Is Illidan really dead?

[Hattai]

People kep wanting an Illidan redemption without realising there's very little to redeem. Everything that happened to him was of his own doing, he wasn't under the influence of a magical power or mind control or any such thing. He was a brat who wanted to play the hero because he was supposedly "destined for greatness" and too it way too far.

There is no epiphany at the end of his story where he apologises for everything he has done making everything right in the world, there just isn't.

[Khiyone]

Here once more you see a poster citing that it's intrinsically bad storytelling to bring a character back from the dead, but this ignores context. It makes sense with Illidan, he was messing around with forces who literally have powers over souls and death itself. The Burning Legion is not going to let death rob them of someone who made deals with them, Kil'jaeden takes that stuff seriously.

So what do you think happened? Illidan, in the culmination of his anticlimactic cameo in TBC, just disappeared forever into the place where souls go when they die?

The idea of death being cheapened in a story goes out the window when we're dealing with a property that's homage to comic book story arcs and mythology. It's basically just pretentious to claim Illidan's return cheapens the quality of the narrative and ignoring everything this lore celebrates.

Not every character works so well for resurrection, Illidan is basically obvious.

THe funny thing is, I am a demon hunter fanatic, but I never cared for Illidan. I prefered the demon hunters who were martyrs for their entire culture, inspired by duty or revenge. It took me years before finally playing through WC3 and TFT to appreciate him for an arrogant antihero, but it's got nothing to do with my love of demon hunters that makes me see his return a good thing. Demon Hunters don't need him, but Blizzard does sort of have this weird hamfisted inconsistent handling of demon hunters overall, contradictions and inconsistencies are all over the place begging to be given structure.

Or they could reveal that he never actually died, but rather became bored, lay down, and let us take his gear and stuff >> (it would be far cooler, no setbacks or anything~)

[Mefistophelis]

Pretty sure that's just dreadlords.

- - - Updated - - -


So are we going for another time travel nitemare ? You do know how Illidan became half demon right?

Well not exactly time travel as much as Guldan crossing the portal into our timeline resurecting every greater demon we have killed (xavius, illidan, etc) and then dragging them back into draenor to destroy us players .
And Illidan got his demonic powers from the skull of guldan.

So you could say it's .... inception (pun not intended)

[LairenyX]

Illidan was fated to marry Maiev Shadowsong. Their long struggle has caused them to fall in love. Right after the raid, Maieve probably bought Illidan to a cave or a reclused house deep in a forest somewhere. Since then, she's probably nursing him back to life as we speak. Once he's back to good health, they're going to get married, and they're going to have like 5 kids, and they're going to live happily ever after, alone and away from angry eyes.

Illidan Stormrage x Maiev Shadowsong 4 lyfe

[Deleted]

We are attached to a different universe which is also in the past. I would say anything is possible.

[iamthedevil]

He's not dead. Why? Because he can be used to profit. Period.

[Yig]

People kep wanting an Illidan redemption without realising there's very little to redeem. Everything that happened to him was of his own doing, he wasn't under the influence of a magical power or mind control or any such thing. He was a brat who wanted to play the hero because he was supposedly "destined for greatness" and too it way too far.

There is no epiphany at the end of his story where he apologises for everything he has done making everything right in the world, there just isn't.

The trauma of being killed and possibly enslaved or tortured by the Burning Legion, quite possibly learning about a vast underlying network of forces at work behind the events and destiny of the universe in his death, could do a lot to change a person from a selfish and brash asshole to someone who feels not only remorse for his actions but also seeks to somehow do something in his power to try and redeem himself, whether in the eyes of other people they see him redeemed or not.

But he's been through a lot if indeed they go with some kind of resurrection story involving a return from the grave. It's a trope actually to have bad people die, have near death experience, and return seeking to change their ways.

[c313]

I believe that someone did ask at a Q&A during Blizzcon a few years back if we'd ever see Illidan again, and the response was yes.

It's probably going to be a small role, and with the warnings about the Burning Legion returning at some point in the future, I'd imagine we see him pop up for that.

Well we did technically see him in the Well of Eternity dungeon

[Yig]

Well we did technically see him in the Well of Eternity dungeon

Yes but that was already in development and came out almost around the same time. Later Dave Kosak said more on the subject to suggest that wasn't what they were talking about but I can't seem to find the source for you, I apologize.

[Manabomb]

I really hope he is and remains dead. They squandered their use of an otherwise fairly great character in WC3 and TBC, bringing him back would just be exactly what Blizzard is doing right now with WoD in respects to WC2. It's not good writing or a good narrative to just willy nilly bring characters you like back from the dead because you handled their death with the deftness of a breeding sow at milking time.

I mean, I guess if you want to make a mockery of a good narrative you could go ahead and do something selfish and self sabotage-esque as that, but I don't advise it. It will make what is already a fairly smelly story get that extra bit of old, rotting foot stench.

[Yig]

I really hope he is and remains dead. They squandered their use of an otherwise fairly great character in WC3 and TBC, bringing him back would just be exactly what Blizzard is doing right now with WoD in respects to WC2. It's not good writing or a good narrative to just willy nilly bring characters you like back from the dead because you handled their death with the deftness of a breeding sow at milking time.

I mean, I guess if you want to make a mockery of a good narrative you could go ahead and do something selfish and self sabotage-esque as that, but I don't advise it. It will make what is already a fairly smelly story get that extra bit of old, rotting foot stench.

I don't think Illidan's return would be willy nilly at all, He was fucking with powers who deal with non corporeal entities who make pacts that death are no barrier to. His story practically begs to continue on in his dealings with the Burning Legion. I think it's just knee jerk criticism to blanket all stories dealing with a return from the dead as bad. Things like Spawn, Robocop, Darkman, these all play on the trope of a character who is seemingly killed and comes back reborn and changed. WOW is heavily inspired by comic book logic and Illidan would work well with a Hellspawn inspired story arc I believe. This isn't Russian literature, I think people need to be more forgiving considering the genre and element of homage at play in this property.

But that's just my opinion.

[La]

I really hope he is and remains dead. They squandered their use of an otherwise fairly great character in WC3 and TBC, bringing him back would just be exactly what Blizzard is doing right now with WoD in respects to WC2. It's not good writing or a good narrative to just willy nilly bring characters you like back from the dead because you handled their death with the deftness of a breeding sow at milking time.

I mean, I guess if you want to make a mockery of a good narrative you could go ahead and do something selfish and self sabotage-esque as that, but I don't advise it. It will make what is already a fairly smelly story get that extra bit of old, rotting foot stench.

It was already terrible writing when they killed him in the first place. But they needed a face.

[Ratyrel]

I wish they'd just leave him as is, with the vague hope of return, but without ever bringing him back either to stand in town as an ignored NPC for years, or be farmed for transmog gear again. He's probably one of the best characters they ever created, not simply evil or corrupted or redeemed, but a complex character with actual motivations.

[Manabomb]

I don't think Illidan's return would be willy nilly at all, He was fucking with powers who deal with non corporeal entities who make pacts that death are no barrier to. His story practically begs to continue on in his dealings with the Burning Legion. I think it's just knee jerk criticism to blanket all stories dealing with a return from the dead as bad. Things like Spawn, Robocop, Darkman, these all play on the trope of a character who is seemingly killed and comes back reborn and changed. WOW is heavily inspired by comic book logic and Illidan would work well with a Hellspawn inspired story arc I believe. This isn't Russian literature, I think people need to be more forgiving considering the genre and element of homage at play in this property.

But that's just my opinion.

I know this isn't Russian literature, but there needs to be a defining line for when you're playing out a character's story and arc and simply milking the content for all it's worth. WoD is a perfect example of the latter, bringing back old faces just to rewrite a "what if" story in the most convoluted way possible, and an Illidan return, whether it be from being magically resurrected by demon knights or because he's a wandering demon soul, would be equally ridiculous and slanderous to a story that's already taking a trip on the S.S. Meh. Maybe I'm looking for some kind of captivating story in my video games instead of something a toddler could shit out on squash night.

But that's just my opinion.

It was already terrible writing when they killed him in the first place. But they needed a face.

I will agree with you there. TBC as a whole was one bad writing trope after another, but reneging on decisions already made gives no consequence or substance to the story. It might as well be a saturday morning cartoon where the one set of heroes and the one set of bad guys never die and just continuously punch each other into fits of crying, just so the cable company can capitalize on the mindless children that watch these sort of shows.

I think my point is, so many people were going on about how MoP was an expansion rather adult themed, so why not have some actual college level writing instead of the joke we have right now?

[restoftw]

omg! what if Illidan is the one helping Garrosh Escape!!!

[Deleted]

I would love to see him in some sort of cameo. Imagine you fight gul'dan and he summons Illidan in his pure demon form (because when demons die they are not really dead or whatever and can still be summoned again - they'll figure something out like that).

So basically I'd want him as a badass boss, but not as a story character

[AbalDarkwind]

Illidan would be less problamatic to bring back than the entire Old Horde, and yet, that's just what Blizzard is doing. So, sure, why not?

Not Arthas, though. If they want to bring back the Lich King, bring him back as Bolvar. Arthas should remain dead.

[Faenlyn]

The reasoning to bring him back I assume would be that at the end, Illidan turned full demon. As such demons when "killed" are actually being banished back to their plane and they can be come forth again

[GennGreymane]

He lives with his new roommates

John Kennedy
Elvis
and Tupac

[Traveler Voltin]

Hopefully when he comes back, he will look 100% like a night elf again.