Fret not, it is getting increasingly difficult to fruitfully discuss the story of the game behind spoilers but least you made the effort in the first post. Our moderators are doing a good job there, but perhaps it would make sense if this section was divided into categories by Act, so we could get into it more without worrying about plot reveals.
Anyhow I had a very similar impression overall.
I thought Jaheira was handled brilliantly and it really made the entire game for me. Her alone. She did that! haha. Ok not entirely, but it really made me smile when she eventually showed up and I've kept smiling. Jaheira's reintroduction was fantastic for me, and totally worked, even for someone who probably played like 20,000 hours of BG over the years, and who can think of a gamesave for every corner of that head cannon lol.
That said Jaheira was not the most important Baldur's Gate character to me personally, as that position was always occupied by...
Viconia.
In BG1 and BG2, if Jaheira was in the party when the first encounter with Viconia took place, then Jaheira's the one who gives Charname permission to take the hit on reputation and encourages us to welcome this Drow gal into the fold. She suggests this via bark in BG2 as well, that she's fully on board here, and thinks it's a 'good idea', wise even.
This really establishes Jaheira as classically druidic in her thinking on the subject, and a better Harper than most, for actually believing in the possibility of redemption. In BG2 Viconia takes over the role of Minsc's Witch after Dynaheir, and he goes Berzerk to save her when the pricks in the temple district are trying to burn her alive. Viconia challenges the PC's notions of villainy the whole game, leaning into it or away from it depending on Charname's choices, and her romance was one of the sequel defining arcs. She is the quintessential outcast background.
This isn't like running into Kivan again or something. Viconia was a much bigger deal to the Saga, so the idea that we could meet her again after all these years but not have a way to bring her out of retirement stings a bit. Also, she is practically the archetype for what is now covered by Seldarin Drow. I mean Drizzt was just somebody with the boss armor to strip in BG, I mean right, but Viconia was along for the whole ride. I feel like everything between her and Jaheira or Minsc should have nuance. Even if the player doesn't understand what makes this particular Drow lady different than say Minthara (who starts out pretty psycho and instantly gets blood on our hands). Viconia was like the opposite of that, even if our hands weren't totally clean there either. To recruit her initially you had to trust your gut, or follow your heart, and show some deference to neutrality over law. It was a nice way to handle that in BG1/2 and I think BG3 needs a bit more of a nod to the same. To me it makes perfect sense that she'd end up in charge of a Sharran cult, as she was always fervent. I mean for her "Shar" was a one-liner lol, so sure, of course. But just to put things in perspective, 9 times out of 10 Minsc got chunked to oblivion in my games, but Viconia stuck it out all the way to Hell and back. She's a hero of Baldur's Gate, much as anyone, even if Karlach never heard about it, probably cause Viconia prefers to keep her secrets.
Why can't she crack wise at Jaheira on that score in some endearing way? I mean that would feel right. Like they meet each other again, kinda shocked, and exchange some insider banter that makes it very clear this is a reunion with some weight to it. She should say something amusing on all those ballads the bards have been writing about Jaheira, and poke a bit of fun there. More of a VH1 behind the music there, if we can get a y2k callback ya know hehe. I totally agree that shadow philosophy and the Shar/Selune dichotomy should be centered here, and clear the stage a bit so there's some more room for that heheh.
