#and then poof Malenia jumpscare

[galactickohipot]

Going thru the ER fandom after the DLC really is fun. It's the first rodeo with a souls game for a large portion of the fandom it seems... It's mostly people raging about the difficulty of the last boss, or Radahn fanboys freaking out abt their man. It feels like the fact Elden Ring exposes its lore very openly in comparison with other titles, pushes some people to take it very literally too. Those people often forget that the lore is in service to a broader narrative, and lose themselves in tiny details at the expense of the feeling the story is supposed to evoke. imo that's always how Soulsborne were supposed to be read, but the lore was so nebulous in comparison that it's what people would naturally default to. That said, I really enjoy watching deep dive videos about the lore, bc those games are so well crafted. It's just really satisfying! Anyways, here are my (unorganized) thoughts on the ending:

So far, we really don't know if Radahn did consent. That's the point: the text emphasizes what Miquella wanted, but never questions what others around him truly desired. If anything, people asking the question themselves had the intended effect. That's pretty great, me thinks! Funnily enough, Miquella/Radahn are kind of a subversion of the Power of Love character/Shonen protag tropes, except you are on the receiving end of it.

On the other hand, my interpretation is that the promise was made by a very young and impressionable Miquella, a very long time ago. Like a promise a tiny child would make, innocently. It's tragic that in his and Malenia's horrible situation, it probably meant so much him. At the same time, I would imagine an older Radahn would pay it no mind at all. My interpretation of Radahn is of a simple and honest guy; kind but ultimately unconcerned with these issues. It feels like he'd be the most down to earth and straightforward of all the demigods in that regard. The vow was probably lost to time, in an age and a context that was vastly different from after the Night of the Black Knives and the Shattering. How sad is it that it probably meant so much more to Miquella than anybody could've imagined. It's heartbreaking, that after centuries, this is all Miquella could hold onto, as well as the tiniest hope he could make the world a gentler place. He sacrificed everything for it and yet still... it was all so very naive.

And even then, what did Miquella truly bring back? After so long, after loosing his wits, eating corpses and fighting off the rot for an eternity, what was there left of Radahn to restore? An idealized and distant memory perhaps? Even if he tried to create an alternative to his mother's order, Miquella still made the same mistakes. And so he resurrected a person that spent his life trying to emulate Marika's Lords and champions.

A part of me would like to think that Radahn's heroics were more genuine than Godfrey's or Radagon's ever were. That despite having these two as role models, he took better decisions and was a more accepting person ( also he had a pet cat and Leonard come on!) Yet, Radahn still represents an outdated ideal of what a Lord should be, especially for Miquella's intended "Age of Compassion". He is a character whose development was left during the Shattering, untouched forever. Would this have been another cycle of the same thing? Would Miquella have made the same mistakes as his Mother again, and would he also have reached the same breaking point? Could the same cause have the same effects? In learning about Miquella, we learn a lot about Marika; the inverse is true too. The Shaman Village revelation is two-fold. We learn of her kindness without Order: the genuine sadness she had for her people, and her true honest motivation. Kindness was intially the reason behind her action, just like Miquella. We know from St. Trina that just like him, her godhood ended up being a prison. Her kindness "with Order" is conditionnal and institutionalized. We know of the unconditionnal love all of her children yearned for, the afflictions they suffered because of her actions, and the strong reactions they had towards all of it. We see her struggle, between the love she wants to give her children and the order she is supposed to uphold. When this paradox becomes too much for her to bear and her kids are either killed, cursed or rebelling, she breaks. The vessel she molded herself into is then exploited, until grounded to dust, until Ranni lets her go or Chaos swallows everything. By contrast, when it is revealed Rennala was exploited and betrayed, she is solely reduced to her motherly role; earning her the scorn of her people. She rebirths children anew, in a process that ultimately became sterile. Mother Metyr, herself a daughter of the Greater Will, is abandonned and broken, forever waiting for a sign from her maker. Finally, Count Ymir, who is quick to place the blame on Marika, truly fails to understand the heart of a mother.

Miquella's ending in the dlc is also a perfect parallel to Ranni's ending. While Miquella promises you an age where you won't have a choice but to be loved and saved, Ranni gives you an age of loneliness and uncertainty, wherein she'll grant you the free will to save yourself. Miquella's action started selflessly, as he was intent on helping others above all else; while Ranni started her quest because she selfishly didn't want the Greater Will dictating her fate. If you put your love and compassion in the hands of a God that won't give you a choice in the matter, is it truly love anymore? Is it the unconditional love that you dreamed of anymore? Isn't it an issue if you rely on an external figure for these matter (ie a godly mother figure)?

All those years ago, I started playing Dark Souls because I watched an essay about it. It ended with something like: "You despair when you realize everything is pointless, and you become wiser when you realize you can find your own meaning. Dark Souls is a game that makes you happier, because it makes you just a little bit wiser." Maybe this game is about finding acceptance. Although this may start as a lonely road, you still have the power within you to love yourself and others, regardless of the love you were given. It's difficult and it takes a lot of courage, but you already beat this game so why not? But also, they made jar people so you would feel bad about breaking clay pots in their games. You can throw dung at gods and dragons, and Radahn is a shounen protagonist... so who knows lol