Opening Song: Main Theme (by Penka Kouneva)
Credits Song: N/A
Episode 1: A Woman Unseen
Set in Nevarra sometime after Inquisition, an elven rouge named Miriam and her partner, an Orlaisian warrior named Roland, steal lyrium (a substance that increases mana) from a mage tower for a group known as Dolph's Daggers. The leader, Dolph, grows angry at Miriam for using his nephew - a thief recruit, to distract the Templars keeping guard. Fairbanks, the antivan commissioner of the theft, arrives at that moment with a human mage named Saphirra (Miriam's ex). Miriam is upset with Saphirra for leaving her to join the now-disbanded Inquisition, whose goal of closing a giant hole in the sky was successful. Saphirra however, requests Miriam's help with one last job assigned to her by the Inquisition, after which, she promises they can live together in the Hinterlands.
Fairbanks introduces the duo to the rest of his team: Qwydion (Qunari mage) and Lacklon (dwarven warrior). Former Seeker and member of the Inquisition, Cassandra Pentaghast, has tasked them with retrieving an artifact fueled by blood magic called the Circulum Infinitus. They are to bring the artifact to Orlais - the largest nation in Thedas. The Tevinter Chantry is in possession of of the item, and the Tevinter Divine (head of the faith) has Magister Rezaren Ammosine studying it at a summer palace in the city of Nessum. The cathedral sits at the very top and is only accessible through the palace. Smugglers routes used by the Divine for illicit activities allow access to the palace, or a network of secret passages inside a sealed temple to the Old Gods will allow access from below. Miriam uses a mark on her face to slip into the palace and open a passage in the tunnels for the rest of the team.
Episode 2: The Will of the Maker
Rezaren converses with Knight Commander Tassia while attempting to summon spirits that witnessed the creation of the Circulum Infinitus, which he believes can revive the dead. He is successful in summoning Memory, a spirit of wisdom, who reveals that the ring was created by Magister Amelia Pavus (possibly related to Dorian Pavus), although, Memory warns of using the ring or giving it to "those that have eyes on it" because it will bring Tevinter to ruin. Rezaren tries to force Memory into revealing the ones seeking the ring; an act that taints the spirit, transforming it into a demon of Pride.
"By name and by nature, mortals are doomed to die. And nothing goes against nature without consequence." -Memory
In the palace, Roland disguises himself as a guard and creates a distraction to give Lacklon and Fairbanks time to access the vault. Saphirra and Qwydion work to keep the people in the cathedral from leaving by placing a seal on the door. Miriam guards the exit, and to avoid compromising their escape, gives up a child trying to hide from an angry cook. Inside the vault, Fairbanks tries to assassinate Saphirra and take the Circulum Infinitus for himself, but Saphirra activates the vault's defense mechanism which was designed to halt a slave revolt.
Episode 3: The Serpent's Coils
A wounded Fairbanks hands Miriam the Circulum before succumbing to his injuries. Miriam, Roland, and Lacklon then rush to save Saphirra from the magically sealed vault in a palace now besieged by undead elves, Shades, and Rage demons. Realizing there is no way to escape the the vault, Saphirra asks Miriam to take the Circulum to a contact at the Hanged Man tavern in Kirkwall because she does not trust Fairbanks' contact in Orlais. The groups makes for the exit, picking up Qwydion along the way, but are confronted by Rezaren.
The fight sequences and animation for the magic casting are gorgeous.
Episode 4: Those Who Falsely Dream
Miriam recognizes a demon-possessed corpse acting as a guard for Rezaren to be Neb, her brother. However, the group is forced to flee when Tassia and her soldiers arrive. Tassia, recognizing the mark on Miriam's face, demands to know who she is. Rezaren explains that she was raised to be his personal assassin, but he always thought of her as his sister. Tassia locks down the city and orders Rezaren to calm a chained dragon in the vault that was riled during the commotion. After completing his duties, Rezaren uses blood magic to contact Miriam, asking to use her blood in conjunction with the Circulum to revive Neb. Miriam recalls the day Rezaren failed his Harrowing (a trial for mages), and his mother transferred a demon from him to Neb. Miriam killed both Rezaren's mother and her own brother that day, and Rezaren lied to protect her from the Templars. Miriam refuses to assist Rezaren with his plans now, however, Rezaren reveals that Saphirra is alive and offers to trade her for the Circulum.
Episode 5: An Altar of Fire
Upon hearing of Saphirra's orders to take the ring to Kirkwall instead of Orlais, Qwydion vouches for Fairbanks' character based on years of working with him. Roland suggests they take the ring directly to Skyhold, the Inquisition headquarters. Lacklon recommends against it on the basis that they are likley to get in trouble for taking things directly to the boss. Miriam tells the group to do whatever they want with the Circulum because she has no interest in it, and leaves to rescue Saphirra. Roland and Lacklon create a distraction, while Miriam battles with, and decapitates, Neb. Meanwhile, Qwydion sneaks into the vault to free the imprisoned dragon.
Episode 6: The Price of Salvation
The group returns to their hide out where they discover Saphirra with the Circulum. It becomes apparent that she had always intended to steal the Circulum and Fairbanks knew she was a traitor from the start. Saphirra explains that the Inquisition refused to attack the Venatori (enemies to her family), so she turned to the "Crimson Knight" instead. She worked out a deal with Rezaren to exchange the artifact for Miriam while making the whole thing look like a theft.
Cassandra, Cullen, Leliana, and Josephine from the video game "Inquisition" make small cameo appearances.
Rezaren restores Neb's body and places a new demon inside him. He then uses blood magic fueled by the slain bodies to gain control of the dragon. Rezaren uses the dragon to take Miriam hostage and start the revival ritual, summoning forth the spirit of Neb. The spirit banishes the demon inhabiting Nebs's body just as the rest of the gang launch an assault on the ritual site. Rezaren is slain and the dragon is allowed to fly away.
"They aren't monsters or gods. And if I were chained in a basement for a thousand years, all I'd want... is to be free." -Miriam
Saphirra escapes with the Circulum, stating outright that it is more important to her than Miriam. The team then decides to dedicate themselves to retrieving the Circulum before it can be delivered to the Crimson Knight (aka Meredith Stannard) in Kirkwall.
Final Thoughts
The story stays simple to fit within a tight runtime but dedicates very
few of its resources to establishing the central plot, and even fewer on
its entirely new cast of characters with three separate romantic
relationships happening concurrently. Viewers familiar with Dragon Age
tropes and the fan motto of "never trust the mage"- which arose
from a mage either betraying or abandoning the party in all three
mainline games - will likley catch on to the big 'Saphirra is a traitor'
twist early. That alone isn't a deal breaker, but it is one of many
blemishes for a show whose ambitions have clearly exceeded its budgetary
constraints.
The biggest disappointment for me was Rezaren and
his character arc. He was almost a sympathetic villain - potentially the
best in the series, but then goes from mild-mannered and reasonable, to
insane "your my property" vengeful blood mage in the blink of an
eye. A lot about his mind-set and past has to be guessed at, and Miriam
(understandably) seems to be projecting things onto Rezaren that are
either never shown or were beyond his control. As one of the more
interesting characters in the show I wished they had explored his
headspace better and how it led to his sudden change in behavior. It
would've been compelling to see him question if his experiences growing
up were different from Miriam's, and then taken the time to reflect on
who he is, what was done to his "siblings", and if he actually loves
them as 'people' or as 'objects'. Or if he was suppose to be an
irredeemable, possessive mage/slaver, then I wished that had been
demonstrated better, particularly in the flashbacks. I did enjoy the
parallels drawn between Rezaren and Saphirra though; how one loved
Tevinter and wanted to make it better, while the other wanted to raze it
to the ground. Both needed the same bracelet to achieve their goals and
both claimed to love Miriam, but in the end ultimately only saw her as
something they could use.
Being set in Tevinter where mages have more freedom than in the rest of Thedas, I was expecting to see a different take on blood magic; something that has only been used in the video games by power-hungry and fearful mages trying to escape segregation and abuse. Merrill's "Mirror Image" quest from Dragon Age II was a rare example of how the fear of blood magic is sometimes worse than the actual use of it, so I was intrigued by the narrative possibilities of Absolution's blood-powered 'circlet of revival' and what the consequences of using it would be. The Memory spirit hinted at it being something significant, but as far as I can tell, there weren't any downsides to using the circlet outside of the initial blood cost. I also wasn't too keen on them adding another fake-out death to a franchise that already has too many. Between Calpernia, Corypheus, Leliana, and now Meredith Stannard, I wouldn't be surprised if the Arishok somehow revived himself and sailed back to Seheron. Bringing both Corypheus and Meredith back also cheapens the achievements of Hawke (Dragon Age II protagonist). Not to mention the host of unanswered questions and plot holes this show's cliff-hanger ending left open:
- How is Meredith back and why is she in charge of Kirkwall?
- How did this slip past Varric, the Viscount of Kirkwall?
- How was Rezaren able to control a dragon when Avexis is supposed to be the only one capable of such a thing?
- If blood magic is effective with animal blood (as seen with the dragon) or blood that has gone rancid (as seen with Neb), then why are mages wasting slaves? Surely animals are far more numerous, cheaper, and less controversial.
- Why were the Tevinters so unfazed by Qwydion (a Qunari) when in the games it is said that a Qunari would never be allowed to walk the streets, even in the company of a Magister?
- Why did Saphirra - a former member of the Inquisition - think that working with the Crimson Knight and rock-candy Templars was a good idea? She would know that they are allied with Corypheus and the Venatori.
The Dragon Age series is well known for its excellent writing and deep characters, but Absolution just moves to fast to get emotionally invested in anything. There is no room to breathe, to take things in and understand who these characters are and how this world operates . They move rapidly from one location to another, hook up out of the blue, and have complex relationships that don't get explored as deeply as they should. As a fan of the video game series I could follow the DA terminology just fine, but would a casual viewer know what a "Qunari" is or what a "harrowing" entails and what the significance of failing one is? I think Absolution should have taken a cue from Castlevania's first season (4 episodes) and focused on smaller-scale jobs that let the viewer get invested in the protagonist, her crew, and the world of Thedas. Each of the characters could've had their own episode to shine in:
- Episode 1: Qwydion and Fairbanks questing.
- Episode 2: Saphirra seeks their aid.
- Episode 3: The team picks up Lacklon and looks for Miriam.
- Episode 4: Miriam and Roland thievery.
- Episode 5: The entire team assembles.
- Episode 6: Ends on the tease of a big heist on the Black Divine's Summer Palace.
This would have given the characters a
chance to endear themselves to the viewer and freed up time to explain
basic terms that someone unfamiliar with the video game series wouldn't
understand. With a likable cast and a hint of
something big on the horizon, it might have left an impression on viewers.
As it stands, Absolution seems to be part of the ongoing Dragon Age
narrative in that it offers an idea as to where the next game
- Dragon Age 4 - is heading. In that regard it may be of some interest to series
veterans, but as a standalone piece of media it suffers from flat
characters and rushed pacing that even a series fan like myself sometimes had a
hard time keeping up with.
Have you seen Dragon Age: Absolution or played any of the Dragon Age games? What were your thoughts? How do they compare?
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