Originally Posted by Addiena
Admittedly, one thing I do find odd is the insistence that her penance must be punitive—I'm speaking mostly from Catholic tradition here, as that's how I am religiously, but I do think that it's a bit of a misunderstanding of penance as a concept to think that it's necessary for someone to suffer to repent. Masochism and self-mortification isn't strictly a condition for regret—rather, I think it's better to consider intent.
Honestly, in that way is where I think Sylvanas may come off as lacking. Although she does have something of a redemption arc and seems to recognize what she did was wrong, I think she never spent sufficient time thinking on it and mostly had a single, rather odd cinematic where she sort of simply realized she was a bitch this whole time. She also never did much in regards to the whole "chemical weapons", "human wave tactics" (which she was plenty okay with even before the whole split-soul new perspective thing) or "willingly making a demon her advisor" thing—I think those are also pretty serious things weighing on her, not just Teldrassil. Even her actions in Cataclysm were never really atoned for—she never asked to talk to Greymane, for instance, or the survivors of Southshore about the things she did.
It simply feels incomplete—she is only being redeemed for one thing we know of. She hasn't apologized for anything else, repented for it, or even indicated she's guilty. And she is definitely more guilty of other things than just Teldrassil.
I would much prefer to see a more intelligent and focused take on this arc.
There's also that it just doesn't feel like vain, obstinate Sylvanas – living or undead – to apologize for the horrible things she did in any environment. I don't even think getting a new perspective is consistent with her previous character—she always struck me as a Machiavellian twat and little else. I think the idea that she was ever an actual hero is purely a Shadowlands invention—every other portrayal of her up until now has always portrayed her as objectively pretty evil.
This entire arc can be summed up in one word:
meh.
It no longer prompts any emotional response
You can tell this wasn't the original intended fate they had for her. Looks like a lot of the backlash and early prediction of her redemption made them change things up and punish her, but still not after the revealed the real her is innocent.
I'm not sure when the Sylvanas book takes place, but it definitely is being delayed to change some stuff. "Hey christie, that soul searching redemption story we had for Sylvanas after the Jailer dies... yeah we gotta delete that and make some other stuff up to finish the book, like maybe some alliance pandering"
"Time in Shadowlands flows differently"
Yea...Long time, if not forever is going to end up being very relative and open to special kind of interpretation. Undoubtedly during next expansion already, that "forever" has passed for poor Sylvie in the Shadowlands, and her task being done. Then she walks out redeemed and having totes suffered the set punisment. Count on it, since they've written the way out for her on every opportunity.
To be fair, the Jailer had half of Sylvanas's soul on him the entire time and she didn't know. I think it's safe to say he didn't need to pass off the soul and could hide it himself.
That being said, the most relatable kinda hell a player can relate to, endlessly collecting souls from the Maw.
"El Psy Kongroo!" Hearthstone Moderator
So like Lightning taking the train to paris she heads off to the maw no doubt to be reunited with the balding ass that is Steves self insert.
Western Lightning right till the very end. What a hero. Don't you all love Sylvanas?
Sentenced to grind the souls weekly quest for eternity ... would have been a fitting end to the writers of the last few expansions.
While I did not like the story that got us here, I think this is a good ending for the character. Have her off toiling to help those she wronged the most, for likely a very very long time. More satisfying than giving her a last minute blaze of glory heroic sacrifice or letting her off the hook back into Azeroth. I would have preferred no redemption at all and her dying a villain but this way at least she's having to do something to atone and help the people she sent to the maw.
It is a pretty shit ending. We brought in magic souls severing bullshit mcguffin to brutally force a redemption story that makes less sense then the characters motives ever since wrath.
The really sylvannas killed herself flinging her body from icc to be impaled by saronite( not sure that is how its spelled) spikes.
What came after was a weird impostor with utterly nonsensical goals who existed solely to brute force the plot.
It's time to let this horrible character fade from memory never to be referenced again.
People's reaction: "Ah yes a perfect end, having to do dailies in the Maw of all places. That should be some torture!"
What People forgot: 9.1 happened, covenants are literally camped in the Maw beating Mawsworn over the head while already doing this and the Jailer, the main threat and source of torture, is disenchanted. She literally can just walk around Torghast jangling the Jailer's key ring and saying "your spirit is now freed" as she opens cages to souls that she just as likely put there while she also gets to look for Nathanos and all she has to worry about is a conjured owl watching her till she is done.
I won't be surprised if she literally turns up next expansion with her task already finished and after being called on as a necessary 'tracker of souls' or Sylvanas Soul Searcher if you will to fill in some emergency plot point while shadowed by Nathanos in a new form.
Like I said I don't like the story that got us here. I haven't really liked Sylvanas since Cata and it's only gone downhill from there. But, taking all of the bad that has happened, sending her into the maw to save the souls of the damned after sending so many there serves as a decent punishment. What would you rather they have done with her at this point as a better cap to the story?
It doesn't even make any sense.
The reason, that Sylvanas was an evil bitch, was because the state of undeath actually made it hard for her and other Forsaken to feel positive emotions, if not impossible. But being reunited with her "High Elf soul fragment" didn't change her condition. So if anything, that part of her soul would now also be affected by the state of undeath and become just as bitter as the rest of her.
Just kill her. Maybe shatter her soul into the maw?
Her ending feels more like the one arthas should of had. His hard choices actually were to save people before he was made the lichking. Slyvannas's motives ranged from weird revenge plots on people she didn't know, trusting a dread lord, then cowardly killing mostly her own people because she was afraid of judgement in the afterlife...
I can't really understand why she was kept in the spot light but brutally killing her would of worked.
Also no idea why kel'thuzard and arthas had such shit stories.
Reminder that we were set up to expect more. We watched cities fall. We took part in spy scenarios. We picked sides. This is what we end up with: Generic, standard bad guy. We could've chosen Sylvanas in the pre-patch because, maybe, the fact that we had a choice in the first place led us to believe she could've been killing for a heroic reason. Send souls there to confirm The Jailer's messing with the afterlife. Go to world, keep it open for heroes. Get in The Jailer's good graces. Take him down. Find a way to bring the souls back, which we do every time we rez anyway. ezpz. Sylvanas becomes a controversial hero. But this? Really? Do better.