This is My Take on the Warbringers: Sylvanas cinematic in which Sylvanas burns Teldrassil. This is in response to overwhelmingly negative feedback about the events of the War of the Thorns Special Event and a great deal of speculation that Battle for Azeroth will be a repeat of the Mists of Pandaria storyline with Sylvanas in the role of Garrosh.
- This is The War of the Thorns. There is huge symbolism in thorns. Thorns represent hardship, trials, a danger in your path. Sylvanas’ thorns are memory, pain, loss.
- When Sylvanas talks to Del, Del’s words trigger a flashback. When Sylvanas sees Del’s tears and Del says they are for her, Sylvanas tries to show her what that really means. Sylvanas’ tears are for pain, and loss, loss of hope. She needs to make Del understand although her act is possibly ultimately self-defeating.
- She orders the tree burned. Her allies, including Nathanos, are in shock and just stand there gaping at this very bad idea. She screams the order and her troops obey their warchief, they fire. Her allies are aghast and in the end she stands alone and lonely as the tree burns. That tear blinded rage will come back and bite her. She says as much at the end of the quest when she admits that things did not go as planned.
- What this does is open up an ironic path to growth for her. She shut down after Arthas. She wallows in pain. She has flashbacks. Unless she can learn from this she can’t move forward. She will have to find hope in this storyline.
- How does this tie in with the Jaina short? Compare the opening sequences. They’re telling the same story. The one thing about Jaina that made her stand out is hope. She always hoped for peace, for the best in people. At Theramore she lost everything, she lost hope.
- Both women have a powerful figure in their past who symbolizes their pain and loneliness. For Sylvanas it’s Arthas. For Jaina it’s Daelin Proudmoore. Both will need to make peace with these memories if they are to move on.
TL;DR: Garrosh was an insecure leader grasping for power. This is not that story. At. All. This story, I predict, will examine PTSD, redemption, and finding hope.
Resources:
- Experience the War of the Thorns—Chapter 1 Now Live!
- Experience the War of the Thorns: Chapter 2 — Now Live!
- Sylvanas’ dialogue after the burning:
Our attack was meant to end a war before it began… to capture an enemy’s home and annihilate their leaders in one stroke. To inflict a wound that would bleed the Alliance dry.
We have only partially succeeded. The Alliance will retaliate. They will come for us. For me. For you.
But they ARE bleeding. Their anger will prove a weakness, not a strength, in the war to come.
Rest while you can. Prepare for the battles ahead. I will have need of you.