Just one question: Not being subtle is bad thing? O_o
More often than not, yes,
And more specifically the lack of subtlety is often pointed as a downright flaw when it comes to writing, regardless of the genre involved (comedy down to complete parody, horror, drama, romance, socio-political commentary, etc).
I agree, but I don't think Larian is incapable of subtlety and I would use Gale as an example. Gale seems like on the surface to be a great guy but if you start peeling back the layers you realize he is a selfish, manipulative, beta-male, power hungry, stalker. There is debate on this, but anyone who does a deep dive on Gale comes to a similar conclusion, that he is at least untrustworthy and despite his virtue-signaling he really only cares about himself.
Every time I have pointed this out to people they have been incredulous *until* I start pointing to stuff he says and showing how this is a form of manipulation and that he starts doing it pretty early on.
Do they take things to 11? Yeah, they create some incredibly wacky situations as well, but for the most part those situations are superficial - they don't really matter. When it comes to the big parts of the story Larian has that shit on lockdown. Another example is the Dead Three connection. It's there, and there is a connection to the Absolute, but you have to look for it.
Shadowheart is another good example of subtlety. Probably the most fan speculation is around her actual story.
I'd like to get some other examples of writing where you guys felt Larian went over the top to the extreme. For science.
