Shadow of the Erdtree Trailer Analysis - Jack is a Mimic

Jack breaks down the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer in a mix of excitment and scatter brain thoughts! This is what no notes looks like. Stay tuned for a future video preparing you for all the lore you need to know for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC!
Become a Mimic Scholar for perks like an icon and my thanks!
/ @jackisamimic
My other videos:
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Why Did The Carian Queen Grieve? - • Why Did The Carian Que...
How to Understand Elden Ring Lore - • How to Understand Elde...

[@JackisaMimic]

Please excuse the video quality, I did not have a lot of time to film and edit this one. A bigger video is in the works!

[@zaytres-_-]

It’s good bro. We love it and thank you 🙏🏽

[@SuperMario-xb1rl]

The big giant fire golem head looks kind of like the dung eater symbol on his chest.

[@xxjlamariexx]

@@zaytres-_-zzzzzz

[@mrwhatcanido4942]

loved it

[@Mainlymundane]

Not low quality, just authentic. Thanks for the video!

[@mcsquared5005]

18:36 something you didnt notice about the fire wickerman. There are 2 faces of fire giants skinned off and attached to his legs. If you zoom in on the wickermans chest, it is filled with both human and dragon bodies, there is a super obvious dragon head sticking out of the right side. Its interesting this boss contains humans,giants and dragons

[@JackisaMimic]

That's kind of insane and grotesque, no wonder they weren't saints. Ill have to. look again!

[@hruikan]

It’s a crucible

[@oup6009]

I theorized that the legs of the wickerman are actually just straight up 2 Fire Giant Corpses with their heads sticking out

[@core-nix1885]

Limgrave + Weeping Peninsula were originally called Tenebrae Demesne in the Alpha, which can mean "Domain of Shadow". The Baldachin seems like part of a broader metaphor for the Veil of Maya. Also, I think Messmer is a reference to Franz Mesmer/Mesmerism, which made me think of snake charming - Wikipedia mentions Mesmerism being a theory of Animal Magnetism similar to Qigong.

[@Writh811]

Something small but interesting, the part where Miquella is displaying the Shadow Tree, the Baldachin is gone.

[@JackisaMimic]

Very interesting! Must be the end of the DLC then when that cutscene occurs

[@madstheghost4130]

Shadows play such an interesting role in Elden Ring. In the base game they are the names given to the half beast men who are bound to serve Empyrions and ascend them to godhood. They are so intensely linked to that ascension that Blaidd even dies, rather than foresaking Ranni. Now we have shadows in the sense that these are almost the parallels of the characters, places, and creatures we saw in the base game. I wonder if they have maintained that same hunger to god,g ascension. Almost like if their “other half,” so to speak failed in the Lands Between, they are determined to succeed and transform everything into a land of shadow. I cannot wait to see what FromSoft has decided to do with this. It really is almost a sequel, rather than a DLC. We are so spoiled.

[@JackisaMimic]

And now we see this Shadowlands with a major influence from Beasts and the Crucible, so the implications of Empyrean Shadows has gotten so much deeper!

[@sampalace358]

One cool thing that I might add, is in descriptions it says maliketh was known for slaying demigods. What if messmer had/has those siblings who were malikeths victims. Like you said Blaidd would rather die than get in the way of Ranni. Maliketh would kill any for marika even her own children.

[@allthe1]

​@@sampalace358Ooooh now I get why Maliketh is so apologetic when he dies, it's not that he's failed to us, but he has done something that made her "betray" him

[@duskripper6650]

Jawline could cut glintstone 😅

[@fleetstreet11]

Can it cut the Elden Ring in half?

[@LordShinyBottom]

Black swordsman sure has his hands full with the DLC, excited to see what content you make from the dlc

[@JackisaMimic]

Oh you KNOW the Black Swordsman Saga will continue in the DLC! Probably going to need a lot of time combing through the DLC before the next chapter comes out, what I think made the Eclipse video special was that we could build up to a big reveal or revelation. I want to be able to do that again and create a cinematic experience, but bigger and better!

[@LordShinyBottom]

@@JackisaMimic your ambition and passion for this game and this medium is contagious man, keep it up

[@andrea5737]

9:44 I think that's our new Grace. Like, if we are supposed to follow Miquella's footsteps, it makes sense for new Grace to be a reflection of Miquella's Rune. Also, the character kinda looks like they're sitting, like they sit at a site of Grace.

[@tengoku0114]

The woman was using a pink incantation that either controls your enemy or turns your enemies into allies for a certain amount of time, its the weird pink bewitching branch

[@JackisaMimic]

I assumed it was a sleep spell but a bewitching spell would be very interesting (and fun)

[@AdamCBM]

Could it be a new incantation of Love/enthralling made by Michella? He was able to make fundamentalist incantations for his father Radagon

[@buckyhurdle4776]

Yeah looks like AOE bewitching branch, which will be pretty cool. I love when enemies fight each other in these games

[@AdamCBM]

@@buckyhurdle4776 AoE Rapport!😯

[@buckyhurdle4776]

I will say though if its just guaranteed to work on any mob that is fucking crazy, getting a bewitching branch to land is pretty hard. You could turn both of Niall's knights against him at the same time

[@elibrainless90]

your knowlage of this games lore is incredible

[@JackisaMimic]

That or I have REALLY good head canon

[@minerman60101]

I came to a similar conclusion about this land's original connection to the Lands Between after that interview. Its placement as in the center lake is supported by the angle of the Erdtree matched with the center tree of this shadow tree--the Erdtree leans towards southern Liurnia, around Scenic Isle, and the main angle we see this shadow tree at seems just about 90 degrees away from that maximum lean, right around Caelid. In addition, you can see the ancient stone architecture that's embedded into the lands of the base game in a few shots of the trailer, supporting these lands originally being connected. (also that the Dark moon is shown without the shadow tree anywhere near it, and it appears in the east) A couple questions I've had about the idiosyncrasies of the Erdtree were how was it planted, given it's rooted in a sheer cliffface, and why it appears transparent from much of the Lands Between. The Land of Shadow appears to give the perfect ground for the Erdtree to have been planted on and the interviews say as much. As for the translucency, it may have to do with how the Land of Shadow is hidden. The Isolated divine tower is also extremely idiosyncratic: you get to it from a portal on a divine bridge that's ruined and which points in a completely different direction from the tower (and which is slightly longer in Godefroy's siege of Leyndell in the story trailer), it is the only place in the Lands Between where you can see Crumbling Farum Azula, and it is where Malenia's two fingers are, undoubtedly the ones shared with Miquella as is the case for the other twin demigods. Dang, you shook my preconceptions by throwing out that we don't have concrete evidence that Godwyn is Godfrey's son. The channel Garrulous Goldmask speculates that Godwyn was born cursed with the death blight, and the night of the black knives was a scheme to rebirth him without that curse (based on the dialogue of the Deeproot Depths Finger Reader Crone), and that's why the whole deathroot infection happened. also Siofra is pronounced "SHEE-fruh"

[@JackisaMimic]

Great point about the Divine Tower and the Divine Bridge, it is very odd that its just missing. Just like a huge section of Leyndell thats just a big hole in the ground. Also yeah, try to prove concretely Godwyn is Godfrey's son and it gets very difficult. I mean, Godwyn turns into a giant fish or dare I say, a sea dragon. "Oh mighty dragon, thou art a true born heir" Thanks for the pronunciation, its like reading a book with words you've never seen before sometimes.

[@nicolasgorszczyk9291]

Also the amount of veils and their placement is suspiciously the same as the position of the divine towers

[@peacewalker4058]

​@@JackisaMimicyou probably already know this by now but Leyndell is clearly the third eternal city, it just sunk beneath to deeproot depths. The church where you get Lionel's armor matches the architecture of other eternal cities for example. Also if you could open Leyndell's gates there would only be water welcoming you, clearly there was another road of sorts going from Leyndell's gate to the closed gate around where granssax's wing fell to (guarded by 3-4 knights). I'd like to think that while ground swallowed whole Nokron and Nokstella successfully, Leyndell's older and pre-marika-apotheosis part, the nox part, fell prematurely or maybe even accidentally. Tree Sentinels carry torches that we can get and they are clearly a measure for Black Knives after they failed to protect Godwyn. Why would Sentinels from Leyndell even carry those if Godwyn wasn't assassinated there? Maybe downtown Leyndell's collapse to Deeproot is much more recent and that's why nobles (and Tarnished) cannot use the front gate. They shut it down to comply with OSHA regulations.

[@peacewalker4058]

Garrulous Goldmask's finding of Golden Bough flipped the tables on my understanding of the night of the black knives. It was clear to me that Marika had a hand in it and Ranni wasn't alone but i couldn't find a connection as to why Marika would want this. Ranni had to get rid of her body and save the souls off all from the Erdtree's reincarnation cycle but I genuinely thought Marika hated Godwyn for a reason and wanted to get rid of him, her sadness being a facade. Appearantly she wanted to kill Godwyn to reincarnate him but the stolen rune of death was out of her equation.

[@minerman60101]

@@nicolasgorszczyk9291 people were connecting the veils seen in the trailer to those in Marika's Bedchamber and what do you know, there are exactly six veils there

[@MyRYNOrunsHot]

Nice to hear someone else bring up the possible connection between Messmer and the War of the Giants. Would also explain his hair colour.

[@Bjango]

I'm of the firm belief that Melina is the sister of Messmer that was killed by him, thus making her "burned and bodiless". Melina is still in the spirit realm due to being killed, which explains why she apparates to speak with you. Miquella, knowing all about the spirit realm, reached out to Melina to deliver Torrent's Whistle to the Tarnished. This also leads into Ranni giving the Tarnished the Spirit Calling Bell. I think Messmer and Melina were the true firstborn demigods to someone other than Godfrey, and both were instrumental in the War against the Giants. Hell, maybe Messmer killing Melina is what made him not appear in any history books. To take it an even more insane leap would be that maybe Marika slept with the Fell God/Giant to birth Melina/Messmer give their proclivites with Fire. And maybe, just maybe the War with the Giants was to usurp power after a disagreement or lust for more power. This is would explain why and how Melina is able to use the Fire of the Giants to burn the Erdtree as well. Man I can't wait to see what this DLC unfolds 😂

[@TheSurprisePig]

I believe much of this, I also believe melina to be the Gloam Eyed Queen. Perhaps after the war against the giants in which both Messmer and Melina participated the duo initiated a civil war against the golden order to reinstate destined death as a necessary part of life for all, man and god alike. This began the godskin hunts, helmed in the lore by the Gloam Eyed Queen who used destined death to bring an end to gods that had overstayed their welcome. Melina says as much when attempting to convince the player not to embrace the frenzied flame, displaying a reverence for the natural cycle of life and death that is by this point relatively foreign to the lands between. The godskins who fought as her soldiers in this conflict to me bear a striking resemblance to Messmer, with snakelike features and similar proportions. The original burning of the erdtree may have even been carried out by Messmer and his flames, but their battle was ultimately lost with Melina’s body being destroyed and Messmer fleeing home, both of their names being erased from history. In the current era Melina eventually re emerges as Renna the snow witch and mentors Ranni in the ways of conspiracy. Utilising Rannis own dreams of freedom from her empyrean destiny Melina shows her the intricacies of the rune of deaths mechanisms as it’s former wielder in order to plan the death of Godwyn’s soul and Ranni’s flesh. Melina uses a fighting style and blade that directly reference the black knives used to carry out the mission and and has a striking resemblance to Ranni’s current form which we know was modelled after her mentor. Eventually through our journey Melina is able to one way or another fulfil her brothers original goal and see the erdtree burned.

[@pavyzone7021]

If you look at Messmer's statue that you get with the collector's edition, he stands in the exact same pose cleanrot knights do

[@JackisaMimic]

Great observation!

[@nathanmarcano3171]

I thought the exact same thing. Makes me wonder if he isn't suffering from something akin to the Scarlet Rot, like a wasting sickness of some sort.

[@pavyzone7021]

I also just realized that abductor virgins hold a baby like the statue behind messmer, have snakes all over them, and have a mask similar to the npcs in the trailer

[@carlschrappen9712]

Something I think might be important is the dialogue from the spirit sotting outside the Church of Pligrimige in Weeping Peninsula. "The mausoleum prowls. Cradling the soulless demigod. Oh Marika, Queen Eternal. He is your unwanted child." I feel like this dialogue becomes very interesting in light of Messmer, who is likely the unwanted child the spirit is referring to. Calling him soulless may imply he has some condition that caused Queen Marika to banish him to the Shadow Realm. Following this, the description of the Royal Remains set is also worth consideration. "Helm graced with gold humam bones. It is said that the bones belonged to an ancient lord - the soulles king. The lord of the lost and desperate, who was known as Ensha". Yet another reference to a soulless member of royalty, whose golden bones suggest a relation to Marika somehow. But I don't know what to make of it beyond that, as Ensha is never brought up anywhere else in the game.

[@JackisaMimic]

If you haven't watched my Eclipse video I think Ensha is a TLWID of some possible Royal or Elden Lord from the Sun Realm. I am drafting up a video on the Weeping Peninsula now actually, a lot of interesting stuff here with what we learned in the trailer!

[@carlschrappen9712]

@@JackisaMimic What is a TLWID?

[@JackisaMimic]

Those Who Live in Death, the skeletons you have to smack twice

[@fahimtajwaar2521]

I've watched all of your DLC videos in reverse order but I've got to say... I subscribed to your channel on a whim after the Miquella video and since then you've become one of my most worthwile subscriptions in a long time, and a very pleasant surprise. All of the content you've made on the Sun Realm and it's relation to the Crucible, the Beastmen, and so many other subcultures in Elden Ring - that for a long time in lore discussions felt oddly separated - has been one of the most compelling theories I've heard yet, and I really feel like you're onto something. The Crucible has always been one of the most interesting subjects to me, but for a long time was also one of the most strange and obscure, with so little in way of explanation to what it is or does. With the release of this DLC trailer, and the 'renaissance' of Crucible lore, my mind is increasingly blown away by the realisation that the impact of the Crucible era really is present all over the game, potentially linking so many separate factions together under a single massive society that has since been mostly wiped out.

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you so much! I see The Sun Realm and possibly Crucible culture as maybe being akin to the Roman Empire, their reach and influence so massive that you see it everywhere and dont even notice it. Like in the real world, the reason our months are named the way they are is because of the Roman Empire, and I think we will have some of those types of revelations in the DLC! "Wait, that was really the Sun Realm?!"

[@advictoriummm]

I loved the analysis! Thank you for the video!

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you for the comment and kind words!

[@jamesio20]

godwyn not being godfreys son is a super interesting concept. maybe the reason godfrey changed his name from hoara loux was to try to make it appear that he was godwyn's true father to hide his true lineage to protect him from something or someone. maybe godwyn was the first of the god-names and godfrey chose his new lordly name to appear to be his father.

[@drewbydoobydoo2918]

There's a super fun theory that he is the child of a dragon, perhaps the first elden lord. He is a fish from the waist down, and there is an ancient chinese myth where "a carp that could swim upstream and then leap the falls of the Yellow River at Dragon Gate (Longmen) would be transformed into a dragon." It seems Godwyn may have never finished his transformation into a dragon/drake. Messemer has some dragon-like appearances, so maybe he is an incestuous offspring of Godwyn and Marika. Pretty out there, but fun.

[@positivecontacts]

I always see Godfrey as Robert Baratheon stag man in his imagery, the crucible is all about horns and horns are like antlers, stag men of the forest and wilds. In A Game of Thrones the expression “the seed is strong” along with a genealogy book that depicts family trees and hair colours is used to deduce that all Baratheon male heirs should have the genetic traits of the father. While Godfrey doesn’t have crucible aspects himself, he identifies Morgott as his son, suggesting that it’s plausible for the seed of Godfrey to show aspects of the crucible or be omen. The lion theme is Godfrey’s iconography, that and wild growth, strength of trees and nature, might makes right. Godwyn’s iconography is dragon, sun, son, gold and lightning related ie time and light. The difference is sun and tree lineage.

[@positivecontacts]

That being said, lion is a sun symbol too so there is crossover between Godfrey, who carries the sun symbol on his back and Godwyn who is the sun symbol. I still think Godwyn ISN’T Godfrey’s son. I have no idea where he came from but I think he was mimic veiled like Marika.

[@JackisaMimic]

If you look at Serosh as a ASOIAF comparison to me I see the Lion of Lannister on Roberts back. If you take that symbolism further, and literally, you have wolves representing the Starks, the dragons representing Targaryens. Maybe serpents are seen as Blackfyres? I mean, Messmer is covered in serpent and dragon symbolism, but also holds a red black fire. He could very well be the embodiment of House Blackfrye

[@positivecontacts]

@@JackisaMimicI really like your interpretation of the Lion on Roberts back! Dude I was thinking Blackfyre or Faegon, but I never thought of Blackfyre as Black Flames!!

[@Memnoch_the_Devil]

Speaking of links between omens and the Sun realm (when you spoke on the giant burning cage monster) made me think of the necklace worn by the Dung Eater… Also, regarding Mesmer The Impaler: I’m not a huge history buff except for when it comes to very specific people and periods (specifically when such historical research has benefited one of my books, or with topics that I found to be particularly fascinating). One of those being the life and times of the real life figure, Vlad “The Impaler” Dracula, Prince of Wallachia. A few notes on this. Vlad Dracul was Dracula’s father. This moniker, ("Vlad the Dragon" in medieval Romanian), was received after he became a member of knights known as the Order of the Dragon. His second son was Vlad III. (Dracula is the Slavonic genitive form of Dracul, and literally translates to “of the Dragon”, but in this case it was given to mean “Son of the Dragon.”) Now, the whole reason I bring this up at all in relation to this video is this: When I reached the Altus Plateau in my very first playthrough of Elden Ring, (which was a blind run, btw) my eyes would often drift over to a particular-looking mountain range in the west with sharp peaks surrounding a castle. Now every time I see a castle standing tall and alone in the midst of a series of mountainous peaks, my first thought is always of Vlad’s Poenari Castle. Once I did some more exploring in the game, I discovered the path to Volcano Manor and realized that the only path to and from this castle was a winding pathway through the mountain range. In real life, the location of Poenari Castle was apparently chosen for the natural defensive positioning it offered. Having only one path to and from the castle made it difficult for invading forces to march to it. So this was one more thing that made me think of Vlad Dracula in relation to Praetor Rykard. THEN, as I continued playing, I started seeing more and more connections to Vlad the Impaler. The revolting acts of torture, of which Dracula was a keen student of (alongside military tactics, and the history of wars fought before his tine) all while growing up under the adoption/ransom of his father’s enemy as a sign of good faith (think Theon Greyjoy being raised with the Starks in Game of Thrones). The evidence of bloody violence that littered the path to the Manor reminded me of the Forest of Corpses. (Over 20,000 impaled, decaying bodies being feasted upon by crows) Then I see this trailer, and the very first details that stand out in my mind upon seeing Mesmer is the combination of both snake and dragon imagery that wad implemented into his character model. It just continues to make me wonder. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. P.S. My plans for kicking off my own channel have been put on brief hold, due to unforeseen circumstances, but as soon as everything calms down, I will get right back to it. Just FYI, I probably won’t be tackling any extensive lore dives right out of the gate, as I want to familiarize myself with the software I’ll be using first, and like Ontos, I’ve got a few different types of content I’d like to put out there aside from just conversations on gaming lore. I’ll likely wait until after the DLC drops for that though, when myself and the community have had some time to put the pieces together. But rest assured, if I happen to have some grand epiphany that I feel too impatient to hold in, I’ll post a crude video of me just talking into the camera of my phone if I have to! Also, I’m still planning on commenting on your Raya Lucaria video, which I will email to you in the next couple of days. Don’t worry, I promise it won’t be TOO long, lol! Just an idea or two of yours I wanted to highlight, a couple of brief questions I had, and a few compliments on your overall presentation style.

[@JackisaMimic]

The connection to Vlad the Impaler is so obvious yet so deep that I completely missed it. What is very interesting about him is that in Romania Vlad Tepes is seen as a national hero for fending off two great empires: the Austrian Hapsburgs and the Ottoman Turks. The stories about him that paint him as this gruesome sadist may have been, and most likely are, propaganda. Which would be VERY interesting if Messmer is based off of Vlad Tepes because he may be presented to us as this nefarious villian when in reality he may be a hero to some for attempting something like liberation or independence. Great great great find! Looking forward to whatever content you put out and whenever you put it out, and that email you're gonna send me, I hope all is well in your life!

[@Nin_the_Shinobi]

Just what I was looking for! and super informative as well.

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! Happy you liked it! Check out my Eclipse video for more content about Miquella!

[@sethrose1632]

Love your videos. I really hope your channel takes off more 👍

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you, happy you are finding fun in my videos!

[@mariostraussvonhohenzoll9837]

Im hyped af! This will be so crazy!

[@Rayinater]

Hey man just tuned in for the first time, youre a very smart and well spoken Individual. Glad I found your channel, keep it up the good work!

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you so much! Thats very kind of you to say, I appreciate it. If you haven't consider watching my previous videos. My video on the Eclipse is the most relevant to the DLC but I also put out a three hour history of Caria video you might enjoy too!

[@targetecho27]

'Kind Miquella' for a boss name, they must have some completely unique mechanic, perhaps the only boss that wins by making you NOT want to kill them. A secret cutscene that plays if you don't initiate any attack?

[@JackisaMimic]

That would be a very Hideo Kojima style bossfight and I would love that type of design

[@insanestmf]

I don’t know why but I really f with your speculations. Whenever I see your videos I’m always taking this as if it is the real lore behind. I really appreciate your effort making your vids and your capacity to connect every idea. Hope your channel grows big before the dlc drops🙏🏻🙏🏻 shoutout to the erdtree

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! Thats the power of Causality and Regression! Once I started looking at the lore like a Golden Order Fundamentalist it all started coming together for me!

[@darklonewolf4519]

Great video! Recently found your channel and I love it !

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! Please consider watching my other videos if you haven't! My video on the Eclipse and the Carians are the ones I worked the hardest on.

[@TheoryTheory2222]

Really great video, i totally agree that miquella is a manipulator, his reference is griffith. It's also possible he is the "true" final boss of the DLC, hence why the cutscene takes place with a different looking sky and tree, because you have essentially been manipulated into reviving him with all the blood that is spilt in the shadow lands.

[@JackisaMimic]

Miquella has been manipulating the player from the very beginning! Watch my Eclipse video if you haven't, in the final chapter I go over how Miquella has been using the Tarnished since the start of the game!

[@TheoryTheory2222]

@JackisaMimic fully agree due to torrent etc He definitely used mohg for blood

[@Hi_Im_Xelly]

Awesome video! Would love to see a livestream of you exploring Castle Morne and other places for any new discoveries!

[@JackisaMimic]

Something like that is in the works, look forward to it!

[@AndehTee94]

Luther!?! What a reveal, Hidetonka Michaelzashi has done it again

[@echofiend3722]

HEY The sky behind that castle looks like the sky in Fias Deathbed Dream! The place where you fight Fortissax! I just noticed this because I happen to be fighting Ol' Forty tonight.

[@JackisaMimic]

I'll have to go take a look and compare, nice observation!

[@phyllisdixon8709]

Another great job!

[@jacobbenjamin2664]

The monster at 19:30 has a face that looks REALLY similar to the sun amulet/medallion on Dung Eaters armor. Maybe he was part of that civilization too?? Like how Fia had to go over, maybe Dung Eater did too. If I’m gonna get really crazy maybe all the named Tarnished from the opening trace their origins back to something in the Shadow Lands? Edit: typos

[@JackisaMimic]

Great point! It is very possible that where Dungeater comes from could be the Shadowlands OR a place inhabited by Tarnished who's culture derives from the Shadwolands.

[@allthe1]

So ... The "fog" is the veil? The Badlands are the Shadow Realm? Godfrey and all the Tarnished had been exiled there? It seems every single enemy, rival, traitor, discarded ally or predecessor of the Erdtree has been shoved in a sack and thrown down the same whole

[@jacobbenjamin2664]

@@allthe1 that’s actually the conclusion I came to last night in my little rabbit hole. Basically exactly as you said. The “badlands” may be the shadow lands. I might be looking for things that don’t exist but I think it’s worth mentioning when Godfrey is depicted as hoarah Loux he’s shown impaled and crucified on a gnarled tree and a dark sky. The impaling could have been done by Messmer. His dialogue about all those who lost grace will face his flame makes it sounds like he’s been humming for graceless tarnished for a while. Like it’s a duty. And the tree Hoarah Loux was on kinda looks like some trees in the trailer. I won’t act like the sky in the image if Hoarah Loux is EXACTLY the same as the sky in the DLC but I feel they do share a lot of similarities. What I still don’t have a solid theory on is WHY cause Marikas motives forever confuse me. Idk if the tarnished were sent away as a contingency or if they were sent off to simply weed out the weak.

[@PitbullfromNM]

really awesome analysis and breaktrough

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! Please consider watching my other videos, you may really like my Eclipse video too!

[@caliaid]

Per your lion-man observations, Hercules also famously wore a lion cape & is somewhat cognate with Baldur (and shares similar heroic traits with the likes of Godwyn)

[@Ontos99]

For some reason I never got the notification for this upload haha. I was working so much I felt like I came out of a cave. This is my densest video yet I barely scratched the surface. I'll watch the rest of the video the moment my video is done but I can already tell we'll have lots of different takes. Looking forward to it :))

[@JackisaMimic]

Looking forward to seeing your video! Can't wait to see how we are on the opposite ends of the spectrum lol

[@keorinkoluexl6365]

Waited for this one, June's gonna be here before we know it 🙏

[@JackisaMimic]

This is only a teaser of my full thoughts, bigger video in the works!

[@guesswho1047]

I made a comment on another channel about how the painting of the woman and the old man, was one of a deathbed companion. Not even a couple minutes in your video you explained the baldakin(sp?) blessing and ties my thoughts together!! And she has her hand in a gesture that indicates she might be pregnant...what would a woman who lies with death give birth to??

[@JackisaMimic]

Very possible! I need to do a deep dive on Deathbed Companions, it seems like they are going to be very important!

[@CooperKoopa]

Jack: “whatever sleep butterflies who gives a sheet” Me: 🙋🏼‍♂️🥹 😂

[@JackisaMimic]

I have had multiple people tell me they care about those butterflies. I am almost ready to issue an apology at this rate lol

[@thobycameron5308]

Hands down my favourite take on the trailer so far! Thank you! I notice that you mentioned Nosferatu when taking about the screaming bear goat (that went over my head), which reminded me of the title of Messmer. Of course it makes me think of Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Dracula) whose last name means the son of the dragon. Dracula was held captive by Ottomans as a child to secure his father’s loyalty. He eventually fled and I guess went on to impale. If you find it interesting maybe you could unpack the reference in a future vid! PS finally get the whole sun moon eclipse theory after you spelled it out directly here 😂

[@ienott]

About Fia, (i havent finished the vid yet) I think point of her story is that she chose Godwyn. Exalted nobles she laid with before were not chosen by her but by the church. More interestlingly, I think, is that she implies that she was chased away from her land because of the grace in her eyes, so like, they didn't like grace/Greater Will/Marika in there Edit: Nvm, you've mentioned the grace thing literally in the next sentence

[@FFNOJG]

The other tree is a strangler fig, and in the deeproot depths you can see the erdtree USED to have a strangler around it once prior. both trees appear to have been burned.

[@JackisaMimic]

Where would I go to look for this strangler in the Deeproot Depths? Like, where should I stand and look torwards?

[@FFNOJG]

@JackisaMimic IT is on thr map when you get down to that layer of the map. there is distinctly a different color tree wrapping around the base of the tree.

[@JackisaMimic]

Ahh I have noticed that before, I’ll have to take a closer look next time I boot up the game

[@FFNOJG]

​​​@JackisaMimic ONE LAST THING! the old man... looks EXACTLY like morgott once he is beaten! that dude is more than likely his Grandpa... or Marika was getting some hanky panky with an old man behind gigachad Godfrey's back. also placi has golden lightning, and fire.

[@JackisaMimic]

Good catch on Morgott and Grandpa, I mean the old man ;) As for Placidusax, I do have a theory cooked up that Godwyn is actually the son of Marika and Placidusax, and not the son of Godfrey. With the time between now and Shadow of the Erdtree I may make a video on it!

[@slabness]

Maybe there was never just one Great Tree, maybe there was always 2. Things often come in 2s in ER, such as Marika and Radagon, Miquella and Melania, Morgot and Mohg, The D Boys (twinned armour to drill it home) Just a fleeting 3am thought. Thoughts?

[@JackisaMimic]

Entirely possible, we even have two Round Table Holds: one is real and one is ethereal. One has to be the original and the other has to be a "mimic". We could be seeing the same thing with the two Erdtrees.

[@allthe1]

Oh man I love your insight, a lot of interesting hunches! Haven't heard anybody speculate about Marika's parentage yet! What if Messmer's flame IS the flame of the rune of death? It has black and red parts. DD was "sealed away", wasn't it? So was this realm and its inhabitants, since they all seem to love all the anti-erdtree symbols. Maybe DD was sealed away because of the 1st burning of the Erdtree, and the Golden Order was a side-effect of that. In the Frienzy ending of the main game Melina sort of materializes and opens her eye, maybe destroying the Erdtree and the Lands Between frees her of her dream/shadow alter ego Messmer and gets her body back... Idk we're all shooting from the hip here 😅 Edit: Melina having Torrent, and Ranni knowing Torrent, and Torrent being Miquella's steed makes a lot more sense now!! They're all trapped between two worlds

[@JackisaMimic]

I think Messmer's may be a part of the Rune of Death, if thats even possible. We know Maliketh was the Death of the Demigods because he had Destined Death, what if Messmer has the other half and his flame can bring a true death to Tarnished, or non-demigods? Just a thought, would have to really dig deep on this one.

[@bluewings2]

"When I see this, I think Neon Genesis Evangelion" You definitively have good taste^^ On a side note, it's been a while I'm sure Evangelion is a major influence on Fromsoft games, since Bloodborne. Good analysis, I can't wait for Shadow of the Erdtree !

[@OFCRKAY]

Great video! I’ve been watching a lot of these trailer breakdowns and I think I like yours the most. You’ve got some good and deep insight into a lot of these things. I had a couple thoughts while watching your video: 1. The old man is impaled with something, maybe Messmer got his title from impaling him? You mentioned that he may have been a follower of the golden order who later rebelled. And only gained his red flame and spear after doing so. 2. A lot of people are trying to relate Messmer with blood flame or even the sin/thorn sorcery. But I can’t shake the fact that his flame is black as well as red. And the only other place we see black and red flame is with the rune of death and the black blade. It doesn’t make any sense to me why he would have destined death though. I dunno, haha just some crazy speculations

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! I don't wanna be the only loretuber you watch, I just wanna be your favorite ! That old man could very well have been Messmer Impaled, he should be our first suspect because of his name. I dont see how it could be blood flame, it doesnt have the same hue. I am also RG colorblind so dont listen to what I say about color too seriously. What it could be is the second half of Destined Death. Maliketh's old name was Death of the Demigods and what makes the Rune of Death Special is that it can completely kill a demigod, the ones imbued with the most Grace being direct children of Marika. What if Messmer's flame is the flame that can permanently kill the the Graceless, the Tarnished? All burn in Messmers flame, all those bereft of Grace. Thanks for this comment, I think you put me on the trail to what Messmer's flame is.

[@OFCRKAY]

There is definitely some more digging I need to do on destined death to see if I can make any sense of this. Also I wanted to mention that you’re the only person I’ve heard talk about the butterfly locations and their possible connection to the lore/story. I was recently in the eternal city Nokron and noticed an oddly placed nascent butterfly. It’s on the way to the finger slayer blade. What if this implied miquella was there for the blade and possibly used it on his own two fingers? Afterwords replacing the blade without anyone noticing. Crazy. He would also have a clear view of Mohgwin palace…

[@JackisaMimic]

Yeah I've notice those butterflies too, and if you agree with my Eclipse Theory then Miquella would have a lot of interest in the Finger Slayer Blade! With Messmer's relation to flame it makes the most sense that Smoldering Butterflies are his, so I think that means its time to scrub the game again for his butterflies. I did it once with Nascant Butterflies lol

[@OFCRKAY]

@@JackisaMimic haha yeah time to get to work. Good luck! Looking forward to your next video!

[@allthe1]

If he has the flame of Destined Death this ties him not only to Maliketh, but to Melina too!

[@cyber5345]

the “lands between” obscures the sun realm from the shadow realm - makes sense

[@ksw8514]

34:29 Hey, look, it's the Orphan of Midir!

[@DravenDriver20]

Anyone forget we burned the ErdTree at the end? Godwyn has a huge role to play in lore here. He may not have been the good guy we are told. Messmer may have tried to burn the original ErdTree and was banished to the shadow realm that he created.

[@Recoil1808]

My personal theory is regarding the wickerman type thing. I think it's related to the Fire Giants. The color of the flame more-or-less matches, a lot of the items seem to depict a marginally sympathetic stance towards them (or at least, enough that the playerbase has somewhat taken it and run with it), but their only known allies, the astrologers, became a draconian magocracy whose slower learners are turned into "unpaid interns" at the expense of their wellbeing and whose primary army are literal bandits, and it would fit quite nicely with the more Brythonic themes Elden Ring draws upon for the inspiration behind the fire giants to be the Fomorians (note, the big, evil eye in the middle of the chest of their sole survivor -- likely a nod to Balor). Also the Nuckelavee looking thing with the boomerang is pretty neat.

[@antoniopedinelli]

So good to see you stick to making Elden ring content, do you see yourself branching out at all, or will you mostly focus on from software games? Cuz your killing it!

[@JackisaMimic]

Who knows! Right now I just want to focus on Elden Ring because I think I offer a unique perspective that isn't anywhere else on KZbin at the moment. I did future proof my channel though, the branding is just "me" and a mimic can turn into anything it wants :) Thanks for the support and kind words, its really heart warming!

[@queertitan]

27:57 I noticed when I was fighting the Godskin Apostle at Ranni’s divine tower, that their skin is iridescent just like Morgott’s blade

[@ChunkyDunker]

I agree Messmer probably fought in the War of the Giants. The Giants are wrapped in thorns and if he does indeed use thorn magic, then that makes sense.

[@Mazzy_Star81]

Really loved this video and have enjoyed your other videos as well! I keep thinking about a comment that Gideon makes when you have the option to tell him about Miquella and he says something to the effect of “so the queen’s sorrow was justified”. And then to find out we are learning about what Miquella is doing in the shadowlands and about Marika’s past. I wonder if this is some motive between them or something that Miquella is trying to fix for Marika….idk, thoughts?

[@JackisaMimic]

Ive imagined that the Queen's Sorrow is Mohg kidnapping Miquella. His mysterious disappearance from the Haligtree since this dialogue is triggered after you defeat Malenia. I think that would mean Marika knew something about the Haligtree and was allied with Miquella in someway(maybe by way through Radagon, we know they were close) If you follow my thinking that Mohg was bewitched by Miqeulla then you have Miquella manipulating his mothers emotions for some goal.

[@aanastennu]

The stuff about Marika's potential father was pretty inspired and insightful. It would be nice to see Marika punishing people who deserve it for once lol. That looks like a fitting punishment if he put a golden rune thing in her, now he's got one too. :D I'm not much a fan of looking too deep into a trailer myself, too many shots in the dark and wild speculations for my tastes. The three things I was willing to take away from the trailer theory wise is Messmer is another child of Marika whose name starts with M (still making Godwyn the outlier), that he's (probably/hopefully) the missing traitor snake, and that he probably started the practice of Dragon Communion (his eye and the snakes in ER as symbols of consuming and taking strength). While you say there isn't anything in game that marks Godwyn as part of the golden lineage. I think its safe to assume Godrick's proper title is Godrick the Golden, Morgott is the only one who still uses it, out of respect for the order and the family if not the man. So I think the title 'the Golden' means Golden lineage. Also that Finger reader calls him a scion of the golden bough (in the japanese I think its just like golden prince) and her file id or something is Godwyn's wet nurse, so she would know ;P

[@JackisaMimic]

On your point about Godrick using the title 'the Golden' is just that, a title. Godfrey uses the title 'First Elden Lord' but we know that isn't true because Placidusax exists. If Godrick and Godwyn are not descendants of Godfrey but possibly Placidusax then we have a lot of dramatic irony here. Godrick wants to prove so badly that is the rightful heir, that he is the true last son of the Golden Lineage and by rights he should be the next king. He uses an Axe like Godfrey, he adorns his soldiers with the Beast and Tree insignia to denote respect to Serosh and the Erdtree, many of the items associated with him are gilded, meaning to be painted gold, and lastly is that he begins grafting Tarnished to his body. To be like the first Elden Lord, the first Tarnished, to be like Godfrey he grafts the limbs of Tarnished to himself. And yet, he also grafts a dragon, a "mighty trueborn heir". And if he was actually a descendent of Marika and Placidusax, then Godrick would in fact by rights be the 'lawful and right' king, he would be the descendent of the real first Elden Lord. So it doesn't have to be the case, but if it were there is A LOT of dramatic irony here. It's also a huge parallel to ASOIAF(spoilers) with Godrick reminding me of Joffrey and his bastard blood, but there are theories that Jamie and Cersei are secret Targaryens so in reality would be the blood of the Dragon. I forgot to mention but Morgott's Great Rune says that the shape of his Great Rune proves he is a born of the Golden Lineage, yet Godrick's Great Rune is a different shape. Being Omens they are tied to the Crucible in some way and Godfrey lead the Crucible Knights. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Godwyn allied with the Ancient Dragons.

[@aanastennu]

I think there are too many secret Targaryens for me to really like any of those theories haha. Though I suppose the irony of having Tyrion be Tywin's only real child works well. (unless of course he's also a secret Targaryen) Godrick's rune is the one that defines the golden lineage as the offspring of Godfrey, Morgott would still qualify, its just that his mother is Marika and she isn't the mother of the main prosperous branch that descends from Godwyn to Godrick. Also both Godricks and Morgott's runes are described as the anchor ring. Also I saw Zullie the witch mention that Placidusax's animation skeleton has male neck and female neck for the two heads, so maybe Placidusax was the mom? haha. I guess it's relevant that I prefer to think of Marika as not always being god queen, that perhaps the treason of the eternal cities involved killing the previous god (twinbird maybee) and Marika taking the elden ring. I'd really like the fingerslayer blade to be all that is left of Placidusax's god. Personally there is already enough irony for me in Godrick, wanting his forefathers to be proud of him when he is just so personally weak, all of his power from grafting stolen from others and not from himself, the complete opposite of Hoarah Loux. The grafting process begun in imitation of Godfrey taking Serosh on his back, yet Godfrey did that to weaken himself, to keep the warrior under control, to civilize himself. They completely miss the point. Compared to ASOIAF I also think Elden Ring cares much less about rightful kings and succession when it comes to right to rule, both Marika and Godfrey seem to believe that might makes right and that strength befits a crown. Rhykard seems to take that lesson and applies it without pretense (pillage against the erdtree's sanctified pillaging). Even Malenia says strength is the mark of a true lord when you defeat her.

[@allthe1]

​@@JackisaMimicI have never seen any essays discussing this fake Golden Lineage! 😢 Such a shame I find this idea is WILD and very believable. You don't happen to have made a video on the topic?

[@Bigboy_smooth]

In the relief with the woman the man on the left looks like one of the nobles you see walking around in thr lands between

[@jamesio20]

also that appears to look like the back of a ship behind the fingerprint graves during the scene with the red spinny dance fighter. another piece that reminds me of the whole castle morne/weeping peninsula area!

[@alithib]

I think the rune we see in the grass is the dlc's equivalent of grace sites. They're Miquella's breadcrumb trail

[@JackisaMimic]

Oh that would be very cool, I think you may be right.

[@DarthGoss]

you are quickly becoming one of my favourite elden ring channels, keep it up, love your work!

[@JackisaMimic]

Thank you! I’m happy to hear my ramblings are entertaining haha

[@BennyContraUHB]

Jack I’ve been binge watching your videos, I watch a lot of elden ring content…. OH MY GOD can I just say, your videos are truly incredible, from writing and story telling, your knowledge of the game and its lore is inspiring me to Learn every I can about it’s lore! Keep pushing and making these amazing videos! Good things are soon to come for your my friend 🔥 thanks for the videos!

[@JackisaMimic]

Thanks for the kind words, happy you are enjoying the videos! Good things are already here, more people than I ever thought are listening to me talk about a piece of art I love. I couldn't ask for more.

[@marxpotato]

I think the woman in the portrait is Marika before she became a god and the man in the portrait is either a father or consort to Marika

[@jealousy7883]

Great ideas, good lenght. I was getting frustrated frpm other people not having those thoughts

[@JackisaMimic]

Glad you liked the video! Please consider watching my other videos!

[@avgfunkygamer]

“They put your mom in the game” 😂😂 bro I did not expect that. Also great video. I think the Boar Sentinel is maybe related to Loretta, his/her armor kinda reminds me of them.

[@s-nooze]

Hi Jack. 32:54 it's a roaring omen bear incantation similar to Greyoll's Roar. Perhaps we get a new set of beast incantations similar to dragon communion.

[@JackisaMimic]

Oh most definitely, I guess I should level a little bit of arcane huh?

[@zaclovesschool2273]

You passed over the scene of the jars hanging in the 'tower of rebirth' looking area, personally I think this is the true purpose of the Jars...they are storage units for the humans that will be or were sacrificed for whatever goals miquela or whoever is organizing this plan has. The flesh of the humans for whatever reason is sacrificial, though I dont know enough to give any more thoughts. Also this is a wild theory but the crucible-lion-chinese dragon puppet guy could be an omen child of Marika and Serosh...probably not but you never know, things might get very taboo in this dlc

[@Mainlymundane]

They’re probably used as fertilizer for the new tree, as that’s what the jars are used for in the base game

[@bruno.castro1]

If grace can’t reach the shadowlands I think that ring of light is replacing the sites of grace. I was wondering if it was Miquella’s great rune and it might be fractions of it spread across these lands to aid his “Lord”

[@paulcashion8049]

I think its a pre erdtree crucible / great tree society. I think marika married the god that ruled there, the old man from the trailer. She was a kind of a female elden lord equivilant. She then becomes a god secretly through scheming with the outer will and has messmer with radagon in secret. I think marika performed a coup on behalf of the outer will with the help of messmer. I think messmer is her first demigod child who she hid, manipulated, and trained, until the moment she struck her attack. In this pre golden order society all of the things blasphemous to the erd tree seem to be more acceptable. She had messmer learn all these powerful and corrupting magics to become powerful enough to overthrow the existing order and burn the great tree to make room for the golden order and erdtree. After burning the tree messmer and marika go to the lands between, plant the erdtree and begin to conquer. I think messmer was involved in conquering the giants due to all the impaled bodies there. Messmer being misbegotton with snakes makes me think marika would always use him for her purposes then dispose of him but i believe they have a disagreement. The dialouge makes me think messmer disagreed with the selection of hora loux as elden lord, he came from a barbarian land with no grace. When we find queen marika she is impaled. I believe messmer did this because either marika betrayed him or he became violent over the selection of hora loux. I believe after the impaling, radagon seals messmer away in the shadow where all marikas dirty secrets are hidden. Messmer is sympathetic, a used child discarded as a tool, like sekiro. Noone good throws there children in a sewer and we know that about marika. The golden goddess and the golden order has a tainted past that has all been erased and lied about. Messmer was made out to be a traitor. Thats my take on it so far. I think miquella wants to go back and undo all the mess marika has created. Maybe it was marikas deceit, greed, will to be a god that ruined an order accepting of all aspects, had death, and could cure scarlet rot.

[@JackisaMimic]

You know its funny that you call it the "Outer Will" and not the "Greater Will" because probably during the time before the Erdtree the Greater WIll would have be seen as just another Outer God that some people worshipped and not the supreme monolithic god. I would also say that we don't know what Marika's stance is on her sewer children, or how much of a role she had in becoming the God Queen. The statue we see of her shows her in the Crucifixion pose, the same pose we find her at the end of the game, yet those statues can be found all the way in the Mountain Tops. This leads me to believe that Marika may be a very sympathetic character who may have been used, or been a puppet, and not the villain people paint her to be. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@paulcashion8049]

@@JackisaMimic there's a little bit more reason as to why I think marika is bad. Ok so omen babies go to sewer is definitely a big one. She seeks immortality or fears death and removes the rune. That's a pretty huge change and to me a good god is probably steady as she goes. Her actions as radagon are also very underhanded. Getting in with renala to seemingly ruin her mind? Marika is also numen and in tolken the numenorians were corrupted and punished. It definitely could be that marika is sympathetic in some way but her actions definitely look sus. With her making the tarnished and seemingly calling to us the player there is at the very least a regret or a change of heart. Game trailers are highly curated. Why would they show us an old man, a woman holding her belly, and a new demi god. To me the 3 are connected. The old man we later see impaled making me believe that little family fell apart and he was imprisoned. I just keep asking myself why are they emphasizing this? You see this old man and you see marika and then the child is red hair and fair like marikas children with herself. The picture plus that knowledge we have of, marika is radagon, which is also a deep deep secret, may have a profound connection. I really kind of paint her as the big bad and a usurper but how else can we explain what messmer says in the trailer. We know from the interview that this is pre erd tree crucible/omen/misbegotten loving society. We see tons of that imagery in the trailer. Messmer says he'll burn anyone without light. To me that's an implication of him dutifully serving marika and the greater will. This all seems to me to be the time the society shifted. The tree in the shadow definitely burns due to messmer, it's got to be the crucible right? I love your channel man and my minds been a buzz speculating all the possibilities. I think thats why I love this game and story so much because it's something that's not always clear and it's only as this huge group of people are we really able to unravel the mysteries. Can't wait for more of your takes on it!

[@WKNDPRDS]

Something I haven’t seen discussed is the fact that Mesmer has his left eye closed, like Melina, Ranni’s spirit side, Marika/Radagon, and Mohg. Also worth noting that Rykard has his left eye obscured/destroyed in the opening cutscene where we see the snake eating his head, and after his boss fight where Tanith is eating his remains. Morgott and Ranni’s doll are to my knowledge the only characters where their right eye is obscured. Further, the prisoner starting class has its left eye closed as well. Perhaps this indicates characters with the left eye closed are slaves to some higher force, whereas characters with their right eye closed are masters of their own destiny I.e. Morgott and Ranni. Just spitballing

[@JackisaMimic]

Thats a very interesting thought, something to think about. I think you are correct to try to find meaning in what each individual eye means and why one is obscured over another.

[@Mainlymundane]

37:03 maybe instead of being a new type of flame it’s just every type of flame combined. The black flame, the blood flame, the frenzied flame, the flame of ruin and dragon flame all merged in an unholy amalgamation of pure destruction

[@rayz5508]

The cylinder in the lava seems to be an auger that is lifting the lava to a higher location due to the auger is rotating. It also is able to be raised and lowered by the connected chains.

[@JackisaMimic]

Didn't know that, thanks for the info!

[@allthe1]

It could be used either to use the lava upstairs, or drain the tunnel, hence the chains, in case the level of the pool rises or sinks

[@sandcake]

Regarding the portrait: Marika was born from a single god, as she is an Empyrean. So, the two are not her parents - but maybe one of them is. The women has a similar rob like Worm Face, maybe there is a connection. Also it could be Fia or another Death Bed Companion. The brooch also looks similar to the Watchdog's Staff - which could mean the man in the portrait is the creator of the Imps. Maybe he is into necromancy - also a reason why some pots are alive, as we know remains get stored in them.

[@JackisaMimic]

"Born of a single god" is a misconception, a case of correlation does not equal causation. "Miquella and Malenia are both the children of a single god. As such they are both Empyreans" This doesn't indicate that you need to be born of a single god to be an Empryean but because they are born of single god they must be Empyreans. If you watch my Carian history video we tie Rennala's lineage all the way back to the Numens(evidence in that video), making her marriage with Radagon make sense as to why it would occur: the express purpose of birthing an Empyrean. A Numen man and a woman with Numen ancestry. Good catch on looking like the Watchdog Staff, Ill have to take a look at the two!

[@lynxfly5788]

I can’t even sleep in peace

[@JonnyTCS]

Hey Jack, I wanted to point something out that I haven't seen anyone bring up yet. In the main Shadow of the Erdtree promotional image with Messmer sitting on the throne, one of his snakes is clearly making Miquella's Ring's shape, using its body and the shaft of Messmer's spear. I think this is a deliberate detail, and might even point to Messmer either being bewitched by Miquella, or even some alternate (or even real) form of Miquella (although I'm not fully convinced). Miyazaki definitely has a history of using classic tropes, and in this case it would be the "lying serpent". Even his name "Messmer" sounds like "Mesmerized", and Miquella is obviously known to be skilled in making people favorable to him. Even with all of this I'm still inclined to believe that Messmer is his own person, but I think that there has to be some involvement with Miquella. Take a look for yourself, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

[@JackisaMimic]

Not only is it making the shape of Miquella's ring, it also looks like the shape of Malenia's Great Rune and the Great Rune of the Unborn. Great observation! I think it is most likely that his connection to Miquella is most likely being direct sibilings, both children of Marika and Radagon. He seems to be his complete own person, maybe he isn't, but for the time being I think we should assume no false identity.

[@NocturnalNick]

I have long, long thought the absence of more explicit Sun worship in The Lands Between (ofc somewhat replaced by the Erdtree faith, but this just complicates things further) has been very conspicuous. As always, appreciate your thoughts.

[@JackisaMimic]

If you haven't, watch Chapter 3 of my Eclipse video where we deduce that Golden Order Fundamentalism is actually Sun Worship!

[@ElysianDivine]

22:12 the flower/sun design looks like the floor from where the grace is at in the elden throne edit: actually theres 5 of them there

[@JackisaMimic]

I hadn't noticed, shame on me! This is why I make these videos, thank you for sharing!

[@gph4n850]

34:11 Lmao dude caught us all off guard 💀💀💀

[@eldenanchor8179]

Hello, Jack! I've been thinking - could the Evergaols be located in the Land of Shadow? If so, could the rifts located within, described on the Rift Shield, be passageways?

[@JackisaMimic]

Very possible! What is interesting about Evergaols is that they appear to be prisons for the soul: the body is temporary but the spirit could live on forever. We know that Miquella abandoned his flesh to travel to the Land of Shadow, so it is very possible that the Evergoals have a connection. Great catch!

[@eldenanchor8179]

@@JackisaMimic Yeah that makes sense to me! Maybe the nature of the watchers can finally be unveiled slightly.

[@moonrabbit2334]

perfect video to play in background as I prepare for dlc character. Also regarding dlc, will it be better to level all offensive stats a bit like around 50 so that I can use any weapon I come across

[@JackisaMimic]

At 54 Strength you can two hand your weapon for effectively 80 strength, and I think the highest Dex requirement on a weapon is 48 Dex for the Hand of Malenia. I am going to run a 40STR/40DEX character to be able to play around with all the weapons

[@godly_potatoe69xd19]

Every dlc has a poster child character that looks like the main character and final boss, but then someone else appears at the end. In this dlc miquella and Mesmer seem to be those poster children. But, since they are the ones who are shown off, then there most likely has to be another character who hasn’t been shown off. In my opinion that would probably be godwyn, especially if the shadow erdtrees is connected to the original erdtree, meaning death root would also spread there. Also this person who looks like a carian queen seems to me to be just a representation of what Caria was like before renalla. Just because they were made royalty by her doesn’t mean they couldn’t have been nobility before that, so I think your idea could be plausible. Finally, the thing about the wickerman. I think that was talking about the fire giants, because they’re associated with the beginning of marika’s age, their heads are on its legs, they lost the war, mesmer’s fire looks very similar to the fire in the fell god’s eye on the giants, and as other people have said; there are also dragon’s heads on the sides of its hips (right above each of the giants heads), so it would make sense if they were talking abt general enemies of the erdtree who were defeated. It could also be the sun realm like you said though so idk.

[@user-bk2el2nm3k]

Tarnished Archeologist believes this to be the past, and I tend to agree. We know the Erdtree has been burned before , Melina also mentions her body is burned before she burns the erdtree for us. There is also the impalers catacombs in the weeping peninsula where the ghost tells you near a walking Masoleum that oh Marika he is your unwanted child. I think Mesmer burned the erdtree in the past , that’s why there is already ash in Leyndeyll and fire is banned.

[@JackisaMimic]

In Miyazaki's interview with Famitsu he confirms that this is in the present day, but that this place is tied directly to the past and its culture. This is a separate place apart from the Lands Between, we will not be exploring places like old Caelid or anything.

[@danlet]

The DLC reminds me of The Painted World of Ariamis. Like, entering a character’s realm. Interstice within an interstice

[@SirAxelGrimnir703]

Luther is already my favorite new boss.

[@JackisaMimic]

You're not ready for his second phase where he starts meowing at 5am for attention

[@drewbydoobydoo2918]

Miquella was feeding his Halig tree with his own blood, but I'm not 100% sold that he wanted to be stolen by Mohg. Perhaps his blood was not enough as he had thought. We know his and Ranni's plans, cunning as they may be, were clearly subject to failure, at least in the short-mid term. Perhaps once the growth of the tree was stunted (if that happened before Malenia returned with rot and Miquella was missing), Mohg figured he could earn Miquella's favor and become his lord by supplying him with more blood to grow his tree (and using blood magic to manipulate the body to build his own army of albunaurics, whom worship Miquella). I don't know if Miquella is any more evil than Ranni is. Both of them share a similar vision, one where death is returned and no omens/albinauric/any being need be shunned. Both wanted to be free from the Golden Order and greater will. Both of them seem like they have "benevolent" goals, and are willing to use their cunning (in Ranni's case)/and manipulation through love (in Miquella's case) to achieve their vision.

[@hruikan]

The fire giant mega thing is definitely related to the Crucible. Because it is a giant fucking walking crucible Which burns the beast men/dragons etc. everything the crucible used to be aligned with

[@JackisaMimic]

Great observation!

[@hruikan]

@@JackisaMimic honestly I think it’s supposed to be Elden Rings version of the ‘melting pot’. Coined by Henry ford when he was assimilating migrants into his workforce. It was this pot all the migrants discarded their cultural dress and belongings into to become ‘American’. The crucible monster seems like a corruption of this physical metaphor, meant to erase foreign culture into a a homogenised one but doing so in an absolutely brutal fashion. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s used to fuel something

[@linerider2888]

the girl at the beginning, coming from behind you in an empty boss arena, is Melina. She is also the one telling you to touch the withered arm in the trailer. Judging by Messmer's line about his mother Marika sanctioning your lordship, you have to become elden lord to gain access to the dlc. Meaning that if you chose the frenzied flame ending Melina behind you isnt there to help you, she is there to repurpose mohg's arena to kill you

[@linerider2888]

or if they arent the same person, it is the gloam eyed queen. She probably was banished to the realm of shadow as well

[@zdacadzda]

That's the ultra hard optional boss Miyazaki mentioned in interview. She has to be.

[@JackisaMimic]

Miyazaki confirmed that to access the DLC the only prerequisites are defeat Mohg and Radahn.

[@maeziyon6751]

@@JackisaMimicIs the woman talking near the end of the trailer not Ranni? Also to me the dress in the very beginning of the trailer in Mogh’s arena looks like Ranni’s. Then you have the confirmed pre requisite to defeating Radahn. The stars have to be set free from Radahns grasp before we can enter the Shadow Realm possibly?

[@Jb-id1bu]

​@@JackisaMimic Thats....interesting. a Miquella centric DLC, and Malenia's defeat isn't a requirement to access it? That....could lead to some potential endings that require Malenia to be alive.

[@beelow84]

Eastern side of the map, Chinese lion, kung fu, samurais, new katanas per Miyazaki, flowered grass (reeds). Also in imps catacombs, if it is tied to Mesmer, has an erd tree watchdog, which is clearly a meneki neko. Lots of eastern culture hiding in plain sight. We could be seeing the land of reeds.

[@JackisaMimic]

That blue field of flowers may have been the Land of Reeds, it did have a Samurai fighting there. I always considered the Land of Reeds to be outside of the Lands Between, similar to the Badlands, but who knows!

[@beelow84]

@@JackisaMimic true. It’s all speculation until 6/21. And even then we won’t have all the answers. Even vaati is still speculating, after all. hihi.

[@BARBARBINKLE]

Another thing possibly connecting castle morne to the shadow lands is that the description of the grafted blade says it comes from a land that mysteriously vanished. Could this be referring to the shadow lands being cloaked by the veil?

[@kreadapelu8813]

I have a theory that Marika’s Erdtree seen in the Lands Between is a many purposed illusion. First, makes her and Goldrn Order out to be the good guys. Second, is part of the concealing enchantment of the Land of Shadow. And third, most important, a lure. Marika became a god in the Land of Shadow. When she conquered the Lands Between, she sent her conquering forces, Godwyn and his warriors, back to the Land of Shadow to grow stronger. She adjusts the death rites in the Lands Between to force all life to feed the Erdtree. But we see the Shadow of the Erdtree is one tree being opened and drained by another. I think Marika is draining the Lands Between of grace, transferring it to The Land of Shadow, via the true Erdtree being drained by Marika’s grace stealing shadow. Now Ranni does not want to participate in Marika’s plan to drain life. Miquella, Ranni’s half bro, also is a tad distressed by this draining. I even think at some Marika realized the Holden Order was something very very bad that had taken hold of her in her blind youth. The Night of Black Knives was necessary to sever the Shadow of the Erdtree from the Lands Between. The horror of her actions that lead to all this truly shook Marika, and the cost to fix it was too much but she still played her part alongside Ranni and Miquella. -- There is another place we see the Lord and Queen and Baby reliefs besides Farum Azula. The top corners of the outside of the tower in which Rennala is locked away. You can see them from the tower reached through Academy Crystal Cave, and if you look south of that tower you can see a real neat thing in the sky during the day. -- I suspect that Whicker Man is part of the tempering of the tarnished who Marika exiled to fight and grow stronger. Messmer is serving Marika as coach/instructor to her conquering forces. -- When we see Messmer and that whole “mother blah blah blah” bit, I think it would be neat is that is Miquella speaking about Messmer. As if he is unsure if Messmer is really meeting the standard. Or Messmer referencing Godfrey who is tarnished. -- I also think Messmer is the Fell God of the Flame of Ruin. That flame “can’t be put out” which I think only works out if the source of the fire, the Fell God, is not actually dead. And Messmer, one of Marika’s children, was never her enemy. She commands her children to become lords or gods. And maybe he only played the role of enemy god to strengthen Godfrey and his warriors. But really he is her chosen lord to rule the Land of Shadow in her stead. The thought of Radagon being his father, nope. Messmer is Radagon’s father…. And brother. More gross incestuous yuck stuff.

[@kreadapelu8813]

The impaled guy… Whatever the reason, I think the instrument that he was impaled with is part of a sealing rune of some kind. Why he is pulling it out now? It looks as though it was connected to more but something broke this lower but off and the magic seal is now broken and this insanely powerful dude is now free.

[@sandcake]

Just thought of something: Maybe Miquella is in the Shadow Land to get Godwyn's soul back as the ritual during the eclipse didn't work out.

[@elo8629]

I just had a thought about the wicker golem, with the sun motif with Omen horns. Might explain the Dung Eater and why he has a large sun medallion on his armor? He must remember or has heard of this land?

[@Groddon]

How cool it would be if in the shadow lands we meet the oniric projection of the prince of death? "In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming."

[@JackisaMimic]

Yes please!

[@Cyrus-rodn45]

Shadow of the erdtree is basically an inverse of the main story

[@JackisaMimic]

Very possible! So, what exactly is the main story and what would be inverted?

[@Cyrus-rodn45]

@@JackisaMimic look at the character designs... messmer is carrying everything unholy, the dude on the horse is basically general radahon

[@WutInTarnished-Nation]

37:19 about your comment on Messmers Flame, it engulfed the land. Notice how leyendell Capital looks as though it was burnt before? This may have been his doing.

[@TrustyFriend]

I think it's more plausible that the DLC takes place in the middle of the map. If you look around the edges of the middle section of the map, it looks as if a huge chunk of land just vanished, and not caused by erosion. Especially if you look at Leyndell, Royal Capital. I just think shadow in this case refers to the area simply being "behind" the Erdtree, Leyndell being in front.

[@JackisaMimic]

Very possible. The Farum architecture on the Eastern side of the map leads me to believe otherwise but the hell do I know lol. Your perspective I think is equally possible as well.

[@TrustyFriend]

@@JackisaMimic Who knows man, love the video! Just discovered you :)!

[@nicolasgorszczyk9291]

I agree, also the amount of veils and their positions are hexagonal weirdly like the divine towers

[@btetirick]

Just a minor correction. Godwin isn't the person Fia is supposed to lay with. It's made very clear in her quest line that Deathbed Companions are tightly controlled in her land, meaning that Deathbed Companions are told who they'll be laying with. You'll notice in fact that in the opening cinematic Fia is already laying with someone when she's given the guidance of grace. As a last point, you'll also notice that Fia even notes that this is the first time she will be laying with someone of her own choosing.

[@JackisaMimic]

Look at Fia's dialogue closely: In one of our first interactions she says: "I lay with the remains of an exalted noble, to grant him another chance at life. To do so is the purpose of my being." Then after she kills D: "Finally, it is returned to its rightful place. The stolen hallowbrand, of the exalted noble. And now, I must bid you goodbye as well. Though I ask you deliver this message to the Roundtable Hold. I am Fia, Deathbed Companion. Hark, Roundtable. Disturb not the Death of Godwyn, the exalted. We, who humbly live in Death...Live in waiting, to one day welcome our Lord. What right does anyone have to object? Our Lord will rise. The Lord of the many, and the meek." "I lay with the remains of an exalted noble", "The stolen hallowbrand of the exalted noble" AND "Godwyn, the Exalted." This looks like it is clearly indicating that Godwyn is the Exalted Noble she is talking about. It also seems that the Guidance of Grace she sees in the opening may not have been originally for her, since she is the only person in the opening who see the Grace WHILE still being alive it seems.

[@btetirick]

@@JackisaMimic thanks for the reply. I would like to give a full response to what you've laid out, but unfortunately I have to go to work, so I'll have to wait until I get off to properly respond to what you've said.

[@btetirick]

@@JackisaMimic At last I'm fee and give your reply the proper response it deserves. I'm going to break this down into a few pieces in order to help organize my thoughts... 1. I think your reading of Fia's lines is a bit off. My reading of this is that she is declaring Godwin exalted because she is making a justification for what she's already decided to do. What she's doing is defying the customs she's lived her entire life by and if she's going to do that, she needs to first convince herself that she's doing the right thing (A quick aside. This doesn't mean that what she's doing is either wrong or right, just that she has to convince herself first before she can act). 2. As to the idea that Fia wasn't supposed to get the guidance of grace. This is an interesting take. One I hadn't considered before. Especially since, as you noted, no other character other than Fia has entered the lands between without having died first (I would also add the statement in the opening cinematic where the narrator describes the Tarnished as "Ye dead that yet lives."). I'm somewhat skeptical, as at the moment We don't know of any way to take grace from someone without it being done by Marika herself. Even if this is possible however, this doesn't really alter things that much. Either the grace was meant for her, in which case the body she was sleeping with was the exalted noble she was supposed to lay with, or the grace was meant for the body and she took the opportunity to steal his grace from him, which would mean he was STILL the exalted noble she was supposed to lay with, she simple chose to take his grace and travel to the lands between in his place. The main reason though to discount this is to remember that the place Fia comes from is OUTSIDE of the Lands Between. This is important because whatever land she came from, the rulers there needed to know: a. The Lands between existed. This is very possible considering the amount of Tarnished that got sent away. b. What the fate of Godwin was This is less likely, especially since most people place the banishment of the Tarnished as occurring before the death of Godwin. I do know that you place his death as the cause of the Tarnished being banished, so for you this is much more likely. c. Know that the Tarnished were being called back to the Lands Between. This is even less likely as, if your theory is right, only the dead are returning to the Lands Between. d. How to steal Grace from someone. Again, almost certainly impossible for anyone who isn't a god. e. When exactly this specific Tarnished was going to be called so they could have Fia there to take the grace (which also begs the question, if she was only there to take the grace from the dead Tarnished, why did she need to lay with him to do it?) That's a lot of points of failure here, when the simple answer is just that Fia broke with tradition and chose to lay with someone more deserving than the person that was chosen for her.

[@xgalarion8659]

This guy analyzes a trailer like an archeologist analyzing egyptian artifacts

[@JackisaMimic]

Like a "Tarnished Archeologist"? lol

[@Spider-vr247]

Why isn’t anyone talking about the fact that spell that’s being used against Messmer is literally a crucible night spell. The crucible is clearly going to be a major aspect of the story and shadow of the erdtree. They are probably the leading power culture being suppressed by Mesmer and the tree wrapping around what appears to be the erdtree actually some shadow aspect of the air tree itself and the tree being sniuffed out is the crucible tree.

[@JackisaMimic]

It’s all Crucible all the time! Messmer seems a bit “crucible” to me with how his snakes have wings attached them. Really interesting stuff!

[@epiccthulu]

I just want to point out that we don’t see Mesmer’s lips moving. Unless its been confirmed somewhere that could be Miquella talking to his mother and not Mesmer

[@Vash141]

Tin foil hat time: Could the Banished Knights originate from the Land of Shadow? They were forced to abandon their homes by misfortune or misdeed so they may have lost the war and were exiled to the Lands Between. They seem to have an allegiance to the Erdtree as we encounter them in Erdtree-loyal areas. We also find a solo one at the church of dragon communion and Messmer has communed due to his serpentine eyes. The scarf they wear is similar in design to the Lion Dance and Messmer’s cape with the red and gold. Their armor also shares similarities to the knight set in the great rune photo, note the helm ornament and the collar piece. The design is similar to the BK’s. Also the black horns on the BK set and the veteran’s set are similar to omen horns, just like the lion dance character. The red cloth on the veteran’s leg as well.

[@JackisaMimic]

I think so! My latest video delves into that thought further. Your comment is all thoughts that I also had, looks like we're on the same wavelength!

[@onesilverleaf6781]

9:54 that's going to be the new "grace" I think. Because we are being led by Miquella this time around and not Marika.

[@metalface230]

The skeleton that is impaled with the golden order looking thing is the same old dude from the painiting in the trailer, also, have not seen anyone mention but he is impaled by this rune looking weapon and the character Messmer is literally dubbed Messmer the Impaler and i dont think Marika has punished this old dude but Messmer did.

[@JackisaMimic]

I think you are right, based on Messmer's name he should be our primary suspect for who impaled old guy