Star Wars: The Last Jedi is one of the most controversial films in franchise history. When I first watched it, it frustrated and confused me. I think it’s trying to take Star Wars’ thin fiction beyond its reach, just so that it can be taken seriously enough to warrant the film’s critique of it. I also hate what it does to one of my favorite characters in all of fiction.
But as it turns out, my initial reaction was wrong, and it wasn’t until after the disaster of The Rise of Skywalker that I realized it and properly appreciated the effort TLJ was making. Even though I still don’t quite agree with how it’s done.
Diablo 4 ending spoilers follow
I haven’t thought about these two movies in a while. Until I finished the Diablo 4 campaign. Diablo IV’s narrative is the story of a rebel whose methods are questionable but whose end goal is one that any reasonable person (that’s you, the player) can agree on. Even if you don’t sympathize with them at first, as you get deeper into the story, you may find yourself agreeing with Lilith. This is also reflected in the character dialogue, in some cases when uncertainty arises about the meaning of the fight.
Maybe Blizzard’s writers thought they were creating a Thanos; maybe they thought they were creating a Thanos. A villain who finds a valid problem but solves it in the most callous of ways. But that’s not what I get out of it. not at all.
Lilith is not Thanos. For one, she lives in a harsh, sinister world made up of a handful of pseudo-Jewish/Christian beliefs and concepts. The rules of this world are not fundamental at all. The legend of Diablo was never a commentary on a true religion, nor was it ever interested in becoming one. It really just borrows enough elements to give its lore some credibility and build some credibility. After all, there is a devil in it!
In the novel, Lilith is the daughter of Hatred. Everyone’s opinion of her was decided long before she even existed. Regardless of her actions or intentions, she’s a descendant of the Source of Evil, a demon born in Hell — an evil place filled with absolutely bad characters for, well, reasons. Usually, that’s the end of the story. Evil people, born in evil places, do evil things, must be stopped. No mess, no fuss.
But Lilith is also the mother of Sanctuary – we actually call it Earth in Diablo. Normal fields (at least to some extent). She, along with the rebel angels, was tired of the eternal conflict between the high heavens and the burning hells, and in an act of rebellion gave birth to the ancestors of humanity, hoping to break the cycle and create something that had a purpose other than endless war . The plan worked until it didn’t.
Humanity is born and a third realm is created, establishing a new battleground for war and influence between the two entities. But the angel Inarius has a change of heart and convinces himself that he still has a place in heaven, and that the way to get there is by defeating the demon Lilith. It doesn’t work.
Lilith never wavered. She still sees herself as the guardian of the sanctuary, and someone who really wants to uplift humanity rather than amass worshipers. The gist of her argument is that humanity needs to prepare for the coming war against the Source of All Evil, effectively teaming up with her offspring against her kind.
It’s a twisted, harsh view of the world, but not one to argue against — at least by the novel’s standards. However, the only reason the heroes fight her every step of the way is because she’s the Daughter of Hatred, and even if her goals aren’t unreasonable, she must be playing a long game that ends up making things worse .
One of the best/worst moments in the game is when your character is stuck in a dream and Lilith argues with the player about her thesis for the last time. Instead of downplaying the seriousness of the questions she asks, she tries to appeal to the protagonist’s logical side. Despite being far from the influence of the heroes, the main character has become aggressive by then, refusing even to accept what she has to offer, and acquiescing to the standard “Lala, you are evil and must die, Lala” gibberish team Others have been peddling it.
As illuminating as this is, at that moment I thought Blizzard just dropped the pretense. The hero of the story never gets the chance to ally with the villain, or even come to a compromise. So why spend so much time creating a convincing villain and giving her time to argue (enough to plant the seeds of doubt in my mind) – just to pull a star wars and say that actually, evil is bad , because it’s broken, and that’s with the change.
The first character you meet in Diablo IV (who doesn’t want to kill you) is Joseph. He saves you from being sacrificed, but you never see him again for the entire game. However, he returns at the end, leading a firing squad to kill your fellow Loras (and new Diablo Deckard Cain). You have no choice but to fight them off, and Joseph ends up dead.
I like to think of their deaths as subtle comments on the banality of the whole ordeal. Because even he—a seemingly helpful, kind man—starts to turn against you for doing things differently than what the all-good, inerrant religious creed he follows requires you to do.
The church and its followers who obey the angels are portrayed as good people in this story. Despite having the same goals as our heroes, they object to how things end—even if Lilith dies—and thus label us heretics.
This reminds us that there is no “good” or “evil” in this world. It’s all relative, and you picked the wrong side. The narrative of the first season has room to continue, so this may not be the end of the story. I hope the heroes think hard about their choices and maybe take things into an area that is less predictable.
