The Baldur’s Gate TV show should focus on the Dark Urge and Bhaal, because we need more serious fantasy in this world
Baldur's Gate 3 is going to be adapted into a TV show, with no involvement from Larian. While that itself is a bummer, a good number of talented folks have been brought on to bring the story to the little screens, likely twisting it into something different, original, and adjacent to the game rather than straight-up copying its plot. And they should model the show around the Dark Urge character and its homicidal god, Bhaal. The Dark Urge, for those who hadn't played the old games, was the central character of Baldur's Gate 1 and Baldur's Gate 2. The spawn (offspring) of the murder-god Bhaal, the Dark Urge had to combat their nature and always stay on the run, avoiding the bloodfiend's goons and monsters along the way. Baldur's Gate 3 upped the ante for this character, giving you a lot of control over how they'll turn out. You could succumb to the urge, embracing your old self and restarting the path to chaos and carnage, or fight it out, accepting this new chance at a normal life, free from the freedom-promising shackles of Bhaal and his host of slaughter. The Dark Urge is my favorite storyline in BG3 and what I consider as "the way the game is supposed to be played." Screenshot via Larian Studios YouTube This storyline is perhaps the best-written and most dramatic of all the characters you can select. It allows for a totally custom character, but also one that has a semi-preset story where you are the one who alters parts of it. The human side to it, where one must wrestle with their own nature as something they did not choose to be, is a perfect dramatic theme for television. It's something that, while super close to its fantasy background and part of a broader fantastical world, separates itself from low-level, kid-friendly fantasy that most of the genre has become saturated with nowadays. The Dark Urge and Bhaal are serious, gritty, bloody, and even disgusting to a degree, but all of that plays into refining the tone of the story that leans more to the mature side rather than retaining the superficial glee of DnD fantasy. The very city of Baldur's Gate, too, is centered around Bhaal and his cult thriving underground in the sewers and ancient ruins, so even if the story doesn't follow that thread directly, it still has to make it a strong presence. At that point, since you're incorporating a fundamental aspect of the setting (the city), you might as well elevate your central plot and make it fit in with its surroundings, i.e., by making the main character(s) related to the city, its cults, nature, history, and culture. Without Bhaal and the Dark Urge as key components, I fail to see how just another Forgotten Realms story is going to be worth consuming. Then again, I'm cautiously optimistic to see how this'll play out, and God forbid I be wrong about something. The post The Baldur’s Gate TV show should focus on the Dark Urge and Bhaal, because we need more serious fantasy in this world appeared first on Destructoid.
Baldur's Gate 3 is going to be adapted into a TV show, with no involvement from Larian. While that itself is a bummer, a good number of talented folks have been brought on to bring the story to the little screens, likely twisting it into something different, original, and adjacent to the game rather than straight-up copying its plot.
And they should model the show around the Dark Urge character and its homicidal god, Bhaal.
The Dark Urge, for those who hadn't played the old games, was the central character of Baldur's Gate 1 and Baldur's Gate 2. The spawn (offspring) of the murder-god Bhaal, the Dark Urge had to combat their nature and always stay on the run, avoiding the bloodfiend's goons and monsters along the way.
Baldur's Gate 3 upped the ante for this character, giving you a lot of control over how they'll turn out. You could succumb to the urge, embracing your old self and restarting the path to chaos and carnage, or fight it out, accepting this new chance at a normal life, free from the freedom-promising shackles of Bhaal and his host of slaughter.
The Dark Urge is my favorite storyline in BG3 and what I consider as "the way the game is supposed to be played." Screenshot via Larian Studios YouTube This storyline is perhaps the best-written and most dramatic of all the characters you can select. It allows for a totally custom character, but also one that has a semi-preset story where you are the one who alters parts of it.The human side to it, where one must wrestle with their own nature as something they did not choose to be, is a perfect dramatic theme for television. It's something that, while super close to its fantasy background and part of a broader fantastical world, separates itself from low-level, kid-friendly fantasy that most of the genre has become saturated with nowadays.
The Dark Urge and Bhaal are serious, gritty, bloody, and even disgusting to a degree, but all of that plays into refining the tone of the story that leans more to the mature side rather than retaining the superficial glee of DnD fantasy.
The very city of Baldur's Gate, too, is centered around Bhaal and his cult thriving underground in the sewers and ancient ruins, so even if the story doesn't follow that thread directly, it still has to make it a strong presence. At that point, since you're incorporating a fundamental aspect of the setting (the city), you might as well elevate your central plot and make it fit in with its surroundings, i.e., by making the main character(s) related to the city, its cults, nature, history, and culture.
Without Bhaal and the Dark Urge as key components, I fail to see how just another Forgotten Realms story is going to be worth consuming.
Then again, I'm cautiously optimistic to see how this'll play out, and God forbid I be wrong about something.
The post The Baldur’s Gate TV show should focus on the Dark Urge and Bhaal, because we need more serious fantasy in this world appeared first on Destructoid.
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