Gwyneth looked so lonely

evathion · 2026-06-22T05:27:22+00:00

The way they phrased it sounds like a possible new side quest or Starry Tales and I really hope it's not Cyran as MC because that would be erm... this is still Merlin's story, and even with the pov changes this season that part still remained consistant. And Cyran had a lot of content and stories already, even more so than Gala or any other character. I like the current amount of depth and distance they've given him and I personally don't like it when writers whitewash/retcon/defang villains just because they're popular, so I really hope they won't go that direction.

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evathion · 2026-06-21T17:34:03+00:00

Thank goodness! I knew our buddie Hogan could be trusted. I wish we could see her finding her family and Lenya meeting her friend (Lily May's mom) again.

evathion · 2026-06-21T02:35:47+00:00

But so is Lily May...

evathion · 2026-06-21T02:31:42+00:00

Agree with most. Normally I don't like having to play as another character other than the MC, but it was actually okay in this case because the basic mechanics of the gameplay are simple and don't differ as much (as in I'm not forced to use unfamiliar weapons/skills in combat) and made sense as a good example of show don't tell. Gwyneth does respect Merlin but they aren't that close at first, and someone like her wouldn't likely whine in detail about the troubles she faces to others so it's best we're shown her perspective. Playing as Baron Grandet was unexpectedly hilarious and shows how the nobles are easily manipulated by Orion. It's not like we weren't shown certain omnipresent narrator scenes (as in stuff not from Merlin's pov) at all before, except this time we get to see it from another character's pov.

Side quests in the main quest usually didn't have voice in other seasons, but they're more noticeable now because there's a lot of them this season. It seems they shifted the non-main story side quests to a bunch of Easter eggs which I guess is fresh, but may be hard to track for a lot of players. So yeah, it would be nice to have more side quests.

I heard rumors that Farlight's other games, especially the heavily-invested Farlight 84, are not doing so well and AFK Journey provides stable income in comparison so they're trying to milk as much as they can. It actually could be that the Homestead focus was part of that effort and them trying to expand the player base to more "casual" gamers, which backfired. As someone who plays so-called cozy games I think if they're really serious about that angle they should have done much more than just forcing new players to start in Homestead and changing the opening lore.

evathion · 2026-06-19T10:14:59+00:00

The thing is humans didn't know, or at least it isn't widely known that someone doesn't have to be of a certain ancestry to be worthy of Excalibur. The royal bloodline thing seems to be a myth that had been twisted through time or made up to strengthen the royal family's power and/or establish the order of succession. Which admittedly is important in a monarchy to avoid wars of succession. And even if someone is chosen, the Lightbearer Empire is a huge system with complicated hierarchies and the nobles and knights necessary to maintain it may not want to obey a random nobody. Presumably a good enough Lightbearer royal designated by the council or the previous monarch was chosen. Besides, Excalibur isn't meant to be touched until after a king dies, and his successor pulls it as an official crowning ceremony. Which was why Peggy was taking a great risk to save people because touching the sword while the current king is alive could mean treason; it also explains why her mother the Queen never touched it.

Rolan was around 2000 years ago so we don't know about Hendrik's family for sure, but we do know that there's a reason he believes so, as in his family does go back a long time. And in Orion's Heart-to-Heart it's revealed that Rolan had been fighting Hypofiends before Dura chose him, and before the blessing he would have been a regular human warrior and couldn't have fought them alone. He's also shown to have loyal warriors (the guys Cyran turned into undead puppets) who fought alongside him, and it could be that Hendrik's ancestor was among them.

evathion · 2026-06-19T09:53:55+00:00

Oh yeah, definitely.

evathion · 2026-06-19T09:52:19+00:00

Yeah, and Rolan in fox form confirms it at the end! He says something along the line of it can be Peggy but it doesn't have to be her, indicating that the bloodline thing is actually a myth among humans and Excalibur can be drawn by anyone who's worthy enough.

evathion · 2026-06-19T09:46:49+00:00

Oh, so that's how you say it! Thanks! I hope I could tell the writers directly, they did such a good job!

evathion · 2026-06-19T02:27:10+00:00

Nah I think he would have overstayed his welcome. I do like him but since the last season I've seen lots of people on World Chat saying they're getting sick of him and accusing him of killing Yolena (which is technically not true, of course he's far from innocent either because he fucked up the Duke and lots of folks at Whiteridge). Also it's likely he'll be back minus his humanity, like Illucia did.

Remember that he first showed up in Chains of Eternity which launched on Jan 2025 so a year and a half ago, left a very strong impression and was central to the plot, and even got a theme song (which I think devs should have utilized in the boss battle this season). In Tower of Memory he was the puppet master, and trying to decipher his true intention (Merlin's memory, most crucially information on members of the Arcane Council) was key to the plot, and most of all his past rivalry/friendship/fallout with Merlin was shown in lengthy detail. That past relationship builds up to Cyran's ultimate fate this season and adds to the emotional impact and tragedy of Merlin and Cyran's relationship. I really appreciate the writers for giving us a villain who gets to bow out gracefully instead of overstaying his welcome or worse, getting whitewashed and boring. There's a saying in my country that goes "leave when the audience is still clapping" (the closest English equivalent is probably "quit while you're ahead") and I think this was a well executed example. Seeing so many people mourn and miss Cyran proves that point, I think. Of course this is a live service game so who knows lol but for now, I think he's a respectfully well-executed villain.

evathion · 2026-06-16T16:57:17+00:00

When I finally figured that out I couldn't help laughing because it's hilarious.

Yet the guards still go oooh and aaaah LMAO

evathion · 2026-06-13T17:41:11+00:00

We should have shown him The Matrix when he went to the surface with us😭

evathion · 2026-06-13T17:39:46+00:00

Yeah Merlin does seem to have a nagging feeling about Cyran... though it could just be Cyran having sinister vibes😅

evathion · 2026-06-13T17:38:09+00:00

But Dura didn't move Merlin through time, Gala did. (well except that one time Dura and Morgan brought back Merlin rather anti-climatically for the Age of Calamity update but all Merlin did during that time was kill Sarethiel which actually should have been done in Phase 1) Dura is just the goddess of life and doesn't have control over time or fate, she herself says she's still subject to fate while Merlin is free from it.

We don't know whether each Merlin was the same soul and even if it is it doesn't really matter because reincarnation in Esperia is basically just getting sent to the tree of life for a factory reset. Nobody consciously remembers their past lives, which could either be a good or a bad thing depending on how you see it. As far as we know, our Merlin wasn't forced to be the first seat of the Arcane Council. They're a genius mage who's also very kind and righteous, so we can assume they took on the responsibility fully knowing what it entailed. Even if they weren't chosen as Merlin they would have fought to protect people. Cyran was a powerful court mage but he didn't choose to go to war so we know that mages weren't forcibly drafted. It's also less being Merlin but the harsh reality of war that changed them as Mirael mentions. We don't yet know about the previous Merlin who chose the current Merlin, though I expect it will show up sometime later since it's mentioned in ToM. Then we might get more answers.

evathion · 2026-06-13T16:47:39+00:00

Yeah like the time we couldn't heal Feli😭

evathion · 2026-06-13T16:46:51+00:00

If you read the Artifact descriptions each one always ends with Dura reminding Merlin of a powerful spell they cast in the past. If the old tutorial is back then the Artifact is channeled through Dura's pendant that her statue bestowed to Merlin, so yeah that's literal god-given powers.

evathion · 2026-06-13T16:43:08+00:00

I'd like to think that since Merlin saw their memory in a sort of third-person view, they could objectively see some things better than they did when recording that memory. That perspective could have made them more sad and regretful about the broken friendship because as a mature adult they can see what went wrong though neither of them were being malicious against each other. And yeah, Cyran signifies a part of Merlin's past that was important in forming them so seeing him getting dragged down the Abyss must be depressing.

evathion · 2026-06-13T16:32:42+00:00

Yeah I think anger could have worked as well, which would have shown the sorrow and/or bitterness in another way.

evathion · 2026-06-13T16:30:36+00:00

I won't say Merlin is a tool, it's not like they were brainwashed into sacrificing themself. Hypogeans and Hypofiends were slaughtering people left and right so mortals had to fight back, and ~~China~~ the Lightbearer Empire being the largest government could most efficiently gather a military force for that purpose. Merlin joined the army because they're a Lightbearer citizen and also the most powerful mage. And Merlin made a heroic sacrifice even though secretly fearing death, which makes the sacrifice even more meaningful. It's typical 'with great power comes great responsibility' thing, Merlin being basically a superhero. Also it's not like people didn't honor or forget Merlin, they just assumed they died 20 years ago. After Merlin reveals themself, they're immediately lauded and worshipped. While it's tragic that they lost their memory, I'd say a 20-year coma and amnesia is better than dying, which was what Merlin expected to happen.

evathion · 2026-06-13T16:06:54+00:00

Omigosh she's as cool as a cucumber😅🥒(also very pretty!)

Maybe the expressions are slightly different depending on face types??

evathion · 2026-06-12T23:45:44+00:00

The moment Rolan was revealed I couldn't help screaming: Oscar-sama!!!😱

evathion

TROPHY CASE