#anders positivity

Anders was an interesting character with a backstory and a set of characteristics that would have been amazing if explored further, but I believe his character's potential was tragically squandered by bad narrative choices and poor writing.

Here's a list of how I think his narrative potential hadn't been fully explored:

His name really isn't "Anders" -- it was a name given to him when he arrived at the circle at age 12 and was so traumatized he refused to speak, not even to say his name. BioWare has never revealed Anders' birth name. We also know that he has Anderfels heritage on his father's side, who migrated to Ferelden as a boy. It could have been revealed, through his birth name, that he has some connection to an Anderfels-related plotline: he could be related to the First Warden, or his family could have prominence or influence in the Grey Wardens of Weisshaupt.

Anders is a mage, a Grey Warden, and a host to a Spirit of Justice. This combination of spirit healing (already a rare branch of magic), Blight magic, and a connection to a Spirit of the Fade has never occurred before in known canon. Anders being connected to the mages, the Circle, the Grey Wardens, the darkspawn, and Fade Spirits means that there is a whole world of possibilities to explore with that combination, so many things you could do with his character.

Leveraging off Anders' connection with Justice, a potential key to finding the cure for the Calling could have involved possession by a Fade Spirit. (We already know Fade Spirits are essential to curing Tranquility -- perhaps there's more we could do with that.)

Anders could potentially be a companion to both the Hero of Ferelden and the Champion of Kirkwall, depending on your World State. If your HoF didn't die during the Archdemon battle and continued to Amaranthine, Anders (together with Justice) is the only NPC companion who has traveled with both the HoF and Hawke, and is also a potential love interest to Hawke. (Zevran and Isabela also are NPCs acquainted with both the HoF and Hawke, but only Anders has been a party companion for both.)

Anders could potentially be the only known Grey Warden to have met both the Architect and Corypheus.

Anders could have potentially have battled demons in the Fade three times: his Harrrowing, the Blackmarsh sequence in DA Awakening, and the "Night Terrors" Feynriel rescue mission in DA2. Considering these experiences, plus the fact he has his own in-built Spirit GPS in the form of Justice to help him navigate the Fade, Anders has the highest potential to be the one to rescue Hawke/Stroud/Loghain/Alistair from the Fade (if left there in DAI and has the potential to be rescued).

Anders may have political connections to the throne of Ferelden, if Alistair was made King, and was present at and endorsed Anders' conscription into the Wardens.

If your Warden was Mahariel, Anders would have a common connection with Merrill. If your Warden was Amell, Anders could have an extra connection to Hawke, having known their relative. A Warden Amell or Surana could also have an added layer of their relationship with Anders, having grown up in the same Circle together. (Anders just has a lot of connections to famous people and an extensive network that would have made everyone on LinkedIn jealous, is what I'm sayin 😆)

Anders being a prominent figure in the mage rebellion could also have been explored further -- especially in relations to Fiona, who was coincidentally another mage advocating for mage freedom and with a connection to the Grey Wardens and Alistair.

I just think it's tragic that Anders had so much potential -- arguably one of the characters with the most potential in the overall plot -- and yet BioWare squandered all that potential to push their brand of "grey morality".

In Jaws of Hakkon the mage you try to convince to exercise her spirit again is fully human, again not an abomination based on the conversation option you can have with Wynne.

Anders in DA2 isn’t an abomination either based on this description. However, I believe that also based on DAO:Awakenings Justice was well on his way to becoming Vengeance even without Anders’ influence. I cannot 100% agree with the fact that Anders created vengeance. In Awakenings Anders is snarky and he wants equality but he’s also content with his small victories and doing what he’s able, he wants to work more along the lines of diplomacy but also while he himself is free and over the time after he’s allowed Justice to merge with him he is no longer the same person. It’s not that he didn’t want justice for mages it’s that even he for example tells Wynne that breaking away from the Chantry is a bad idea in Awakenings.

However during the course of Awakenings Justice isn’t seeking just Justice. He’s seeking the punishment, the vengeance so to speak and not just in the aspect of the darkspawn who kills the Warden who’s body he inhabits but he also is willing to remove the blood mage/demon who has taken over the Black Marsh at any means necessary. Sound familiar? I think Justice changed Anders more than Anders changed Justice.

One thing I've noticed while in the Dragon Age fandom is the prevalent interpretation of the Anders romance as a tragedy, or a romance that's inherently tragic. Anders acts behind Hawke's back, destroys the Kirkwall Chantry no matter what choices the player makes, the player sees this as a huge betrayal, and — despite having romanced Anders, and/or being mage-sympathetic — they decide to execute or banish Anders as punishment for his 'crime'. Tears are shed; it's all dramatic and tragic and angsty.

While I sometimes appreciate tragedies, I would like to posit a different perspective: The romance with Anders is a story of hope; a story of standing up to insurmountable odds and overcoming them. The romance with Anders can be approached as one with a happier ending, where Hawke and Anders are the heroes.

The healer mage who ran a free clinic in Darktown, providing free healthcare for refugees and the poor. He looked after them better than their own Chantry did, for seven years.

Anders took a Spirit of Justice into his body as an act of compassion. Justice needed a way to exist in the physical world after Kristoff's body was decaying, and Anders did it to help his friend. No matter what people say about the union itself or what they perceive it became, the act that started it was done out of solidarity and friendship.

Anders put himself in danger, risked his own life and security, to fight for the sake of all mages. He fought so that all mages would be able to live safely and love freely, not just for himself.

But because he was born a mage, templars hunt him down and to lock him in a tower he cannot leave, tear him away from the people he loves, and tell him that his magic makes him dangerous and a monster. They put him in underground where there is no light, no one to keep him company or offer a kind word.

So he fights back. He pulls against his chains. He champions for all the mages who don't have a voice, who were locked in dungeons and forgotten, who didn't pass their Harrowings, who were coerced into Tranquility. He fights because someone has to, because no one else will, because the alternative is just years and years of more suffering.