nastiest trick in the book is getting you genuinely deeply attached to a character whose name sounds fucking stupid in any other context. this WILL happen to you at some point in your life.
since it's spotify wrapped day it's time for my favourite game - send me a number from 1-100 and I'll share that song from my top songs of 2025 playlist!
Wyll's relationship with his father intrigues me (as y'all might have noticed).
I'm old, and I have adult children, so I come at the topic from two different perspectives:
As the child who had a troubled relationship with essentially loving but flawed parents.
And as the parent who was deeply flawed, and both did and said many wrong things over the decades.
I want to hate Ulder for losing faith in his son so quickly, for kicking him out of the city instead of taking a deep breath and saying, You know what? This city isn't safe with you around. We're going elsewhere, and we're going to figure out what the fuck just happened.
I want to take Ulder by the shoulders and say, Dude, I get it. You felt like a failure as a parent and you felt confused and betrayed. You lashed out, and your kid took you very seriously and vanished.
When I was 17, I moved to Sydney for university – a big move for someone that age, but pretty common at the time. The night before I was scheduled to leave, my father, struggling to process big feelings, got very drunk and picked a huge fight with me, culminating in him screaming that he never wanted to see me again; don't bother ever coming back.
Folks, it hurt. It was devastating. Even though I was thrilled to be getting out of there, that farewell damn near broke me. And damn right I took it seriously. If he could speak those words to me, I figured, I could accept them and do what he said he wanted. I didn't talk to my parents for months.
At that age, having a parent, even one with whom you have a troubled relationship, tell you there's no room in their life for you anymore is... so difficult to process.
As a parent who's struggled to be there for my kids in the midst of a plethora of health issues and other challenges, I kinda get it, though. I've never kicked out one of my children, and I'd like to think I never would. But I know full well I've indicated in other ways that I can't give them as much space in my life as they'd like. I haven't always been there for them as much as they needed me to be.
What's the moral of the story? I honestly don't know, except that so many of the takes I see on Ulder and Wyll are either what a terrible father or no, he was a great father and did the only thing he could! And I don't agree with either extreme.
Ulder wasn't the only person who could keep Baldur's Gate safe. But he was the only person who could have kept Wyll safe. And I think he got lost in his responsibilities and failed to recognise that.
The fact that Wyll survived losing his home, family, and friends all in one go is a testament both to his character and the strength that Ulder taught him as a child. I just wish he'd never had to find and use that strength so young.
One point that I meant to mention was that when I was kicked out at age 17, I actually had somewhere to go and something to do. I had an income of sorts, accommodation, and my university course all lined up. The impact on me was all emotional.
Wyll had... well, we have no idea what he had, but it was probably minimal. Probably some cash to keep him going a few weeks. Talk about a rough landing. 😭
The Emperor and Ansur could have been perfect foils for Wyll's story.
Ansur, the Heart of the Gate, who stayed behind to protect the city. The Emperor, a hero, who left for just one more grand adventure. Ansur, who clung so tightly to what he believed to be right that it destroyed the thing he cared most about. The Emperor, who clung to newfound power until he could not imagine being anything else, even at the cost of his own soul.
You can see the parallels, right? Ansur's quest could have meant something important to Wyll's storyline.
But instead it doesn't. Wyll's writer never capitalizes on these parallels. Ansur doesn't even speak with the player or Wyll, only with the Emperor. And once Ansur is defeated, the Emperor tells Wyll that he's the actual Heart of Gate and Ansur totally wasn't important, dude, just get over it. And then Wyll—who had hung his hopes on having the Wyrm's help against the Absolute, who has repeatedly said the Emperor is not to be trusted, who has every reason to be not accept that shallow of an answer—swallows this bullshit without question and skips off to pick out his new hero name.
areudirty
gracieabrams
gummygunk
ellievsbear
stormborns
titsay
