Should kerrigan die?

[spychi]

what got me thinking lately about the Dark Voice is the Overmind's role in the prophecy, Zeratul said it was set to a collision course with the firstborn, it might mean that someone seeks revenge and has a power big enough to change the fate of both Zerg and Protoss race, which means that it's creators - Xel Naga
so it's obvious that the Dark Voice is a Xel Naga powerful and old enough to remember the uprising from both Zerg and Protoss

on the other hand something doesn't make sense, if the Overmind was altered then the attack on the Xel Naga by the zerg years ago wouldn't be planned by one of the creators, but by some other race...yet this is explained in some way, the Dark Voice is called also the "fallen one" or as Zeratul called him "a fallen Xel'Naga"

[GeneStarwind]

Zeratul says the Dark Voice lives in the Void and is some kind of Void entity.

He also said it might be a xel'naga.

Right, I'm glad because unless the Xel'Naga were of the Void as well, it wouldn't entirely make sense to say it is a Void entity if it is actually Xel'Naga.

[GnaReffotsirk]

She will die, not that she should, but she will. It's the cheese effect. It's obviously coming.

[Hawki]

A lack of control doesn't fully excuse a person I guess. I may be drunk when I run over someone's dog, but I'm still guilty of it (no, I've never done this, so don't get ideas).

As for Kerrigan and her fate...well, I'm certainly not the only one who's noticed Blizzard's use of the 'fallen hero' meme. Looking at the paths other heroes have taken:

-Grom Hellscream: Perhaps the earliest, considering his first appearance was in Beyond the Dark Portal, however minor. Technically his fall and redemption fits into Reign of Chaos, but chronologically, it goes back further. In Rise of the Horde and Beyond the Dark Portal, he's at his lowest in a sense, a bloodthirsty monster who'd kill anything and anyone in the name of the Horde. By Lord of the Clans, his struggle with the bloodlust and his efforts to keep the Warsong as a fighting force not bound by rage is compelling. Yet by the Third War, when maybe he could have overcome the curse, he falls back into it...yet is redeemed and puts and end to Mannaroth. Grom's is perhaps the longest tale of fall and redemption Blizzard has put in, perhaps the only one where the hero is actually redeemed and has the whole legacy aspect that Garrosh must deal with (who, since The Shattering, I've grown to respect more.

-Quarak: Alright, so technically it was Diablo that corrupted him, but as Cain points out, Quarak also brought his fall upon himself. That's what happens when you stick a SOULSTONE IN YOUR FOREHEAD. What also happens is a trail of destruction ranging from Khanduras to Kehjistan. Ultimately he fights Diablo's influence right until the last moment, but fails. Quarak gets no redemption, but a fall. And in a way, he brought it upon himself.

-Arthas Menethil: Similar to Quarak, but also different. Whilst Quarak's fall was brought on by arrogance, Arthas fell due to extreme circumstances. What's also different is that while Diablo drove the change in Quarak, Arthas was more or less in control up to his bonding with Ner'zhul, bar regrets. What follows is the mind war that Quarak failed to lose, only this time it's for half a decade. He eventually casts out his humanity, but also destroys Ner'zhul. At this point, the Lich King ceases to be a fused being and is entirely Arthas. Yet even at the end of all things, one feels sorry for him. Terenas, I think, sums it up. Yes, we feel sorry for Arthas, but that doesn't excuse the things he's done.

Arthas is probably somewhere between Grom and Quarak. He's more sympathetic than the latter, but fails to redeem himself like the former.

-Sylvanas Windrunner: Yet again different to the other characters. Sylvanas had no failing of her own, unless you include a failure of martial prowess as a shortcoming. And while she becomes what tvtropes might call a magnificant bitch later, it's still to lead the Forsaken. True, the Horde are the means to an end, but she's still protecting the Forsaken from the likes of the Scarlet Crusade. If anything, she's only become more bitter, from what I can tell-Putress put the Forsaken in the dog house diplomatically, Arthas is dead (loss of purpose) and it seems that she intends to follow the apothacary's footsteps. Sylvanas, I think, doesn't call out for redemption. Yes, she's become the queen bitch of Lordaeron, but still has understandable motivations.

-Sarah Kerrigan: The main purpose of this thread. The question is, where does Kerrigan fit into the grand scheme of things? On one hand, she fits the Sylvanas archatype, as her fall wasn't her own fault. On the other, while Sylvanas has understandable motives, Kerrigan was, at least up to Wings of Liberty, akin to Arthas-casting out aspects of her humanity, albiet retaining scraps of it. Yet unlike Arthas, that humanity was still present to an extent apparently, whilst his only surfaced after all was said and done.

I guess if a heirarchy was organized from the levels of redemption/fall success, it would be like:

-Grom: Redeemed hero
-Arthas: Fallen hero, due to circumstance
-Quarak: Fallen hero, due to arrogance
-Sylvanas: Magnificant bitch

Kerrigan, I think, may be between Arthas and Grom. Firstly, the ratio of redemption to failure is lacking, so she can balance it out. The difference however, is that I think Kerrigan's redemption may be bittersweat, since the crap starts hitting the fan for the protoss in LotV. Also, the second installment of a trilogy, I find, is often quite bittersweat. Star Wars (original trilogy), The Matrix, Pirates of the Caribean and Mass Effect are some of the examples that come to mind.

Edit: I guess I could include Kael, Illidan, Sargeras, Medivh, maybe Inarius, but...meh. Think it might be overkill for the thread.

[pure.Wasted]

A lack of control doesn't fully excuse a person I guess. I may be drunk when I run over someone's dog, but I'm still guilty of it (no, I've never done this, so don't get ideas).

I agree completely. That's why Brood War-era Kerrigan would have needed a genuine redemption; she might not have been perfectly in control (the Swarm serving as a metaphor for giving in to her anger) but she was herself.

But WOL tells us that she was not herself. She was, for all intents and purposes, a completely different person. Kerrigan stopped existing and the Queen of Blades, who simply happened to share a few traits with Kerrigan, took her place.

[broodmywarcraft]

But WOL tells us that she was not herself. She was, for all intents and purposes, a completely different person. Kerrigan stopped existing and the Queen of Blades, who simply happened to share a few traits with Kerrigan, took her place.

Which is of course incredibly clichéd and a hell of a let down. I was so looking forward to a showdown between Kerrigan and Raynor, where Raynor achieves some sort of substantial arc and finally one ups Kerrigan.

Instead...he's again a puppet...how uncreative...

[Articorse]

Well, we don't really know for sure if they'll go with this path. Though I agree, it's nearly 100% certain. I still like to think they might go with a path of redemption. See, like you guys said, she was not ENTIRELY herself up to this point. What if now that she's deinfested the only thing that's changed is that the fog has lifted from her mind? Maybe she's the still the Queen of Blades, just one that now has her sense of empathy back.

This wouldn't negate her guilt, instead now she might struggle with what is right. She might still want to have absolute power, so no one else can ever manipulate and control her, but now she might also see how that is wrong.

I think there's potential for a fantastic story here. One of genuine redemption. To be honest, if there was nothing as drastic as her deinfestation, her redemption would seem forced no matter how they handle it. She was, up to this point, a complete monster. No empathy, no regret, just a lust for power and control. She held nothing dear, so nothing could happen that would make her regret her actions and seek redemption. For anyone, who wants to say something like 'What if Raynor died and that made her realize she's wrong?' - that would be the fucking cherry on top of the cheese cake.

Right now, if Blizzard actually do this right, she has a chance at actual redemption. I know it's a long shot, but they have a good starting point right now.

[FanaticTemplar]

Death is usually the easiest way out for redeemed evil monsters. You do something heroic, you die, and all's good. I'd rather see Kerrigan having to live with the consequences of her actions... assuming redemption's the path that is being taken.

[Zeraszana]

Well, we don't really know for sure if they'll go with this path. Though I agree, it's nearly 100% certain. I still like to think they might go with a path of redemption. See, like you guys said, she was not ENTIRELY herself up to this point. What if now that she's deinfested the only thing that's changed is that the fog has lifted from her mind? Maybe she's the still the Queen of Blades, just one that now has her sense of empathy back.

This wouldn't negate her guilt, instead now she might struggle with what is right. She might still want to have absolute power, so no one else can ever manipulate and control her, but now she might also see how that is wrong.

I think there's potential for a fantastic story here. One of genuine redemption. To be honest, if there was nothing as drastic as her deinfestation, her redemption would seem forced no matter how they handle it. She was, up to this point, a complete monster. No empathy, no regret, just a lust for power and control. She held nothing dear, so nothing could happen that would make her regret her actions and seek redemption. For anyone, who wants to say something like 'What if Raynor died and that made her realize she's wrong?' - that would be the fucking cherry on top of the cheese cake.

Right now, if Blizzard actually do this right, she has a chance at actual redemption. I know it's a long shot, but they have a good starting point right now.

HELL YEAH! someone should send this post to blizz execs..

[RodCSS]

Well As the story goes I think SCII is a lot lighter then SCI, the story is much more like a fary tale this time. Its like a teens movie, with a big hero fighting everybody to save a beatifull lady. I personaly didn`t like it.

Althought the graffics are awsome, the new units are really cool in the story mode I fell like the game lost a lot. The best one was SCI, with a political enviroment, corssovers, betrayals, forced aliances it was a really good story, realistic within nobody was compleatly good or bad they just did what was necesary at war.

Then came Brood war. With less political bagage, the story focuses on kerrigan, but it has a sidekick that forces all those aliances and betrayals all over again, the arrival of humans from earth, bringing back the political drama and the complexity of the story.

Unfortunaly, in SCII all the complexity is left aside, the story is simple and predictable, love story, bad guys turns good out of guilt and faces the entire world to save the girl. Like magic he just beat everybody out and no one is capable to match him. Ireally expected more from a story that started awsome, had a good second act and compleatly lost itself on the third act, blizzard has a lot of work to do with its writers, maybe fire the kinding garden teachers and get some real writers would work.