New WoW cinematic asks: has the king of the alliance turned evil now?

A new cinematic in World of Warcraft raises an interesting question: has Anduin Wrynn, King of the Alliance turned evil now?

Patch 9.2.5 in World of Warcraft is live and not only brought new quests, but also some in-game cutscenes. One of them deals with Anduin Wrynn. He was rescued from the clutches of the jailer in the last update – and has been shattered ever since. A new cutscene reveals the dark thoughts of the King of Stormwind. Has he been corrupted and manipulated over the long term?

What kind of cinematic is this? The short cutscene can be viewed by anyone in Oribos who has already completed Zereth Mortis’ current Pact campaign. All you have to do is talk to Tyrande’s owl, Dori’thur, who is waiting for you in Oribos next to the Maw’s stream of souls.

What does the cinematic show? The video shows an experience from Dori’thur’s point of view. The owl watches Sylvanas fulfilling her task in the Maw. She roams the former domain of the jailer in search of souls who ended up there wrongly and brings them back to the soul judge.

Sylvanas gets an unexpected visitor, because Anduin joins her briefly in the Maw. He wants to talk to her again and reveals some things about himself in the process.

When asked why Anduin is here, Sylvanas replies:

“My friends…the ones I nearly killed…they think my hands are clean. But they don’t feel clean.”

Sylvanas then explains that it’s dangerous to confuse two things: things you’re forced to do and things you choose to do.

Anduin finds it difficult to discern a difference here when all of these things are “blurring”.

Worse, he found the feeling both terrifying and exhilarating. He worries that the satisfaction he felt at the time might have been his own.

Anduin even believes that his relationship with the light may be permanently disturbed. In his own words, he is afraid that “if he asks for help, the light will not answer him.”

His faith has been badly shaken and he doesn’t know how his kingdom can trust him if he doesn’t even trust him himself.

Silently, Sylvanas then asks, “Do you have to carry this burden?”, implicitly asking: Do you even want to be king?

Anduin, on the other hand, doesn’t really answer the question, only stating that “a king has no choice” – which leaves a lot of room for interpretation.

At the same time, this brings the two’s conversation back to an interesting point. Because “having no choice” is a strange statement for Anduin, who has always believed in free will and has long tried to convince Sylvanas of it.

It ends with Anduin leaving Sylvanas again and – presumably – returning from the Maw. It is not yet known where he will go next.

What does this mean for Anduin? Anduin seems to have been thrown into a deep emotional crisis by the events of Shadowlands. No wonder, since his mind was under the jailer’s control for quite a while and he was deprived of his free will.

There has been evidence in the past that Anduin can also be prone to violence and hostility when circumstances permit.

In Battle for Azeroth, he greeted his “old friend” Furorion with a slap in the face and was beside himself with anger. However, Wrathion was also indirectly responsible for the death of Varian (Anduin’s father). At the same time, Stormwind was being attacked by the Old God N’Zoth and his suggestions, leaving some residents prone to violence and chaos.

What do you think of the cinematic? Is it a cool thing or don’t you like it at all?