Hi guys! I read the first posts and i felt like i needed to support the ending changes. Feels good not to be alone in this!

First of all, disclaimer, i adore the game, i really love it. But as much as i generally love the writting, the ending makes no sense and looks like someone organized the scenes without caring for the character relationships. Its the Scarlet Witch situatuion all over again!

Second, i share my life with an abuse Survivor. We went through a lot of pain and tears, and still are +15 years together, so with Astarion i went like 5 steps ahead of his reactions. He is so very well written, i only miss some reference to nightmares. Heck, the scene with the mirror, when Tav jumpscares him and he get a bit defensive? My partner jokingly asked to me more than once to please wear a little bell so i can go around the home without scare them shitless. His rushes after drinking blood? Meds to be able to function! The constant need for reassuring? so much on spot. When he finally stands up for himself and say NO the first time? That is a HUGE milestone, more than people realize(i might have cried a little, watching it). You have to pour your soul in a relationship like these. For a world without therapy, Astarion makes good progress so damn fast.

So imagine my surprise when at the end, after saving the world, after so much character development, the companions (in my case Gale) jokes about Astarion while he catches fire and runs. It really is not ok.
Imagine if someone, friend or not jokes about my rl partner while they are in a life or death situation. I would probably at least break his nose. haha Gale, try to laugh now. But no, i would run like hell trying to find a safe spot while unclasping my cape to trow it over him and then dimension door us to safety. He probably cant even see where he's going.

Instead of something like that, we just look him run, and then Karlach grabs Tav's attention because she's burning. Something that we discussed twice, girl. GIRL. I dont care right now? Go to Hell (literally, not insulting her) or burn, what do you need me for? I have like 60 approval with you! Why do we have an aproval system? Why it feels like the game is making us choose between the two, and then, choosing for us? In a game about choices? Another weird nonsensical dialog with Karlach is she yelling at us for having fun and making love. We are...not...doing that? He can't? Are you dumb? He's probably waking up screaming from terrors every night? She shouldnt say that if the player is romancing Astarion. As others say, im probably just not rescuing her lil attention seeker-*** next time :')

I believe Wyll also says something but i played the first run without spoilers and i didnt know if Astarion was going to survive or not, so i didnt pay much attention.

Also it is very weird because when the characters fight the brain, its daylight, you can see in the citizens scenes that is afternoon. The sun is low when they are talking at the port. So... why? Just for the joke? I dont get it.

It would partially solve it if the order changes, as other person already said. We see everyone's scenes and the last one is Astarion. And if the aproval is at least 70, friend or lover, the whole group should run after him. Or at least the party members you took the most. In my case, Selune Shadowheart and Minsc or Halsin, but they arent there.

But the good thing would be not victimizing him further. He could notice the heat and say something like; "well shit, time to go, see you at camp! and teleport himself to safety. Gale can have the dumb insufferable package for the "in case of death situation" but Astarion cant have a "run to safety" package? he has a 12 starting INT, i believe, he is not an idiot and paraphrasing him "im the definition of careful". Just pack a very thick black hood and a bunch of teleport scrolls.

To go and make this, so catastrophically wrong, just go back to the little ending cards, like in PoE, say "and they went out together, to look out for themselves and for a cure!" and make them as ambigous as possible, so we can use, you know, our little theather of the mind C': ...and is probably cheaper to make, win win.

Thanks for reading, and sorry for the wall of text, or if i sound mean (this hits real close to personal experiences), or made a typo, english is not my first language^^"