#jerren

Things Tarnished Are No Longer Allowed To Do In The Lands Between

Both of them consider Radahn’s death at your hands to be a good and honourable one. But upon learning of Miquella’s plans, Frejya says this:

She seems to fully buy into the image Radahn portrays of being a warrior who lives and thrives in war. And to some extent she’s correct, with Radahn modelling himself after Godfrey (a warlord and conquerer) and even attempting to invade Leyndell during the Shattering Wars.

Jerren on the other hand, would rather Radahn be left in peace after being given an honourable death. The description of Jerren’s helmet reads:

The wording here is very important, implying both a very close relationship between Radahn and Jerren (which is also supported by how intimately Jerren speaks about Radahn) and that Radahn himself wished for an honourable death. This means that Radahn’s preferences likely align more with Jerren’s than with Freyja’s, and that he never wanted to be revived as Miquella’s consort.

One could still argue that Radahn simply wished to have an honourable death before becoming consort, but I think that doesn’t make much sense. If he were willing, it seems strange and convuluted that Radahn would ask to be killed in battle before becoming Lord rather than just becoming Lord immediately.

Additionally, the story makes more thematic sense if Radahn is brainwashed. Remember, Fromsoftware loves to give characters ironic or contrary fates. Radahn represents stagnation. He holds the stars and fate in stasis, styles himself in reference to past Elden Lords and refuses to leave his scrawny horse despite how cruel it is for him to still ride his sickly steed.

In the base game, this is brought to an ironic conclusion with him being infected by the scarlet rot, a more literal representation of stagnation and decay. But the DLC takes it even further. Ironically given his goal of bringing about a new Age of Compassion, Miquella too is unable to move on from the past. He clings to his (probably one sided) vow with Radahn and forces him to become his consort.

Anyways, here's Radahn and his bros, planning a battle (or playing D&D 🤷🏻‍♂️):

It could be more obvious, but it's there:

* Radahn's siblings are world-champion schemers Ranni and Rykard... and he's fucking up Ranni's schemes.

* Jerren. Most Elden Ring story bosses have an interactable NPC an hanging around them who acts as kind of their proxy, with similar motivations and personality traits. Mohg has Varre; Rykard, Tanith; Malenia, Millicent; Maliketh, D; etc.

And Radahn's proxy is Jerren: creator of the "Radahn Festival" - a big fun party where everyone gets together to kill Radahn and feel good about themselves! He's good at using spectacle and colorful imagery to manipulate crowds.

Even if Radahn didn't have those skills himself, he valued them. He wanted a campaign manager.

* Radahn's gear and weapons are explicitly a kind of Godfrey-Radagon-fusion cosplay. Yeah, this can be read as "daddy issues"... but those guys are also the previous Elden Lords.

If Radahn knows what he's doing, he knows what he's doing is political. He's making a pitch: "I am the natural heir to both Radagon and Godfrey (and thus, the throne)."

* Millicent and Gowry. Malenia's proxy is manipulated and betrayed by a Carian sorcerer. If Millicent's situation is a mirror of something that happened to her "mother", then who was Malenia's Carian creep? (The guy she dueled, thereby destroying Caelid and bringing Millicent into existence.)

Ji-an: Will you treat Merren well?

Jerrod: Of course.