Talking about how Wyll hits on the women in the party is another point that came up in the herosexual debates, between that and Mizora, Wyll's romance takes on a certain tenor. I'm curious if he's hit on the player character when we are Shadowheart or Lae'zel.
Yes, he seems to have a weakness for dangerous women with a ruthless streak, which could well be part of what got him in trouble with Mizora. And for all he might think he's changed, he doesn't seem to have learned his lesson on that front at least! I do wish that our custom protagonist got the chance to challenge him on this behaviour when he later hits on them too, as Shadowheart does if he hits on her after trying it on with Lae'zel. In fact, without this, I find it's hard to see any self-respecting Tav being up for sleeping with him if they've previously seen him interact with Lae'zel and Shadowheart. Though as you say, if he hits on you as a protagonist if you're playing Lae'zel or Shadowheart as origin characters, this would have a different tenor.
Possibly, Tav being be a supportive friend first might be what makes them special to Wyll because... he doesn't have any. I actually like the romance scene when you just keep him company.
I like it in principle, though not so much in execution. It is a good thing that the different relationships can play out in different ways and over different timescales, and Shadowheart's I think is a good example of laying a foundation of friendship first (or maybe that's just what she wants you to think ...). But I don't like the fact that the no-sex scene with Wyll had my character encouraging him to rest his head in her lap and kissing his troubled brow. This is a level of tenderness, affection and intimacy that I don't think is warranted when she'd initially only signed up for a night of mutual forgetting of troubles, and what he's being comforted for is basically being cock-blocked by his devil (almost) ex. And my character has a tadpole in her head that could turn her into a mindflayer and could frankly do with some comfort herself. I'd much prefer it if this scene felt less one-way and more like mutual support, eg sitting or lying together, perhaps leaning on one another or even holding hands or just sharing a bottle again, or at the very least if we had a choice about how the night would pan out once sex is off the table.
Gale, I've never been quite able to trust since you're just... someone. Gale also, unlike Wyll, can emotionally deal with being a lone wolf.
I agree that the Gale romance doesn't quite work in EA either. I'm wondering whether the fact that you need to spam long rests to consummate it at the party, and that the key establishing Mystra and magic loss scenes can happen after the party if they haven't before, mean that it's actually intended to play out over a longer timescale and that it will do so in the full release. I think it would work better as a slower burn.
