1. #1

    Shadowlands Cinematic/Bolvar Question

    So in the Shadowlands cinematic right after Sylvanas breaks the helm we see Bolvar's reaction. He first looks down at the broken half of the helm before he then looks up at the Shadowlands.

    Is there a lore-esque reason for him reacting in that order? Is he sort of just more surprised at the fact that the helm was actually broken in half instead of immediately realizing the sky breaking above?

  2. #2
    Titan Frozenbeef's Avatar
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  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Touch of Anarchy View Post
    So in the Shadowlands cinematic right after Sylvanas breaks the helm we see Bolvar's reaction. He first looks down at the broken half of the helm before he then looks up at the Shadowlands.

    Is there a lore-esque reason for him reacting in that order? Is he sort of just more surprised at the fact that the helm was actually broken in half instead of immediately realizing the sky breaking above?
    Probably because the helm really is the core of being the lich king and 'jailor of the damned'. Without the helm to control the undead bolvar can't really be the jailor of the damned. That's the sacrifice he made in wrath. That's who bolvar is now, it's his identity. But of course, now with the helm broken in two he can't really be the lich king (although we need to see how the shadowlands story plays out in the end). The scourge will rampage across azeroth and there isn't anything bolvar can do now to control them.

  4. #4
    The scourge going bananas surely will hit him in his head more closer than the sky breaking into another portal
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  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Touch of Anarchy View Post
    So in the Shadowlands cinematic right after Sylvanas breaks the helm we see Bolvar's reaction. He first looks down at the broken half of the helm before he then looks up at the Shadowlands.

    Is there a lore-esque reason for him reacting in that order? Is he sort of just more surprised at the fact that the helm was actually broken in half instead of immediately realizing the sky breaking above?
    He presumably looks at the helmet because he is surprised that Sylvanas is insane enough to not just kill people on Azeroth, but potentially insane enough ot kill everyone everywhere in the universe.
    He clearly knows the Shadowlands are what is above him, so there wouldnt be much reason to look at that.

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  6. #6
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    I don't think this is something that really needs any extra looking into.


    He was shocked. The facial expression clearly shows that. It was looking like Sylvanas was going to put on the helm as evident by Bolvar warning her the "power would be her prison" yet instead she ripped it in half. The shock from that act plus the sky breaking open right above you?


    Would you not be shocked?


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  7. #7
    I mean, it slides right in front of him, it's kind of natural that he looks that way. Also it's a guide for the viewer where the makers of the cinematic want you to look. Bottom of the screen -> Bolvar's face -> the sky. It's not like he took a long hard gaze at it. It's... less than a second.

  8. #8
    Bolvar's goal was to uphold the balance between life and death, as we learned in BfA. So when that balance was literally shattered before his eyes, he was obviously terrified, because he knew what was at stake if the balance was broken. I think he was basically thinking "What the fuck did you just do, are you insane, oh my fucking god you absolute idiot, what have you done".
    Last edited by Varodoc; 2019-12-01 at 01:23 PM.
    Expansion Storylines ranking:

    Legion > Cataclysm > MoP > BfA up to 8.2.5 > Wrath > TBC > WoD > Dragonflight > BfA 8.3 > Shadowlands

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Tenebra the War Criminal View Post
    Bolvar's goal was to uphold the balance between life and death, as we learned in BfA. So when that balance was literally shattered before his eyes, he was obviously terrified, because he knew what was at stake if the balance was broken. I think he was basically thinking "What the fuck did you just do, are you insane, oh my fucking god you absolute idiot, what have you done".
    I didnt see Arthas "preserving the balance" and neither did I see that it was required. Why would the creation of a being by the Nathrezim and Kilnaedan care at all about balance? The legion is about chaos and destruction.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by GreenJesus View Post
    I didnt see Arthas "preserving the balance" and neither did I see that it was required. Why would the creation of a being by the Nathrezim and Kilnaedan care at all about balance? The legion is about chaos and destruction.
    Arthas wanted to consume the world because he thought that a world dominated by Death would be strong. Bolvar wants the opposite, he became Lich King precisely to keep the Scourge at bay (Arthas would have unleashed it eventually if he got his new champions), so he most certainly does not want Death to dominate the world but rather keep a balance.
    Expansion Storylines ranking:

    Legion > Cataclysm > MoP > BfA up to 8.2.5 > Wrath > TBC > WoD > Dragonflight > BfA 8.3 > Shadowlands

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Touch of Anarchy View Post
    So in the Shadowlands cinematic right after Sylvanas breaks the helm we see Bolvar's reaction. He first looks down at the broken half of the helm before he then looks up at the Shadowlands.

    Is there a lore-esque reason for him reacting in that order? Is he sort of just more surprised at the fact that the helm was actually broken in half instead of immediately realizing the sky breaking above?
    you are reading too much into this

  12. #12
    He felt dread Sylvanas was able to defeat him, and thought she would put the helmet on to try to use The Scourge like Arthas did. What happened next was pure shock to him as much as the viewers.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Tenebra the War Criminal View Post
    Bolvar wants the opposite, he became Lich King precisely to keep the Scourge at bay
    Uhm, no. As a Death Knight during your order hall quest he down right threatens you with the Scourge. IE do what I tell you or I will unleash hell on Azeroth again. Either Bolver went dark or the helm isnt as empty as we were lead to believe.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poppets View Post
    Uhm, no. As a Death Knight during your order hall quest he down right threatens you with the Scourge. IE do what I tell you or I will unleash hell on Azeroth again. Either Bolver went dark or the helm isnt as empty as we were lead to believe.
    The Lich King never wanted to break death or open the Shadowlands either so...nothing has changed. Sylvanas is basically just fueling souls to the Jailer and the Maw instead of things going the normal way along with some Undeath.
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  15. #15
    Bolvar kept existing because he became the Jailer of the Dead. His only purpose was to wear the Helm off Domination to keep the remaining Scourge at bay. When Sylv comes and breaks it, his only purpose in life (pun intended) went down the drain.

    I mean, if you base your entire existence around an object and suddenly it breaks, you look at it first before looking at the thing or person that broke it. Normal reaction I guess.

  16. #16
    For thematic reasons. It would look weird for Bolvar to look up at Shadowlands then back down at the helmet. And Bolvar is basically a audience surrogate at that point. Because the audience is shocked at the helmet breaking, which leads to being more shocked that there is a huge whole in the sky.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Poppets View Post
    Uhm, no. As a Death Knight during your order hall quest he down right threatens you with the Scourge. IE do what I tell you or I will unleash hell on Azeroth again. Either Bolver went dark or the helm isnt as empty as we were lead to believe.
    No. We already know from BfA that his goal was to uphold the balance, hence why he laments how Sylvanas' actions threaten that balance. In Shadowlands he opposes Sylvanas, whose goal aligned with the old Lich King (Death washing over the world), and in Shadowlands he will help us rebuild the balance shattered by Sylvanas. We also learned that his aid will be pivotal in the Shadowlands because he had some influence in all of the four Covenants will be visiting, which means that even as the Lich King he had a relationship with the beings of the Shadowlands who seek to uphold the balance against the nefarious workings of the Jailer and Sylvanas.
    Expansion Storylines ranking:

    Legion > Cataclysm > MoP > BfA up to 8.2.5 > Wrath > TBC > WoD > Dragonflight > BfA 8.3 > Shadowlands

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by GreenJesus View Post
    I didnt see Arthas "preserving the balance" and neither did I see that it was required. Why would the creation of a being by the Nathrezim and Kilnaedan care at all about balance? The legion is about chaos and destruction.
    Bolvar wasn't using the helm for the same purpose Arthas was. He was just trying to be a placeholder i guess and make sure things didn't get worse, like it was under Arthas.

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