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the-apocryphal-one · 3 years

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Apo Plays BG3 EA Part Six: Companion Thoughts

So I guess I’m pretty much finished with EA, three playthroughs has been fun (especially Isaniel’s), but it’s gotten to the point where I’m getting tired of doing the same content over and over. Which means it’s time to stop either until full release or a major update.

I’m probably gonna procrastinate on a proper review like forever, but I did post my thoughts on the companions in a reddit thread and decided to just copy + paste them here.

(unmarked spoilers ahead)

For Gale and Wyll, I don't think their motivations can easily be summed up in just one word. Like yes, there are selfish undertones to why they do what they do--but at the same time, there's layers. Wyll wants to be perceived as a hero, but he takes time to teach little kids to swordfight. He hates the goblins for what they've done (the war party that torched that town and stole his eye) and wants to protect people from them, but also wants vengeance. He's a mix of selfishness, appearance and genuine altruism, imo.

Likewise, Gale simps for Mystra, but will go for you, which isn't exactly faithful (I've heard--can't confirm--but I've heard that he'll try to persuade you to cheat on your LI with him, if you got the Weave scene but didn't pick him at the party, which is Not Cool). He regrets his past actions and wants to make sure no one else is hurt by them, so he's willing to go off and die alone. But he doesn't want to just lay down and give up, he wants to find a cure. So he'll consume magical artifact and not stand up for his principles when it matters the most (not turning on you if you attack the tieflings). I think he's a man who talks a lot about the value of life, protecting kids, helping others, and believes it, but is being held back by fear from committing.

Astarion is definitely the most relatable of the companions right now, imo, just because his reactions are exactly the kind of stuff you'd see from an abuse victim. Flinching away from genuine vulnerability (the shoulder pat), trying to mask his pain at what he went through (look at how often he talks about what Cazador did like it's a joke), and showing genuine terror at the thought of going back? All super humanizing and compelling. Then he turns around and laughs at people being hurt or hurting animals and it's awful, unjustified--but it makes sense because sadly, abuse victims can become cruel themselves as a way to cope. But then he goes and approves of helping Karlach, so maybe he's not beyond hope? You could take out the fantasy stuff and plop him in the real world and he would still fit, is what I'm saying.

Lae is full of herself, but the way the other gith treat her really gives me the impression she's a young teen trying too hard to impress the adults. Like with that context, the scenes where she talks about how she's definitely going to have a silver sword and ride a red dragon one day, or where she talks about proving her loyalty to Vlaakith, come off less as sure arrogance but more as a kid talking about what they want to be when they grow up. Which, along with her complete inexperience with the Material Plane, is kind of adorable. But I definitely think she's been indoctrinated by her culture to not question anything and just lay down her life for Vlaakith, which is not so adorable.

SH's super secrecy frustrates me as a player, but as a roleplayer it's great and fitting for her deity worship. I think there are a lot of hints lying around that she's not who she thinks she is, with the missing memories, magic stirring up around Selune, and her own (to her admitted surprise) compassion for the tieflings. I feel like I don't have as much to say about her as I do the others? Maybe because there's a lot missing from her past, but what is there is very consistent with her secretive personality.

tl;dr the “evil” companions’ worldviews stem from past evils done to them--abuse, indoctrination, or cult brainwashing--and hopefully you can help them heal from that, thus bringing about a redemption arc; the “good” companions aren’t entirely altruistic, but struggle with human flaws that hinder their better natures; and all of the companions so far have been nuanced, consistent, and interesting.

EDIT: I should clarify Gale’s unfaithfulness isn’t because he’s with Mystra (he isn’t, and he even says he’s not sure how to feel about her), but because he still has some hang-ups from that relationship and thus can’t give full emotional fidelity right now.

EDIT #2: I should also clarify that I have no delusions that Astarion was a good person pre-turning. I would be more surprised if he was than if he wasn’t. I just think he may not have been as bad as he is now and that many of his beliefs have been predominately shaped by his experiences with Cazador.

#baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 spoilers #astarion #shadowheart #gale #wyll #lae'zel #meta #my meta

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