Watch me make an account to connect with like-minded people about the fiery love of our lives.
Well said, my friend. Well said.
It seems people forget why we tell each other stories -- to remember our past and to imagine our future. Some are more hopeful than others, but in a game like this where anything is possible, this can't be how it ends for Karlach.
A lot of people equate Karlach's story to that of a terminal patient, but they couldn't be more different from each other.
By definition, a terminal patient has no options to survive -- they are destined to die. Karlach isn't terminal -- she can live, if only she returns to Avernus.
Karlach's story isn't that of a terminal patient, it's that of a slave fighting for freedom on the penalty of death. She's more Solomon from 12 Years a Slave than Augustus from The Fault in Our Stars.
What Solomon does is he struggles to attain his freedom. What Augustus does is he makes his final days meaningful. Karlach spends the bulk of her time doing the former, while the latter is sparse.
And what of the "ending she deserves", the fiery and poignant one?
Well, that can be a hopeful ending if we're allowed to conclude it in a definitive edition expansion or downloadable content. Her arc would then be as such:
Karlach, a tiefling slave from Avernus, escapes the pits of hell to seek freedom, only to find that the machine installed in place of her heart will explode unless she returns. Setting off to find a fix for the machine, she meets adventurers who help her find solutions. As hopeful as she is, all the avenues they pursue lead to a dead end. Karlach, now at the end of her rope, has no choice but to return to Avernus, lest she die in a fiery inferno. But that choice is no longer a hopeless one, because this time she's not alone -- she has her companions/lover by her side. Together, they will overcome insurmountable odds to win her freedom back.
That would be the true ending she deserves, but that would require Larian to pull out all the stops for Karlach and allow us to see it through and not just vaguely allude to it in a smoke-filled cinematic. I truly hope they do. Karlach's story should be one of overcoming adversity, not one of heartfelt finality.
