Is Arthas redeemable in World of Warcraft Shadowlands? Arthas is one of the most infamous characters in World of Warcraft. He was the Prince of Lordaeron. The human kingdom of Lordaeron used to lead the Alliance. During the third war, the kingdom came under siege by the undead scourge.
Prince Arthas Menethil made it his mission to discover who had released the plague of undeath in his kingdom. His strong will and his untimely fall into darkness are legends within Azeroth.
Despite Arthas’s skill as a Paladin and his devotion to his people, he always had an aura of arrogance. As Uther the Lightbringer’s best student, Arthas showed a measure of skill and promise hardly seen. But, Arthas’s hot temperament and stubbornness were hurdles that the young prince wasn’t able to overcome. Those negative traits within Arthas are what the dreadlord Mal’Ganis cultivated.
Arthas took up the cursed blade Frostmourne and became a Death Knight. His misguided beliefs that the blade would help him save his kingdom pushed him into ruin. Eventually, Arthas merged with the Lich King and became one of Azeroth’s most-fearsome villains. Now that we’ve crossed the veil into the Shadowlands (Realm of Death) we might run into Arthas.
Is redemption possible for the fallen prince?
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Is Arthas Redeemable In World Of Warcraft Shadowlands?
Arthas Descent Into Darkness
To determine if Arthas is redeemable in World of Warcraft Shadowlands we need to examine his fall. Strong morals and arrogance guided him.
Plagued grain turned citizens into the undead. Stratholme was Lordaeron’s second-largest city besides the capital. So losing the city to the Scourge was a blow.
The Culling of Stratholme is more than just a popular dungeon in Wrath of the Lich King. During this event which occurred during the third war, Arthas realizes that the plagued grain had already reached the city. Stratholme was an important city in the kingdom and had a massive population.
Arthas made the difficult decision to murder every citizen before the plagued grain could turn them undead. His goal was to contain the outbreak to protect the rest of the kingdom. Uther and Jaina refused to help Arthas kill his own people. In anger, Arthas disbanded the Order of the Silver Hand which suspended the Paladins from service.
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Arthas Descent Into Darkness Continued
Is Arthas redeemable in World of Warcraft Shadowlands? Purging Stratholme was one of his darkest acts before he became a Death Knight. The Culling of Stratholme is a complicated topic. Some argue that Arthas choose to protect the many over the few. He had to act quickly.
Other arguments disagree. Arthas’s behavior was cruel and rash. The young prince could’ve chosen a humane way to deal with the crisis. Citizens of Stratholme were horrified when Arthas entered the city and slaughtered them. Many of them asked, “Why?” as they fell to their deaths.
The Culling of Stratholme plays a key role. At that moment, Arthas had chosen to sacrifice the few for the greater good. As a Paladin and a prince, it’s terrifying to imagine him going against the teachings of the light. The prince had always shone signs of liking power and even named his horse Invincible.
Yet, no one had imagined Arthas would stoop so low. Once you make a choice to slaughter your own subjects there’s no coming back. Murder is one of the darkest acts. Arthas decided to kill the citizens instead of allowing the plagued grain to turn them undead. Honestly, Arthas should’ve realized he played right into the Scourge’s hands. He caused darkness to descend on Lordaeron, and once he was consumed by its lustful pull there was no coming back.
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Is Arthas Redeemable In World Of Warcraft Shadowlands?
The Expedition To Northrend
Arthas chased the dreadlord Mal’Ganis to Northrend. The icy continent is where the Lich King resided. Mal’Ganis knew that Arthas would be drawn to Frostmourne. A cursed Mournblade has the power to harvest souls.
When Arthas reached Northrend he discovered that Muradin Bronzebeard was searching for the blade. Arthas joined him in the hunt, but he received a message from his father King Terenas, and Uther to return home.
The prince then hired mercenaries to burn his soldiers’ ships. Arthas informed his soldiers that the mercenaries had betrayed them. His lie caused his men to kill the mercenaries.
Frostmourne was hidden in a cave. Muradin was struck by a shard of ice when Arthas attempted to move the runeblade. Arthas did attempt to heal Muradin with the light, but the call of Frostmourne was too strong and he turned to the sword instead.
The cursed sword took Arthas’s soul. He had to give up his soul to wield Frostmourne’s unholy power. Arthas believed that wielding the sword would help him protect his people, but in reality, the sword drove him mad. By the time Arthas returned to Lordaeron he was different. The young prince was now a Death Knight and he served the Lich King.
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The Fall Of Lordaeron
Is Arthas redeemable in World of Warcraft Shadowlands? A case could be made that Arthas was being controlled by Frostmourne. A person’s will is not entirely their own once in service to the Lich King. But, being controlled doesn’t mean that the person can’t fight against it or feel regret.
Arthas returned to Lordaeron to cheers and applause. None of which fazed him. He walked up to his father, King Terenas, and stabbed him with Frostmourne. Lordaeron fell that day as the Scourge was allowed to infiltrate the kingdom. Most of Lordaeron’s citizens were lost to the Scourge, but a few groups managed to escape.
Never did Arthas show remorse for killing his father. In fact, he found the urn his father’s ashes were in and dumped them out. Uther was protecting the enchanted urn. Arthas murdered Uther, dumped his father’s ashes, and placed Kel’Thuzad’s ashes inside. Kel’Thuzad was a strong human mage that Arthas brought back as a lich. A lich is a powerful undead sorcerer.
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Becoming The Lich King
Arthas marched his undead army into the High-Elven kingdom of Quel’Thalas. Ranger General Sylvanas Windrunner tried to stop him. He killed Sylvanas and raised her up as a banshee, and then forced her to kill her own people. The prince defiled the Sunwell to resurrect Kel’Thuzad. The lich then opened a portal for the dreadlord Archimonde to invade Azeroth.
The Lich King called to Arthas. This caused Arthas to halt his efforts of regaining control of Lordaeron. Is Arthas redeemable in World of Warcraft Shadowlands? After fighting with Illidan Stormrage in Northrend, Arthas ascended to the Frozen Throne. He placed the Helm of Domination on his head and merged with the Lich King.
Over time, Arthas gained complete control of the Lich King’s power. He disposed of Ner’zhul, and also removed his own heart from his body. Removing his heart was the last piece of Arthas’s humanity that was holding him back. Arthas might not have been working for the Jailer, but he wasn’t on the side of good either.
The fallen prince doesn’t deserve to be redeemed. He allowed his arrogance and pride to drive his decisions. Arthas was well-meaning in trying to protect his people, but he allowed his lust for power and impulsiveness to drive his choices. The series of bad choices Arthas made are his own. Frostmorune and the Helm of Domination hold great power, but Arthas still retained a sliver of free will.
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Do Arthas And Anduin Share A Connection?
King Anduin of Stormwind is currently under the Jailer’s control in Shadowlands. Many fans are drawing parallels between Anduin and Arthas. They argue that their situations are the same so both characters should be redeemed. Flaws run rampant with this reasoning. Anduin has shown great faith and strength within the light. He’s never been tempted by power like Arthas was.
Also, the BlizzConline trailer clearly showed Anduin fighting the Jailer’s control after he attacked the Archon. There are runes on Anduin’s armor, and on his Mourneblade which are being used to control the king.
Arthas willingly gave his soul to Frostmourne. He also decided to kill the innocent citizens of Stratholme without trying to find another way. So this makes Arthas just as bad as the Scourge and the Burning Legion. Doing something bad for a good reason still has consequences. Usually, Anduin is cautious about hurting others without just cause. So it’s difficult to imagine Anduin and Arthas would make the same choices in similar situations.
Not once did Arthas stop and consider how his actions affected others. When his mentor, Uther, asked Arthas to stand down at Stratholme, he punished the man by suspending his Paladins from service. A good-hearted person would’ve respected his teacher even if they didn’t agree. So far we’ve never seen Anduin disrespect people in positions of power. Arthas shouldn’t be redeemed because he willingly gave his life to the darkness.
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Is Arthas Redeemable In World Of Warcraft Shadowlands?
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