Another View on the New Varus

So before I say anything, just know this; I don't agree with EVERYTHING Riot has done with Varus. The concept was very strange, out of no where, slightly messy and it did remove a highly beloved story about a man who has lost so much that he has nothing else to lose. On the subject of Kai and Valmar's homosexual relationship, though nice to see some diversity (I myself am a Gay male), it felt a little shoehorned in and wasn't too interesting of a couple, I didn't feel much chemistry between the two other than lovey-dubby talk. Besides that, I don't see too much of an issue with Kai and Val's relationship. The story has some issues, I can agree on that, and I can understand some people who enjoyed Varus's old story getting upset over this extremely drastic change, believe me I was slightly surprised, confused and disappointed on my first read. However, after analyzing it a bit and rewatching the the music video, I've come to actually like some aspects of the new story.

So to sort of balance out the negativity a bit (which, may I remind you, completely understand), here are some things that I can say Riot did right.

• The Visuals - This one's pretty obvious. The comic's art style was pretty nice (not that big a fan of Act III's art style, but still a very interesting comic). The music video however, was simply OUTSTANDING. As We Fall has fallen under one of my favorite video game songs right now, the animation was absolutely amazing, Varus looked amazing, the cinematic is simply a work of art. Speaking of which, the song is a perfect mix between emotions of low, deep grief and violent, intense anger. I actually had chills when I first listened to the song, it definitely feels like a song that'll play as someone slowly transforms into a new, violent beast such as Varus.
• The Story - OK now stay with me here. I did mention the story had some issues, but most of my negativity towards New Varus actually stems from the fact that they have completely taken out Old Varus's lore, which to me was a very well thought out story that I personally wouldn't change so drastically. However, just because this replaces the old lore doesn't necessarily mean it's bad lore. The story is pretty well thought out and has lots of detail to it, and you can tell simply by the comic, bio and cinematic that Riot really tried to make a good and fresh story for us to read, to which I say they honestly did. You can really tell that Riot wanted to make something new, fresh and original (if you think about it, the whole 'losing your family in front of you' trope has been used many times by Miss Fortune, Vayne and even Lucian and Quinn to an extent), and this really is a new twist on the whole Darkin concept we've been seeing lately. And though the idea of Kai and Val still talking within Varus's head seems slightly messy and all over the place, it can make for some interesting dialogue and stories considering their inner conflicts, separate personalities and that the 'tables have turned' (instead of a human like Kayn trying to be dominant over the Darkin, it's the Darkin trying to assert dominance over the Humans).
• Kai and Valmar - Though I mentioned my issues with how Kai and Valmar are shown to be near identical and not too compelling of a couple, I can say this; They genuinely are pretty cute together, and they do show their love for each other and clearly do have a deep care for one another, thus why Varus was freed in the first place. And with that, it was actually pretty tragic seeing how instead of ending up being the lovely, married couple we'd hope for, they took a turn for the worse and are now cursed to live inside this Darkin. Kai saying "I'd never thought we'd end like this..." really broke my heart, so props to you Riot for making (though not as compelling as Old Varus's family) a still tragic story for Varus to follow.

So yea, though I don't completely agree with how Riot did Varus's new story, I honestly cannot say that It's a bad story. Yes, I so dearly miss Old Varus's conflict between his duty to guard the Darkin and his love for his family, and how tragic it is that he'd lost so much that he's simply willing to fight evil by doing evil. "Fear a man who has nothing left to lose" is one of my favorite sayings that apply to Varus. However, this story, though drastically different, cannot honestly be a bad story, just so severely different that it's upsetting to see the old lore go. All in all, props to you Riot, hope this helps and keep up the good work. Not only with making new lore, but also considering our criticisms and using them for future lore.