,Spoiler Warning: This article contains potential spoilers for the Destiny 2 story as well as the upcoming Lightfall expansion. If you are not familiar with the current theory, beware.***
With the release of Destiny 2’s Season of the Plunder, the Guardians are loving the vigorous action and morally questionable piracy in Destiny’s latest content offering. In the first three weeks, the story has been light-hearted, with Drifter cracking jokes and even flirting with the detached Eris Morn, as well as Spider, getting the short end of the stick from practically everyone.
The only hint of drama is the focus on Mithrax’s (or Mixer, as Alixony calls her) past and her daughter’s reluctance to open up about it. Compared to the dire circumstances and oppressive tone of Season of the Haunted, which reached the three characters’ internal trauma, as well as the foreshadowing of the darkness encroaching on Destiny’s future, Season of the Plunder is a breath of fresh air. . But does it feel so different right now, and how does the tone add to the grand narrative of Destiny 2?
Never has a Destiny season been so enjoyable, especially as it nears the release of a major expansion. In fact, most of Destiny seasons have been pretty serious affairs, with some having a more optimistic tone than others.
In almost every previous instance, there is always some sort of world-end threat of some sort that needs to be dealt with, character development must take place, and some change in the status quo of destiny. In Seasons of Splicer, The Last City was cast by VX under Perpetual Night, and it was only through learning to work with our new Alixony collaborators and acknowledge how the Guardians have treated them. We can save the last city and discover that Osiris (near the Hive Queen Svathun) was ransacking it in the background.
In Season of the Worth, the Cabal superweapon The Almighty is being thrown into the Last City, and in order to overcome this grave threat, Commander Zavala must cast his suspicions about the AI Warmind Rasputin to prevent the Last City from being destroyed. Had to remove The season ended with him learning of the imminent arrival of the Black Fleet in the following season.
While loot season is following a somewhat similar pattern, the stakes seem surprisingly low. Aramis the Shipstealer, resurrected, is sent to loot artifacts of darkness from Alixony’s past, but the Guardians are successfully defeated in obtaining these artifacts with relative ease, while also having fun with Destiny’s sillier characters. has done. It is not known what these artifacts contain, the stakes are quite low, as no one seems to be in any particular danger at this time, and Aramis has yet to prove that he is a real threat.
To find out why the weather tone is lighter, we must look back to Ryzen’s weather and prediction as predicted by the Dark Saiyans aboard the Vax Obscura mission. In Alien Quest, we learn from possible future Psionic propaganda for the following reasons:
“Leviathan reborn. Shipsteeler revived. City besieged; Your passenger is infected with darkness.”
At the time, it was difficult to tell whether this warning was something to be heard or ignored, given its nature as propaganda. The more likely it was to happen, the more likely it was to be proven wrong. However, as the seasons progress, it has become clear that the prophecy is being fulfilled.
In the previous season, the haunted season, Leviathan was reincarnated, drowned in the nightmares of Egregor and Moon. This coincides with the sequence of events mentioned in the prophecy, given that there was a revival of Erms in this season. What that leaves us with is the final piece of prophecy: the last city under siege and the dark-infested travelers.
The last time the Last City was under siege was back at the launch of Destiny 2 in the Red War campaign. While the campaign itself was on the easier side of things, the final city almost fell from the hands of the Red Army. While the Cabal are strong in their own right, their power is dwarfed by the power of the Witness and Black Fleet. If the Black Fleet were to attack, even with the help of our Cabal and Alixony allies, our losses are guaranteed.
Looking at seasonal storytelling as a whole, it fits in with traditional storytelling structures. When covering a heavy storytelling beat, as Season of Haunted dives deep into past trauma and emotional scars, it’s good to let those consuming the story before things get bad. A direct example of this is in Destiny 2’s Forsaken campaign.
In the opening mission, after a protracted battle, Cayde-6 dies in a dramatic cutscene, followed by the rest of Destiny’s Vanguard mourning his loss. The mission after that is a mix of exploration and light combat, with some world building mixed in for good measure.
The story slows down and lets players process what has happened and the possible consequences of it as they progress. The same has happened with the season of Haunted and the transition from season to loot. The reason the tone is lighter is because Bungie is giving us a moment of peace before things escalate dramatically.
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From there, we can also speculate on what might happen during next season by taking a look at what Rising Tension: Rising Action is all about. During the part of the story known as the Rising Action, the stakes get dire, or even worst-case scenarios, and the protagonists lose some. Whether it is a fight, a person or an object important to them, this defeat motivates the heroes to achieve more victories in the climax of the story.
If the next season is to be the rising action of a seasonal storyline, what is there to lose? What will motivate the Guardians to advance into Lightfall? The answer is directly linked to the Psionic Prophecy: The Loss of the Last City and Traveler.
When creating a villain it is important that you show their strength and strengthen their threat to the heroes. The worst thing that happened to Last City was its short capture by the Red Legion, which was dealt with in a very short time. In order to endanger the Witness and his Black Fleet, they’ll need to do something that’s a one-up.
The direct conclusion to draw is that instead of just being pushed out of the last city, it will be lost. And considering the line the witness said to the traveler at the end of the Witch Queen campaign, where it says ‘your yellow heart is the key,’ we will lose the traveler too.
That being said, using clues from the lore along with an understanding of how Destiny 2’s seasonal story model works, we can very easily determine who will be conquering the Last City. Starting with evidence of lore, the final city is lost in an alternate timeline known as the Dark Future. In it, we learn that the army of Witnesses in an event known as the Bombardment, which included Cabal, the Hive of Savathun, Aramis’s home of Salvation, and the Dark Guardians.
In it, he besieged the city for an indefinite period, leaving it in ruins and the protectorates scattered. In our present times, some key players of the phenomenon are either missing or weakened by our own efforts. Loyalist Cabal, led by Calus, is shown as Lightfall’s primary adversary and thus would be more than likely capable and willing to take part in the siege.
In this timeline, Sawathuna turned to the light with her child, which means that it is likely that Xivu Arath, the hive goddess of war, will take her place. Aramis is revived this season, although her home is dramatically weakened and thus unlikely to play the biggest role in the bombing.
While VX did not participate in the bombing, given that he invaded the last city during Spicer’s season of Endless Night, he may be forced to participate by witness. The Tekken will be the most visible since the expansion of The Taken King seven years ago, Destiny’s direct connection to Darkness. Lastly, Dark Guardians do not exist in this timeline and thus most likely will not be of concern.
The idea of a long-term siege is also in line with the model of seasonal storytelling, which is designed to be spread over the course of three months. The siege would probably last the entire season, and the last city would be empty during its final hours.
The Last City has a fleet waiting, as does the missing Dead Orbit faction who may come to the aid. This would explain why the hull is a spaceship, as it could become our permanent tower-like base of operations in the long run with the last city gone.
The last pre-expansion season has also suffered a major loss at the end of their cycle, with half disappearing in the solar system’s advent season and sifting through the savannah season. This would additionally explain why Lightfall occurs on Neomuna, instead of the Last City: because we have no idea, we will lose the Traveler next season, and we witness Neomuna to try and find something to help fight. can go.
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That being said, this is all speculation. Bungie may have completely different plans for the story for which we don’t have complete context yet, and this should all be taken with a grain of salt. If the last city were to fall, Bungie would have to spend time and resources replacing the tower with a new social hub, be it Helm or something, and that may not be something they want to spend development time in. Huh. Moment. What we do know is that something bigger is on the horizon and with Bungie’s recent track record that this is going to be a compelling conclusion to the seasonal narrative.
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