Qwydion was absolutely delightful! SPOILERS As for Fairbanks, it sucks that he played such a minor role before dying, he was pretty likeable. But at the least he was vindicated when it was revealed he wasn't the traitor. If I remember right, there were many implications to his background as a noble back in DAI, so it's disappointing that that opportunity has been wasted... But, yeah. Here's hoping things work out in the future.
Thanks for commenting! Honestly, I feel like they did a decent job relative to the number of episodes and the episode length. As for Fairbanks... SPOILERS: It's a shame he died so early on; he was definitely an interesting character. But otherwise, I don't think I had enough time to get TOO attached too him, ya know? And at least he wasn't really the traitor. He died serving the Inquisition.
Not familiar with this franchise but I’m glad to hear how well it turned out all considered and that you enjoyed it! I love your approach because your videos serve as both a examination for those familiar with the subject while also bridging an introduction to those unfamiliar.👏
I watched this series with my roommates, and as I'm the only on who's played the games, I was pretty gratified that they ended up really getting into it, even if yeah, we did have to pause a couple times for me to explain a few details they didn't make totally clear (like what a Harrowing is and what exactly happened there). For me, I've just been so hungry for content that it was cool to see things like the spells + combat playing out in real time. Overall, like you said it was a pleasant surprise. VAGUE SPOILERS: I'm really wondering how they're going to handle that ending twist?? Since S2 isn't guaranteed, that seems like something they'd be setting up to be dealt with in DA4, but then if they get a S2, it'd be weird for them to not follow up on it? I guess we'll see!
Totally agree, especially on the content-hunger. It's nice to know your roommates found some joy in it as well; it'd be nice for this to appeal to wider audiences so that more gets made. SPOILERS That shit had my jaw on the ground. However, based on some general reading, I think they'll keep it a series exclusive-thing (maybe it'll have a small mention in DA4) given that you wouldn't want to step on the toes of choices and such. Excited to see what happens, though!
The series was alright just like you said! I'm loving your reviews dude keep it up. What about this D&d Dragon Age Campaign that you ran? What happened in the end?
Thanks as always, man! It's hard to say, honestly. Life got in the way, amidst other circumstances, and now it's on indefinite hiatus. I truly wish I could get back to it one day. I was really passionate about it, but right now it seems to be too much of a commitment for me to keep up with...
I get DA fans are hungry for more DA:D news but to me I just want them to tell us about the game when it is ready. I don't want a situation where we get a demo like DAI and that demo isn't reflective of the actual game. Like remember when we were supposed to get banter when we entered a region instead of just appearing there? I say let them tell us stuff when they are ready.
@@failureoncommand It’ll sadly have to wait until after break-with kids, my wife and I won’t be able to absorb it until we can watch without them, but we are looking forward to it! God bless and guide you and your channel! :D
@@Tacticslion Thank you so so much for the kind words, I really appreciate the wholesomeness! I hope you manage to get around to watching it soon, and that you enjoy it when you do see it.
I've been hearing good things about this. Glad to hear a positive review from you. Mainly since you played the games, I think Netflix has been making really good to great video game adaptations. I'll check it out. Also, thanks for not dropping a bunch of spoilers.
Thanks for commenting, man! Yeah, I would advise this one. I would also REALLY recommend the games if you haven't gone in them. Narratively, that shit is fire.
As a fan of the games, I enjoyed this show. It drew me in when I heard about places we've seen in the games, like Kirkwal or Hinterlands. Sent shivers of nostalgia through me, but that's because I'm deep into the Thedas lore. I understood the world we were in, but newcomers should've been shown more of the world to fully appreciate it. It was self contained which was a good thing because of all the different choices a player can make that would change the world, and that's something I liked. The events of the last game heavily influenced the story though so it would've been nice to see more lore, keyword being see and not spoon fed, regarding the inquisition and the breach. Lots of things are left unexplained to newcomers that would leave them confused. Like what the harrowing is, why blood magic is dangerous not just because of possibility of killing someone else, why having a whole nation run by mages is such a big deal, why Qunaris are feared in Tevinter, etc... It is still a good peace of Dragon Age media and it scratched my Thedas itch. Also, bonus points for hearing "Andraste's titties"
Honestly, I never thought about watching Dragon Age, but I loved how u described it and how good the animation looks. I got immersed in what u had to say. Will definitely add it to the list of series to watch.
This show has its good and bad moments. The good points. The action for the most part was amazing, I greatly enjoyed the fight scenes, The overall animation was great save for the dragon scenes which wasn't awful but still lacking cgi. The comedy did a good job as well but I attribute this to Qwydion who was by far the most enjoyable character in the story and I would hands down want her to be a companion in DA4. In my personal opinion she carried the show with her charm and style. The bad points. The overall story was pretty bland and many of the characters were forgettable and boring. The voice acting needed a lot of work as many voices didn't seem to fit their models. Also the interactions between the main party I just could not get behind as I just did not get much synergy coming from them at all. Between their backgrounds and motivations I just found a lot of that info very weak and could have been written better. Conclusion. All in all it was a fun show and it was their first season after all and it was bound to have some imperfections but there are many areas where they could improve on if they make a second season.
Does Dragon age absolution understand DA? Only if you played the whole DA Origins for the Loghain, from the character menu to the end of the game. And he was portrayed as an absolute hero in all his actions.
@@failureoncommand , I said that DA is a pretty straightforward story where are clear "bad" and "good" guys. The good guys, like gray wardens in origins or inquisition in inquisition are killing only bad guys (darkspawns, Loghain's men, red templars and so on). They are not trying to kill population of an entire city just to steal some artifact. If "the good guys" are far worse in their deeds than "bad guys" than it is just not a Dragon Age. "The good guys" even if they are blood mages, slaverers, killers and executioners always, in all DA, not even half as bad as forces they antagonizing. What we see in absolution. Magister and Co is way better than "heroes of the story". They don't try to whipe out thousands of people twice just to steal braslet (they even trying to steal it for money, not knowing that their comrade wants to whipe out an entire nation with it) or relieve their friend. They do not cooperate with red templars or venatori. And above all authors Do know the rules about "the good guys are always better the the bad ones", so they tell us about "horrors" (how bad it is to harm qunari, even if Qun is an ideology proclaiming nesessity of destroying all other cultures beside itself; how Tevinter is the worst place because they are raising the dead and forgetting about Nevarra where undead labour is like, everywhere; about bad slaverers, the only ones who treating slaves like their siblings when other slaves are rasists to each other; about bad templars that instead of subjugating mages coexist with them, together saving lives of free people and slaves as well) of Tevinter when heroes go to the main location, Summer palace. And main cast still portrayed as "good guys".
Thank you for sharing your thoughts so thoroughly. I have to strongly disagree, though. DA is anything but a pretty straightforward story. It's usually the greyest thing out there, and as the protagonist, you're frequently put in situations where you have to make very morally grey decisions. This is most evident in DA: Origins. In Origins, you kill a lot more than just darkspawn, your uncomplicated "bad guys". Loghain's men aren't "bad guys", they're guys following orders, the orders of a guy who made a dangerous choice because he thought that that was what would save his country. The whole notion of the Grey Wardens is grey, they're a force that has to embrace the vilest blood of their enemy in order to achieve the power to defeat them. Your view of DA paints it as perpetual sunshine and rainbows, a straightforward "this guy is bad" and "this guy is good", but save for random side quests that involve your over-the-top slavers, there is no such thing. Dragon Age 2's whole Mage vs Templar debacle is your biggest clue. You have good and bad people on both sides, it's just a matter of perspective. As for your antagonists here... I'm not sure we watched the same show, but by its conclusion, the Magister was revealed to have been part of the theft plan to begin with, and he had planned to massacre hundreds to power the circlet. He used the blood of dead/dying guards to do so at some point as well. He is ultimately "cooperating with red templars" by fault of negligence, because in the plan he concocts with Hira, he's supposed to give her the circlet once he's used it. Nowhere in this show do the protagonists kill "thousands of people", or the "population of an entire city". The Summer Palace isn't even a city, it's an oversized mansion for the Imperial Divine. The only people they kill are guardsmen and undead, and sure you can argue that it's unjust for them to kill guardsmen, but yeah, that is part of the grayness of it all. Ultimately it's done in service of acquiring an artifact that they think will benefit the Inquisition, so their actions are understandable in the scope of serving the greater good. 1. The faults of an ideology does not condemn every individual member of its race. The errors of the Qun does not justify rampant killing of any Qunari on sight. 2. Death magic is practiced, controlled, and perfected in Nevarra, where it is a part of ancient tradition and is overseen very strictly. What we are shown in Tevinter is reckless, blood magic based, and disrespectful to spirits or at least seems to disregard them and their own wants. It's a very observable contrast to how the Nevarran Mortalitasi perform it. 3. Slavers "treating slaves like their siblings" doesn't make them not slaves. Irrelevent of how well they treat them, they are still slaves who have no choice in the matter. Moreover, we see the abuse that Miriam suffers at the hands of the Magister's mother, so that "like siblings" treatment does not track.
I kinda wish it was a longer show like you said this was the first dragon age content in almost a decade a it was too short imo. wouldn't watch all of it again besides maybe the action scenes.
I really disliked Miriam's character. As much as Rezaren was in the family that enslaved her and her brother, he was a child then and had no control over the oppression. If anything, it was a surprise to see how he could understand the injustice that his mother impressed on the two slave children, and did his best to right the wrongs. Miriam on the other hand, only felt completely ungrateful over the sacrifices Rezaren made to save both her and her brother, trying to unite the three of them to make things better for the city. All she could think of was 'me me me, oppression, I'm a victim', and it felt tiresome every time he tried to explain, she'd be attempting to kill him. idk how he turned out to be the villain and she the hero. I'd enjoy the series more if it was flipped the other way, and Rezaren was the hero instead. I think it'd make much more sense, and I'd be more invested in S2.
I don't like most of the characters tbh. The assassin is a shit assassin, literally leaving 2 dead bodies and blood spilled making her get detected. The dawrf and warrior were honestly not important yo the story much. Blood magic something common in tervinter, is now apparently detested. Same thing happend in Dai with the lack of bloodmage spec tbh. But we don't talk about that, it's pretty obvious that bioware is cleaning Dragonage and making it more media friendly. No more mentions of S assault which is a big part of the injustice to commoners, elfs and shows you how much of monsters the darkspawn are. The strange retcon of the Qun being okay with transmen.(I like to think bull lied to make krem feel more accepted which I actually love since it shows personal growth but also doesn't dismiss the extremism of the qun) To blood magic now being "evil" when it never fully was.
Hell even the main badguy was more likable, tho he's also pretty retarded by "trying to bring back to life" his little elf. Idk it felt like Cassandra's movie was more lore accurate tbh.
@@failureoncommand Having the choice for gay romance and the show hitting you over the head how gay everyone is and how great the main gay characters is, are two completely different things.
I'm angry what they did to Fairbanks but totally adore the Wacky Qunari Mage!!! So it's a mixed for me.
Qwydion was absolutely delightful!
SPOILERS
As for Fairbanks, it sucks that he played such a minor role before dying, he was pretty likeable. But at the least he was vindicated when it was revealed he wasn't the traitor. If I remember right, there were many implications to his background as a noble back in DAI, so it's disappointing that that opportunity has been wasted... But, yeah. Here's hoping things work out in the future.
This show is a 5/10
It was so rushed and Fairbanks was done dirty
Thanks for commenting!
Honestly, I feel like they did a decent job relative to the number of episodes and the episode length. As for Fairbanks... SPOILERS:
It's a shame he died so early on; he was definitely an interesting character. But otherwise, I don't think I had enough time to get TOO attached too him, ya know? And at least he wasn't really the traitor. He died serving the Inquisition.
@@failureoncommand I hope BioWare brings him back to life like they did with other characters that got brought back to life
Not familiar with this franchise but I’m glad to hear how well it turned out all considered and that you enjoyed it! I love your approach because your videos serve as both a examination for those familiar with the subject while also bridging an introduction to those unfamiliar.👏
Thank you so much for the kind words as always, Colin. Appreciate ya!
I watched this series with my roommates, and as I'm the only on who's played the games, I was pretty gratified that they ended up really getting into it, even if yeah, we did have to pause a couple times for me to explain a few details they didn't make totally clear (like what a Harrowing is and what exactly happened there). For me, I've just been so hungry for content that it was cool to see things like the spells + combat playing out in real time. Overall, like you said it was a pleasant surprise.
VAGUE SPOILERS:
I'm really wondering how they're going to handle that ending twist?? Since S2 isn't guaranteed, that seems like something they'd be setting up to be dealt with in DA4, but then if they get a S2, it'd be weird for them to not follow up on it? I guess we'll see!
Totally agree, especially on the content-hunger. It's nice to know your roommates found some joy in it as well; it'd be nice for this to appeal to wider audiences so that more gets made.
SPOILERS
That shit had my jaw on the ground. However, based on some general reading, I think they'll keep it a series exclusive-thing (maybe it'll have a small mention in DA4) given that you wouldn't want to step on the toes of choices and such. Excited to see what happens, though!
The series was alright just like you said! I'm loving your reviews dude keep it up.
What about this D&d Dragon Age Campaign that you ran? What happened in the end?
Thanks as always, man!
It's hard to say, honestly. Life got in the way, amidst other circumstances, and now it's on indefinite hiatus. I truly wish I could get back to it one day. I was really passionate about it, but right now it seems to be too much of a commitment for me to keep up with...
I get DA fans are hungry for more DA:D news but to me I just want them to tell us about the game when it is ready. I don't want a situation where we get a demo like DAI and that demo isn't reflective of the actual game. Like remember when we were supposed to get banter when we entered a region instead of just appearing there?
I say let them tell us stuff when they are ready.
Happy to hear it's good! I've been wanting to watch it! Thanks for the review!
Thank you so much for commenting! I hope you enjoy it!
@@failureoncommand It’ll sadly have to wait until after break-with kids, my wife and I won’t be able to absorb it until we can watch without them, but we are looking forward to it! God bless and guide you and your channel! :D
@@Tacticslion Thank you so so much for the kind words, I really appreciate the wholesomeness! I hope you manage to get around to watching it soon, and that you enjoy it when you do see it.
i havent played any of the games but i am kinda tempted to, idk it seems appealing to me , more games to me
The games are top-tier RPGs, my favorite games of all time. I would hella recommend them
I've been hearing good things about this. Glad to hear a positive review from you. Mainly since you played the games, I think Netflix has been making really good to great video game adaptations. I'll check it out. Also, thanks for not dropping a bunch of spoilers.
Thanks for commenting, man! Yeah, I would advise this one. I would also REALLY recommend the games if you haven't gone in them. Narratively, that shit is fire.
As a fan of the games, I enjoyed this show. It drew me in when I heard about places we've seen in the games, like Kirkwal or Hinterlands. Sent shivers of nostalgia through me, but that's because I'm deep into the Thedas lore. I understood the world we were in, but newcomers should've been shown more of the world to fully appreciate it. It was self contained which was a good thing because of all the different choices a player can make that would change the world, and that's something I liked. The events of the last game heavily influenced the story though so it would've been nice to see more lore, keyword being see and not spoon fed, regarding the inquisition and the breach. Lots of things are left unexplained to newcomers that would leave them confused. Like what the harrowing is, why blood magic is dangerous not just because of possibility of killing someone else, why having a whole nation run by mages is such a big deal, why Qunaris are feared in Tevinter, etc...
It is still a good peace of Dragon Age media and it scratched my Thedas itch. Also, bonus points for hearing "Andraste's titties"
Thank you for the thorough comment! Totally agree on every regard. As always, I'm onboard for dirty Andrastian blasphemy!
Honestly, I never thought about watching Dragon Age, but I loved how u described it and how good the animation looks. I got immersed in what u had to say.
Will definitely add it to the list of series to watch.
Thank you so much, that's really sweet! I hope you enjoy it!
This show has its good and bad moments.
The good points. The action for the most part was amazing, I greatly enjoyed the fight scenes, The overall animation was great save for the dragon scenes which wasn't awful but still lacking cgi. The comedy did a good job as well but I attribute this to Qwydion who was by far the most enjoyable character in the story and I would hands down want her to be a companion in DA4. In my personal opinion she carried the show with her charm and style.
The bad points. The overall story was pretty bland and many of the characters were forgettable and boring. The voice acting needed a lot of work as many voices didn't seem to fit their models. Also the interactions between the main party I just could not get behind as I just did not get much synergy coming from them at all. Between their backgrounds and motivations I just found a lot of that info very weak and could have been written better.
Conclusion. All in all it was a fun show and it was their first season after all and it was bound to have some imperfections but there are many areas where they could improve on if they make a second season.
Thanks for the detailed review!
Does Dragon age absolution understand DA? Only if you played the whole DA Origins for the Loghain, from the character menu to the end of the game. And he was portrayed as an absolute hero in all his actions.
I don't think I quite understand what you're trying to say.
@@failureoncommand , I said that DA is a pretty straightforward story where are clear "bad" and "good" guys. The good guys, like gray wardens in origins or inquisition in inquisition are killing only bad guys (darkspawns, Loghain's men, red templars and so on). They are not trying to kill population of an entire city just to steal some artifact.
If "the good guys" are far worse in their deeds than "bad guys" than it is just not a Dragon Age. "The good guys" even if they are blood mages, slaverers, killers and executioners always, in all DA, not even half as bad as forces they antagonizing.
What we see in absolution. Magister and Co is way better than "heroes of the story". They don't try to whipe out thousands of people twice just to steal braslet (they even trying to steal it for money, not knowing that their comrade wants to whipe out an entire nation with it) or relieve their friend. They do not cooperate with red templars or venatori.
And above all authors Do know the rules about "the good guys are always better the the bad ones", so they tell us about "horrors" (how bad it is to harm qunari, even if Qun is an ideology proclaiming nesessity of destroying all other cultures beside itself; how Tevinter is the worst place because they are raising the dead and forgetting about Nevarra where undead labour is like, everywhere; about bad slaverers, the only ones who treating slaves like their siblings when other slaves are rasists to each other; about bad templars that instead of subjugating mages coexist with them, together saving lives of free people and slaves as well) of Tevinter when heroes go to the main location, Summer palace. And main cast still portrayed as "good guys".
Thank you for sharing your thoughts so thoroughly. I have to strongly disagree, though. DA is anything but a pretty straightforward story. It's usually the greyest thing out there, and as the protagonist, you're frequently put in situations where you have to make very morally grey decisions. This is most evident in DA: Origins. In Origins, you kill a lot more than just darkspawn, your uncomplicated "bad guys". Loghain's men aren't "bad guys", they're guys following orders, the orders of a guy who made a dangerous choice because he thought that that was what would save his country. The whole notion of the Grey Wardens is grey, they're a force that has to embrace the vilest blood of their enemy in order to achieve the power to defeat them. Your view of DA paints it as perpetual sunshine and rainbows, a straightforward "this guy is bad" and "this guy is good", but save for random side quests that involve your over-the-top slavers, there is no such thing. Dragon Age 2's whole Mage vs Templar debacle is your biggest clue. You have good and bad people on both sides, it's just a matter of perspective.
As for your antagonists here... I'm not sure we watched the same show, but by its conclusion, the Magister was revealed to have been part of the theft plan to begin with, and he had planned to massacre hundreds to power the circlet. He used the blood of dead/dying guards to do so at some point as well. He is ultimately "cooperating with red templars" by fault of negligence, because in the plan he concocts with Hira, he's supposed to give her the circlet once he's used it.
Nowhere in this show do the protagonists kill "thousands of people", or the "population of an entire city". The Summer Palace isn't even a city, it's an oversized mansion for the Imperial Divine. The only people they kill are guardsmen and undead, and sure you can argue that it's unjust for them to kill guardsmen, but yeah, that is part of the grayness of it all. Ultimately it's done in service of acquiring an artifact that they think will benefit the Inquisition, so their actions are understandable in the scope of serving the greater good.
1. The faults of an ideology does not condemn every individual member of its race. The errors of the Qun does not justify rampant killing of any Qunari on sight.
2. Death magic is practiced, controlled, and perfected in Nevarra, where it is a part of ancient tradition and is overseen very strictly. What we are shown in Tevinter is reckless, blood magic based, and disrespectful to spirits or at least seems to disregard them and their own wants. It's a very observable contrast to how the Nevarran Mortalitasi perform it.
3. Slavers "treating slaves like their siblings" doesn't make them not slaves. Irrelevent of how well they treat them, they are still slaves who have no choice in the matter. Moreover, we see the abuse that Miriam suffers at the hands of the Magister's mother, so that "like siblings" treatment does not track.
I kinda wish it was a longer show like you said this was the first dragon age content in almost a decade a it was too short imo. wouldn't watch all of it again besides maybe the action scenes.
I really disliked Miriam's character. As much as Rezaren was in the family that enslaved her and her brother, he was a child then and had no control over the oppression. If anything, it was a surprise to see how he could understand the injustice that his mother impressed on the two slave children, and did his best to right the wrongs. Miriam on the other hand, only felt completely ungrateful over the sacrifices Rezaren made to save both her and her brother, trying to unite the three of them to make things better for the city. All she could think of was 'me me me, oppression, I'm a victim', and it felt tiresome every time he tried to explain, she'd be attempting to kill him. idk how he turned out to be the villain and she the hero. I'd enjoy the series more if it was flipped the other way, and Rezaren was the hero instead. I think it'd make much more sense, and I'd be more invested in S2.
I don't like most of the characters tbh. The assassin is a shit assassin, literally leaving 2 dead bodies and blood spilled making her get detected. The dawrf and warrior were honestly not important yo the story much. Blood magic something common in tervinter, is now apparently detested. Same thing happend in Dai with the lack of bloodmage spec tbh. But we don't talk about that, it's pretty obvious that bioware is cleaning Dragonage and making it more media friendly. No more mentions of S assault which is a big part of the injustice to commoners, elfs and shows you how much of monsters the darkspawn are. The strange retcon of the Qun being okay with transmen.(I like to think bull lied to make krem feel more accepted which I actually love since it shows personal growth but also doesn't dismiss the extremism of the qun)
To blood magic now being "evil" when it never fully was.
Hell even the main badguy was more likable, tho he's also pretty retarded by "trying to bring back to life" his little elf. Idk it felt like Cassandra's movie was more lore accurate tbh.
Just here to say this spits in all the books and games. This is nothing like dragon age, this is just a gay fest.
I don't know, man. If you know anything about Dragon Age, then you'd know that the entire franchise IS a gay fest. It's part of the charm.
@@failureoncommand Having the choice for gay romance and the show hitting you over the head how gay everyone is and how great the main gay characters is, are two completely different things.