Plus to me it seems like this entire route is just running away from all that's happened to him, not facing it and instead shoving it in a safe, throwing it in the ocean, and say he's now a different new man and that his old self is dead (it isn't, and that's worse!).
What is he supposed to face at that point?
Originally Posted by jinetemoranco
Also, Adam Smith, one of the main writers for BG3 (I think he supervises the entire narrative) had this to say about AA: "So with Astarion, his evil ending is actually him...much of what he does is out of fear. And as a player, you can say to him, "You're right to be afraid." And that sends him to a really horrible place, and that I think is really powerful."
I don't recall any dialogue option where I could tell him "Yes, you need to be afraid, you're weak, go for the ritual" I remember him begging me to help him.
