Originally Posted by Dangerferret
And even if you consider Karlach as illithid as a way to save her life, mind flayers have no souls. So she had to give up her soul to avoid going to hell. Ironic, I guess, depending on one's point of view.

Ultimately, Karlach's bad endings remind me of the puppy in Life is Strange 2. A sweet moment turned very sour in the most unnecessary way just to provoke strong feels. I don't know.
I have PTSD and I just can't relate to the people thankful Karlach is just as doomed as many of them feel, but I respect their feelings on the subject.

Maybe it's just the state of the world that is making Karlach's endings harder to deal with. Something akin to hopeless nihilism just seems too on point at the moment.

There are a lot of little, special moments with Karlach. Visiting her parents' grave, running into her old friend. Maybe this metaphor won't work for anyone but myself, but have you ever watched a TV show that introduces a new, fresh character? One who is universally loved, filled with boundless optimism and energy. Just too good to be true? Yeah... and by the end of the episode they're suddenly dead, because ratings season. But didn't you enjoy a good cry? It's almost like Karlach was designed to make you love her, then lose her.

Maybe, given the length and intensity of these conversations, Larian got Karlach spot on. Look how much we all care. Still, there's something to be said for options. If they'd killed off Minsc or Jaheira in BG1, I never would have played BG2. And I admit that the endings, as they stand, make me feel more emotionally manipulated by Karlach's story than anything.
Well, that's what I said, I think this is exactly how she was designed since she isn't part of the OG cast but was made Origin later in the development. Basically a sweet friend you meet along the way, or even companion that "heroically" can sacrifice herself at the end, hence why she's the only one that can do it and why Larian doubled down on her being doomed with all the new dialogues. You know, she's doomed anyway since her engine will kill her or she may go back to hell where she'll also likely die because Zariel can summon army of demons so she might as well bite the bullet and become squid for the greater good