path, An Ionian Myth", though that was in a skin. It's definitely Lamb's cinematic debut, though. And it's her voice at the start. The ice archer ally at the very end is Ashe, who was also in "Welcome to League of Legends", and was also featured in "Enter the Freljord". I'm unsure if she's been seen otherwise.

[@mathies3598]

16:40 insanely impressive that you picked up on this AND that they conveyed this to point where you could pick up on this because YES! his sword is empowered by something called "true ice" which is powerful magic, and only people who are iceborn, which is only a select folks from the region freljord, are able to wield true ice weapons without dying. Ashe, his wife who saves him in the end is also iceborn and her bow is also made of true ice

[@ChincerDante]

i love how the cinematic is entertaining on its own, concise in a way, but filled with little details that people that play the game or know the lore can instantly recognize, like callbacks to the characters abilities. maybe people think that tryndamere the dude at the start, was fighting kindred, i think it was nothing but a representation of him fighting off the people around him, fighting certain dead until he was rescue by ashe, thats a powerful enough as it is without also making him fight death itself. the sideye that kayle gave morgana while using her "dark" powers, was all you need to know about their relationship to be honest.

[@zendur9086]

i would personally rate this a 10/10 but thats cuz i know more about the characters, the lore and all the hidden details if i was just casually watching it without knowing anything id say 8/10, theres just so much subtle story telling done throughout the entire cinematic that goes unnoticed if you dont know the lore, which is both sad and fun

[@TylPhumin]

5:20 First Battle (Past Setting): Twin Sisters Kayle (white wings) and Morgana (Purple Wings) vs Aatrox (Demonic guy) (The Sillhouette of "Lamb" (from Lamb and Wolf, known as Kindred) can be seen in the Flames transitioning the 2 settings) (Future Setting) Second Battle: Yasuo (yes the one with he wind Power from previous Cinematics) (The Shadow of Wolf can be seen in the trees, before Lambs Arrow transitions the screen through white) (Present Setting) Third Battle: Tryndamare, fighting off Kindred (lit. "Death" or basically a Grim Reaper") aka Lamb and Wolf. Ashe, Tryndamares Wife comes to help 13:57 the character reveal is earlier, with the first closeup frontal, where his scar over the nose is visible 14:48 from only the Season Cinematics, this is my Favorite. Might be because they have never been so dense with lore, and i got into LoL because of Lore (back in 2011) 16:42 it IS made of the "king of ice", most ppl die when touching it 17:01 yes, it IS in his blood, basically "cursed by blood" magic, so he kinda can't die. So when near death, he falls into an "undying rage" (symbolized by red eyes, cuz blood magic). kinda of like a frenzy I recommend Necrits lore break down, for more details (there is a lot of lore stuff happening!, so i only write the bare bones here) 17:29 the OP line is btw spoken by "Lamb" - "Tomorrow is a Hope, never a Promise"

[@LyanO_]

Tryndamere fighting death (kindred) but in reality was fighting off the enemies around him was so epic. KZbinr Necrit also makes fantastic videos on breaking down things frame by frame that really explains alot about the story and whats happening but its all done with the power of imagery and its just breath taking.

[@vergil8833]

This is the most interesting of the cinematics lore-wise, the visuals are also the best. This is for sure my new favorite. I would have explained the lore, but theres alot and I'm sure others do it better. But I will say that the reaosn why they didn't chop it up more like they usually do is probably because each senario represents one of the 3 states of time. One is in the past, one is in the future, and one is in the present of the story. The two angels fighting the demon guy happend thousands of years ago in the story, and the old man samurai is a possible future of his death, thats character is not actually old int he game. And the final senario with the muscle guy fighting the wolf is happening in the current story.

[@edithputhie804]

So a bit of a short lore/context dump and summary here. The theme is time. Living and dying. We have the character/s Kindred[The Wolf and The Lamb(the spirit that uses the bow and arrow) being the grim reaper version of League of Legenda aka Death. The 1st instance takes place in the past. The instance between Kayle and Morgana, (the valkyrie characters) who are the daughters of the aspect of Justice(basically the god of justice.) They're seen fighting and defeating Aatrox who's "The World Ender." 2nd Instance takes place in the potential future. The character we see is Yasuo, a wind elemental character, who's aged older. You see him here in a dystopian setting fighting what seems to be a general and his soldiers. You can recognize Yasuo from previous cinematics. Iirc he takes place in the cinematic 'Awaken,' the season 2021 cinematic. The 3rd, and last instance we see takes place in the present. Tryndamere a man who's too angry to die because of blood magic from the character Aatrox. In this instance we see him fight Kindred(death) and is later rescued by his wife Ashe. In the cinematics video description. Theres a line that says "The past, present, and potential future, we remember it all." This could either be talking about the company, audience and the general community overall remembering events in the game OR it is alluding to memories of Kindred who remembers the life they claim of people dying.

[@randomuserame]

The narrator at the beginning was the character Kindred; a/the spirit of death. They are the the collective of Lamb (in Wolf's Mask) + Wolf (in Lamb's mask) towards the end. IIRC, In lore they come to reap those who are dying. Those who go peaceably are shot by Lamb's arrow, and those who resist are torn and shredded by Wolf's jaws. It's also said that they collect their charges through/under the cover of the actions of others, masking their direct presence. Despite this, the person always knows they're there, and they've come for them; almost like being in a schizophrenic stupor/psychotic break. AFAIK if a person is about to be rescued or saved, Kindred retreats; waiting to collect their bounty another day. In the cinematic you can see Lamb or Wolf in each scene transition: A blurry Lamb behind the soldiers; vague silhouette of Lamb in the flames, the Wolf head in the treeline (probably for the bandits) + Kindred's arrow serves as the transition from that scene (with Yasuo closing his eyes and accepting death). If you are interested you can watch "Kindred: Listen To Their Tale" [very short] on the LoL YT channel; and other character videos that interest you.

[@numanuma9159]

How i Explain the cinematic's lore The cinematic is resolved around Kindred (the archer withthe wolf). Kindered is basically the avatar of death. Every creature have to meet the end and Kidred is what they see before they die coming to claim their souls. Its also Kidred's voice you hear at the begining. With that in mind: Aatrox part: Its probably old Demacia back when Kayle(blonde) and Morgana (purple) were still together fighting against Aatrox. Not much to say but its the only part since i cant seem to connect this part to kidred. Yasuo part: Its Yasuo in the future fighting against an invasion in Ionia. In the end of the fight when the arrows are about to fall down on him you see the distant wolf eyes looking at him and Yasuo knows at that time that his life have come to an end. The first white arrow that transitions the scene to the next is actually Kidred's arrow claiming his soul Tryda part: In the last part the scene continues from where the opening scene left off. Tryda is surrounded by enemies and is about to die. Kidred once again has come to claim his soul, however tryda due to blood magic from Aaatrox is able to resist death for a short amount of time and thats why in game when you use undying rage you can't die for 5 secs no matter. That is also the reason why he can fight against Kidred. You can also see Kidred almost confused itself from the tilt of it head when he almost hit it. The reason why it lowers its bow at the end is because Ashe( the lady at the end who is also Tryda's wife) arrives and hit the 2 enemies about to kill tryda. That means that tryda's life is not about to end and Kidred give up on its hunt.

[@vergil8833]

Yasuo had his Gran Torino moment in that samurai clip it looks like. Also I think Morgana was actually connected to purple magic and chains long before Sylvanas got it in WoW. Original Sylvanas is much older but she never had those abilities until late into WoW, at which Morgana had been in League for half a decade or more.

[@AppleBaron]

Because it's not actually Sylvanas power, it's Jailer's power, which he granted to her.

[@ouiamzad1867]

a little bit of contest: first scene: kayle (the blond angel) and morgana (the purple angel) r sisters fighting aatrox a darkin (that fight was in old Demacia before they split up) 2d scene: that old man is Yasuo that scene haad me crying (maybe maayyyybe he finally found peace upon him that s why he was using a stick instead of a sword at the beggining) and at the end of the scene u can see 2 red eyes in the forest, that s kindred coming for yasuo s soul. yasuo closed his eye accepting his fate (that s what i think). 3d scene: the man we see at first is tryndamere, the thing he was fighting is kindred, represent death itself, whenever death is near, kindred appears, tryndamere s ult is Undying Rage whenever he s near death he becomes unvulnerable, in that scene we can see that whenever he s near death he s fighting kindred to stay alive. that was so cleaver from RIOT games to put it that way. PS: correct me if im wrong.

[@fletchermoose7915]

These are such beautiful works of art, and because of them, Im deeply invested in the lore of a game that I don’t even enjoy playing 😂

[@OqiviOrein0]

My favorite cinematic from lol for me. And the song is a 10/10

[@etheth888]

It’s so interesting that you mentioned his sword potentially being powered by ice. There does exist weapons made from true ice that can only be wielded by Iceborn (because only they can withstand its chilling effect) in the lore and his wife (the woman who saves him) holds a true ice bow. Maybe he does have a true ice sword that isn’t explained in the lore but will be in the future.

[@sniclops15]

One of my favorite cinematics by far, LoL outdid themselves with this one. (The Call is a close runner-up for me) Let's break it down, shall we? This cinematic is divided into three scenes, detailing the past, the future, and the present time The past brings us to ancient Demacia, a city founded as a safe haven from the chaotic effects of magic. Developed to heavily contrast their magic invaders, Noxus, Demacia utilizes magic-absorbing materials to negate magic from being used there. Over time, this has spiraled into an empire that shows heavy hostility to magic, even towards its own citizens who unwillingly possess it. This all began, for the most part, with the twin essences of Justice - Kayle and Morgana. Their mother had ascended before them into the sole essence of Justice before they were born, and when her children came of age, she split her divine blade in two, giving one to each sibling. While Kayle - the white winged one - accepted the responsibility proudly, Morgana - the purple winged one - was reluctant, seeing the power as something that could corrupt if used zealously. Morgana possessed magic - celestial in nature - that caused great strain to her when she used it. In this scene, we see Aatrox, one of the Darkin - an ancient race of demigods that have since been sealed into weapons. Aatrox is actually the weapon in this case - the body is merely someone who touched the sword, allowing Aatrox to dominate their mind and transform them into his image. This will become important later. Aatrox fights the two, and ultimately leads to Morgana having to use her magic and dropping her sword - much to Kayle's dissaproval. This signifies the roles they later take in-game - with Kayle as the possessor of both halves of the sword and Morgana rejecting their mother's flawed philosophies and utilizing her magic instead. The future leads us to a burning village which, as you guessed correctly, showcases an aged Yasuo, a wind mage and expert swordsman. In this cutscene, we see that Yasuo has set aside his ways of killing - rejecting both his sword and wind magic to take up a simple wooden staff, as the former two had only caused him grief during his early life (He was framed for a murder he did not commit). In the cinematic, Yasuo strikes with 0 intention to kill. Even when he breaks his staff and picks up the sword, he uses the blade to channel his wind magic. The wind magic knocks the enemies away, not harming them. It is theorized that the tornado at the end was used to push the bandit leader away from the incoming cloud of arrows, which would have killed both Yasuo and the leader had he done nothing. Accepting his death, he was struck by a glowing arrow, symbolizing a character we will shortly meet. Returning to the present, we meet the Viking King Tryndamere. Tryndamere has an interesting condition that was granted to him when he survived an attack against Aatrox (the big dude at the beginning). When Aatrox attacked Tryndamere, Tryndamere was affected by the blood curse of Aatrox's sword. However, instead of becoming subjugated to the Darkin's will, Tryndamere persisted, retaining his sanity and being given the poetically named "Undying Rage." As the name implies, his in game ultimate ability temporarily turns him into the "man too angry to die" meme. And this brings us to the star of the show, who is hinted at in all three scenes: Kindred, the twin essence of death in League's universe. Kindred is composed of a 2-creature hunting group. Lamb's bow offers a swift and painless death to those who accept their fates like Yasuo, while Wolf's crushing jaws and persistent hunts await those who dare to run from it. In this final scene, we see what is essentially going on whenever Tryndamere enters his undying rage (red eyes) - he is quite literally fighting against death itself. Every bite Wolf delivers and every shot Lamb tries to land is a would-be-fatal blow from the warriors that surrounded him. It is only with the last-second intervention of Ashe, Tryndamere's wife, that he is saved from the literal jaws of death itself.

[@shekel6420]

The Valkyrie’s are Kayle and Morgana. Both aspects of justice. Morgana the purple one embraces humanity while Kayle embraces judgement. Eventually they have a falling out and their scene foreshadows it so well. The subtle look of judgement from Kayle while morgana is holding Aatrox down with magic…

[@michellenguyen7629]

i love seeing kindred in an actual cinematic. love the nier replicant background music too!

[@hans12797]

There are plenty of good explanations to the barbarian scene so i will try to explain the others a bit more. The samurai scene: The samurai on the spot is yasuo and he has a really up and down character development but at his elderly age we can see that he intentionally delivers neutralizing blows rather than killing blows however after a certain point he realizes that he has to use the wind powers and that concentration moment before he picks up the sword is actually him having a moment of sorrow because he realizes there is no other choice (he used the wind to kill people in the past and was acused of killing his master etc so he probably doesnt want to use it for some reason). Another detail is that the way he fights is actually very precise given the mastery he has but still its very clear that he is actually on his last breath and far from his prime if you consider how powerful he was supposed to be (creating mini disaster scale tornados that flings up armies). Additionally, even if he uses the wind powers, whihc he used to kill people before, he still doesnt kill the goons and just nocks them unconscious. Another detail is that when he raises his face and we see his face under the edge of the hat and the camera pans back to the goons, you can notice that they actually stop for a minute suspecting the samurai is actually a former legendary icon of the region. Finally you can see him accepting death at the end and a white arrow hitting (grim reapers arrow) him. This is specifically intresting because he could have used the windwall again to stop his death but he instead knocked the leader with a wind strike which is strongly displaying the conclusion of his character development which is related to honor and stuff.

[@Turbojammer_]

a bit of an analytic point here; In the scene, where Aatrox, The Darkin blade, also known as the God killer (The "demon"), comes down from the sky, the lyrics goes "it's in my blood, it's in my veins", which fits his theme a 100%. 1) Aatrox was once an ascended being, who since then became a Darkin, trapped in his blade, and seeks a strong host, to become stronger and destroy everything. Aatrox is going through eternal suffering, by not being able to die, and his goal is to destroy everything, so he one day, will be destroyed himself. His powers are blood magic, which is the strength of a Darkin, which is why the quote "it's in my blood, it's in my veins" is so precise. Kayle and Morgana (The two Twin sisters), are daughters of an Ascended, which grants them part of their powers. This would make them half celestial, half mortal beings. They both represent Justice, where Kayle is the non forgiving, seeking to justify the ones who comitted the crimes, and Morgana being the more forgiving half. This is also why "it's in my blood, it's in my veins", is also so powerful in the next shot, where Kayle is lying on the ground, indicating Kayle seeks to justify what Aatrox did. Also a common mistake is that Aatrox doesn't die here. His host body is simply dying, and he will then find a new one to corrupt. 2) Yasuo's (The old man) scene, is about him being near the end of his paths, and is bringing up his past. When he was young, he went to war, and when he returned, he was accused of killing his master, and later on killing his own brother, which leads to him running away. In these shots, the lyrics goes on about "That I won't come undone", "and my shadow stretching out", and is "all enough this time?" These lyrics sounds like he's regretting his past actions, and now seeks to justify it, before his end. At the end of the scene, we see a hail of arrows, about to hit, where the white arrow is the arrow of Kindred (Wolf and Lamb), who is the Grim Reaper of this universe. The forest is shaped like Wolf (The trees are ears, and the red lights are eyes). Kindred only appears, when someone is about to die. 3) In the last scene, we return to Tryndamere, who also posseses blood magic. He has an ability in the game, allowing him to be invincible for a set given time. Called Undying Rage. This is the reason his eyes turn red, which is indicating, that he is close to death. In the scene, we see him surrounded by people, but the actual fight is between him and Kindred, which is quite symbolic. He's actually battling Death itself, but in reality he's killing those people, and Kindred is just an "imagination". When the 2 arrows fly across their shoulders, and defeating the last enemies, Kindred then lowers her bow, and is signaling that Tryndamere, is allowed to stay alive. Ashe (the archer), is the wife of Tryndamere, and is the saviour in this scene. "It's in my blood, it's in my veins" symbolizes that Tryndamere has the will to survive, and not die. And the "I'm still here" comes across as a line, indicating his success in defeating death. Also, Kindred's two halves, wolf and lamb, are explained as; Wolf being the one to hunt the ones, who run from death, and Lamb shooting the white arrow, granting a painless death. Which is why Yasuo accepts the white arrow, and Tryndamere fights the wolf. So 1) is about the one who's living in eternal suffering, and seeks death, but cannot die. But is merely defeated by Justice, yet not dead. (Even though Kindred shows in the fire, he's not dead through cannon lore.) 2) is about the one who's lived his life, and it has come to an end, yet having regrets about his past actions, but has accepted death. 3) is about the one who's battling against death, and refuses to die, because of love and will power.

[@Theobrynn]

One of my favorite details was how old man Yasuo blunted his blade by sheathing it in wind and knocking out the enemies. The final person he hit with wind was pushed out of the way of incoming arrow volley as he steels himself and accepts death.

[@Blackn3t]

There are 7 champions featured total: Kindred, Tryndamere, Kayle, Morgana, Aatrox, Yasuo, Ashe 4 of them (Ashe, Tryndamere, Kayle, Morgana) are from the original set of characters released in 2009 Aatrox and Yasuo are 2013, Kindred is 2015 So overall it's a pretty old set of characters. And yes, the old dude is the same one as in the Awaken cinematic. It just takes place in the future, hence why he's old here.

[@BanitoYuno]

When trynd smacks the arrow rejecting death so sick.

[@HmmWelp]

Holy shit, tht fight with Tryndamere (the red eye guy) started off against Kindred, (the wolf and the Lamb) Kindred is this universe's Death. He was fighting against Death itself, then Ashe (the white haired girl with the bow) came in to fight the actual enemy, and Kindred vanished. He was already dead, just raging against it. Then she saved him. That was such a cool way to show that fight, and the transition back into the real situation when Ashe protected him is amazing. Also the red eyes, he has an ultimate called something like unrelenting rage that makes him unkillable for i think 6 seconds.

[@nicciburgiplayz3549]

The last barbaric character has a ultimate called undying rage where he becomes invincible for 6 seconds because he refuses to die. Kindred (Wolf and Lamb) is what you see when you die and she takes you to the afterlife by hunting you down.

[@Phantom-un2ox]

16:36 OH WOW!!! You got it right on the money. His sword IS powered by ice. It's called True Ice. In League lore, there are a group of people called Ice Borne, and they can you a special type of magical ice that enhances there capabilities. The blue shard on the sword is True Ice and it gives the sword special attributes as a result. It's crazy you caught that just from visual and lyrical clues. Goes to show how much thought is put into this stuff

[@Rene9adeSU]

Im a bit late to the party, but: The snowflake falling down is also part of Ashe's Hawkshot. The Scene transition from the kindred arrow to tryndamere in the last segment has a halo of ice appear in the sky from which a single snowflake falls down. So Ashe has send out her E to search for Trynda and let him know she's on her way. Thats why he gets back up to fight.

[@The_Scryer]

A small thing I don't think anyone really noticed about the scene with Yasuo, is that he sheathes his blade in wind, so he doesn't actually cut anyone. He basically just clobbers them with a wind bat, and then launches the last guy out of the way of the incoming barrage of arrows. He beat them but didn't kill them. Kind of a neat touch.

[@kevindon2133]

The Reason Kayle (Valkryie with white wings) gives her sister Morgana (purple wings) the side eye is because by putting down their mothers sword, Morgana is deciding to reject her divinity and choose her humanity.

[@KazeraX]

LOL PHIL "WHY IS SYLVANAS IN LEAGUE OF LEGENDS?" xDD It definitely does seem like her chains though huh lol Also great reaction, I was very hyped to see you cover this one after this morning's premiere! You pointed out some stuff that I didn't even consider or notice. I definitely think this one is better than last year's, and I absolutely love it. I was hype about all the same moments you were, especially the Morgana chains scene. And the fact that Kindred is in this just makes it an instant top 5. But I still think Awaken (2019) is the best one they've ever made. But maybe I'm just biased because Riven is in Awaken and I love Riven. :) (p.s. -- the old guy as many others have pointed out is old man Yasuo, this is showing a possible future of his, and what you were probably thinking of was Yasuo's younger self that appeared in the Awaken cinematic!)

[@MrManlds9]

The Kindred scene shines... Tryn popping ult has always been a fan favorite (shown in at least 1 cinematic before) and provides a sence of "brute force," like he is a big dude. My only complaint is that in game a fed Tryn would turn Kindred into pink mist solo, but lore wise im pretty sure she is a goddess, so there is that (I could be wrong).. Then they add a layer where Ashe (his wife) comes in to provide protection for this ultimate warrior and he steps down from a hyper agressive masculine state knowing she just saved him.. great scene all around and the music is amazing as with all LoL scenes. The morgana scene is awesome as well, we all know she goes evil, but this is before that.. I would still rate "the call," better musically as I love the dynamics between male and female voices. It almost felt more "impactful," if that makes sense, but the shots here were great anf far better than they put out in the short prior...

[@mikleman996]

Lamb and Wolf was my favorite part, the lore behind Lamb and Wolf is so good. In Short: Separate, but never parted, Kindred represents the twin essences of death. Lamb's bow offers a swift release from the mortal realm for those who accept their fate. Wolf hunts down those who run from their end, delivering violent finality within his crushing jaws. Though interpretations of Kindred's nature vary across Runeterra, every mortal must choose the true face of their death.

[@HazardReaper]

kindred shows in tryndamere scene the warrior is the most powerful champion in the lore as she is death itself(it is also a metafor for that he is dying) he is actually fighting the warriors you see in the start that is why you can see the damage on his soulderpad from where the wolf chomped on him he actually got hit by one of the warriors.

[@pa_3op]

I find so hilarious that all the league players and experts in second scene be like «Wait, who's that, it can't be Yasuo 🤨», while a lot of non-players are «Oh, that's the dude with tornadoes, all right» 😂

[@joshuaneilson8962]

If you REALLY want to get down on some League of Legends lore, there is a creator here on youtube named Necrit. He dives really deep into the lore and explains it all very well. His analysis of this cinematic is really, really good.

[@SylvanasHusband]

20:20 Sylvanas, thought he was talking about me for a second XD

[@Fuegopaintrain]

lamb and wolf are kindred, which is basically the grim reaper of most of runeterra. Basically he was fighting death

[@matiasrostworowski5141]

The wind katana guy is called Yasuo, he's been in at least 2 other cinematics. This one is a possible future, not fully cannon, in which obviously he is quite a bit older. If you watch closely he actually doesn't kill any of the soldiers. Even the guy he hits with the tornado at the end, it seems more like he's pushing him out of the way of the arrows coming for him. It seems like later in his life he's tried to give up using the wind and his sword, and killing people in general, as its only ever made things worse for him. You can see he first tries to fight without a sword, and without the wind, but he gets knocked down. So he resorts to his old powers, but still refuses to kill any of them. At the end, possibly because he's finally realised he'll never be able to stop fighting, he accepts death (symbolized by kindred's white arrow). I didn't figure out most of that, just watched a necrit video.

[@hamzahansary7245]

7:06 that's probably kindred in the middle whom he was fighting at the end of the cinematic as he represents death and we know of tryndamere's ability where he refuses to die that's when his eyes turns red. it's more interesting now when i see tryndamere ult in game i ll have to think of him fighting kindred as it came to take his life but he won't let go.

[@GabrielMPaixao]

Great reaction, but I'm surprised you didn't comment on the side eye Kayle (one of the "valkyries") gives to Morgana (the purple one) right before attacking. It's such a BIG gesture for lore fans because Kayle despises Morgana

[@the_outlaw]

The lore behind Morgana (purple Valkyrie) exploding in anger and using magic against Aatrox (red demon) makes the shot even better. The context is that they aren't allowed to use magic in Demacia, which is where they are from, and then Morgana uses magic which is why the other Valkyrie gives her that look of disgust. I can definitely recommend Necrit's "The Lore of 'Still Here' Cinematic Explained" for a more accurate explanation. He also breaks down some of the imagery and symbolism in the cinematic.

[@dgmt8789]

His power is pure undying rage. It lasts 6 seconds but feels like it lasts a month. Dude is terrifying.

[@Whysoshort]

Im assuming youve already read a billion explanations about the lore of the characters so i wanted to write something else assuming that. Kindred shows up in every act of the Cinematic. In the opening you have their voice line from the game "Tomorrow is a hope, never a promise." In act 1, after Kayle unleashes her holy flames, you see lamb's silhouette in the fire. Act 2 is the most interesting in my opinion. So when Yasuo is chasing down the last Bandit, you see him pause for a moment and look up before losing the tornado. He new the storm of Arrows were coming and had to choose between finishing the bandit or putting up a wind wall to block the arrows, and he chose to kill the bandit. After he loses the tornado, there is a forest tree line and you can see the silhouette of wolf staring Yasuo down as the arrows come into view. When Yasuo closes his eyes and accepts fate, one of the arrows begins to glow, becoming lambs arrow and symbolizing that is the arrow that kills him Act 3 you have Trynd fighting for his life. I like to imagine the fight with wolf and lamb is both symbolic and literal. The line "its in my blood". Is because Aatrox infected Trynd's blood with a rage so powerful it literally prevents him from dying. When he goes into the blood rage, yes he is literally fighting the enemy warriors and just cant see them. But he is also fighting death, refusing to be taken from them. So when Wifie shows up and saves him. It could either be that seeing her calmed his rage so he no longer saw the symbolism if death, or it could be that he literally was fighting Kindred, but Lamb lowered her arrow and they retreated because with Ashe there as Backup Trynd was no longer in danger of dying, no longer under their dominion.

[@frostii2672]

another thing ive not sern anyone mention yet is the guy at the end, tryndamere, and how his eyes stop glowing when the woman, ashe shows up. when i first saw this cinematic i was really hit by that because tryndamere kind of has this feral/magical rage that he gives into while hes fighting, hence the red eyes. But in the lore, ashe is his wife, so seeing all that rage and hate subside when he sees her eas cute to me

[@V1G1LANTEK9]

just reading the comments I am reminded how fucking cool the league lore is. its genuinely one of the greatest world lore plots in existence. WoW had a fantastic background and world lore as well. but the interpersonal lore didnt expand deeply until later expansions but now the lore is a jumbled shell of what it used to be. they have done a "game of thrones season 8" to their characters etc. a lot of it is just out of place from what it was supposed to be and what the game was built on. but since LoL has revamped everything and now since just a few months ago, unified ALL of its side stories and medias into one synonymous world of canon lore, it has become one of the interesting and beautiful worlds in current media existence. all based off a fucking BROWSER GAME THAT ADVERTISED WITH HENTAI BAIT BACK IN 2009! its FUCKING WILD how this game got so big competitively that the most generic basic lore was evolved into absolute greatness because Riot saw what was happening with blizzard and they saw that they had a universe of characters that were all quite unique and very interesting and different from generic fantasy lore. they said "lets get a team in here and get people to start grinding out some much deeper world and character lore. and for years they built it up and tore some down to finally unite it all under one banner. no more "is this riot side game canon?" "is this short story canon?" "is this in-game league event canon?" etc etc its all fucking canon. aside from the parallel universe skin lines which are purely cosmetic lores. if you watch it in arcane if you play it in mageseeker, if you read it on their lore page, its all fucking canon and all so fucking cool. all of this. yet the game itself is just a super-sweat toxic competitive MOBA that just takes the characters from the world and has them fight lmao. its an arena of gods essentially. thats why riot is making the mmo. because now when you get hype from these fucking awesome cinematics you dont have to go play the MOBA and get toxic degens to yell at you. you would then instead be able to IMMERSE yourself into the lore the videos are based on and play the MMO based around the lore rather than the MOBA arena combat lol. I cant fucking wait for their mmo man.

[@ArgKnoxville86]

So the voice in the begining belongs to the character called Kindred. Kindred is the representation of DEATH in the League universe. Kindres is the white lamb bow user character we see in the end, and the wolf. They "hunt" together. In that last scene, they are fighting Tryndamere. Tryndamere has an ability where he cannot die for a period of time. So basically in that scene he is fighting DEATH itself and he has used this abilty to resist dying! And Kindred dissappears when Ashe comes to the rescue and saves him.

[@Whysoshort]

Lore for the characters incase you havent been told. Most important- Kindred, the Wolf and Lamb. The Spirit of death. Wolf hunts those who run from death why Lamb provides a swift end to those that accept them. Tryndamere- the Guy on the ground with the massive sword. Ashes King Concort. His tribe was whiped out by Aatrox and he was infected with blood magic that gives him anger issues and makes him VERY hard to kill. Kayle - the golden Angel. Twin sister of Morgan and the daughter of the Aspect(basically god) of justice. She is one if the two protector deities of Democia. Morgana- Dark Angel. Twin sister of Kayle and the daughter of the Aspect(basically god) of justice. She is one if the two protector deities of Democia. These two have a lot of bad blood because they inherited conflicting interpretations of Justice. This battle was a famous one that lead to the fracturing and eventual complete dissolution of their relationship. Thats why you can see Kayle look at Morgan with so much contempt before the final attack. Aatrox- big demon guy. General of the Darken Army. Darken are basically Humans who were turned into gods then fought in a war with Eldritch horrors for who knows how long. That gave them aweful PTSD, then their emperor died so they all turned into Warlords so the actual gods said enough is enough and locked them all in their weapons which drove them actually insane. So now anytime someone touches Aatrox's sword he dominates their body and becomes an absolute menace until hes put down again. Yasuo is infact the wind samurai you saw before. This is a potential future Kindred is showing him a vision of. Ionia seems to not being doing so well and domestic terroristic cells seem to have been formed after it was invaded like 3 times. The winters Claw are the warriors that Trynd is fighting. They are a rival tribe in the Freljord that raid, pillage, and generally believe might is right. Trynd is the king Concort of Ashe, the Warmother (queen regent) of the Avarosians. So the winters claw don't like him. They either ambushed him, or he went there specifically to fight them. Ashe is the Warmother of the Avarosians and is trying to bring peace so the freljord united as one tribe in cooperation and civilization. The winters claw dont really wanna join them and so they are enemies.

[@Dreadnuts24]

Fun fact: The last scene with Tryndamere, he is shown fighting Kindred (the lamb and the wolf), but in reality he is fighting the soldiers ( seen at the beginning). Kindred being the equivalent of Grim Reaper, claims those who are about to die. Tryndamere's ultimate ability is raging so hard, he refuses to die (shown by his eyes turning red) hence the head tilt by the lamb ( the one with the bow and arrow) and the wolf attacking him are actually those foot soldiers. As the lamb was about to shoot an arrow again, It felt the presence of Ashe (the grill coming to her husband's aid) and realises Tryndamere just isn't going to die that time. That is why when Ashe's arrows hit, it hit the actual foot soldiers and the Lamb's silhouette was replaced by Ashe. Her last hawkshot ( arrow shot upwards - used in-game to reveal enemies in the map) shows more soldiers surrounding them.

[@nathanielsoucie-porter936]

I think the reason the name of the cinematic is "Still Here" isnt because the characters are still here standing, i think it's actually a reference to the lamb and wolf you see in the final fight, known as Kindred or the embodiment of death in League of Legends lore. Still Here meaning that death is waiting around every corner. Also, the opening line of "Tomorrow is a hope, never a promise" is actually a quote from Kindred. Edit: if you want to learn about the crazy amount of lore behind this trailer, id highly recommend you check out Necrit's video breaking it down.

[@verdipauwnz3458]

The thing with the Aatrox (big demon guy) is that he literally is the weapon hence why it looks so monstrous and is pulsing. The body is just a mortal who picked the sword up and now aatrox, who was bound inside the weapon long ago, is dominating and using the body to kill everything and everybody. And his body is destroyed here but it doesn't really matter and he basicially is immortal and will come back. And something quite sad about him and his existence is acutally that he desperately wants to die but literraly cant. And his entire purpose is to kill all life until only he remains. One of the coolest characters in league. And he also has a connection to the tryndamere (the sword barbarian guy) and is actualy the reason why he can keep himself from death through anger and rage. So tryndamere's tribe was sloughtered by aatrox and tryndamere also almost died but aatrox imbued him with blood magic (the magic that created aatrox in the first place, the original form of him that is). The blood magic sort of reacts with his rage and willpower to keep him from dying. And the character Tryndamere is facing here (Kindred) is one of the many faces of death in league lore (for the sake of simplicity he is basicially fighting death here) and because he is on the verge of dying and his eyes turned red and he is able to fight death because of the blood magic keeping him alive. Kindred also looks slighty surprised (the slight head tilt after she dodges his sword attack) because he is able fight Kindred, or death, through unnatural means which of course doesnt make sense to her. And then she stops fighting him because ashe, trydameres wife, arrives to help him because of which he wasnt about to die anymore. i hope this is somewhat understandable and mostly correct, since i'm not the biggest expert in lol lore.

[@grunta3577]

This cinematic is a representation of the past present and future. At the very beginning we see Tryndamere laying on the ground and he sees a faint glimpse of kindred (this will be important later). Then the first battle scene is in the past in ancient Demacia (we are talking over 1000 years ago) and we see the two sisters Kayle and Morgana who together both make the aspect of justice, basically they are both the god of justice, Morgana judges and Kayle punishes. We see Kayle and Morgana fighting Aatrox who is a darkin (darkin is a corrupted god warrior and Aatrox is the only cannonical person to kill an aspect being the aspect of war pantheon). Past them fighting I am unsure of why they are fighting each other I would assume it is part of the Darkin War which started due to the emperor of Shurima Azir dying and all the God warriors went corrupt and turned into the Darkin and they all vied for power with the two strongest being Aatrox and Xolaani. Next we see the future, a village in Ionia is being attacked by what I assume to be the Shadow order and the old man who steps up is a much older Yasuo (he was in the Awaken cinematic for reference). Thus knowing its a older Yasuo and this being in the future there is a lot of unknowns and there is more questions than answers. Finally we are in the present and we return to Tryndamere, the fact that he saw a glimpse of Kindred at the start of the cinematic its no surprise he is fighting them becasue Kindred is LoL's version of death, a lamb (the white on with a bow) for a painless death for those who embrace death and a wolf (the large black one) for a painful death to those who choose to run or fight. Since Tryndamere is fighting Kindred we know he is close to death at this point, when his eyes go red he enters "undying rage" basically he becomes so angry he cannot die. Plot twist Tryndamere is seeing Kindred and thinking he is fighting Kindred when in fact he was figthing the people who were surrounding him. Then we see 2 blue arrows fly past Kindred and we see Ashe emerge and Kindred disappear meaning Ashe saved Tryndamere from death, also side note Ashe is Tryndamere's wife. I do apologize for the long comment but there is a lot happening in the cinematic and I thought to add context incase something was confusing, I hope this helps and if you have more question I'm willing to try and answer them for you.

[@Taliesin_]

The symbol that forms on the sword when the snowflake melts is the Mark of Kindred, signifying that fate has chosen this moment for Tryndamere (the warrior) to die. Kindred (the masked lamb and wolf) are the setting's version of the grim reaper, who come to those so marked in the final moments of their life. Tryndamere, however, is unique in that he has spent much of his life defying odds that would kill anyone else, and he does so again here - holding off the literal grim reaper themselves just long enough for Ashe (his wife) to save him.

[@Fishhhhhh7777]

Can you do a video where you compare Riot and Blizzards videography and animation? It would be interesting to see your take on Riot’s explosive growth in film compared to some of Blizzards timeless animations.

[@Lv6_Esper]

idk why but for some reason kindred saying "tomorrow is a hope, never a promise" really struck a chord with me. I usually never dwell on things like that

[@aiolosfritzalas2468]

Hey man the guy that s fighting the bear and the lamb at the end is actually fighting death in another realm and because hes immortal (for lore reasons dead can t actually beat him ) also everyone interprets death differently that s just what hes seeing

[@MirdaDeLaVega9851]

in the scene with Yasuo when the arrows fly to him, did you see the eyes off the wolf in the forest , you can see shape of the wolf head ,the wolf who attacking last character at the end

[@facelessgames4198]

Tryndamere (guy with a big sword in snow) has an ability called "Undying Rage" where he's, basically, too angry to die, and at the end of cinematic he fights literal manifestation of Death in this universe, Kindred, represented by Lamb, who takes lives of those who ready to go peacfuly, and a Wolf, who chases those, who are unwilling. There are tales of Kindred in every culture in this universe, because it's literal Grim Reaper here, and people see them on their last living moments, so that's a nice and very powerful scene and visualisation of Tryndamere's Undying Rage.

[@olli3318]

the part with the 2 valkyries fighting the demon has so much more to point out story wise, as well as the fight between the first guy and the wolf and the "lamb". The valkyries are sisters that are a symbol of strict order. However when Morgana (the purple one) notices that they are overpowered, she puts down her sword as a symbol of surrendering the order, and dives into chaotic magic. Her sister kayle gives Morgana a disappointed side eye, but accepts her sword and now will stand for order all alone. Btw neither one is "good" or "bad", but Kayle won't accept her sister any longer. Also the demon's sword is actually part of the demon itself. The guy fighting the wolf and lamb is both metaphorical and not. Both the wolf and lamb are called "Kindred", as they are the kindred spirits that are death incarnate. Tryndamere (the guy) therefore metaphorically fights his own death until eventually his wife comes to rescue. In the game his power is to become immortal for a short amount of time, symbolically he fights Kindred every time he's close to death, but Kindred never gets him. When Kindred sees that Tryndamere defies death, the lamb leans the head to the side a bit, as a symbol of spiked interest and confusion.

[@khileemyers3059]

We want More Longer Fighting short films from you

[@TheOnlyGhxst]

Riot really shows the potential of animated cinematography, you can do things that no filmmaker with an actual camera can ever hope to achieve. The potential is limitless.