Lore Watch Podcast

One of the most interesting things about World of Warcraft: Forever is the possibility for new story development, and that's how we got tangled up in the question of an NPC named Shadowsong in the beta. Is it one of those Shadowsongs? Probably not. (It's a common name.) But could we see new stories about what Maiev or Jared are up to at the beginning of World of Warcraft? Maybe, and that's what makes this new offshoot of Classic so exciting for us lore nerds.

Also this question may have broken Matt, and the episode isn't really long enough to put him back together again, particularly since we move straight into trying to fit Hearthstone lore into the larger Warcraft canon. We're sorry about that.

And then we wind our way back to that old favorite topic: the interplay of Light and Void that has been at the heart of the Worldsoul Saga so far. Void Elf Paladins? Forsaken Paladins? Night Elf Paladins? There are many paths to the Light (and the Void).

If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for people who prefer reading that way).
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Xal'atath is the subject of the first bit of another Lore Watch Podcast. Frequent listener Daikaiju had the astute observation that Xal'atath seemed upset that the Watcher didn't pay attention to her baiting, which she's always done to throw her enemies off. That could be because Xal'atath is a literal child -- at least, mentally. Is that why she didn't just use Sargeras's sword to the center of Azeroth as a slide instead of trying to corrupt the Sunwell and use it as a portal? Probably not, as the Loremasters discuss. There's also a question about the nature of the Titans and the Pantheon we saw in Shadowlands, the latter of which were some kind of construct. Were the Titans constructed or shaped in a similar way?

In between we have a Diablo question, wondering what the deal is with the angels. They were all over the place in Diablo 3, but in Diablo 4, they're nowhere to be found except paintings and memories. So with all this suffering and demons running around every which way, where are the angels now? Did they stop being reincarnated after the corruption of the Crystal Arch? Our Loremasters have the answers, and it's because the angels in Diablo, as usual, don't really act the way we think of angels in the Christian tradition.

If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way).
If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you remember back in vanilla WoW, when we were tasked with things like bringing a guard his lunch, or trying to find some guy's wife who was taking a while to get back, and now we're spitting in the face of god and saving the soul of the world? If you miss stories like the former, how on earth would we de-escalate from the current all-encompassing world-ending conflict to just hanging with the lads and picking peacebloom? And how would one of the archetypical villains we face fit into a less cataclysmic story?

Our Lore Watch Crew Joe, Matt, and Eric, all have differing opinions on how much they'd enjoy a large or small story, as usual. Also as usual, there are a few places we go off the rails, but we always end up back on track. You know, mostly. From there they discuss the best villains of all time, then the villains from Blizzard's IPs, and what makes a villain good -- or deliciously bad.

If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way).
If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

World of Warcraft: Forever is the hottest title in Blizzard's catalogue, so of course we're diving in to some of the lore of Forever in this first post-BlizzCon episode. We start with a question on the war between the Alliance and the Horde, which makes for a great excuse to recap a lot of the conflict through the whole Warcraft series. From the moment the Dark Portal opened, Orcs and Humans have had conflict -- but is that conflict truly inescapable? But that's just the start of the rabbit hole. There's Trolls and Night Elves and Stranglethorn Vale and the Forsaken, and all of them have their part to play in the lore that makes up the rich world we'll be encountering again for the first time in Forever.

Then, the loremasters address the whole elf-shaped elephant in the room thing. Are the Skyborne being added really less farfetched than just plunking down Blood Elves or High Elves or whatever and calling it good? Is there even a good justification for these guys? Joe, Matt, and Eric run down the lore bedrock behind the new race.

If you want even more background story, we also have a guide to every Warcraft book in chronological order (for those of you who prefer reading that way).
If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the new Lanterns show, Joe and Matt wanted to discuss the lore of The Green Lantern, though without spoiling the plot of the new show. They start off discussing the comic in its place in comics history and its parallels to the Flash. The core of the conversation discusses Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, and John Stewart, three of the more iconic Lanterns. The show centers on Hal and John, who have a mentor and protégé relationship, but in the continuity, Guy fell between the two. Matt and Joe discuss the inspiration for each of them, and what each represents to the continuity as a character.
If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.