Fair point. He's making the same choice over and over again. But in DA universe, the elves tried finding their own homes separate from humanity. Humans wouldn't let them be. I'm sure Solas didn't overlook this, either. I wondered, for a long time, if there was a better solution than him simply trying to undo his first mistake. But whether it's renewed war with the (now weakened) Evanuris, or war with hundreds of thousands of oppressive humans and Qunari, war would be inevitable. There are no good options left. This wasn't only due to Solas's choices. I've little doubt he determined, to give his own people their best chance, that destroying one broken world to resurrect the other, was the only real option left. Despite this, or even his opinions of more limited races, he wasn't thrilled about it. That's why I'm not sure he's actually evil. It's too much responsibility for one person. Even an immortal one. That's how I see it, anyway.
@@MaryDunford All he has to do is to seal the mirrors so they won't follow them. Eventually, humans are going to kill themselves or being exterminated by Darkspawn.
"So, I am always this?" "You are always *_you_* ." I like Solas and agree with him on a lot of stuff, but not that. I don't like what he wants for Cole. He wants him to stay a spirit, static, staying stuck, but the nature of spirits is to change. Cole wanted to change and he did, and he wanted to keep growing and becoming more human, to learn more, to be more, changing, churning, choosing. Its amazing that Solas wasn't more intrigued by the fact that a spirit could literally just choose to be human.
I read it as him fearing for Cole. In his companion quest, Solas is the overprotective parental figure who seeks to safeguard Cole, to ensure the world can never corrupt him, while Varric is a more empowering parental figure, accepting the child can and should change, grow into something more. And if you choose Varric's path, Solas even comes close to admitting he was wrong.
@@nitzan3782 I might agree with you that fear was Solas primary motivation here, and while I don't doubt it was a factor in this instance, the last part of that comment is key: he came close to admitting he was wrong. But he never did. Like I said, I like Solas as a character and I agree with him on a lot of points, but don't forget what this guy is. He is an exceptionally learned scholar, in the literal sense of the word. He was a rebel leader who overthrew the most powerful mages of his time and changed the intrinsic state of the existence. And in the end, he was worshipped as an actual god. And on top of it all, he *_knows_* all this about himself. He is aware of the fact that he is, simply, no slouch. This is not a man who is accustomed to being wrong, much less admitting when his is. Even his desire to undo his actions of creating the veil is, I feel, coming more from a place of "I will do what must be done" instead of "I have to fix my mistakes." He made his mind up about Cole and what Cole was and should be, and he stuck to it even when presented with something that he should've been fascinated and amazed by. That's 'cross your arms and sulk in the corner' levels of stubbornness.
As someone who has done both, I was completely won over by the spirit route. Cole does grow as a human and I thought that was best for the longest time but recently when replaying I was struck by how confident and assured Cole is as a spirit. Everyone is different but for my money Cole as a spirit is the best fit
Cole is such a good way to dive deeper into the characters, esp Solas😔
9:59 If only he just learned from his mistakes and find another home for the elves and live in peace.
Fair point. He's making the same choice over and over again. But in DA universe, the elves tried finding their own homes separate from humanity. Humans wouldn't let them be. I'm sure Solas didn't overlook this, either. I wondered, for a long time, if there was a better solution than him simply trying to undo his first mistake. But whether it's renewed war with the (now weakened) Evanuris, or war with hundreds of thousands of oppressive humans and Qunari, war would be inevitable. There are no good options left. This wasn't only due to Solas's choices. I've little doubt he determined, to give his own people their best chance, that destroying one broken world to resurrect the other, was the only real option left. Despite this, or even his opinions of more limited races, he wasn't thrilled about it. That's why I'm not sure he's actually evil. It's too much responsibility for one person. Even an immortal one.
That's how I see it, anyway.
@@MaryDunford All he has to do is to seal the mirrors so they won't follow them. Eventually, humans are going to kill themselves or being exterminated by Darkspawn.
@@MaryDunford The elves aren't really all that innocent, their fall was their own doing twice now
I loved Cole. What a character. I never had the heart to change him. 😊
"So, I am always this?"
"You are always *_you_* ."
I like Solas and agree with him on a lot of stuff, but not that. I don't like what he wants for Cole. He wants him to stay a spirit, static, staying stuck, but the nature of spirits is to change. Cole wanted to change and he did, and he wanted to keep growing and becoming more human, to learn more, to be more, changing, churning, choosing. Its amazing that Solas wasn't more intrigued by the fact that a spirit could literally just choose to be human.
I read it as him fearing for Cole. In his companion quest, Solas is the overprotective parental figure who seeks to safeguard Cole, to ensure the world can never corrupt him, while Varric is a more empowering parental figure, accepting the child can and should change, grow into something more. And if you choose Varric's path, Solas even comes close to admitting he was wrong.
@@nitzan3782 I might agree with you that fear was Solas primary motivation here, and while I don't doubt it was a factor in this instance, the last part of that comment is key: he came close to admitting he was wrong. But he never did.
Like I said, I like Solas as a character and I agree with him on a lot of points, but don't forget what this guy is. He is an exceptionally learned scholar, in the literal sense of the word. He was a rebel leader who overthrew the most powerful mages of his time and changed the intrinsic state of the existence. And in the end, he was worshipped as an actual god. And on top of it all, he *_knows_* all this about himself. He is aware of the fact that he is, simply, no slouch. This is not a man who is accustomed to being wrong, much less admitting when his is. Even his desire to undo his actions of creating the veil is, I feel, coming more from a place of "I will do what must be done" instead of "I have to fix my mistakes."
He made his mind up about Cole and what Cole was and should be, and he stuck to it even when presented with something that he should've been fascinated and amazed by. That's 'cross your arms and sulk in the corner' levels of stubbornness.
@@Lyndonmaman Oh yes, when it comes to being wrong, the party's elves have the same level of emotional maturity.
@@nitzan3782 took me a second to get that but yes, you're exactly right. In Solas' own words to Sera, "We are not so far apart, you and I."
As someone who has done both, I was completely won over by the spirit route. Cole does grow as a human and I thought that was best for the longest time but recently when replaying I was struck by how confident and assured Cole is as a spirit.
Everyone is different but for my money Cole as a spirit is the best fit