Legacy of Kain | Umah - A Character Study
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- čas přidán 2. 02. 2024
- Many people tend to dismiss Umah as a nothing character whose role is just to provide fanservice. Yet, I'd argue Umah is a genuine, fleshed-out character who has a meaningful part to play in Blood Omen 2's story.
This video contains spoilers for Legacy of Kain Blood Omen, Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2, Blood Omen 2 & Defiance developed by Crystal Dynamics.
The wonderful thumbnail art is Umah by Philiera
www.deviantart.com/philiera/a...
Huge thanks to these amazing artists. Credited as below. Please show them your support.
Kain (Blood Omen 2) by JLazarusEB
www.deviantart.com/jlazaruseb...
The Magdalen Reading by Rogier van der Weyden
artuk.org/discover/artworks/t...
Cabal Vampire 2 by JLazarusEB
www.deviantart.com/jlazaruseb...
Cabal Vampire 3 by JLazarusEB
www.deviantart.com/jlazaruseb...
Cabal Vampire 4 by JLazarusEB
www.deviantart.com/jlazaruseb...
Kain and Umah by legacyofkainclan
www.deviantart.com/legacyofka...
All other artwork are official promotional and concept art created for the series by the respective teams at Crystal Dynamics.
Music:
Blood Omen 2 Soundtrack by Jim Hedges.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Soundtrack - composed by Kurt Harland & Jim Hedges.
Shadoma by The Mini Vandals
Floating Home by Brian Bolger - Hry
So, basically, Uma and Kain weren't even wrong about each other. As a ruler, Kain would demand absolute loyalty and destroy anyone who wouldn't submit, while Uma (if she was alive) would defy him at some point in favor of Vorador and the rest of her "family". Maybe they could figure something out but stubborn and distrustful as they were - one killing another was inevitable.
Not sure. Maybe, Umah would learn the truth about Kain (all that Vorador hadn't told her) and come to trust him more. Maybe Kain would grow to see Umah's real worth and offer her to rule by his side, like he offered Raziel the option to rule with him.
Actions speak louder than words. Sadly fools will always be fools, and believe me, someone that judges you based on " what they have heard" IS a fool. After all the sht they went through together, she was still doubting him, that shows how much of a fool she was...
@@cedrikusable Well. truth be told, they didn't go through "so much" together for her opinion to change.
I mean, most of her interactions with him were of she guiding him through less dangerous places of the city.
Then sure he rescues her from the prison and execution. But even then it was more of burdensome task he had to deal than them actually experiencing it together.
Because shortly after she was freed, they directly teleported out of that place.
And after that she no longer appears until before she betrays kain.
"... And now... You've left me alone."
Kain, I'm sorry. You're not allowed a happy ending. You never were.
I can relate
He's spent the better part of his life trying to make the coin land on its edge. He can defy fate and get his happy ending, ... but the fight to get it is still far from over.
@@jackwilliam4436 He is a psychopath who would butcher continents to sate his appetite. He doesn't deserve a happy ending lol
*If Umah survived to the Soul Reaver Era*
Umah: Your conquest of Nosgoth has brought only chaos and misery to the land, Kain! You are a selfish, ruthless, heartless tyrant!
Kain: Heartless? You forget, Umah, I've sired six sons, whom I love equally;
Raziel, my prodigal firstborn
Turel, my most dutiful lieutenant
Dumah, my mightiest warrior
Rahab, whose innovation can overcome fatal weakness
Zephon
and, uh, (*reads smudged writing on hand) Malcom...
Umah: 😑
Raziel: Melchiah, Lord Kain.
Kain: Gesundheit.
@@julzbananz Rahab: Bless you, my Liege.
Amy deserves to finish her vision!
Preferably without modern interference... That's my biggest fear for this series coming back. It gets "The Witcher" treatment, or something similar
@@christophermccutcheon2143 Exactly!
Sweet baby Inc and Blackrock would never let her do what she wants. We'd get the "made for modern audiences" nosgoth.
One of my biggest fears actually- i so want them to return to the Legacy- i've been waiting for 20 fucking years for it, i will die of old age if this continues. But IF they return to it, and yet choose to do to it same thing, as they did to "Last of us 2"- i will be convinced, they just want to not only kill the series but also piss and shit on it's grave. And next to two first Gothics, Legacy of Kain shaped me as a gamer i am today- and that insult i won't be able to stomach. I let go of Star Wars already, i gave away Lord of the Rings- i don't care anymore- i have good movies already, i can always watch those and forget rest exists. But turning Legacy or Gothic into a joke is something i will not abide. So if any developer sees this comment by any chance: do be careful of what you intent to do with the legend @@christophermccutcheon2143
@@christophermccutcheon2143
It will if they bring it back.
Best to leave this series in the imagination.
Untainted.
Ahhh, Umah. The only one in Nosgoth who Kain truly loved. His sorrow is displayed after he kills her and he continues to delude himself by claiming that she was a spy. His denial when the Hylden Lord confirms that she wasn't is a brief but very fascinating moment. Such a shame, she could've been his queen and her canceled backstory as a human being responsible for bringing Vorador back was also fascinating.
Plus, she had big boobs, that's always a plus. She certainly awakened my "dark gift" back when I first played BO2 on PS2 hehe.
Dude, I was agreeing with everything you said, until that last line. "Big boobs" and "dark gift". 😂🤣
Kudos to you for telling it how it is. 😁
Yeah, she was a darn good fascinating character. I wish they could have done more with her.
@@b.y.o.p.9035 I was a teenager back then. I regret nothing!
@@georgehouliaras7239Not judging you at all, friend. You're good. 😅
LMAO 🤣🤣🤣
Great legs too
Kain- "You should not have betrayed me, Umah"
Also Kain- "Cast him into the Abyss"
"Cast him in."
You not right. 😅
to be fair, i believe Kain knew exactly what would set in motion by throwing Raziel into the abyss. It had to be done
@@DMcK-ro8qu Too true.
He knew Raziel was supposed to kill him in the resting place of William the Just, so pretty sure he knew
@@SaltyHVACtech He also knew that Raziel would be free to choose about killing him or not.
Takes a lot of faith in one’s child to believe he would not after everything he’d done.
I liked the way Umah brought out a completely different side to Kain. For such a long-lived being, Kain lives a particularly lonely existence. It is interesting to imagine what could have been if Umah had trusted Kain at the pivotal moment.
For all we know he probably would have proved her right..
@@tuckernutter She never gave him a chance to prove her wrong. And we know how that ended. And if Soul Reaver is anything to go by, Kain established himself as a sort of god-king, but so long as you are a vampire, he at least welcomed you into his nation. We have no idea what his empire was like, but before the clans devolved into monsters, so long as one paid Kain homage, the vampires were free to do whatever they wanted. Umah's fear was that Kain would be a tyrant - so she was wrong for the most part.
@@daniell1483but all the clans that did pay him homage were his clans, the sires of his sons that would have a lineage reason to view him highly
We don’t have any examples of other vampire line outside of Kain’s direct descendants, we don’t know if he’d view them as an opposition to his “godly” position as father of all vampires
@@michaelhodges8590 I don't think Kain really cared what other vampires thought of him, so long as they didn't get in his way concerning the secret "third choice" he spent so long looking for. Once he recognized that Raziel was relevant as the vampire champion (or so Kain thought at least), he knew he was getting close to getting the coin to fall on its edge. Once he had this, he literally could not care less about his empire as he jumped several centuries at least into the future so he could face Wraith Raziel immediately, despite being immortal and fully capable of taking the "slow route" had he chose.
I think that tells us all we need to know about Kain's personal connections. At most, his lieutenants may have been considered family, especially Rahab and Raziel once he gets past his anger at Kain, but Kain was on a mission he'd sacrifice even Raziel for. There is an interesting parallel with Abraham being told to sacrifice his beloved son in the Bible here. As much as Kain loved Raziel as a son, Kain still knew he had to sacrifice Raziel to find a way to put the world on a path to real victory.
All these mentions of Defiance just make me wish the game had been so different. It would have been all so much more interesting than going to what feels like a dozen vampire citadels and imbuing the Soul Reaver with some new elemental power.
See, I love that game, as is, because I was CONVINCED it was a Part 1 of 2 thing. But boy howdy does that last line from Kain really leave a bitter taste given what has happened to the series subsequently.
The bond between Kain and Umah in one word? Doomed. From the very beginning. The player was instilled with some hope. After all, who doesn't like a good love story. However, we know that Nosgoth is, at it's very core, and especially at this time, a hopeless place.
True. How very like Nosgoth to give someone hope and then rip it away.
@@strictlyfantasy Does not help that with all the lore the writers of this game screwed up by not consulting Amy she would have had to kill her off in defiance anyways in the past with Raziel watching since she was not in soul reaver. So probably for the best she died in this game as at least this helped to cement Kain being a loner.
Thats my personal take anyways as I do agree it was doomed and does fit the world.
I wanted to say something very similar to this, but I think you said it very well already.
7:59
"As he tries to assert his dominance."
Kain: *T Poses*
Cheeky
😂
Oh god....
@@strictlyfantasy You know, if the Vampires ever DID defeat the Inertility and Bloodthirst portions of the curse, Ummah and Kain's relationship absolutely could've gone further...
I was about to comment on this one, you beat me to it 😂😂😂
On the fan service "criticisms": it's funny to hear that when the main character is ripped and shirtless for like half of the game and 75% of the series. Additionally, Uma guides Kain from amnesia to success in the game, so she's very important, in addition to everything you've said. Great video as always.
Thanks, but just to clarify, I'm not criticizing the fan service, more just pointing it out.
Uma's death is the most badass and hilarious scene in all history lmfao
Janos being tossed into the abyss always me laugh way harder than Umah's death scene
While Umah's design might have been fanservice, I do defend the overall trope of vampires dressing seductively. There is a temptation to being a vampire. To living a life free of consequences, up to and including death. Female vampires are depicted as beautiful and often sexy (often to an unnatural degree,) and male vampires are depicted with cloaks and armor with an emphasis on their physical strength (and just as often shirtless.) Both of these represent why people would take the dark gift.
We can also look to real life and see beautiful women flaunt it. Instagram is filled with beautiful women showing off pictures of themselves. You can walk around in real life and see how pretty women tend to dress themselves. And that's to say nothing of Onlyfans. So if real women enjoy showing off their natural beauty, then it would make scene that vampire women would show off their unnatural beauty.
Vampires represent ourselves free of consequences and morality
The ultimate freedom
That's a fair point. Their design being an outward expression of their freedom in a world where obedience is expected and demanded.
And for the vampires, that makes perfect sense! But then, why the heck do the female Sarafan warriors dress like bikini models? Answer: because early 2000s. XD
I got the feeling that losing Umah hurt Kain more than he let on. Affected by Nupraptor's curse as he was, he showed he wasn't entirely heartless. But once she was gone, he had little choice but to move on
Even if it's just a series of novels. I want miss henning to finish the story.
A novelization of this series could be great. 👍
that guard 11:30 heard the whole arguement but decided to ignore it lol
Dude, best comment! 😂
Yeah, that Guard was like "I think those two are an item and having an argument. Mamma always told me never get in between two Vamps arguing." 😄
"damn kids having a lovers moment beneath the street lights! well i aint paid enough to do anything about it"
@@karljohan2300 😅🤣!
You know, as I was editing that scene, I was thinking that!
Smartest man in all of Nosgoth.
I can't believe I was awake to find this only minutes after release, I love your videos on these characters so much. Hell, on these games in general.
Man, again I always have to say as someone who grew up when games had no voice acting, The Legacy of Kain series was so far ahead of it's time with voice acting. They were a decade ahead of the industry in quality. None of the games have bad voice acting in my opinion.
I really loved Blood Omen 2 and I think the art style stands up well. Uma definitely is fan service, but honestly if you look at clothing ration for most of the Vampires, it's not that much different.
I liked her character and thought Kain killing her was a mistake, but I agree the relationship likely would not have lasted an eternity if she lived. Great video.
You should mention your plugs for the fan art in the description. Awesome you do that!
the irony is, had she tried to use the nexus stone, shed have failed. kain bestowed upon her the mercy of death, after learning that deceit and callousness were the hallmarks of her true nature.
So glad you still doing Legacy of Kain contents and lore man never let this legendary dies!😍😍
Thanks for making those videos and keep the legacy of Kain story alive!
Thanks for always opening new perspectives on this great game. I really like the style and your arguments and way of working on this topic. Always happy when you upload a new video. Love from Germany !
Awesome to see that these vids have fans from all over the world 👍
Uma has always held a soft spot in my heart, I was only a kid when I played the game. Her and Farah from POP were my first game crushes. But her story was always good, it was deep to have two people who may be in love with different loyalties. Obviously Shakespearean, but it also represents real-life relationships as many don't workout because of the people's loyalties to their family.
another banger of a video. man I am always anticipating these vids with glee
A new SF video is like watching the coin falling on its edge. It's refreshing and downright amazing
Many thanks for covering this amazing character!
Thank You for those in-depth videos! They are not only keeping the franchise alive, but they are also well done, I can definitely feel the effort you put in. I also like that you talk about the philosophical aspects of the game!
I like to think that Umah's betrayal broke Kain's heart so badly that he forbid Raziel and the other vampires to ever raise a female vampire and that's why we don't see that many of them in the series. Dude literaly put a "No chicks allowed" sign outside of the Sanctuary of the Clans.
Umah is an interesting "What If". If she hadn't betrayed Kain and he had indeed made her his queen, the rest of the timeline could be altered in any number of ways. For example, maybe they would have split the task of raising the Sarafan Inquisitors between them, resulting in only half suffering from Nupraptor's curse.
Hard doubt Kain would share creating them.
Umah might have devolved just like Raziel's brothers
@@SamuelBlack84 The devolution was the result of Nupraptor's corruption being passed down from Kain.
@@Warrior-Of-Virtue I see
Thanks for still making these Legacy of Kain videos. I love learning more or just seeing new perspectives on the series.
13:25 Kain is no simp...
Kain is a sigma male
Kain its an arrogant moron most of the times XD
Kain's Waifu put a Knaifu in his back.
You could do a deep dive on each title and why they used certain shades of green for each and I'd tune in to every one of them
I LOVE THSI CHANNEL SO MUCH, MAN
Love your videos :) brings back the nostalgia!
Thank you for these! Really great work🙏
Umah and Kain seem incompatible because we later see Kain deified you say, but why not think that the reason Kain became deified, hardened and tyrannical, was because the betrayals (particularly Umah's) he had to live through. Perhaps Kain would have turned out more sympathetic had he not endured that last betrayal? Regardless, great video! Helps to shine a light on Umah as a character.
Once again, great work!👏
This series will always stay in my heart, timeless..
Thank you so much to keep producing such essential videos about the LoK series! Your such a treasure and blessing for all big LoK series fans all over the world! Thank you so much bro❤
I think Umah never realized what she was dealing with.
A man that defied mortals, immortals and gods alike. Defied fate itself.
Moving forward by his willpower alone. He was never the smartest, nor the strongest of his kind. But in the end, he was the only one to succeed. Simply because he willed it. And nothing could stand in the way. For if that will would ever bend for any reason, it would surely break the next time it is tested.
As much as I hate that whiny little B Raziel, he was the only one to get it. Not only, but he actually understood Kain. Understood that Kain cared. For Nosgoth and even those close to him.
Took him eternity, but still.
Umah. No, she saw a faded legend. A useful tool. A wounded beast. A potential threat. Maybe even a man to try her charms on. Never had she saw the force of nature Kain actually is.
For there is only a single way crossing one ends.
Once again, another amazing video
Yup! Love these videos.
Absolutely brilliant video on the character of Umah and her relationship with Kain! The conversation when Umah was captured had me cracking up. 😁
Kain: "What was it you learned in the Industrial Quarter? Tell me, in case I cannot rescue you."
He was ready to get that information and bolt without her! 😅 He got frustrated when she said "You haven't freed me yet", and went to find the Glyph. You can hear it in his voice. 😂
Understandable that many saw Blood Omen 2 as a bad Legacy of Kain game, but Umah being there was one of the best highlights. I always wanted to see more female characters in the spotlight besides Ariel. Yes, Umah came off to some as a seductive and even cast away character, but to me she really felt like a strong presence in the game. I was pretty upset when Kain killed her in the end (even though that whole "then you may die knowing the truth" line was a nice touch). She was a really interesting character, and to either see her past background or again in Defiance would have been darn special. I liked her. She (and others like the Seer Witch) should have stayed around, even if her and Kain's relationship was "rocky" at best. Thank you so much for this video! Waiting on more character studies from the series (if possible 😊). Sorry for the long comment. Loving what you're doing, sir! Keep it going. 👍🏼
Thank you for this explanation. This game changed my life forever when I was a child. I praise you sir
I love this channel. I love learning more of the lore and mysteries of a game I was too young to understand. Umah was very mysterious, but it seemed like she did have "something" for Kain, but that was my 12 year old minds thinking. Thanks for the vid and all of the Kain videos you do.😊
Your videos about the LOK series are great. I hope You keep them up
Great video boss. All these years later and this is still my favorite game series in how to create there story telling. I want another game in this world but damn how do they match what has been made.
Truthfully. I have a love hate relatiosnip with it.
On the one hand, It was organic for the characters to act and react the way they did. Kain dealing with traitorius vampires, him "playing the pawn" etc. Also the stories about Kain and his cold hearted self interest.
What I hate is how this contanimates 'vampires' as a idea. Always scheming, ploting for power. Immortal being clinging to temporal objects for some ego delusion. Especially in TTRPGS like VTM and VTR where everyone is stabbing eachother in the back rather then working together
Wow, great video. I did always dismiss this relationship, but your analysis has opened my eyes. Thanks for shedding light on one of my favorite games from twenty years ago
I think we would have seen a completely different future from the one we have in soul reaver had Umah been Kain's queen. Like you said, she brought a rare kind of vulnerability out of Kain.
We could have seen a different but similar reason for Kain to go through the chronoplast to give his Queen and Children a better future, a better world, and that would have a lot to do with getting his original destiny back as an Nupraptor corruption-free vampire balance guardian.
We saw the moves of the single father with sons Kain, but the moves of the complete family powered Kain would have been a sight to see.
I'm not sure if you are a dragonball fan, but Kain always reminded me of Vegeta's evolution, and if Kain had a complete family like Vegeta did we would see a similar outcome. Just like Vegeta lost that immortality interest, I think the deification wouldn't have mattered so much to Kain.
The Elder God would still be a huge threat, so there would still be tons of material to work with. Vampires would have had that common enemy that tends to bring everyone together.
It's good to see you back, Strictly Fantasy, as always. I love LOK lore.
Let's flippin' go. I love listening to you while drawing
I have to agree, Strictly. I think there would've been much conflict and friction between Kain and The Cabal, especially if the latter survived long enough to witness the rise of Kain's lieutenants. Given their absolute loyalty, I could see them giving Umah a hard time: perhaps she'd want one thing and would plead her case to Kain, and someone like Raziel, for example, would question her motives. Everyone would've been walking on eggshells and it would probably get to a point where Kain would exile Umah, or something to that effect. One thing about Kain is he gets what he wants and I doubt he would let anyone interfere with his coin toss. Great work as usual, Strictly! ❤🎉
Definitely would have been some type of conflict and friction, for sure. Still, having more female characters in the series like Umah and even the Seer would have been cool to see. 🙂
@@b.y.o.p.9035 Agreed. Would've been nice to see the "what if" of these female characters, but... Guess we'll never know haha But it's always fun to speculate.😎
@@lisacastro3899 Would have been nice, for sure! 😀
Perhaps in the future. But yes, always fun to speculate, indeed. 😊
Who is to tell if Kain would have his lieutenants at all if the Cabal was still around?
Killing Umah insured that Kain and the Cabal would be hostile to each other. Especially Vorador. But since he had so much influence on his children, they came as a package deal.
And in the end, we all know who survived that conflict.
But if Umah hadn’t betrayed Kain, everything would have played differently. At worst they would have an uneasy alliance. Since he saved Umah, helped them survive and defeated the Sarafans. A feat they couldn’t have achieved on their own.
Vorador from BO1 was not much of a leader. He was totally willing to step back and let Kain reign. Who is to say that with his comfortable existence insured he wouldn’t return to sulking in his manor, occasionally supplying Kain’s army with new recruits?
Love seeing your love to the kain series I still hold on hope of its reboot or remake
peasant: "I need to get through"
sarafan soldier: "Not this way, the subway is closed"
peasant: "But I need to take this purse to the chancellor, or he will take my house!"
sarafan soldier: "It's no use crying to me about it"
peasant: "I beg you, let me through"
sarafan soldier: "I'll run you through if you don't go your way, now move on!"
I loved listening to the dialogue throughout the game; really cracked me up.
I sincerely believe Kain originally wanted to coexist with the natural vampires in harmony, and maybe initially did so. They were simply cut from Soul Reaver 2 and not invented yet in Soul Reaver 1, even if Blood Omen 2's story was formed by the Soul Reaver 2 end timeline crack. Their cooperation might indeed be inevitably disrupted at some point, not because of some power hunger politics, that would be a cop-out. And not necessarily out of Kain's pre-purification ego or stubbornness. I'd denote the falling out due to the simple unfortunate friction between great powers that would unavoidably push rival forces out of relevance to function properly. All that being said, purified Kain could remedy all this with tons more tact without sacrificing his sheer willpower but maybe pacifying some of his own ambitions not to be so destructively absolute.
If I could influence Amy's future writing in any way, I'd say: We fans would like to see many and many kinds of vampires to thrive next to each other, and that includes this ephemeral cabal of Vorador!
I always like to imagine storylines in between games and sequels to Defiance and Blood Omen 2. I would always imagine that before Vorador got turned into a Vampire by his sire Janos. He had a family, a wife, and a daughter. Then a terrible winter struck his family with a fatal illness and he decided to give the dark gift to his wife and child to save their lives. When Malek leads the Vampire exterminating crusades, one of his victims was Vorador's own family, which can explain why Vorador has a hatred for Humans. When Vorador encountered Umah, I imagine that Umah reminded Vorador of his own daughter whom he lost to the Sarafan so long ago, and maybe she was a reincarnation of his offspring, so he decided to turn her into a Vampire. And when Vorador found out about Kain killing her, it stung him even more and felt deeply betrayed, because it was like he lost his own daughter again. After Kain defeats the Sarafan Lord, the cabal fractures where Vorador refuses to help Kain and will forever declare him an enemy and banish him from Sanctuary, but Kain shows the Vampires of the Cabal that he is capable of doing what Vorador could not do and so half of the Vampires decided to side with Kain and leave with him to build their army high up in the mountains to continue his war against the Sarafan and their conspirators. As for Umah, I imagine her story didn't end with her death. I like to imagine after Blood Omen2 and after Defiance. Umah becomes a Vampire Wraith and is given power by the Elder God to allow her to have her vengeance against Kain and be rewarded with life once more if she completes the task. Where an elder Kain now purified, feels emotions for the first time and is filled with regrets about their past relationship and did wish the outcomes were different between him and her.
Kain and Raziel's voice acting is probably the best I've ever heard across all the games I've played. "Now you may die, knowing the truth" that was cold af. Also I wasn't super tapped in to reviews and ratings when I played this game and I honestly really liked it tbh , the brutal finishes were a big highlight for me.
A pity that she died, could have been the queen for Kain😔.
Totally agree.
I think a comparison video between Umah and Raziel would be interesting. At least on an emotional level, they're probably the two most important associates of Kain throughout his career, and one could easily argue that they show a repeating pattern of sorts in how Kain relates to people.
Also how they are the blue oni to his red oni visually.
@@robinthrush9672 Oh huh. I never noticed that.
I'm a massive fan of your channel thanks to your LOK vids and I must confess I'm so happy you've talked about Umah as well. I think she was one of the best elements from BO2 even if a lot of the fandom does not really love BO2 of her character. I would have loved to see her in defiance, I already talked about this with Daniel Cabuco. She was way more than fanservice, story wise like you underline she got an interesting relationship with Kain and she even got her own motivations and when we know about Kain future empire she wasn't so wrong. But true that Kain got some facade as well and he truly believed she was traitor that's why he's so upset when the sarafan lord corrected him, he has no spy called Umah. Plus, "you could have been my Queen".
Plus, it was good to see a badass woman character in LOK, I mean apart Ariel there's not a lot of great woman examples in this universe.
another great video bro
Great analysis. Yes, I also think they both were destined to be separate, mainly because of Kain focus on power and rule, and Umah being part of a resistance group. But I would think an element of resistance might have appeared at some point in the story of Kain when he rules Nosgoth, which it never appears. Apparently, vampires tend to be more loyal than humans, and more collective in some ways. The deception and manipulation, usually comes from other forces (the Hilden, humans, the elder god, etc.). Kain would have needed to consider other thinks beside his ruling, which only occurs when many years have passed and the soul reaver events unfold.
14:39 My man is back on his grind.
Betrayal cannot be ignored.
I never actually played the Legacy of Kain series. I watch a lot of gaming retrospectives and relatively recently watched one. This has been a really interesting video.
Kain believes in loyalty above all else, and like all mafia bosses he has to make an example of her.
Considering that Umah was a 'traditional' vampire and therefore would supposedly have been able to raise new vampires without Kain's necromancy, it's so fascinating to think about what an alternate Soul Reaver Era would be like, with Kain's lieutenants having both a mother and father in Umah and Kain.
I think we can all agree that it's better for Kain's character and his destiny in the long run to not have a romantic attachment, but it's wonderful to see that the heartless Emperor of Nosgoth is at least capable of vulnerability and a semblance of love beyond his father-and-son-esque relationship with Raziel.
I missed your videos bro !
im so glad someone has some kind of explanation on this stuff. I was a kid when this came out and now diving into the lore gives me and understanding. the thing that gets me is. why as a kid was i so drawn to specifically soul reaver the 1st one not knowing or understanding it. any one else felt that?
Having been introduced to the Blood Omen series via Blood Omen 2, i have a soft spot for the story and for Umah as a character. It would've been interesting to see her survive the end of it, but i feel as though their relationship wouldn't have panned out very well once Kain began his conquest of Nosgoth. Perhaps he would have allowed the Cabal to exist as he said, but my guess is that Vorador would have eventually worked against Kain and Umah would've had to choose between her sire and her potential lover...and she would've chosen the former. In any case, i love your continued commentaries on this series and pray that it might be revived some day!
kain really changed over the years
if only the game next to defiance wasn't cancelled we would see some very interesting interactions between them
It was never destined, tragic as it was in its completion.
Can you do a video breaking down the elements and the importance of them?? Maybe something to do with the origins, the buildings. Because there’s really no explanation of them in SR2 and I don’t remember with defiance. Love the videos maybe one day we will get a remake and a continuation
Thumbnail alone will get this vid 1 million views!
Notice that Kain calls both Raziel and Uma "child" in an effort to distance himself from what he did/is about to do to them. All to make himself feel as if they couldn't understand that what he's doing is the morally right choice.
Its a neat detail I didn't notice until you pointed it out.
I don't think Kain is belittling Umah or viewing her as inferior to him, when he calls her 'child', during her final moments. I think that's him desperately trying to find a rational way to shift the blame from Umah to any other subject. By calling her 'child', right at that moment, he's trying to convince himself that she didn't really want to betray him and that she just didn't understand that she was in the wrong. That's him trying to find mitigating circumstances for her actions. That's a several hundreds year old Vampire who has experienced conflicts all around Nosgoth desperately trying to forgive a fledgling Vampire who has only lived for a comparatively shorter amount of time and has only been fed whatever Vorador deemed useful to teach her. She made the one mistake she was not supposed to do, for lack of experience, and, now, she can't be his queen. That's his way of saying he doesn't hate her, but he doesn't think he's capable of letting her actions unpunished.
So in other words, maybe he calls her "child" because she hasn't fully learned how things go. Or better yet, she doesn't fully understand Kain and his actions. She doesn't know what he truly has been through from his experience in the first Blood Omen, dealing with being a puppet/pawn by the Circle Guardians and especially Moebius. At that moment, maybe he saw her as more of a Fledgling than an equal kin.
Its a bit of a shame, because she could have been one of the great ones.
Kain gives no second chances.
@@papapapa16 Well, he did give a lot of second chances to Raziel. The Human bloodthirsty fanatical zealot who hunted Vampires not for human survival, but for fun and to please his masters, and who killed Janos Audron got another chances, when Kain resurrected as a Vampire. The Vampire lieutenant who butchered Humans not for nourishment, but for fun and to say 'Hey, Marster ! Look at me !' got to be freed from the Wheel Of Souls by Kain. The Wraith who risked being sucked into the Soul Reaver on numerous occasions was saved several times by Kain - even in life or death situations. When Kain and Raziel met at Avernus Cathedral, in Defiance, Raziel attacked Kain, but Kain simply tried to 'make [him] understand reason' and stopped beating the Hell out of him, when he was down, instead of finishing the job. When Raziel was about to be sucked into the Soul Reaver, during his last fight with Kain, he was saved - once again - by Kain, who, not only refused to take advantage of that situation, but also warned him, fully knowing how dangerous it would be for him and Nosgoth to let Raziel live. Even though it served his greater plan of saving Nosgoth, Kain did give Raziel numerous second chances.
@@jackwilliam4436 raziel was a special case.
You would almost swear that the best romantic option is the one that is a kindred spirit, or a least, the foundation for an eternal friendship.
Hey new vid. Thanks habibi
its a shame that the characters to cover are running out, i absolutely love this series.
since i never played BO2, I dont know her at all. thanks for showing me what I was missing out on.
I think Uma, if Raziel came back from the lake of dead, would've been an invaluable ally to him. I probably think she'll tell Raziel to be wary of the Wheel Of Fate, as well.
looking at how hurt kain was at the betrayel.. I think that might be one of the reasons to why he made himself a deity to the others. You can defy your Master, but can you ever defy a god? I believe if Umah had trusted kain, his empire would've looked different. Kain trusts no one an d the reason is that Umah betrayed him, she may have been his last connection to "humanity"
Great video. Just want to point out that women did not have a submissive role in medieval society. Although some title were not accessible to them, the idea they were subservient is a recent one, and isn't backed by modern research. there's a lot of youtubers that make medieval to Victorian time their whole niche, it's actually super interesting.
Thanks for this amazing video. The Legacy of Kain universe is kept alive only thanks to the few content creators like yourself, and not by the greedy current owners of the franchise.
She's A Great Character, But She Broke The Only Rule You Cannot Break, Which Is... Never Betray Or Doubt Kain's Motivations. She Paid The Ultimate Price. Great Video!
Tragic, honestly, but it would've happened anyways, sooner or later. Umah is too attached to her family to fully devote herself to Kain, as he would undoubtedly desire it, and Kain at the time is still affected by Nupraptor's madness, ultimately leading him to harsh actions.
I would like to see a video on strictly’s thoughts on who could do the voice of the elder god in a remake since sadly Tony jay is no longer with us. May he rest in peace
I never played this game but your description of this character sounds interesting. It does seem to play out like a lot of doomed romantic relationships but at the same time, romantic relationships sound like a gamble not even worth pursuing.
As a next video make sure to go over kains empire and the clans in it.
I love Umah 🥰
I would like to share a theory of mine concerning Umah's possible past. While I was replaying Defiance, I was looking more closely at the portrait of the woman in Vorador's dining hall. When I saw it, the woman's appearance reminded me of Umah. They were not the same person but Umah resembled the woman, especially as they have similar facial markings.
Vorador's relationship to the Woman was never fleshed out: a lost lover, ally, or friend. Only that she was someone Vorador was fond of. I like to think that due to her resemblance to Umah, the Woman in the Portrait may have been Umah's ancestor. It would also not be out of the realm of possibility that Umah may be Vorador's descendant if the Woman was Vorador's lover or wife when he was a human. Vorador treats Umah like a daughter and is protective of her. Maybe Vorador was keeping track of the Woman's(possibly his) human descendants and may have adopted Umah or her other ancestors as his worshipers or servants to watch over them. If the story bit about Umah being responsible for or aiding in his resurrection is still canon, he may have decided to make her a vampire to ensure the woman's bloodline would always be around as well as a reward for her actions. Also, maybe Umah was the last of the woman's descendants and he wanted to preserve her bloodline by turning Umah.
Something I was musing on when I saw you had put out this video. Either way, another great video and addition to this great series you are making about Legacy of Kain. I'm looking forward to the next installment.
I could quibble about speculation here and there, but I'll leave that aside and just say that I think it would've been appropriate to mention the cut flashback of Kain throwing Umah's corpse in the water and watching it burn
I see Uma as who Kain would have become if not for Nupraptor's curse. She is cunning and brave but clearly lacked Kain's blood thirst, hence why she never seemed to win any fights. Kain clearly sees something in her and I like to think him killing her led to his more introspective nature seen in the Soul Reaver games that led him to realize that not only does he "own" Nosgoth but is obligated to protect it from the Hylden.
she broke his heart
he broke hers
This game could really do with a remake and flush out the story more.
Planning to cosplay Umah and was working on the sewing while this popped up in my feed. Meant to be. Also, i always loved Umah as the voice of reason against Kain's absolute ignorance as she even explains her reasoning "Hey, I'm betraying you cuz you're an asshole" and Kain still takes it as her being a Sarafan traitor. Shows his delusions really do cloud his judgment, even when given all the evidence and shows his growth by Defiance when he's actively struggling to work past his preconceptions and move forward. It could even be that her betrayal later opened his eyes and gave him the concept to critically think later
anya taylor-joy is going to play umah in The Legacy of Kain movie , just a rumor
Lore question: What do you think happened to the original 9 Vampire Pillar Gaurdians that served with Janos?
He mentions he doesnt know why they died out.
I loved her character, she was like the female version of Kain, also the alternative ending is 100% better than the one they left in the game