Since PCR is inevitable this playthrough, I will list my more refined 2026 thoughts about it. Once I get to PCR proper, I’ll likely post my “fresher” views on both lore and gameplay (as I have genuinely not fought PCR since patch because I hold no desire to).
TLDR; I still hate it, and think this plot point is awful for everyone involved lore wise.
PCR, as we all know, famously has no buildup or hints alluding to it whatsoever in the base game. However, I would argue that the DLC does little to build it up conceptually as well. Over and over, we get told about the vow without actually saying anything about it, something which has led fans to argue about the contents of said vow. Is it “let’s get married and you will be my Elden Lord”, “let’s get married and you will be my Elden Lord for the Age of Compassion btw there will be no more war after that jsyk”, “let’s get married but only on the condition you are killed first”, etc etc. Not only that, but we never actually get to hear the opinions of either party of the vow. Did Radahn enthusiastically agree? Did he initially agree and then backtrack? Did Miquella genuinely want to do this? Does Miquella even hold genuine care towards Radahn beyond “as a kid I thought you were nice”? Does Miquella view this as a necessity to do for his ideal Age, does he regret having to choose a warlord who adores the warlords of TGO, the list goes on.
Which, if this is going to be a key plot element, is crucial to make clear. Elden Ring in general is a lot more clear than previous Soulsborne games, so it makes the lack of clarity even more baffling. Radahn is never given a voice, both in the literal cutting of the dialogue they initially planned and in how other characters speak for him. We never learn if Freyja is right in her assessment that Radahn will be happy to fight those against the Age of Compassion because he’s such a fan of war, or if Jerren- the guy he made an oath of honorable death with -is the right one and that it would not be good for Radahn at all. Maybe there could be something to be said about Radahn being turned into a figurehead meant to embody war and have his personhood stripped from him, but that sort of theme isn’t something the story goes into. Instead, SOTE’s portrayal of this feels like we’re just removing more of Radahn’s character instead of letting him have anything beyond “warlover who likes two very awful people and loves his horsey and protected a town”. We don’t even get to learn what he did that Miquella apparently found to be so immensely kind that he was an ideal fit for Lord. I can very easily list out the kind feats Miquella has done and why characters in universe find him appealing in specific detail- base game AND dlc -but I cannot tell you why Miquella finds Radahn kind beyond the nebulous “because the game says so”. The kindest acts we learn he has done are during the events of the Shattering, which did not occur while Miquella was a child.
Is it any wonder then that to this day we still have people firmly arguing on whether or not Radahn even consented to the vow (whatever it was!) when the game gives us nothing about it or what either party genuinely think about it now? I feel that it is far more likely that Radahn broke the vow for whatever reason given what we know of him in the base game (Jerren says hi!) and how he very notably doesn’t speak and how odd his behavior is phase transition onwards. This isn’t the post for that, however, because regardless of whether he agreed or not this is an extremely poor plot element.
The core of PCR’s existence is based on the deaths of Radahn and Mohg, but… that is very, very weird. It is so unlike Miquella to make a plan that is based on him crossing his fingers and hoping someone else does the work for him. As I recently posted, there is way more evidence of him in base game and dlc willingly working alongside Mohg for however long and have posted that it being a kidnapping and Miquella having charmed him in self defense has some very notable points against these concepts because the idea that it’s a kidnapping makes less sense the more you think about it, but… the idea that he specifically wanted to use Mohg’s body as a vessel for Radahn’s soul feels very shoved into the plot of both base game and dlc— like trying to put a square in a circle hole. It genuinely does not add up with anything we are shown in game, and it really, genuinely feels like it is there for the sake of being convoluted, impossible for any players to guess. It doesn’t make Miquella look intelligent. It makes him look clueless, waiting and waiting for some tarnished to somehow gain strength to kill one of the strongest demigods and gain access to the palace grounds and kill another very, very strong demigod. Miquella in the base game, who is shown to be the type to always be pushing forward and doing everything in his power to achieve his goals, would not be doing any of that.
That isn’t even going into PCR’s design. It does little to convey the horror of what is actually going on here and while it is revolting that Mohg’s horns are all but stripped from his body, I can’t even tell if that was the intention behind the design. PCR’s armor feels… comical. Something notably less real than Starscourge’s, befitting more of an action figure than the strongest demigod who is also the final final boss btw. Am I meant to take the abs seriously? Because I don’t. The lack of anything to do with Mohg is such a strange choice, both visually (Ranni transferring her soul into a body of a doll did not make it become similar to her original self) and in terms of gameplay. It feels, like the plotline itself, tacked on when there is application of his design and powers.
But that isn’t even going into what they did for Miquella.
See, I always fear that readers may get the misconception that rather than PCR, I had wanted Promised Consort Mohg. After all, I do make a point out of bringing up how the idea that there was a kidnapping makes no sense for Mohg’s character (someone who showed no interest in upholding the system put in place by TGO) and how certain plot points only make sense if you consider that Miquella was willingly spending time with him prior to going in the cocoon. But that’s not it. I don’t want a Promised Consort Radahn or a Promised Consort Mohg.
I wanted Miquella.
The existence of the “Promised Consort” as a final boss holds the great sin of taking focus away from Miquella in both the story and in fandom spaces. In what was meant to be Miquella’s story and its conclusion, we instead get Radahn. We barely get any mention of Malenia, whom Miquella literally began his journey for. We get Radahn. In cutscenes, we barely learn anything about Miquella. We get him clinging onto Radahn’s back, acting as his Serosh. Miquella, who has his personhood removed by the people who worship him in game now has more of his identity stripped from him by the game itself by not even letting us fight him proper. He isn’t even allowed to utter his final words. Instead, we get a cutscene that reveals nothing but the model of a cursed Miquella and we are just told “oooh, the vow”.
This isn’t some genius meta narrative move. It just sucks. Theres a million ways a battle against Miquella could have gone, we can even see the magic he uses, so there was no excuse to not fight him proper. Even the bug imagery he had in the base game is taken from him. Instead of having a moment rightfully focused on such an important character, we instead turn the spotlight on a boss we already beat in the mid-game and learn nothing new about him either. It was so easy to set up thematically too; Miquella in the base game is haunted by failure after failure of his own making, and how even now when he tries to ascend to godhood after the methods he used failed in the past he practically fails now, but hey, at least he has us to put a face to his failures on. After all, we killed people important to him. Maybe he could be angry. Maybe after removing his emotions he just sees us as the most ideal person to fix and bring us peace. Something. ANYTHING.
But instead, all we got is Radahn, who Miquella “loved” for no real reason. And that is all the discussions surrounding him have become due to the audacity of his presence. Fuck, even I’m contributing to it by listing out all the reasons I hate PCR and think it was the worst writing decision From has ever concocted but as someone who has adored Miquella since day 1, how can I not talk about it?
I don’t know. PCR sucks.
