(recovering from the flu so if this makes no sense im sorry lol) idk if you've been asked this before (I think you have talked about it) BUT: do you have any thoughts on how Illario's betrayal and/or relationship with Zara might have come about? Or like how she might have convinced him to go through with the plan?
Personally I find it really interesting (weird maybe?) how they made Illario go down that path considering how well established their loyalty to each other was(/is). I just feel like it couldn't have been an easy task to convince him, yk?
That's not to say that his betrayal isn't plausible, it just feels like it doesnt really make sense given the context(or lack there of) provided.
i don't love the zara angleee lmfao he was such a hater of magic and blood mages like lucanis was in twj. or at least he was not really pro-venatori; i think lucanis even remarked that he wasn't a true believer in anything except coin (granted that's lucanis's perspective of his cousin which we know is a bit biased).
idk i don't love the zara angle i don't like how they handled illario in veilguard. i don't think it would have been an easy task to convince him to turn on family, or if he was convinced, idk if it would've been by venatori.
honestly this is why i am taking so long to finish my notes and post up my essays and opinions about twj and the wake... it's very disheartening because the ultimate thesis is "do you agree with how illario was characterized in veilguard" because that colors everything in hindsight when you see it as consistent or not. i don't and i would've gone a different way even if i wanted him to be the traitor.