Warning: This contains spoilers for
the Dragon Age 2 story line. If you haven't finished the game (go do
it it's awesome) then you may wish to stop reading.
Anyone who follows me on Twitter (@GGElaina)
has noticed that the last week or so has been pretty much dedicated
to Dragon Age 2. I first picked up Dragon Age in April but was unable
to complete it because I skipped a lot of side-quests and was silly
with my gearing so I wasn't able to actually complete the final
event. I picked it up again to see if I could finish it this time and
to also mess with modding. And something that was always a big part
of the game for me (as it is with all Bioware games) was the
relationships and I tried many different combinations during my two
full game completions. Bioware has always been a company that is
amazing at telling stories and making deeply compelling and flawed
characters. And the possible relationships in Dragon Age 2 are no
different.
Preface: My Hawke
I played through Dragon Age 2 from
start to finish twice over the last week. And with most RPGs my
character varied very little between both playthroughs, once my
character is made in my mind she tends to stay that way. My Female
Hawke was an Apostate Mage with a polite/compassionate disposition
who favored freedom for all including mages but was heavily against
blood magic and slavery. So my relationships with my companions were
as follows:
- Anders: Friend
- Fenris: Rival
- Sebastian: Friend
- Merril: Rival
- Isabella: Friend
- Varric: Friend
- Aveline: Friend
- Carver: Rival (Templar/Dead)
My first playthrough my Hawke slept with Isabella, slept with Fenris (who left) and stayed in a relationship with Anders and my second playthrough she slept with Isabella, slept with Fenris who left and ended up alone (although I headcanon an ending beside Sebastian). So these are the relationships I will be touching on in this article. I have never fully completed a playthrough with a relationship with either Merril or Isabella so they may be a better partner for Hawke as a whole.
Anders – Selfish, Deceitful and
Uncompromising
Anders' character introduction is one that is completely opposite of his true nature at the end of the game. He is seen as a cat loving healer who is risking his life to heal the poor refugees of Kirkwall. It is later revealed that he made a deal with a spirit of Justice who was corrupted by Anders' hatred for Templars and the oppression of mages. Anders openly flirts with Hawke whether or not you choose flirt options during conversation but pushes her away if she flirts back saying that he will break her heart.
After being in love with Hawke for
nearly six years (and dating her for three) Anders asks Hawke to help
him do something that involves deceiving the Grand Cleric. Any
attempt to ask Anders what he plans to do is met with hostility and
deception. He even prays on Hawkes love for him saying “if you love
me, you will do this for me and not ask questions”. Anders'
relationship with Hawke has suddenly become one that is extremely
toxic for her as she is being pressured to do something that she
doesn't want to do to please Anders. He claims on several occasions
that he loves Hawke to other companions but everyone can see that he
is planning something (Varric and Sebastian attempt to warn Hawke and
Fenris threatens Anders' life if he hurts her).
We find out at the end of the game that
his task for Hawke was to distract the Grand Cleric so he could plant
a bomb to destroy the Chantry (the universes church) and kill all of
the priests and the Grand Cleric while they were inside. Anders does
this because he wants a war between the Templars and the Mages so
that mages could be free of the tyranny of the Templar Order. The
Chantry was the only hope of compromise and unification between the
two sides and Anders destroyed it.
Anders uses Hawke's compassion and love
to fuel his own needs whether she agrees with his choices or not. He
does not give her a choice to side with him on the issue because he
was afraid that she would not agree with him. Relationships where one
party feels the need to lie is not a healthy relationship and the
outcome is a very difficult choice for Hawke. In my Anders romance
playthrough I sent him away forever leaving Hawke alone and
heartbroken over the betrayal of her partner. Anders not only was a
mass murderer but he made his love an unknowing accomplice and
sparked a war that made her fight against friends and her own
brother.
Fenris –
Unwavering, Unsure and Abusive
Fenris is first introduced after he tricks Hawke into an
miscalculated ambush and then silicates her help to clear out a
mansion that could contain his old master. He is an escaped slave
running from his blood magic wielding master who branded Lirium into
his skin to give Fenris special powers so he could act as a powerful
body guard. Growing up in a city where blood magic is commonplace
gives him a hatred for magic and makes him strongly believe all mages
should stay inside their Circles.
The Fenris and Apostate Mage Hawke is a very toxic relationship that
isn't very good out of the gate. Fenris is very pron to outbursts if
Hawke does not agree with him (specifically on Pro Mage fronts) and
will storm off or yell at her when she attempts to explain her
opinion. A relationship where one person cannot express their
opinions for fear of their partner is not a good relationship to be
in. Having a difference of opinions on a political issue is perfectly
healthy if it can be discussed rationally and without either party
feeling the need to threaten or insult their partner because they are
frustrated.
Fenris will eventually sleep with Hawke but leave shortly after the
encounter exclaiming that they were moving too fast and that he
wasn't ready. There are many different theories as to what could have
been going through his mind when this situation occurred. To me;
Fenris is extremely selfish and cares little for Hawkes feelings in
this instance. She just slept with someone she cared about and
offered to help him through his ordeal but instead he ran off because
he couldn't handle it. If he wasn't sure he was ready for a committed
relationship (even without the extenuating circumstances of what
happened while they had sex) he should have made it clear so as to
not hurt her if she was looking for something more than just a fling.
Fenris claims to have left Hawke because he was seeing his life
before he was a slave while he was with her but this didn't stop him
in the middle of sex. He wanted to be there for the pleasure but once
that was over he was no longer sure about staying.
My playthrough was probably extremely unique because after he left I
was not able to romance him back. I kept him in my party throughout
the entirety of the game and was never able to completely max out his
Rival points because of my distaste for Blood Magic (which gave him
mixed Friend/Rival points) and so when the final battle came he did
not side with Hawke and fought with Meredith on the battlefield. This
also showed to me the fact that Fenris is not loyal to Hawke even
after everything that she did for him (including helping him track
down and kill the master who had been hunting him for more than ten
years). Having an opinion of his own is justified since it
contradicted what Hawke believed but he says something right before
their fight. “I should have never let you get so close. Primary
rule of survival.” This shows that Fenris truly only cared about
himself and would rather kill his close friend (and ex-lover) than
stand beside her. Hawke was forced to kill Fenris and be left alone
after the fight with Meredith.
Sebastian – Compassionate, Religious and Pressuring
Sebastian is also introduced in a way that really doesn't depict his
character much at all. He is seen posting a notice on a bounty board
to hire mercenaries to clear out a gang who killed his family. After
Hawke takes care of them it is discovered that he is in fact a prince
who recently lost his family to a coupe for their throne and he is
the only surviving member. He is a Chantry boy who is extremely
religious and has been a priest for over 10 years.
Sebastian is personally my favorite male companion in the entire
game. He is extremely religious and strong in his faith but he does
not use it to pressure people. He does not judge others for the way
that they live their lives nor does he preach at them if they do not
believe. He instead allows them to come to conclusions of their own
but is also able to give calm and peaceful discussions if asked. Many
accuse him of being ready to scowl and preach at them but are
surprised when he does not.
He also one of the few companions that actually seem to care about
Hawke's well being above their own (Varric being the only other
consistent one). Whether you side with his decision to stay with the
Chantry or pressure him into taking back his home and becoming King
he sticks to what he believes in but values Hawkes friendship above
all else and promises to stay beside her. He even attempts to warn
her about Anders (telling her he is selfish and will never put her
above his own needs) without ulterior motives (Anders will do the
same with Fenris but he does this because he wants Hawke to be with
him instead) and is truly looking out for Hawke when no one else
(besides Varric) will.
However, Sebastian also has a deep character flaw of peer pressuring
Hawke in the final Act to do what he thinks is best. After Anders
murders the Grand Cleric (his guide and mentor) and destroys the
place he has called home for the past thirteen years he calls for
Anders death. If Hawke chooses to let Anders go Sebastian will
threaten to return to Starkhaven, gather an army and come back to
destroy all of Kirkwall to get to Anders. He does not even offer to
kill Anders himself, he makes Hawke personally kill a friend or a
lover to prevent a war that would slaughter thousands of innocent
citizens inside of the city. Whether he would have actually done so
is unknown but that is the ultimatum that he gives Hawke. This shows
that Sebastian is not above being selfish and using his authority to
get what he wants and pressure others into siding with him by giving
them un-winnable scenarios in times of crisis.
His saving grace is that if Hawke chooses to kill Anders he
will side with her no matter which side of the war she chooses to
fight on. At the end of the game before the final battle, he
expresses his love for her (not outright but it is thinly veiled) and
wishes that things were different so that he could be with her. Out
of all of the companions in the game, in my opinion, Sebastian would
have been the healthiest relationship for Hawke to be in but it is
ironically one of the few she cannot have (I do not count the chaste
marriage as a relationship and neither does the game achievements).
Bioware has always made games that get people thinking about complicated issues in the form of Role Playing. The tones and themes of their games (Geth v Quarians in Mass Effect, Mages v Templars and Racism against Elves in Dragon Age) are extremely powerful and their characters are built with such depth that they are able to live on forever. Dragon Age is one of those games where there really is no happy ending for the hero. You defeat the big bad at the end but are left with the heartache of death, destruction and lose of loves or loves never loved at all. Games that make you think beyond the final credits are games that will last throughout the generations.
- - Mod Links - -
Hawke Armor Mod - SilverX10
Hawke Hair Mod - SG's Beauty Shop
Eye Color Enhancement Mod - Bidelles Cosmetics II with Eyes
Fenris' Black Coat Mod - Fenris as Dante
No comments:
Post a Comment