#there is nuance here that these discussion boards are completely unwilling to engage with

[blades-of-miquella]

[CGworld anon] Japanophone Jon_dArc on Reddit translated part of the article in the short thread "Who is the most skilled boss in elden ring lore?", and clarified some wording. I brought it up because some Radahn fans assumed he was winning in the trailer and let Malenia get up because of honor. In actuality, what we saw was Radahn trying to pick off an already-exhausted and wounded foe after throwing his army at her. And still getting stalemated and impaled pre-Rot. Almost the opposite context.

having discussions about malenia and radahn in a broader context (e.g. reddit threads) is kind of a lost cause because a lot of people have attached themselves to the idea of wholesome can-do-no-wrong chad radahn vs the vindictive evil bitch malenia. i won't comment on that too much in depth, but it leads to very skewed discussions where people insist malenia was weak and just cheated him out of a fair fight.

the game indicates to us that radahn is not underhanded, per se, but maybe driven is the right term. he relentlessly pursued the title elden lord enough to heckle several demigods and make a good attempt at sieging leyndell. his idolization of godfrey runs deep. it seems clear that his exchange with malenia wasn't one of honorably waiting for her, but more that he was taunting her (again - the line of "meeting radahn's measure").

but to that end yeah i agree with that assessment of the trailer. it's particularly reinforced imo in how the items around her describe her skill and determination, and it also reminds me of her cut line when she killed the player. the full exchange was originally "Now do you understand? I am Malenia, Blade of Miquella." which to me she's conveying the spirit of what's described in that article; perhaps, even, that this is what she said to radahn.

and radahn in the trailer certainly seems like he was expecting her to lay down and die; he's taken by surprise when she continues to fight with the shattered prosthetic.

part of the problem with discussing their battle is that the story trailer (extraneous media) is the only context we have for the battle of aeonia & their part in the shattering at large, which is really unfortunate. the total lack of explicit and in-depth context here is probably my biggest gripe with the game.