Siduri wrote...
So, on my first playthrough, I liked keeper Merethari a lot. I mean, what's not to like? She's dignified, respectful, and seems very wise.
On my second playthrough, my opinion did a one-eighty. That woman is EEEEEVIL.
I mean, firstly, she's wrong about everything. She's wrong about Feynriel needing to be made Tranquil, and if you listen to her (as I did on my first playthrough) you will end up committing a needless atrocity against a gifted young man. Furthermore, it's Keeper Merethari's poisonous words that leads Pol to run away from Merrill into the jaws of the varterral. Like Merrill says--she's never done anything to hurt the clan, and it doesn't make sense for them to fear her so much. Of course later you find that Pol fears Merrill so much because Merethari told him to.
And Keeper Merethari sent those hunters to their deaths in the first place. Why has the varterral turned against the Dalish? Probably because it senses the demon's influence--the demon who is working through Merethari. Like Merrill says over and over, "Something is terribly wrong here." But Merrill isn't willing to see where the wrongness truly lies. If Merethari were doing her duty to the clan, she'd have led them away from Sundermount months ago, and they'd be safe. Instead she keeps them close to the demon's influence, sending them into the jaws of monsters, and filling them with hatred against Merrill.
The demon is a pride spirit. It's easy to see how Merrill's pride makes her vulnerable. But Merethari is also inflexible in her pride, so certain that she and only she knows what's best for the clan, that she's ultimately willing to destroy everything in justification of her beliefs. Merethari is actually better prey for the demon than Merrill, because at least Merrill knows that what she's doing is dangerous. Merethari is filled with self-righteousness and certainty instead. She's filled with pride.
Everything bad that happens to the Dalish is ultimately Merethari's fault. Yes, Merrill knows that she's taking a risk when she's willing to deal with the demon. That's why she brings Hawke along, to kill her if she fails. She's actually doing the responsible thing to protect others from the repercussions of her actions. If Merrill had her way, the Eluvian would be restored--and then a Pride demon would come through. And then Hawke would kill it. But Merrill and her clan would have the Eluvian and its power to help them restore their ancient heritage. Problem solved! Happy ending!
Instead, because Merethari has instilled such a terrible fear of Merrill into her clan--and then MERETHARI goes and does the one thing she kept warning everybody that Merrill would do--the most likely outcome (two out of three dialog choices) is the destruction of her entire clan. Even the "happy" ending leaves the clan without a Keeper, weakened by the deaths of their hunters and stranded in a terribly dangerous place where they never should have been forced to stay.
Merethari is willing to throw away the lives of her whole clan just to "prove" she knows better than Merrill. I'm sure she thinks she's acting out of love, but I'm convinced that Pride demon got its hooks into Merethari a lot earlier than anybody noticed. She seems like such a sweet old lady, but that woman is toxic.
Exactly so.
But observe, as there are plenty of people who will attempt to convince you that this is still
All Merrills Fault. Many of them will say
Because She's A Blood Mage.
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