Well, I don't want to spoil the party. I would love for Shadowheart to have more content, but it's essential to understand that both SH and Astarion are the characters with the MOST content in the game. I understand that they even made statistics where Astarion led the list followed by SH.
This is absolutely valid and folks who like Shadowheart have been spoiled in many ways. There are companions who are in much more dire need of work, including their romance. I’m thinking especially Minthara, or Wyll. I hope that eventually Larian will be able to bring those characters closer to the high standards they set with some of the others. I recognize the need for that. And I hope that they have something in the works. At the same time, it’s fun chatting about possibilities for Shadowheart, and darn it I want her special Grymforge kiss fixed!
So what do you all like about Shadowheart's romance - apart from validation?
Well, first, I like one of her potential endings. Epilogue spoilers:
I mean the one where you move to a cottage in the countryside, close to her parents, with like twenty animals and the owlbear, and a garden, relaxing and living the good life, after all of the trauma of the game’s events. This ending fulfilled all of the cottagecore lesbian fantasies that I didn’t even know I had lying latent in my soul. So the fact that you can have a peaceful, settled ending with her is a huge bonus for me. Not for everyone, but it’s for me. (And as an animal lover, I’m a fan of the whole “pack of pets” thing, and how she reacts approvingly whenever you’re nice to an animal throughout the game.) I like the idea of my Durge, Shadowheart, and her parents being able to heal together in a peaceful setting like that. Plus, you get a foretaste of that when you have a conversation with her once you hit the lower city, envisioning a future just like that. I liked that a lot.
Second, it’s interesting to explore personally-encountered themes or issues, such as trust or trauma or self-discovery, through her and her romance. Much the same way as folks who love Astarion explore certain life experiences of their own through his character.
Third, they’ve given her a sharp-witted, funny yet sweet personality. Wits and blades always sharp, right? Shadowheart was given a wonderful sense of humor by the devs, and that makes it very enjoyable to romance her, as well as simply bring her along as a companion. Games are for entertainment, right? And it always helps when you have a romance interest whose in-game lines make you laugh. Case in point, the interaction where you give her a night orchid. Plus the devs gave her a little extra love when it comes to smaller interactions, like giving her the Noblestalk or the idol of Shar, throughout the game. So it’s fun to have consistent, positive, small interactions that have some substance to them. And, if you’re taking her on the good path, those reflect positively on her personality as well.
I will also say, fourth, that her Act 2 romance does have some very powerful moments that are memorable, in my opinion. Act 2 spoilers:
One of which is the act of trusting her to do the right thing in regard to the Nightsong. And it feels so good when she actually follows through for you in that circumstance. And I know that folks don’t necessarily want to play as Durge, but there’s such a touching moment if you get the “murdering your partner” scene after the Nightsong, where you actually get an advantage on a dice roll because “Shadowheart has faith in you.” I thought that was a really nice touch, and I liked that too.
Fifth, (Act 3 spoilers)
there is a lovely powerful moment in Act 3 at the House of Grief where Shadowheart meets her old friend Nocturne, the purple tiefling, who happens to be trans. Nocturne said that Shadowheart’s courage inspired her to have the courage as well to become truer to herself, come out as a trans person, adopt a new name, etc. That reflects very positively on Shadowheart’s character and is one of the nicer queer-affirming moments in the game, in my opinion. Plus it’s nice that Shadowheart is clearly a queer character herself, given her occasional flirting with Karlach in Act 1. She was even nominated as one of the best queer characters of the year in the Gayming magazine awards, I believe? As a queer woman, I love that. I eat that stuff UP.
And then sixth and last (although I’m sure I could say more if I thought longer), (Act 3 and Durge spoilers)
there’s something special to me about running a Dark Urge Cleric of Selune, converted in the game for roleplay reasons, romancing Shadowheart. Something feels quite special about their intertwining arcs. You have two characters who are slowly remembering how they were exploited and manipulated by a brutal, abusive authority figure who sought to take away their personhood, their freedom, any sort of happiness that they might have in their lives, and replaced that with death and darkness. So resisting Durge and Shadowheart have the parallel experiences of slowly rediscovering who they are, growing into renewed people, going back to the places where they were brutalized, reclaiming their freedom, rejecting those who traumatized them, and then actually settling down and prioritizing their happiness. When the two stories come together, that feels really powerful to me.
I liked the Lohse and Sebille romance (playing as Lohse) in Divinity Original Sin 2, for a similar reason. Lohse faced down her literal demon, and smote him down where he stood, and Sebille took a knife to her master and, in my game, consumed his soul as well. They were both traumatized by a powerful authority figure, used and exploited, their free will taken away, and they both faced that person down and rebuked them, and came out the better for it.
For me, there’s something powerful about stories like that, something that sticks with you. And I think that is: you’re saying a better world is possible? A better future is possible? If that’s a dream, then it’s a beautiful dream.
So yes, those are some of the reasons that I enjoy Shadowheart’s romance aside from the very sweet, consistent affirmations that she offers to the player character. Hope this helps answer your question! And to connect this to the original topic, what I’ve listed are also some of the reasons that Shadowheart’s romance ultimately feels satisfying to me, despite its imperfections. Again, not saying I wouldn’t welcome more content, but I love what content there is.
In any case, Shadowheart has important story arc, but I would gladly trade some of it if that would mean more ROMANCE content for her. She lacks in that department.
I think it’s a mistake to hold her romance arc as distinct from her character arc, like they have nothing to do with each other. The romance enriches her character arc, and the character arc enriches the romance, in fact is an integral part of it.
