During Gary's siege on the Last City: theoretically speaking, if the Cabal happened to kill Guardians but not their ghosts, could those ghosts resurrect their guardians when the Traveler broke free and restored Light?
Since 2.0 rolled out for Destiny, weāve seen a lot of mentions of Dinklebot vs Nolandroid. some folks like Nolan more and I respect that. Nolanās delivery of the lines isnāt terrible, per se, but its lacking something.
A lot of people shit on Dinklageās role as the Ghost because he came across as flat, disinterested and downright bored, and I can definitely see where theyāre coming from. Thereās a few lines from Destiny 1.0 that leave a lot to be desired, such asĀ āIncoming transmission.. on.. all.. channels!ā. The version in 1.0 comes across veryĀ āShatner-esqueā in its delivery with lots of unnecessary pauses and a hint of surprise that feels out of place like they heard the first take and saidĀ āfuck itā, (which is likely the case considering Dinklage has allegedly come forward to say that heād go in for aĀ ātest recordingā and leave with a paycheck, despite the fact that he felt like he hadnāt done the character justice.)
But I present to you my counter argument and why I prefer Dinklage over North. Mind you i am not shitting on Northās talent as an actor. As a huge Portal, Ā Assassinās Creed, Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank fan(all franchises within which he voiced a major character), I know that North is capable of some solid line delivery and is great at giving a character a personality, even IF that personality winds up beingĀ ācliche stereotypical sarcastic white guyā.Ā
Allow me to present exhibit A, as seen in the most famous cutscene of Destiny(not because its amazing, but because everyone whose ever grinded Hive kills knows it so well) The Dark Beyond, not to be confused with the DLC starring everyoneās crying-actual-black-tears hunter, Eris Morn(I mean hell, her name actually sounds like the lead singer of an Emo band). In Dark Beyond, youāre tasked with locating a Guardian whose gone missing, said to have information about something important.
After a few encounters, you locate the body of a long-dead Titan half buried in moon dust just before a pair of menacing chained up doors, locks inscribed with glowing Hive runes. Your Ghost is loosed into the world to scan this corpse. Your Guardian then commentsĀ āThereās nothing left...ā to which your ghost quietly commentsĀ āNot even the Light...ā
It is in this moment that your Ghost makes a shocking discovery, a realization that rattles your little companion to its very intricate core. With its brow furrowed andĀ āshouldersā hunched, it remarksĀ ā....Whereās his Ghost?ā
Its in this moment that your Ghost, who until now had remained a confident, reliable source of information when so far everyone's too fucking busy to tell you shit, is faced with the reality of his own mortality. This little Spark, a thinking, feeling, fearing, entity, is suddenly and ruthlessly faced with the truth of its own mortality. That realization hits like a freight train as it visibly recoils, out of fear, an emotion that humans largely believe to be something that no robot or AI can experience.
Perhaps Iām reading a bit too much into this, but I really feel that Dinklage shines in this moment. Three simple words says more than the rest of the game ever has. Your Ghost likely spent centuries scouring the surface of Earth, and possibly even other planets in the solar system, in search of you. It faced great perils to find you, so for it to suddenly become so scared that it retreats to the safety of your company is telling.
The day the 2.0 update dropped, I played through the more iconic missions to hear Nolanās take on lines that weāve all come to know(and in my case, love). Lines likeĀ āOh we slayed a Gate Lordā sounds pretty much the same between the two actors, with your Ghost confidently(and maybe a bit cockily) declaring your success over the Vex as it trans-mats the sparking remains at the Princeā feet, but lines likeĀ āWeāve woken the Hive!ā took a hit. Dinklageā delivery of the line feels urgent as he personifies the characterās urgency toĀ āget your shit in gear and kick some Hive assā, whereas Nolanās version sounds all too enthusiastic and... strangely inquisitive. Its not good or bad... Its just not the same.
Another line that suffered greatly from NolanāsĀ āinterpretationā takes place during a very well known Strike against the Prime Servitor, Sepiks Prime during the Devilās Lair on Earth. As your Ghost is breaking through Fallen encryption on some plasma netting, it remarks thatĀ āIāve made some progress, but you should know that thereās more Fallen... AND Hive on the way!ā. When Dinklage delivers this line, you get the impression that your Ghost hadnāt expected the Hive to join the fight and warns you that youāre about to have much more on your hands than a few Stealth Vandals and some pesky Captains. Nolanās delivery of this line removes the critical pauses as he smoothly delivers the line with a smugness that makes me want to stuff the little bastard down a garbage disposal, as if to sayĀ āYo bitch thereās more Fallen and Hive on the way, donāt fuck up.ā
All that said, I am trying to give Nolan North the time of day, because while his reprisal as the Ghost isnāt terrible, it takes some getting used to. At the end of the day though, Iāll always have my cute little Dinklebot replica to keep me company as he chastises me for my lack of pants. Heās like my mom, only small and lovably annoying.
Honestly I never really hated anything about Dinklageās original lines. I suppose thatās because I donāt watch Game of Thrones and never fell in love with him as Tyrion Lannister. So for me, he was justĀ āanother face in the crowdā and I found hisĀ āmonotoneā deliveries to be very much inkeeping with an AI entity. Sometimes a spark of personality and humanism shines through, as said above, but its a shame that Dinklage was basically shit on for something that was beyond his control. The other issue that led to this whole debacle is that Nolan North openly stated that he simply wouldnāt listen to Dinklageā deliveries of the same lines so he couldĀ ābring a bit of himself into the characterā. No. No, a million fucking times No.
You donāt show up in a recording booth and basically throw out a characterās entire personality(regardless of how little fans think there is to throw out) just because you want to beĀ āuniqueā. Northās deliveries come across as snarky and irritating, rather than confident and assuring. I also canāt unhear C3P0 and 343 Guilty Spark and thatās likely what irritates me the most, because Bungie already had an annoying high pitched character. I feel like they should have pitched Nolanās lines down to bring it closer to the vebrato and depth of Dinklageā lines and based on my readings on the web, a lot of people feel that way.
But, yaknow, this is all just my stupid opinion. Take it how you will.
TL;DR: I like Dinklage because his lines feel more Human than Nolanās lines do.
