#lorthemar

I will love you for all my days

By the sunwell. He is so handsome.

Lor'themar Theron by Bayard Wu

In reading other people's reactions to the Midnight cinematic, I've seen the take that Liadrin was legitimately fleeing in terror and abandoning Lor'themar. I didn't get that impression at all, and this post is my attempt to break down why.

Xal'atath: "Flee, and save yourselves."

Liadrin starts out looking directly at Xal...

...then gets a more distant look on her face, as if she's thinking through her options.

To me, that isn't the face of a woman who is panicking and hopeless. She takes on a look of grim determination.

Lor'themar says, "Liadrin, don't."

Don't what? We're primed to assume he means "don't run away" or maybe "don't listen to Xal'atath." But these two have fought side by side for many years at this point, and there's a kind of mental intimacy that comes with trusting someone else with your life in the heat of battle. They would have developed the ability to instinctively anticipate each other's moves and decisions.

Lor'themar knows Liadrin. He knows she's not the type to run and cower. She's more likely to want to go out in a blaze of glory defending her people, showing Xal'atath that she will never surrender. She said as much: "The Sunwell will not fall. Not while I draw breath."

As I interpret the scene, that is what Lor'themar is telling her not to do. He knows if they both attack Xal'atath at that moment, they'll both end up dead and the Blood Elves will be without leaders.

After he says "Don't," Liadrin subtly nods. Why would she nod if she was about to do the thing he told her not to do? She's agreeing with the unspoken plan of "One of us needs to live to fight another day."

Then she walks--not runs--away with the parting blessing of "Light be with you" because she fully expects not to see him alive again.

Lor'themar doesn't change his facial expression like you would expect him to if his longtime friend and ally had just abandoned him and their cause. He's a stoic, grizzled veteran, but betrayal that deep would still cause some visible reaction.

He knows the chances of her pulling a miracle out of her butt are exceedingly slim, but if they do nothing they both die for sure, so why not take a chance?

Then, when she does pull a literal miracle out of her butt, he doesn't act shocked. He doesn't even look back to see her until she's spoken. He trusts that the light flooding the scene is her doing.

When he does turn to her, it's with this look:

I read that smirk as saying, "I don't know she did it, but once more she came through. Damn, she's good."

I don't see any surprise there, or relief that she didn't actually flee in terror. Instead he echoes her earlier dialogue back to her and returns to her side, rejuvenated to continue the fight. Nor does Liadrin show him any kind of apology or remorse, as she would be expected to do if she had truly run away.

As for Xal'atath, I didn't get the impression that she was particularly bothered by it all. A bit of surprise at first, then a renewed smirk because the game just got more interesting. (Meaning, the game she's playing with the cosmos, not the literal video game of WoW.)

Impressive as the Light's counterattack seems to the viewer, I wouldn't be too optimistic about the ultimate result. We know what Xal'atath looks like when her plans are genuinely threatened (e.g. when the Dark Heart was shattered and she let out a scream of frustration and anger.) She might be proven wrong as the battle progresses (and let's hope for Azeroth's sake she is), but at this moment she's not seriously concerned.

Lor'thelyssra. ❤️💜❤️💜❤️💜