Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General LIKELY MAJOR SPOILERS! Does the whimsy fall away in Act 2?

From what y'all have seen shared on YouTube, and RQ, your experience in Ghent, does the whimsy slide away in Act 2?

I don't recall anything on PFH, nor anything I've seen shared on YT, that had a single drop of whimsy.

Clearly there's some in Act 3 (unless that date with Karlach was still Act 2), but I'm wondering if the story is framed as:

Act 1 - this world is bright and lush, and filled with humanoids who while they have very real problems, their motivations we can understand even if we disagree. This world is delightful, and just needs a little tidying up. Then through Underdark and Grymforge, we transition to...

Act 2 - buckle up because shit's about to get real.

(And to reiterate, this is 100% I-didnt-get-any-sleep-last-night-shower-thoughts speculation)

Act 3 - 1 of either:
you've seen what's behind door #1, you've seen what's behind door #2, time to commit, or
You've made a lot choices in both the light place and the dark place and gotten this far, so having made those choices, let's see what new set of choices you've earned for yourself

I'm wondering I guess is if a lot of the playfulness of Act 1 is part of a framing device related to the themes of darkness and light

I’ve heard from a few sources that act 2 definitely gets darker. I doubt the whimsical humor drops away completely though.

I didn’t see all that much more than you folks of act 2 (or what I assume was act 2, though it might have been the beginning of act 3). I certainly didn’t make it as far as that in my own playthrough - I only got as far as the druid grove - but in the presentation in the morning I did see a bit of the approach to Baldur’s Gate, including a bit of Rivington and a circus parked outside the city.

I’m happy to report that both whimsy and real shit were on display! I can perhaps say just a little more in spoiler tags if folk are interested, but the forums seem to have decided they’ve had enough again for now, and so I’m taking the hint and logging off for the night