It’s the big day! The ultimate showdown! Time to put all our chips on an eldritch marble table with the grimdark bloodmajik and get this backstory on the road. The set-up: everyone has safely caught up with Josh in a textbook example of the True Blood school of cliffhangers that are resolved almost instantly. I can forgive it in Dragon Age: Redemption though, because it has managed to retain that earnest high-school drama production spirit throughout.
It has cast a spell of Charm Humanoid on me, and I have left all of my Resist Magic potions at the last save point. Let’s watch!
First things first. I told you so. Kinda. Anyway, this is an ending totally in keeping with the atmosphere of the series: very fun, very silly, and totally devoted to its world. Once the gang has reached the boss fight level, they split up to have deep and meaningfuls all round. We’ve been reminded of the nature of magic in the Dragon Age world: a fine divide between two realms, where demons are chillin’ and waiting to break through into our own. There is so much at stake you guys.
We finally learn that Cairn does not intend to go back to the Templars, and Tallis is not sure whether she wants to return to the Qunari, such is the measure of her renagadity. ‘Renagade’ is the word of the day, have a shot every time you hear it. Tallis: ‘Although we see the pit, we cannot avoid it’. Cairn, leaning in for smooches ‘I’m falling into the pit.’ GROSS YOU GUYS. Cairn skipped the seminar on Smooth Talking Elf Women at Templar college. Then Nyree tries to jump Josh and we all try to pretend it didn’t happen.
Suddenly! Doug Jones and his super long fingers arrive to enact evil: spill Fina’s blood to open the evil demonworld. But oh no! Turns out Fina didn’t want to be saved! She is suddenly filled with dramatic agency and wants to rule alongside the big evil grey dude and tries to stab Josh instead. Sorry, I guess you didn’t discuss that deal with Josh’s stabbin’ knife. She dies on the magic altar. Oops. Then at 7:10 Cairn is trapped in a glass case of emotion and gosh this is so much fun.
Tallis destroys the macguffin, Saarebas fires a magical bullet at her, Cairn takes it like a champ. After a brief discussion about the nature of personal responsibility and the identity roles that are forged by others Tallis gives him the ol’ throat slash for his troubles. Some actually moving acting from Jones, I can actually forgive his character’s dodgy motivations.
Anyway, there’s a little bit at the end that is cheesy as all get-out but pretty necessary. And Tallis and Josh seemed genuinely upset to be leaving each other! D’aw. I’ll miss you too, Dragon Age: Redemption.
This was always Day’s show, and the temptation is to do it wrong for being so keen on bigging up her larping character. But she does hold the whole production together, and her dedication to the subject matter is totally infectious. Maybe this won’t be remembered very long, but if this is among the first wave (we haven’t forgotten you, Mortal Kombat: Legacy!) of game-related storytelling, it has played its part in making webseries A Thing. Sláinte!
Did you level up on your quest through Dragon Age: Redemption? Or would you rather re-roll? Let us know in the comments.
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November 16, 2011
Games