Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

Burning Tides and MF's New Characterization

ThatShadowGuy·8/10/2015, 4:32:00 AM·8 votes·3,166 views

So, in the past few days, I had a chance to catch up on the new Bilgewater lore, and it was pretty good! Nice to see the status quo being (somewhat) shaken up, and this is certainly a step forward in terms of League lore.

There are still a few things that nag at me, though. Namely, Miss Fortune's actions throughout the story show a much darker side of her than what we're used to. This was originally intended to be a big rant about how she comes off as little better than Gangplank, but in retrospect this seems a little obvious to those keeping up with the lore. Long story short, she seems to place her desire for revenge above all else, and doesn't really give a shit about the long-term consequences of her actions. She 'killed' Gangplank in such a way that Bilgewater turns into a complete hellhole in a classic case of Evil Power Vacuum. She also kills a man with a bounty (who was supposed to be brought in alive) and drowns his brother simply because the former worked for Gangplank. Since Captain Fortune is just a skin, unlike Gangplank's current model, it seems safe to assume she has no interest in leading Bilgewater or even doing anything at all to clean up the mess she's made.

Now, of course, here's the big question: So what? What's the big deal with having Miss Fortune go grimdark? Why would that be a bad thing? Simply put, because of Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy. If we're to continue to develop this rivalry, we need a reason to care about these characters. Gangplank was never particularly pleasant, and his character development is best surmised as 'grimdark -> grimdarker', while Miss Fortune's flaws have already been thoroughly explored in the last paragraph. If they're both assholes, then why should we care about whether or not they achieve their goals? No matter who wins, Bilgewater loses.

Still, this is all up to interpretation. As I've thought it over a bit, I realized it may be more complex than that. Maybe MF expected her revenge to fix all her problems, and on some level she's starting to realize this isn't the case. However, instead of reflecting on it, she's overcompensating by prolonging the whole process as much as she can. Just one more henchman brought to justice, and maybe the nightmares will stop. Once she burns all the buildings Gangplank once owned, she'll feel how she was 'supposed' to feel.

Perhaps vengeance feels empty, and she simply doesn't realize it yet.

Of course, that could all be a load of crap. What do you guys think?

11 Comments

RiotRiotJaredan8/10/2015, 6:41:13 AM14 votes

Maybe MF expected her revenge to fix all her problems, and on some level she's starting to realize this isn't the case. However, instead of reflecting on it, she's overcompensating by prolonging the whole process as much as she can. Just one more henchman brought to justice, and maybe the nightmares will stop. Once she burns all the buildings Gangplank once owned, she'll feel how she was 'supposed' to feel.

Perhaps vengeance feels empty, and she simply doesn't realize it yet.

This is very close to the mark. Gangplank took any control Sarah had over her life away from her. Deep down, revenge was about taking back that control, but by successfully enacting that vengeance, for the first time in her life, she felt truly powerful. She thought that bringing down Gangplank would free Bilgewater from the kind of tyranny that Gangplank imposed upon her (from her viewpoint). In many ways she was right, but Bilgewater doesn't function as a democracy and the power vacuum she created destabilized the city. In her mind, destroying every last vestige of Gangplank's power structure is cutting a cancer out of Bilgewater, to make sure it can't happen again. But her view is too myopic, too blinded by her righteous anger, and it's put her on a path that won't be easy to steer away from.

She's built her life around one goal. It's very difficult to set something like that aside.

GenoXx8/10/2015, 4:38:16 AM2 votes

I'd like to twist MF's personality some more. "It is the heart from which the darkest waters flow." I wonder if shes capable of torture....judging from her lore....idk http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/011/764/Naamloos-1.png

GreenLore8/10/2015, 10:39:46 AM1 votes

Overall Miss Fortune showed that her flirty personality is pretty much just an act,not her true personality.

And honestly,this doesn't surprise me ,she has such a flirty personality that I doubted that she is really like that.

Her going for the more violent way now with GPs men is probably because she took her revenge(or at least believes that) and it didn't really satisfy her.Without Gp her anger has no real target,which is why she redirects it towards GPs men.

I guess in the end she might realize that vengance won't help her.But it is also possible that she'll become even more ruthless when she hears that GP is still alive.