For those who do enjoy Astarion, how do you feel about his grand entrance?
I suppose to be consistent with my earlier points, I should again suggest that they do nothing to change Astarion, but instead provide us with an alternative Vamp, so Astarion can have a rival too!
As far as Astarion's looks go, I see some want him to look more monstrous but considering that Larian has made all the companions romanceable, Astarion looking attractive makes sense. As for his vampiric nature, I think he has a lot of the common qualities but he's classified as a spawn not being able to create a vampire among other more powerful attributes. He tells you after the bite scene, that you are lucky he's not a true vampire or you might wake up with fangs. As for his entrance, I think it resembles his roguish nature and a foreshadow of his backstory. For example, sneaking behind you and pulling a knife to your neck is a rogue move. Accusing you of being his jailer, connects to his backstory of him being enslaved or "jailed" by Cazador. I notice the other companions also have similar entrances.
Lae'zel immediately goes into fight mode, a warrior move and immediately mentions the Githyanki (she wants to be respected among her kin). She is the most straightforward of the companions.
Shadowheart is trapped inside a mindflayer pod. There is a theory I saw someone write that Shadowheart is brainwashed to think she is a follower or priestess of the Goddess Shar but if she is brainwashed "trapped", she could be a follower or priestess of the Goddesss Selune. I noticed that every time Shadowheart is with you and you stumble upon a statue of Selune she immediately makes a disdainful comment, every time. It makes you wonder if that theory could be true. This is something that can be intentional in writing.
Gale's introduction of coming out of a magical waypoint and immediately lecturing you on magic seems to connect to his wizard side and his growing knowledge of magic. There is cloak of mystery with Gale, I think there is something more to him. Even if he is a good friend, there is just something that seems off about him.
Wyll, you first meet during the goblin fight outside the Druid Grove and one of the first things he says is, "Make way for the Blade of Frontiers." Right there is a foreshadow of Wyll wanting to be this popular folk hero. I can't quite figure out Wyll too much but I get the sense that he is hungry for attention for wanting to be a famous folk hero with a large following.
