The "I'm a shar worshipper" scene would be so much stronger if we ever had a reason to think of Shadowheart as something other than a cleric with a super fake name who doesn't appear to be aligned with a good god, but being played seriously here it just doesn't work, to the point where the whole thing is more than a little bit cringe.
The scene is also weak because a supposedly "big reveal" is done through dialogue. "Yes, I worship Shar bla bla..." And how many opportunities did they have for a better scene that would show instead of telling?
The shrine of Selûne with her statue in it. Some moonlighty magic could awaken and probe Shadowheart which sends her into channeling Shar's dark magic which dramatically shatters Selûne's statue? Establish the Shar vs Selûne conflict as
real at the same time. The goblin fort is a full on Temple of Selûne. They are being set up as big players in the plot but it's not going anywhere and the conflict between them isn't realized even though you have a Sharran
in the party.
They're also missing the mark on Shadowheart's visual transformation once you find out. She could turn from looking ordinary to wearing Sharran armor to really drive the reveal home. But no. How can she transform when she already had a Sharran armor and a
symbol on her forehead before we were supposed to know?
It's almost like they think the Origin stories justify some really lackluster writing. Because you can play as her, there can be no secrets and they're not even trying. If this is what it means to have playable companions in an RPG, I don't ever want to see this feature in a game again.
edit: The cringe level with Astarion's vampire "reveal" is just as high as with Shadowheart's "reveal". This kind of writing really doesn't help you like these characters at all. Although with Astarion it's more of a visual problem. They could still correct it and give him a "high elf" form without the fangs and red eyes and the character would be much better for it.
