Empowered Fire

When Ex-Boyfriends Turn Evil: Jaina and Arthas in 3.3

Unlike my esteemed colleague Ais, I am completely and utterly a Jaina fangirl. I’m glad she’s getting an updated character model, and I’m thrilled that she’s going to be a focal point of the lore of Icecrown Citadel. Blizzard has recently added a new bio page for Jaina and Sylvanas, which gives people some of Jaina’s history. It’s a good read, right up until the last sentence:

“Perhaps in her heart she believes that the Arthas she knew from her past still exists somewhere deep inside the Lich King, awaiting freedom.”

This perturbs me. While I think it’s unrealistic for Jaina to approach the Arthas fight with the same drive for vengeance as Sylvanas, I don’t want her to stand around pleading with him to remember how he used to be a man who liked puppies and casting holy light. Granted, my model for how a woman should react when her boyfriend turns evil is Buffy the Vampire Slayer: when Angel loses his soul, she tries to find out whether there’s any part of him that’s still the man she loved. When it quickly becomes apparent that he has completely changed, she kicks him in the junk.

So, Blizzard, that’s my request for you: by all means, let Jaina explore whether there’s any part of Arthas that’s still human. I’m fairly certain there isn’t, and the lore in-game seems to confirm that. Jaina, being one of the most intelligent and gifted mages the Kirin Tor has seen, would want to investigate whether he’s redeemable, and I support the inquiry. But she should conclude (as others have) that there’s nothing left of the man she once knew and loved, and then she can assist us in kicking the ever-loving crap out of him.

Tags: jaina-and-arthas, jaina-and-sylvanas, jaina-and-sylvanas-bio-page, jaina-proudmoore, ptr-jaina