Ik everyone says that Blackwall is a bit of a redundant character when you have Solas who has a similar twist to his character as Blackwall but just…. better, frankly. But I was thinking about Mythal and Solas and how Solas goes from respecting Blackwall to seemingly really betrayed by the reveal of who Blackwall really is and what he did. And like, idk why but I never really questioned WHY solas was so mad at Blackwall about the reveal, I just sort of chalked it up to “Blackwall did a bad thing so Solas is chastising him for it” but then. Veilguard happened (yike lol) and we got a little more context for Solas and Mythal’s relationship, and specifically Solas’ view of their relationship, and now it’s making sense to me.
At first Solas sees himself in Blackwall, they’re both soldiers who have seen a lot of shit and done a lot of shit in the name of things/people they believed in. Then the reveal happens, and I think Solas is triggered because he realizes, unconsciously or not, that Blackwall isn’t like him. He’s like Mythal.
Like Mythal, Blackwall had a place of authority over the men under his command, they believed in him and trusted him as their commander, just as Solas believed and trusted in Mythal. Like Mythal, Blackwall ordered his men to carry out heinous orders—things these men otherwise would probably never even consider or want to do—because they had faith in their commander and respected the chain of command, as Solas did for Mythal time and time and time again.
And like Mythal, Blackwall wasn’t there for the fallout of those heinous acts. Obvs Blackwall voluntarily peaced out and evaded justice and let his men take the fall while Mythal got murdered, but regardless, in both these instances the person responsible for giving the orders is conveniently absent—forcing the men who were given the commands to deal with the entirety consequences.
Not saying the men given the commands are devoid of blame, but I imagine the betrayal of trusting a commander so fervently that you are willing to do horrendous shit purely because you believe in them, just to be the only person left when the dust settles to deal with the fallout of decisions that you weren’t even privy to making must feel immense. And I think that’s partially how Solas might feel about Mythal in a way, because even though she’s long dead Solas is Still having to pick up the pieces of decisions she made, decisions that we know he was in objection to but did anyway because, well, it’s Mythal. His best friend. He trusts her. Trusts her vision for the People. She must have her reasons, right? It will all be worth it, right?
Wrong. She’s dead and now Solas is the only person left to bear the guilt of what she did, because he did it too, even if for the “right” reasons at the time. Solas never wanted this. He didn’t want to be a soldier, he didn’t want to fight, he didn’t want to be a monster, but he trusted his commander. No wonder Solas has trust issues fr. Imagine having that much faith in a person, doing reprehensible shit in their name, and then they’re just… gone. And it’s like, what now? What was the point? How do you live with the things you’ve done when the person who gave the command isn’t around to? How far does “I was just following orders” get you when no one’s left to share the blame?
Blackwall did to his men what Mythal did to Solas. I think Blackwall’s backstory maybe serves as a bit of context for what Solas and Mythal’s dynamic was (and tbh does a better job of it than anything in Veilguard but don’t even get me started). Solas knows he did terrible things, but when you no longer have the cover of “I did it for the greater good” because said “greater good” is now dead and gone, how do you cope with that?
In Solas’ case you cope with it by doubling down with ur own vision of a better world for the People and continue to do bad things but hey nobody is perfect!!
…jk hes my perfect princess huh what who said that???
2087
germansingergirl
jacobvanloon
kianamaiart
pixelskylines
izzy806
