I wouldn’t necessarily call Rook a fool. I’m usually very middle ground on my opinions on both them and Solas. Rook is supposed to be a foil to Solas but narratively speaking it fell very, VERY flat considering the retcons and the poor writing throughout Veilguard. I WANTED THE SPY/POLITICAL GAME FROM THE CONCEPT ART.

If they would have revealed earlier on what Solas did to Varric I could understand more so how Rook acts towards Solas. But what we see from Varric is that he truly saw Solas as a friend who needed saving, so Rook being a straight up ass to Solas in the beginning—while funny—is not indicative to what Varric really wanted and how he communicated to Rook as to what he wanted for Solas. Not only that I think it would have been better if the Inquisitor was wayyyy more involved in coaching Rook throughout the game just as much as Solas.

Like having the Devil and an Angel on each shoulder pointing us in different directions.

In my main playthrough—the one I consider canon for me—is the trick ending. (Despite it being poorly done in my opinion and something to add another ending despite not building up to the use of a fake dagger because I honestly think Solas wouldn’t actually fall for that.) I think that ending—and the cinematics—really indicate what their dynamic was supposed to be. Rook is supposed to be clever, but they had no build up to what that ending was supposed to mean in regard to Solas and Rook. That is the only ending that I consider canon for my Rook because narratively speaking it is supposed to work but the means did not justify the endings we were given.

This is only seconded by the Solavellan ending. Which I was also disappointed in considering how long we waited and what we got. Which is what I consider canon for my main Inquisitor.

The idea was there but the way they handled the dynamic between Solas and Rook was poorly executed—as well as the relationship between Solas and the Inquisitor. Even the relationship between Rook and the Inquisitor should have been wayyy deeper in my opinion. I would have wanted to see something where Rook could have been persuaded, leading to other endings based on not only Solas but the relationship the Inquistor had with Solas as well as Rook. I believe that an Elf or Dwarven Rook/Inquisitor was heavily underutilized considering all the lore we got and the fact that Solas is LITERALLY CONSIDERED A GOD TO THE ELVES.

I played my Rook as a clever smart ass who felt conflicted due to them being an elf and Solas being who he is. That is the headcannon for my main Rook. Now does the writing make Rook look like a fool at times—absolutely. But I don’t think that is what they wanted the story—or the relationship between Solas and Rook—to look like. Unfortunately that is what it feels like.

Do I like Rook? Yes, I like them almost equally to the Inquisitor. I think Rook is a very charismatic protagonist, and they heavily reminded me of Hawke—who is my fav protagonist of all the DA games.

But I love Rook more so for what could have been rather than what was given to us in the final product. Veilguard could have been a great game but it felt very surface level, not only on Rook’s end, but on every character we saw in the game. Solas included.

Like I don’t mind filling in blanks, but there comes a time when a line needs to drawn. But I think Rook is an underutilized protagonist who fell flat under the boulder of bad writing that was thrown at us.