norwegian wood

"hansry is doomed because the historical figure hans is based on died 16 years after KCD2"

i'm not going to define historical fiction yet again, so will temporarily embrace this one as fiction canon for the sake of discussion. i hate to have to say this: most romantic relationships involve one partner predeceasing the other. This does not fail or invalidate or cancel or render irrelevant the love between people or mean the relationship itself failed. Death in fact has nothing to do with the depth, candor, or profoundness of the love in question. Bizarre and childish take on the perceived "success" of a romantic relationship if I'm totally honest. Sixteen years is a long time. I really dislike this mentality and it's worth noting that I primarily see it being hurled around like a "gotcha" by redditor chuds who are pissed off about the romance existing in general.

Goes, I hope, without saying: The game takes place in 1403. None of these characters would be alive in 2025. All die somehow. Whether Warhorse explores their fictional story until the point of certain character deaths is up to them and I'd kind of like to see it, if I'm honest, though also kind of doubt we will.

"hansry is doomed because they're on opposite sides of a war"

insisting it is a foregone conclusion and historical fact (???) that henry, who canonically insists on either his retirement from armed service or reaffirms his ongoing service to hans, joins the hussites, is presumptive at best. I would personally be very angry if this was all invalidated and the choice was stripped from players to jimmy Henry into the Hussite rebellions post timeskip. Also worth noting, in fact necessary to note, that we're talking about a single reluctant military engagement, not a war

"hansry is doomed because hans has to get married"

Marriage, especially marriage pre-1900 and especially for the aristocracy, is a legal process and a political tool not a mystical love ritual that cannot be disobeyed. Highly uncomfortable (imo) and highly hetnormative, 21st century, modern-Christianity-contstrained echo chamber discussion going on about this one and it's sometimes difficult to understand why a medieval fandom is even talking about a medieval marriage between young nobility in this modern and often YA-lensed way. I halfway attribute this to an influx of younger fans (genuinely no shade here) due to the increased popularity of kcd2.

"hansry is doomed because they will ultimately not be able to overcome the class difference & the social demands therein, and their respective worlds will gradually tear them apart"