Originally Posted by
Aucald
"It's useless no matter how you look at it" is not an explanation, nor an elaboration as it's more of the same. Northrend isn't really monitored by anyone aside from Bolvar himself, so people who are oceans away may not know about the hole in the sky without going there - which the abduction both draws attention to and is a reason tp bring them to the place where the things are happening. People in the US. for example, cannot see a super-typhoon striking Japan. So that covers that.
That's not the Jailer's whole MO, that's mostly insubstantial speculation on your part and it isn't true for his current general, Sylvanas, whom he also didn't kill and recreate in the Shadowlands. Bolvar, however, can obviously observe it - given both his connection to the Maw and his apparent awareness of Sylvanas' plan in the opening of the same cutscene ("she will come for them all") - plus those captured had several witnesses to their capture, and like Genn quickly put 2+2 together so did they. Tack this on to the refutation of point #1 and you have a strong Watsonian reason why the abduction also happens.
It doesn't convince *you*, and you can speak only for yourself here - your opinion is your own. I can see both why and how the leaders were unable to fight back, as they were taken by surprise and considerable force. They're capture, in my view, is no real crossing of the Rubicon of absurdity as you've attempted to shoehorn into being, as I've explained already. Orchestrating a lightning and completely successful attack like this does speak to the Jailer's acumen if nothing else, and it's pretty impressive he was able to pull it off (except in the case of Tyrande herself). It's also entirely possibly a few of the other leaders did fight back, and we simply weren't privy to it as it focused on Anduin's capture in terms of visibility. And again, you've also really failed to explain why this is less than convincing beyond just saying it over and over - or why it makes the leaders look like "dopes." It's kind of makes one wonder what you yourself might do if you were just milling about outside and two winged beings dropped down from the sky overhead and fired magical chains at you apropos of nothing. I think you're giving the leaders (or yourself) a bit too much credit and expecting them to have god-like reflexes or speed of thought, especially since the entire thing beings and ends in seconds (only enough time for Anduin to unlimber his sword).
I would chalk this up to the perils of knowing the next chapter in a story before you've actually read the first one, as it were. I also think it's pretty far from concluded, given that to my knowledge we don't rescue them all in the opening chapters of Shadowlands, and it remains in the balance if we actually do successfully rescue them all. If you were following the narrative as intended you wouldn't know the resolution and it would be left open. I'd agree that knowing the conclusion beforehand does indeed dampen the sting or surprise of them actually being abducting, but I'd already accounted for that myself - I am unsure why you hadn't. It's pretty easy to suspend that knowledge and look at the story as it was meant to be told. Well, it's pretty easy to do that if you don't have an ulterior agenda, I suppose.
Not really. The leaders on their rescue from the Maw give a lot of exposition as to its nature and powers, not to mention serve as plot hooks for Torghast. I mean you're right in that those roles could be fulfilled by anyone, but it makes more narrative sense to have it be about characters we ostensibly care about recovering, at least in most cases. I think rescuing Thrall or Jaina is a lot more interesting than rescuing random Ebon Knight ID #54235 or what have you. Not to mention they're also getting additional story and background (e.g Thrall's torments in Torghast and the datamined content between the Jailer and Anduin). There's story to be told there that concerns the leaders' presences.
Sylvanas' Dark Rangers are with her, and Thrall never really travelled with the Kor'kron at his back at all times - they're an honor guard and for ceremony, and otherwise they spend their time guarding Orgrimmar as a whole. Ditto for Anduin, who we already covered above, and wasn't unguarded in the first place (not that it matters).
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Again, we seem to have watched a different cinematic - the chains definitely seem to effect him, and he goes from outright breaking them to near-paralysis in short order. He's winded, sure; but he had plenty of fight left in him until they sap him.
If they're draining his strength, then no, he couldn't - which is why he doesn't.
Um, no? You generally want to use the antithesis of a given power on someone who has that power, not the other way around. A creature made of fire isn't going to generally be weak against fire, as it were. Bolvar would've been resistant to the chains, but obviously not the point where he could no-sell them, because he evidently doesn't.
Not completely defenseless, no; they just don't get enough time to muster a strong defense. It's called being surprised.
They're probably elite versions, and not the nameless mooks who attack you en masse. You also get attacked by a named Val'kyr in the Maw that it takes you, Thrall, Jaina, and Darion combined to bring down.
Yes, the sky is darkening - who knows what might be happening. It could be an omen of ill portent, it could a sudden change in the weather, it could be *anything*. Are you telling me a sudden shift in clouds and lowering temperature are enough to make you know that 2-3 Mawsworn Val'kyr are going to appear and swoop down to ensnare you in literal seconds? I don't think so.
Well I didn't really see at as "lame," obviously; not was it unrealistic itself.
Last I checked, a few people agreeing with your take didn't mean it was the truth. It is entirely possible for a popular opinion to be incorrect, after all. Which isn't even to say *my* opinion is the correct one, either - it's just an opinion that seems to be in the minority, at least in this thread so far.
According to you, perhaps.
Maybe, maybe not. All the people here who don't like it seems to be not liking it for different and varying reasons, when they have stated reasons.
What was Genn supposed to do about it? Anduin got hauled up and away before he could likely even shift into Worgen form. Unless he had a crossbow somehow hidden on his person that wasn't going to help him much.