This cinematic changed the course of my life. This overloaded my tiny child brain and showed me the incredible story telling power of animation and game design. I've been an animator for 7 years and counting now.
There's a reason this cinematic is so popular especially for those that played Warcraft 3 before WoW came out. People were wondering when they'd bring Arthas back into the story and this was when WoW was at its peak subscriber count. This was the BEST time to be a WoW player, this expansion was the most fun me and my guild ever had.
Yep. I remember coming unglued when I first saw Arthas sitting on the throne just like the end of warcraft 3. He'd been sitting there for decades at that point.
@@do0ranfrump260 Not exactly. The battle of Mount Hyjal took place on 21 ADP (After the Dark Portal). Its been a while, but if you add up the timeline on the WC3: Frozen throne loading screen, it took Arthas about a year to travel to Northrend/ Duel Illidan. Say he won on 22 ADP, thats when he hibernated- One of the book Chronicles state that the lich king attacked 5 years after.
If we talk about 'layers of cinematic history', after Arthas brushes the snow he rubs his fingers together as he lifts it back up. In the cinematic before he slays his father in Warcraft 3 he does the same thing to the petals falling in the castle's courtyard.
I like how the tale of Arthas is pretty much a deconstruction of the Arthurian legend. In the Arthurian legend, Arthur rises to kingship due to his embodiment of virtue, responsibility, and order. Similarly, Arthas embodies these qualities at the beginning of Warcraft III. Yet, it's precisely these traits that propel him towards wielding Frostmourne and assuming the mantle of the Lich King. This transformation illustrates a poignant truth: when one becomes consumed by the weight of responsibility and sacrifices everything to combat imminent chaos, they risk devolving into a tyrant. The undead, in this narrative, serve as a metaphor for tyranny - a legion of soulless bodies, animated unnaturally, with a solitary king reigning supreme. This allegory speaks volumes about human nature. When confronted with chaos, such as the orc invasion, in an orderly society, humans tend to resort to tyrannical methods to restore order. Unfortunately, history shows us that such endeavors almost always lead to failure, leaving little room for redemption, as was the case with Arthas.
@@UltimateGamerCC Best thing about this is that even the undead can use the light. As long as you believe that what you are doing is just and right the light will help you, even if you do evil. So for the light to leave him he had to lose faith in his own actions.
I was surprised they said that we see in the cinematic what comes out of the ice .... and its not invincible ... so I have no idea why they even thought that
@@akoslazar9005 yes he rode him during both W3 campaigns until he reached Icecrown .... after that he most likely remained somewhere there as an undead steed as players can get him from the LK as a rare drop
Almost no one notices, but the rubbing of his fingers shortly after wiping away the snow is a direct callback to the trailer where he kills his father. In that trailer he rubs a flower petal with his thumb and index finger. It's a very subtle and out of focus detail, and I love it.
ooooooo! I Love this Collab Idea! The 2 concepts in video games are so interconnected to make cutscenes/gameplay impactful. I hope to see you guys review some more of the greatest gaming moments together, Thanks for the Video!
This video felt like it was seconds long. Absolutely love your team up here. The location where Arthas stands, behind him eventually becomes the Argent Crusade Tournament Grounds. Until this video I never noticed the ironic pause or change of music ad his foreboding doom looms behind him. 😅
I'm glad im not the only person that picked up just how shot for shot game of thrones recreated this scene for the night king. I remember literally jumping off the couch and doing the leo meme tv point and my family is like wtf is going on XD and i showed them this trailer right after wards
The thing is Arthas could have been a Great Savior. Yet the two people that he could have count that could have reigned him in turned their backs on him. Both Jaina and Uther could have tempered him or at the very least guided his anger. I was always especially disappointed in Uther in how he handled the Purge of Stratholme. Instead of staying and helping Arthas see who was not infected or not he ran off to 'tattle' to King Menethil. Meanwhile Jaina had been with him the whole time they scoured Lordaeron investigating the plague. She knew damn well that even The Light couldn't save those who ate the plagued grain. But instead of helping Arthas explain the reasons behind the plague to Uther, she just ran away... like a coward. "I can't watch you do this Arthas." Give me a break.
Arthas, for what my opinion is worth, was the last truly relatable villain WoW gave us. Garrosh was also somewhat relatable, to a lesser degree, but enough that many players still love him for it too. Perhaps they were going for some of that with Sylvanas, but that didn't unfold quite as relatably for most. The best villains are always the flawed, conflicted ones that make us feel there perhaps, but for the grace of circumstance, go I. Much as I enjoy the overblown bombast of a big demon or elemental boss, for a final boss I'd much rather have someone I can relate to. I wish WoW would give us more of those. Very beautiful collab, guys. It was very satisfying to hear you exploring so many nuances of this beloved cinematic.
I would put Garrosh up there for sure. Something to think about as well is how many villains have gotten that Arthas buildup besides Garrosh? They really just gotta take their time.
best cinematic trailer. when I saw this when I was way younger and coming off from playing Warcraft 3 many many times and really being absorbed by the lore to first seeing this. The nostalgia and just sheer connection hit so Hard
at the start of the cinematic that Arthas is sitting on the frozen throne is reminiscent of the very final cinematic of warcraft 3 the frozen throne expansion where Arthas claimed Lich king's crown for himself and sat down on the frozen throne.
Something interesting about this song: this is the same leitmotif that plays at the end of Warcraft 3 The Frozen throne. At the tie the composer couldn't find a child singer for the song so he used an adult female voice. Years later for Wrath of the Lich king, he went for his original idea of using a boy, whom he was able to find this time around.
The main reason they do a callback to The Lich King with Anduin for The War Within, is because (if the video creators don't know) Anduin was forced against his will to become a pseudo Lich King himself during Shadowlands, with Arthas's soul being the conduit for his power. Anduin did horrible Arthas level things during his time under the Jailor's control, and it scarred him horribly. While also bearing a part of Arthas's soul. Arthas and Anduin are in no way related. But they both for this brief period shared a part of their souls with each other. And as Arthas defeated the soul of Ner'zhul inside the Helm of Domination, it's very likely that he was beginning to win the fight within Anduin to take over control as well. Arthas both in life and death was a powerful and driven character. And in my eyes, stands to be one of the best villains ever created in history. Truly believing what he was doing was right for his people, and that he would bring peace to Azeroth (by way of turning everyone into the Undead Scourge), but ultimately becoming a tyrant bent on destroying life. Shadowlands retcons destroyed most of Arthas's story, and it's a damned shame. Because until that point, he really was one of the greats. But to find out most of what he did was because of the Jailor in the Shadowlands, really killed his accomplishments (for good or bad) in a horrible way.
LOVE their cone,atics... If they did a WOW series for Amazon or one of the streaming platforms... there is SO much lore they can cover.... Was Sindragosa's grave he exhumed... The Massive Dragon
thought it was also interesting how he goes from closeup intimately wiping away that one little bit of snow to the big camera pullback when frostmourne blows the whole area clean
I've watched this cinematic many times over the years. And only now I noticed the tiniest of details. When arthas pull his sword and looks down, thinking of his fathers words, you see the blue glow in his eyes fade ever so slightly as he fights Ner'zhul internally, only to come back fully bright a moment later as he raises the sword.
This was a good video. Great collab, felt like the two of you really foubd your stride together towards the wnd of the trailer. I would be very interested to see you two react to either Warbringers: Jaina, or Warbringers: Aszhara!
It just shows, that for such powerful and impactful cinematic experience, you must have laid down great background and fundaments to build it on in past. You cannot just slap in on go and expect it to work.
If I recall correctly, the music was composed by the amazing Neal Acree - who has done massive amounts of amazing work across several Blizzard IPs, and is currently working on the Legend of Vox Machina animated series.
I started wow in the beginning 2004. This campaign was sooo good and at the time i think the wow community was at its best. Guilds were like family. I still wish it could be like that again. I think its why so many people come back to play for each expansion
Culling Stratholme was the best thing he could've done, if it wasn't for that the entire city would've been bleeding the undead out of it's front gates and the events that would've unfolded would've been way worse the city was also already 90% infected iirc and there's no way to revert that so they were already doomed. Not to the mention the amount of torment and pain the afflicted have while they're ghouls, a lot of quest in WoW really hit that note pretty well idk to much about recently since all the zone revamps and reworks but there are a decent batch pre cata.
That's Ice Crown on Norhrend where Sindragosa died, I'd say the cinematic is right before he raises her as undead wyrm. Invincible was buried on Tirisfal, to the west if i recall correctly.
In this final scene of the Wrath of the Lich King trailer, Arthas’s upward gaze is given even greater weight by his father’s narration, echoing words of duty and responsibility: “I tell you this, for when my days have come to an end, you shall be King.” This fatherly counsel was meant to prepare him for a noble future, one grounded in service and honor. But now, as Arthas looks up with both eyes and then his head, there’s a haunting irony. He’s already fallen from grace, yet his goal remains unchanged: to rule, to fulfill his destiny as king, no matter the cost. This gaze and upward lift of his head carry a dual symbolism. It’s as though Arthas is still answering his father’s call, but he’s answering it on a twisted path of his own making. He’s transformed his father’s vision into something dark, driven by ambition and a relentless pursuit of power. What was once a promise of noble duty has now become a personal, destructive vow. Arthas’s subtle movements, eyes lifting, then head following, reflect both a vision of conquest and an acceptance of the sacrifices required to achieve it, embodying his complete commitment to a vision of kingship that has lost all light. This sequence and the narration work together to capture the tragic duality of Arthas’s path, the warped echoes of a father’s guidance now reinterpreted as a dark mission. The deliberate shift of his eyes, followed by the motion of his head, feels like an internal resolve crystallizing into a decision. This progression, from an inner realization to outward action, is something that powerful cinematic moments can communicate without words, and Blizzard does an exceptional job with that in this trailer.
No, Invincible is not in that ice. He raised Invincible from death during WC3, and his steed was buried in Tirisfal, I believe. I think it's possibly Sindragosa he raises there, but it's not really confirmed, so it might be an unnamed dragon. If Invincible was slain, it would have happened at the base of the glacier where he fought Illidan because he is a mounted death knight all the way up until then in WC3.
Ah, the last great WOW expansion. It's tragic how it went downhill from there. The ending of the fight with Arthus, his dad tells him, "no king rules forever." What a foreshadowing for the game and company. Enjoyed the colab between you and Philip. I'd love if yall did this again for an FF14 opening cinematic Flames of Truth would be a great pick.
I didnt see anyone else correct a major error they both made in talking about Arthas wiping the snow from the ice - it had nothing to do with Invicible - who by this time was already with him as undead. He was wiping the ice clear above Sindragosa's corpse, - likely to ensure optimal placement for the sword.
@PhilipHartshorn For a second there, when I saw you, I thought I was looking at Oded Fehr. I did a double take with a "wait, what?" Ha ha 🤣 This was a great video, guys -- great commentary on a wonderfully powerful cinematic.
interesting video. It's great that you share your thoughts about this cinematic. I liked it, but... I would think it would be good if you rewind the video for 3-5 seconds when you pause. So that the viewer can see what you mean after your comment. It's hard to follow you. if you talk about a Scene for 3 Minutes and then let it continue with a hard cut, and don't show the scene again. I also thought it was a shame that you didn't mention the royal effect in the camera work. (we always look up to Arthas) and that the darkness is always behind him. ^^ good job! Keep going and improving! Greetings from Germany. P.s. We All Lift Together!
Fun fact, the singer isn't a soprano. It's a, then, young boy from a boy's choir that's near where they were recording. Russel Brower, the composer, talked about it during a documentary way back when.
@@TheHopperUK Funny thing is I know, and knew, that. I don't know why I phrased it the way I did, but I was going off the common misconception that soprano= woman. I remember coming to this video off the heels of watching Philip's first reaction to the cinematic where, I believe, he mistook the singer for a woman. I guess I just missed when they said boy and mixed the videos together. Oops.
I love videos like this. But i´m surprised (Maybe because they don´t know the complete character) is that noone is talking about how he swapped his path. The father talking to him is meant to be words to the human Arthas as King. They still matched it perfectly as it was some sort of prophecy that still came true. I love the part "But the greatest victory, my son.. is stirring the heart of your people." while the Undead just get filled with magic. And when he says "So when my days end, you. will be King." Is even greater cause Arthas killed his father and went being the Lich King.
Arthas actions were the right ones to take *in a rational world like ours.* In a world like Azeroth, with magic, undead and demons, his actions were the actions of an idiot. Arthas didn't do anything wrong, but he also did nothing right. Maybe with the exception of the Culling of Stratholme and everything before. But after that he should have oppened his eyes to what he was dealing with.
We actually didn't know as players that it was Sindragosa who came out of the ice, we found that out later in the game. When I first saw it I thought it was another undead dragon called Saphiron. Saphiron was slain and raised as undead by Arthus in WCIII The Frozen Throne when he was on his way to face Illidan and merge with the Lich King Ner'zhul. Sindragosa was long dead. She was killed when Neltharion, also know as Deathwing, became corrupted by the Old Gods(think Lovecraft tentacle creatures when it comes to those guys). One of the first things the Black Dragonflight did was an ambush on the Blue Dragonflight and they almost wiped them out completely. Sindragosa was the lover of Malygos, the Blue Dragonflight Aspect and it caused him to go crazy. We had to also kill him in Wrath of the Lich King. Malygos, Sindragosa and Saphiron all became raid bosses in Wrath.
@@iraklis619 yeah that's a good point, but lore wise since they repurposed the raid it really messes up the continuity. I don't know what the official lore explanation is. In my head I just look at Naxxramas in classic as a failed assault on the structure until it was finally defeated for good in Wrath.
The assault in classic was succesful, the reason Kel'thuzad came back is because his phylactery was given to some shady dude, and thus we had Naxx in wrath too
when I tell you I saw this trailer on release date and it ruined my entire day, it is the honest trust. This was peak Blizzard content, and I was absolutely in love with BC the entire lifespan of that expansion.
Someone needs to make a new Warcraft movie about Arthas but we need people that understand his story and try to avoid the debacle that the Witcher show had
The musical score sets blizzard apart especially back then. I mean the lore is as deep and wide as Lord of the Rings but for a video game to have such amazing music for every zone and cut scene is a cut above
The Lich King was sleeping for 5 years, until the soul of Arthas and Lich king unified, Until he wake up all the undead of the world where wild and in some control of some minor necromancer or small time villain. Once he woke up all the Undead of the World where under his control. Thats why he was such a menace at that point in time. Undead were rampaging all around Azeroth
I love Warcraft and I really enjoyed all your videos and analysis! Philip is great too! Since Cataclysm Classic is out and I'm having so much fun now, I would love you to react to the Cataclysm Classic Cinematic Trailer, and/or a video listening the login screen soundtrack from Cataclysm called: "The Shattering"
I highly recommend both of you watch "The Frozen Throne Ending Cinematic". It's like the previous story cinematic, but from "Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne". The last cinematic of the RTS game, where Arthas goes to the Frozen Throne when he was already a Death Knight and under the control of the previous Lich King - Ner Zull, who almost lost his power. And how Arthas becomes a new Lich King 2 in 1. It literally ends in the same place that this cinematic started, after so many years. And it's have 3rd variation of this "Arthas theme" song, feels way more lonely (especially when this cinematic shows after you finishing the whole game campaings and after all of happens). And if you are really interested in the story behind all this - you should spend some time and watch some of the Arthas story films. I don't know if it exists on ENG or not (I think it does), but I don't know how it's called correctly. In my language, it's called something like "game film, the story of Arthas the Lich King, full chronicle" (all cut-scenes from the game and necessary quotes in the game) and all cinematics in chronological subsequence. If you do that - this cinematic probably will hit you harder. Different feeling after you played a paladin human prince what's fall, and a lot of grey stuff in the story in game where everything can be different and he can still be a paladin. Especially the controversial moment in Stratholm, etc.
Extremely underrated music pick here: Listen to the Crysis 2 "Epilogue" song, or the whole soundtrack for that matter. It's in my opinion one of Hanz Zimmer's best works!
Hey Marco! I just wanted to recommend a newer masterpiece of a game. I don't know if its enough for a video but I though you could do something similar to what you do for League champions and try and just analyze a games music theme (main menu, really) and try and make guesses about the game and what its about or what the tone of the game is. The game I am talking about specifically is Pacific Drive, and it has a really interesting main theme that I could say tells a story. I don't know how you would verify your analysis of the lore or the tone of the game, perhaps there's a really good summary paragraph of it out there but its lore is so complex even having finished the main story myself there is so much left to understand. EDIT: The song is called "The Remnant (Pacific Drive Main Theme)" by Wilbert Roget II, and D'Anthoni Wooten
Blizzard needs to make the Trailer in the the sphere of vegas. Let us be part of the Lichkings Army. As Arthas hold the sword infront of us and we see the (ice) thats him sommuning the souls from the (afterlive) in this case of Sindragosa who is a Dragonaspect and (protecter) of Azeroth she died my a huge dragon who fell into cannibalism. Arthas ressurrected her to fight against what once stood for protection. Wow is full of fractals and opposite sides of the same medal. The chosen child of light and warmth who falls into darkness and coldness. This reflects on his attack skills. He even kills all champions this only accured 2 times in wow. The only one who killed us after Arthas, was Argus and its the same theme where the soul of Argus himself talks to us how he got tortured, endless souls who suffered.
I had so much fun doing this with you Marco!! What should we break down next guys?
WoW Cataclysm trailer also great, second to me personally
Anything yall want.
While I wouldn't want to constrain you guys to just wow, I also wouldn't mind a breakdown of Warbringers: Jaina. :>
@@mitochondria6247 oooh, its also so great indeed
Warbringers: Gul'dan or the War Within trailer
This cinematic changed the course of my life. This overloaded my tiny child brain and showed me the incredible story telling power of animation and game design. I've been an animator for 7 years and counting now.
Omg such a lovely story 🥹 thank you for sharing
There's a reason this cinematic is so popular especially for those that played Warcraft 3 before WoW came out. People were wondering when they'd bring Arthas back into the story and this was when WoW was at its peak subscriber count. This was the BEST time to be a WoW player, this expansion was the most fun me and my guild ever had.
Yep. I remember coming unglued when I first saw Arthas sitting on the throne just like the end of warcraft 3. He'd been sitting there for decades at that point.
@@do0ranfrump260Warcraft 3 came out in 2002. Wrath released in 2008. 6 years isn't decades...
this was and always be the best moment mmo's
@@do0ranfrump260 Not exactly. The battle of Mount Hyjal took place on 21 ADP (After the Dark Portal). Its been a while, but if you add up the timeline on the WC3: Frozen throne loading screen, it took Arthas about a year to travel to Northrend/ Duel Illidan. Say he won on 22 ADP, thats when he hibernated- One of the book Chronicles state that the lich king attacked 5 years after.
Right?! Ahhh... good times😊
If we talk about 'layers of cinematic history', after Arthas brushes the snow he rubs his fingers together as he lifts it back up. In the cinematic before he slays his father in Warcraft 3 he does the same thing to the petals falling in the castle's courtyard.
Yoooo I just realized that!!!
I'm late, but the moment his father says "pride" is the exact same moment his hand grasps the sword.
The fact that they had a little boy singing that iconic theme is so fitting. It's like young Arthas lamenting his own fate.
I like how the tale of Arthas is pretty much a deconstruction of the Arthurian legend. In the Arthurian legend, Arthur rises to kingship due to his embodiment of virtue, responsibility, and order. Similarly, Arthas embodies these qualities at the beginning of Warcraft III. Yet, it's precisely these traits that propel him towards wielding Frostmourne and assuming the mantle of the Lich King. This transformation illustrates a poignant truth: when one becomes consumed by the weight of responsibility and sacrifices everything to combat imminent chaos, they risk devolving into a tyrant. The undead, in this narrative, serve as a metaphor for tyranny - a legion of soulless bodies, animated unnaturally, with a solitary king reigning supreme. This allegory speaks volumes about human nature. When confronted with chaos, such as the orc invasion, in an orderly society, humans tend to resort to tyrannical methods to restore order. Unfortunately, history shows us that such endeavors almost always lead to failure, leaving little room for redemption, as was the case with Arthas.
"The light will abandon you, Hero. Just as it did.......Me"
One of his line that I could not ever forget.
So you can forget it now?
in Arthas' mind the Light forsaken him, but in reality it was he who turned from the Light and betrayed everyone.
@@UltimateGamerCC Best thing about this is that even the undead can use the light. As long as you believe that what you are doing is just and right the light will help you, even if you do evil. So for the light to leave him he had to lose faith in his own actions.
@@AZOTH_the_Weebdamn u r right
6:32 actually...its Sindragosa thats buried beneath the ice...Arthas ressurected Invincible not long after he picked up Frostmourne.
Ackshuallayyy 🤓
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Jokes aside, thanks for providing correct info!
I was surprised they said that we see in the cinematic what comes out of the ice .... and its not invincible ... so I have no idea why they even thought that
Thing is didnt the Lich King ditch Invincible when Arthas put on the helm?
@@akoslazar9005 yes he rode him during both W3 campaigns until he reached Icecrown .... after that he most likely remained somewhere there as an undead steed as players can get him from the LK as a rare drop
@@Ower8x right right well indeed the Lich King was a entirely new being after all he cut out his very heart
Almost no one notices, but the rubbing of his fingers shortly after wiping away the snow is a direct callback to the trailer where he kills his father. In that trailer he rubs a flower petal with his thumb and index finger. It's a very subtle and out of focus detail, and I love it.
This is the collab I NEEDED
ooooooo! I Love this Collab Idea! The 2 concepts in video games are so interconnected to make cutscenes/gameplay impactful.
I hope to see you guys review some more of the greatest gaming moments together, Thanks for the Video!
Movies and music are like lasagna. Meat sauce and pasta are good on their own, but they're *very* good together
This video felt like it was seconds long. Absolutely love your team up here. The location where Arthas stands, behind him eventually becomes the Argent Crusade Tournament Grounds. Until this video I never noticed the ironic pause or change of music ad his foreboding doom looms behind him. 😅
I'm glad im not the only person that picked up just how shot for shot game of thrones recreated this scene for the night king. I remember literally jumping off the couch and doing the leo meme tv point and my family is like wtf is going on XD and i showed them this trailer right after wards
The thing is Arthas could have been a Great Savior. Yet the two people that he could have count that could have reigned him in turned their backs on him. Both Jaina and Uther could have tempered him or at the very least guided his anger. I was always especially disappointed in Uther in how he handled the Purge of Stratholme. Instead of staying and helping Arthas see who was not infected or not he ran off to 'tattle' to King Menethil.
Meanwhile Jaina had been with him the whole time they scoured Lordaeron investigating the plague. She knew damn well that even The Light couldn't save those who ate the plagued grain. But instead of helping Arthas explain the reasons behind the plague to Uther, she just ran away... like a coward. "I can't watch you do this Arthas." Give me a break.
Arthas, for what my opinion is worth, was the last truly relatable villain WoW gave us. Garrosh was also somewhat relatable, to a lesser degree, but enough that many players still love him for it too. Perhaps they were going for some of that with Sylvanas, but that didn't unfold quite as relatably for most. The best villains are always the flawed, conflicted ones that make us feel there perhaps, but for the grace of circumstance, go I. Much as I enjoy the overblown bombast of a big demon or elemental boss, for a final boss I'd much rather have someone I can relate to. I wish WoW would give us more of those.
Very beautiful collab, guys. It was very satisfying to hear you exploring so many nuances of this beloved cinematic.
Oh oh oh! Can't believe I forgot Illidan! But my point stands. Arthas was the finest, top quality example.
His fall was so much more believable than Anikin's to Vader
I would put Garrosh up there for sure. Something to think about as well is how many villains have gotten that Arthas buildup besides Garrosh? They really just gotta take their time.
Super cool to see two TH-camrs you follow teaming up for a masterful analysis!
I watch both of you guys and gotta say - Never thought of this collab but now that I saw it I need more of it.
best cinematic trailer. when I saw this when I was way younger and coming off from playing Warcraft 3 many many times and really being absorbed by the lore to first seeing this. The nostalgia and just sheer connection hit so Hard
They put so much thought and effort into it and then blasted it all in Shadowlands.
at the start of the cinematic that Arthas is sitting on the frozen throne is reminiscent of the very final cinematic of warcraft 3 the frozen throne expansion where Arthas claimed Lich king's crown for himself and sat down on the frozen throne.
But then he got up to play a Heavy Metal song about how awesome the Horde is
It was great. I watched both your original videos before that, so it was interesting to hear what you could share with each other.
What a fun collab! 2 of my favorite experts in 1 video!
Love the cross over between you two. Hope to see more in the future.
I have seen this cinematic so many times over 15 years, and. Still I get shivers down my spine thruout
This is still so powerful for me, gives me chills like 100 years later
Something interesting about this song: this is the same leitmotif that plays at the end of Warcraft 3 The Frozen throne. At the tie the composer couldn't find a child singer for the song so he used an adult female voice. Years later for Wrath of the Lich king, he went for his original idea of using a boy, whom he was able to find this time around.
Arthas, have you gone Arthas?! You cant Arthas this Arthas
The main reason they do a callback to The Lich King with Anduin for The War Within, is because (if the video creators don't know) Anduin was forced against his will to become a pseudo Lich King himself during Shadowlands, with Arthas's soul being the conduit for his power. Anduin did horrible Arthas level things during his time under the Jailor's control, and it scarred him horribly. While also bearing a part of Arthas's soul.
Arthas and Anduin are in no way related. But they both for this brief period shared a part of their souls with each other. And as Arthas defeated the soul of Ner'zhul inside the Helm of Domination, it's very likely that he was beginning to win the fight within Anduin to take over control as well.
Arthas both in life and death was a powerful and driven character.
And in my eyes, stands to be one of the best villains ever created in history. Truly believing what he was doing was right for his people, and that he would bring peace to Azeroth (by way of turning everyone into the Undead Scourge), but ultimately becoming a tyrant bent on destroying life.
Shadowlands retcons destroyed most of Arthas's story, and it's a damned shame. Because until that point, he really was one of the greats. But to find out most of what he did was because of the Jailor in the Shadowlands, really killed his accomplishments (for good or bad) in a horrible way.
warcraft lore ends with wotlk
Yess! This is the kind of video i've been waiting for!
fantastic. love how you two work together. more!
I know next to nothing of warcraft. But I love seeing these two together I need to see more collab
The best cross over that TH-cam has had in a while, what a pleasant surprise!!!
LOVE their cone,atics... If they did a WOW series for Amazon or one of the streaming platforms... there is SO much lore they can cover.... Was Sindragosa's grave he exhumed... The Massive Dragon
Heavily encourged you do an analysis for each expansion,like TBC, Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, Legion and so on!
This is such a pleasure to watch. I'm not done yet, and I love both your perspectives.
What is this? A crossover episode?!
hahaha much love for both of you guys
thought it was also interesting how he goes from closeup intimately wiping away that one little bit of snow to the big camera pullback when frostmourne blows the whole area clean
I've watched this cinematic many times over the years. And only now I noticed the tiniest of details. When arthas pull his sword and looks down, thinking of his fathers words, you see the blue glow in his eyes fade ever so slightly as he fights Ner'zhul internally, only to come back fully bright a moment later as he raises the sword.
This was a good video. Great collab, felt like the two of you really foubd your stride together towards the wnd of the trailer. I would be very interested to see you two react to either Warbringers: Jaina, or Warbringers: Aszhara!
Two of my favorite media analysts going in on my favorite video game? 💖 Love this so hecking much!
When I read the title I saw "Breaking down the music and visuals of my son" so I missed the word Arthas for sum reason.
Idk why but i read this as ‘Breaking down the music…… with my son” and i’m like what? Second time to read is key 😂
This was the peak of my experience with the game. I will mourn and treasure it, always.
It gets all a lot different when you learn that he was a prisoner of the jailer, caught in his domination magic
6:20 not Invincible. That's his horse.
The ice contains Sindragosa.
Didn't feel like watching the whole video huh
@@TheHopperUK I reacted too quickly.
It just shows, that for such powerful and impactful cinematic experience, you must have laid down great background and fundaments to build it on in past. You cannot just slap in on go and expect it to work.
If I recall correctly, the music was composed by the amazing Neal Acree - who has done massive amounts of amazing work across several Blizzard IPs, and is currently working on the Legend of Vox Machina animated series.
I started wow in the beginning 2004. This campaign was sooo good and at the time i think the wow community was at its best. Guilds were like family. I still wish it could be like that again. I think its why so many people come back to play for each expansion
Culling Stratholme was the best thing he could've done, if it wasn't for that the entire city would've been bleeding the undead out of it's front gates and the events that would've unfolded would've been way worse the city was also already 90% infected iirc and there's no way to revert that so they were already doomed. Not to the mention the amount of torment and pain the afflicted have while they're ghouls, a lot of quest in WoW really hit that note pretty well idk to much about recently since all the zone revamps and reworks but there are a decent batch pre cata.
He's wiping the snow for an undead dragon called Sindragosa.
That's Ice Crown on Norhrend where Sindragosa died, I'd say the cinematic is right before he raises her as undead wyrm. Invincible was buried on Tirisfal, to the west if i recall correctly.
Going to the anduin reference, it especially hits hard if you know what happened in shadowlands.
nothing happened , shadowlands was just a dream
Oh man, what a teamup!!
In this final scene of the Wrath of the Lich King trailer, Arthas’s upward gaze is given even greater weight by his father’s narration, echoing words of duty and responsibility: “I tell you this, for when my days have come to an end, you shall be King.” This fatherly counsel was meant to prepare him for a noble future, one grounded in service and honor. But now, as Arthas looks up with both eyes and then his head, there’s a haunting irony. He’s already fallen from grace, yet his goal remains unchanged: to rule, to fulfill his destiny as king, no matter the cost.
This gaze and upward lift of his head carry a dual symbolism. It’s as though Arthas is still answering his father’s call, but he’s answering it on a twisted path of his own making. He’s transformed his father’s vision into something dark, driven by ambition and a relentless pursuit of power. What was once a promise of noble duty has now become a personal, destructive vow. Arthas’s subtle movements, eyes lifting, then head following, reflect both a vision of conquest and an acceptance of the sacrifices required to achieve it, embodying his complete commitment to a vision of kingship that has lost all light. This sequence and the narration work together to capture the tragic duality of Arthas’s path, the warped echoes of a father’s guidance now reinterpreted as a dark mission.
The deliberate shift of his eyes, followed by the motion of his head, feels like an internal resolve crystallizing into a decision. This progression, from an inner realization to outward action, is something that powerful cinematic moments can communicate without words, and Blizzard does an exceptional job with that in this trailer.
I need you two to do a podcast
The cross-over I never thought I needed. Excellent!
No, Invincible is not in that ice. He raised Invincible from death during WC3, and his steed was buried in Tirisfal, I believe. I think it's possibly Sindragosa he raises there, but it's not really confirmed, so it might be an unnamed dragon. If Invincible was slain, it would have happened at the base of the glacier where he fought Illidan because he is a mounted death knight all the way up until then in WC3.
Ah, the last great WOW expansion. It's tragic how it went downhill from there.
The ending of the fight with Arthus, his dad tells him, "no king rules forever."
What a foreshadowing for the game and company.
Enjoyed the colab between you and Philip. I'd love if yall did this again for an FF14 opening cinematic
Flames of Truth would be a great pick.
I feel like Legion was also a great expansion
I didnt see anyone else correct a major error they both made in talking about Arthas wiping the snow from the ice - it had nothing to do with Invicible - who by this time was already with him as undead.
He was wiping the ice clear above Sindragosa's corpse, - likely to ensure optimal placement for the sword.
Thank you, was looking for this comment for so long I was losing hope.
sindragosa is beneath the ice
@PhilipHartshorn For a second there, when I saw you, I thought I was looking at Oded Fehr. I did a double take with a "wait, what?" Ha ha 🤣 This was a great video, guys -- great commentary on a wonderfully powerful cinematic.
interesting video.
It's great that you share your thoughts about this cinematic. I liked it, but...
I would think it would be good if you rewind the video for 3-5 seconds when you pause. So that the viewer can see what you mean after your comment.
It's hard to follow you. if you talk about a Scene for 3 Minutes and then let it continue with a hard cut, and don't show the scene again.
I also thought it was a shame that you didn't mention the royal effect in the camera work. (we always look up to Arthas) and that the darkness is always behind him. ^^
good job! Keep going and improving!
Greetings from Germany.
P.s. We All Lift Together!
Fun fact, the singer isn't a soprano. It's a, then, young boy from a boy's choir that's near where they were recording. Russel Brower, the composer, talked about it during a documentary way back when.
You still call a young boy who sings in that range a soprano. 'boy soprano', sometimes. They mention it's a small boy in the same breath.
@@TheHopperUK Funny thing is I know, and knew, that. I don't know why I phrased it the way I did, but I was going off the common misconception that soprano= woman. I remember coming to this video off the heels of watching Philip's first reaction to the cinematic where, I believe, he mistook the singer for a woman. I guess I just missed when they said boy and mixed the videos together. Oops.
GOOOOOSEBUMPS!!!!!!!!!!! Every fucking time!
This was so much fun to watch.
I love videos like this. But i´m surprised (Maybe because they don´t know the complete character) is that noone is talking about how he swapped his path. The father talking to him is meant to be words to the human Arthas as King. They still matched it perfectly as it was some sort of prophecy that still came true. I love the part "But the greatest victory, my son.. is stirring the heart of your people." while the Undead just get filled with magic. And when he says "So when my days end, you. will be King." Is even greater cause Arthas killed his father and went being the Lich King.
Arthas actions were the right ones to take *in a rational world like ours.* In a world like Azeroth, with magic, undead and demons, his actions were the actions of an idiot.
Arthas didn't do anything wrong, but he also did nothing right. Maybe with the exception of the Culling of Stratholme and everything before. But after that he should have oppened his eyes to what he was dealing with.
Definitely recommend chacking out Acherus: the ebon hold general music, another masterpiece from wrath of the lich king.
best cinematic
This collab was part of Jailer's plan btw
Woah. It's good end Spoony.
what a crossover!!!
"Restraint."
I'd love to see another collab on WoW cinematics ngl
We actually didn't know as players that it was Sindragosa who came out of the ice, we found that out later in the game. When I first saw it I thought it was another undead dragon called Saphiron. Saphiron was slain and raised as undead by Arthus in WCIII The Frozen Throne when he was on his way to face Illidan and merge with the Lich King Ner'zhul. Sindragosa was long dead. She was killed when Neltharion, also know as Deathwing, became corrupted by the Old Gods(think Lovecraft tentacle creatures when it comes to those guys). One of the first things the Black Dragonflight did was an ambush on the Blue Dragonflight and they almost wiped them out completely. Sindragosa was the lover of Malygos, the Blue Dragonflight Aspect and it caused him to go crazy. We had to also kill him in Wrath of the Lich King. Malygos, Sindragosa and Saphiron all became raid bosses in Wrath.
Sapphiron was a boss in the classic Naxxramas too,way before Wrath
@@iraklis619 yeah that's a good point, but lore wise since they repurposed the raid it really messes up the continuity. I don't know what the official lore explanation is. In my head I just look at Naxxramas in classic as a failed assault on the structure until it was finally defeated for good in Wrath.
The assault in classic was succesful, the reason Kel'thuzad came back is because his phylactery was given to some shady dude, and thus we had Naxx in wrath too
@@iraklis619 oh okay. Thanks for clearing that up I didn't know how they justified it lore wise.
when I tell you I saw this trailer on release date and it ruined my entire day, it is the honest trust. This was peak Blizzard content, and I was absolutely in love with BC the entire lifespan of that expansion.
Someone needs to make a new Warcraft movie about Arthas but we need people that understand his story and try to avoid the debacle that the Witcher show had
ARTHAS DID NOTHING WRONG!!
also every 60s, a minute passes in Africa
@@grayhat_9x Together, we can stop this!
The musical score sets blizzard apart especially back then. I mean the lore is as deep and wide as Lord of the Rings but for a video game to have such amazing music for every zone and cut scene is a cut above
Peak wow 😢
You should really watch his cinematic from warcraft 3 at the end of the frozen throne
Arthas is the GOAT
YESSS THIS IS PEAK
You two should re-watch the Riot Still Here cinematic for League of Legends together since you've both checked it out individually.
The Lich King was sleeping for 5 years, until the soul of Arthas and Lich king unified, Until he wake up all the undead of the world where wild and in some control of some minor necromancer or small time villain. Once he woke up all the Undead of the World where under his control. Thats why he was such a menace at that point in time. Undead were rampaging all around Azeroth
He should let's them goes rampaging.
I love Warcraft and I really enjoyed all your videos and analysis! Philip is great too! Since Cataclysm Classic is out and I'm having so much fun now, I would love you to react to the Cataclysm Classic Cinematic Trailer, and/or a video listening the login screen soundtrack from Cataclysm called: "The Shattering"
Arthas’s story is the antithesis of “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions”.
Eyyy. It happened!
So tired of Marco dying his hair and pretending he isn't Seth lol
I highly recommend both of you watch "The Frozen Throne Ending Cinematic". It's like the previous story cinematic, but from "Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne". The last cinematic of the RTS game, where Arthas goes to the Frozen Throne when he was already a Death Knight and under the control of the previous Lich King - Ner Zull, who almost lost his power. And how Arthas becomes a new Lich King 2 in 1. It literally ends in the same place that this cinematic started, after so many years. And it's have 3rd variation of this "Arthas theme" song, feels way more lonely (especially when this cinematic shows after you finishing the whole game campaings and after all of happens).
And if you are really interested in the story behind all this - you should spend some time and watch some of the Arthas story films. I don't know if it exists on ENG or not (I think it does), but I don't know how it's called correctly. In my language, it's called something like "game film, the story of Arthas the Lich King, full chronicle" (all cut-scenes from the game and necessary quotes in the game) and all cinematics in chronological subsequence.
If you do that - this cinematic probably will hit you harder. Different feeling after you played a paladin human prince what's fall, and a lot of grey stuff in the story in game where everything can be different and he can still be a paladin. Especially the controversial moment in Stratholm, etc.
Arthas did nothing wrong...
Before leaving to Northrend at least.
Extremely underrated music pick here: Listen to the Crysis 2 "Epilogue" song, or the whole soundtrack for that matter. It's in my opinion one of Hanz Zimmer's best works!
makes me sad that such a beautiful lore, music, game became the POS it is today...
19:28 ARTHAS DID NOTHING WRONG! AN KARANIR THANAGOR!
Hey Marco! I just wanted to recommend a newer masterpiece of a game. I don't know if its enough for a video but I though you could do something similar to what you do for League champions and try and just analyze a games music theme (main menu, really) and try and make guesses about the game and what its about or what the tone of the game is. The game I am talking about specifically is Pacific Drive, and it has a really interesting main theme that I could say tells a story. I don't know how you would verify your analysis of the lore or the tone of the game, perhaps there's a really good summary paragraph of it out there but its lore is so complex even having finished the main story myself there is so much left to understand.
EDIT: The song is called "The Remnant (Pacific Drive Main Theme)" by Wilbert Roget II, and D'Anthoni Wooten
Is this a bad time to mention that Arthas offed his father himself? xD
Blizzard needs to make the Trailer in the the sphere of vegas. Let us be part of the Lichkings Army. As Arthas hold the sword infront of us and we see the (ice) thats him sommuning the souls from the (afterlive) in this case of Sindragosa who is a Dragonaspect and (protecter) of Azeroth she died my a huge dragon who fell into cannibalism. Arthas ressurrected her to fight against what once stood for protection. Wow is full of fractals and opposite sides of the same medal. The chosen child of light and warmth who falls into darkness and coldness. This reflects on his attack skills. He even kills all champions this only accured 2 times in wow. The only one who killed us after Arthas, was Argus and its the same theme where the soul of Argus himself talks to us how he got tortured, endless souls who suffered.
Arthas did nothing wrong
Yes, Invincible is in the ice :D
Marco could you react to oceiros OST from Darl Souls 3? It’s actually good