Netflix’s Dragon Age Present Faucets The Lore, Which Makes Me Hopeful

Netflix simply launched a brand new trailer for Dragon Age: Absolution, which is a six-episode animated present a couple of magical heist made in collaboration with BioWare. I criticized the final trailer for being generically bland. The brand new trailer is a big enchancment over what Netflix had initially proven. For those who’re a BioWare sicko like me, then you definitely may need picked up on some clues in regards to the plot of Absolution. They’re not hidden, however they require a little bit of Dragon Age information to parse.

The story is ready within the Tevinter Imperium, a brutal nation the place slavery continues to be authorized and slave uprisings are frequent. Our band of heroes are employed to steal a strong artifact to maintain it out of the “unsuitable” palms. Whereas I haven’t seen any references to in-game occasions, I seen that Cassandra Pentaghast was giving some exposition to the principle solid of Absolution. Cassandra is a Seeker of Reality (a form of anti-magic secret police), and he or she helped the participant save the world in Dragon Age Inquisition. Which implies that the collection possible takes place after the occasions of Inquisition. BioWare has beforehand included spin-off content material into sidequests for Inquisition, so I wouldn’t be stunned if parts of the present made it into Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, the newest entry in BioWare’s action-RPG collection. So even in the event you’re on the fence about watching Absolution, it is likely to be price it for the Dreadwolf lore crumbs.

The trailer principally focuses on the protagonist Miriam, who’s an elven slave within the Imperium. It exhibits her proprietor utilizing people as a part of a painful ritual. This type of spellcasting is named blood magic, which frequently sacrifices lives in an effort to enhance a mage’s energy. It’s protected to say that Miriam has at all times lived with the information that she may be killed by her “mom” at any time. So it feels a little bit unfair when her buddy Hira accuses her of being a coward who gained’t take a stand in opposition to injustice.

However that’s what I discover enjoyable in regards to the Absolution trailer and Dragon Age as a franchise. Do-gooders and freedom fighters who’re ostensibly on the identical aspect can have disagreements primarily based on their social class, experiences, and particular person traumas. If Absolution can provide me a ton of intra-factional battle in six episodes, then I’m pleased with it.

However I’m additionally a little bit apprehensive about one side of the story trailer—its antagonist. He finally obtains the present’s MacGuffin,the Circulum Infinitus. The artifact makes use of blood magic as its energy. Right here’s how Cassandra describes his actions: “I can not recall any good coming from one thing fueled by homicide.” Nevertheless, his quotes appear to counsel that he’s attempting to enhance the Imperium. Within the Dragon Age world, that normally means ending slavery or breaking apart the prevailing energy construction of highly effective mages. Each of those goals are noble, and I don’t need to see that trigger tainted by an terrible plot gadget. It feels that each well-intentioned revolutionary in fantasy media inevitably finally ends up being saddled with human rights violations in an effort to present why revolt is unsuitable. I solely hope that Absolution doesn’t find yourself falling into such a drained trope.

Dragon Age: Absolution can be coming to Netflix on December 9.