A bit late to the convo, time zones, shakes fist!!
But while I don't dislike Sera at all, I do dislike a lot of the conceptual things they did with her?
I really dislike that all the companions we get who are not human (besides arguably Bull) are in some way or another, very negative towards their race and quick to insult them as a whole/treat the PC as a special snowflake who can earn the right to be considered "not like the others." And it's not just Sera, but Varric and Solas too. And the reason I say arguably Bull is because he's not hating on Qunari completely but he sure is quick to call you a savage.
And it's particularly bad with elves. I mean we have TWO elven LI and both of them crap all over Lavellan's background. Personally I find Solas's more insulting, but that's probably because I can relate to Sera more in terms of acting like a brat because you're insecure and mixed up. It's not that I'd prefer that LI only be supportive and warm or wev, it's just...well, why on earth did they make the game so that it craps all over the Dalish, then give us elven companions who crap all over the Dalish, then make it so elven players can only play as Dalish, and then give them no real avenues to explore what the games revelations and conversations about Dalish faith mean outside of the context of being talked at by someone who hates them? It bothers me. It feels lazy.
And it does have the side effect of making people hate Sera more, because she's just part of that whole boot stomping. If the whole game didn't feel so "lol Dalish" then Sera going "lol Dalish" wouldn't make people feel so irritated because they would look more at her specific reasons and experiences rather than getting fatigued by the whole story kicking them, lmao.
I mean I know a lot of people RPed as atheistic or agnostic elves and that's awesome! I support whatever you want to do and I'm even about elaborate headcanons like if you wanted to just say "nah she's a city elf screw that" I'm like nods nods. But the game was designed so you were playing a Dalish elf (and presumably a very serious one, esp if you're playing Mage, since they're apprentice to the keeper and whatnot) so that's the character they generally wanted you to go in playing. So why does that character encounter constant pushback and trivialization of their beliefs, when a rah rah Andrastrianism Trevelyan just gets everyone kissing their ass and nodding? (I really wish Andrastrian characters had been given more conflict and pushback and reasons to doubt etc)
Idk if this makes any sense. I mean I get people's criticisms about Sera but I prefer to kind of hand them back to the writers and appreciate her because she's fun, much like I do with Solas.
-
jlb524, Lady Luminous, Basement Cat et 2 autres aiment ceci