Earlier this year, Netflix dropped a Dragon Age-shaped bomb on me when it announced that it was producing a new miniseries in collaboration with BioWare taking place in the Dragon Age universe. That miniseries, Dragon Age: Absolution, is almost here, due to hit the streaming service on December 9th, and we have a first look at the newest trailer.
Dragon Age: Absolution is like Ocean’s Eleven, Dragon Age-style, wherein a group of misfit warriors, outcasts, and ne’er-do-wells team up to steal a mysterious artifact from a powerful mage. The show features the voice talents of Kimberly Brooks, Matt Mercer, Ashly Burch, and Phil LaMarr. But beyond the phenomenal voice actors and slick animation, I’m singularly concerned with one thing, and one thing only: how much does Dragon Age: Absolution fit in with Dragon Age: Dreadwolf?!
Making an animated series based on one of its popular video game franchises is not uncharted territory for BioWare. It’s done this at least three times with Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker, and Dragon Age: Redemption, and all three shows featured characters that would show up in the games. So it’s not a stretch to assume that one of the characters in Absolution will make an appearance in Dreadwolf as either a companion or an NPC. I’m looking especially at Miriam, whose story as a former elven slave in the Tevinter Imperium fits in nicely with a quote from lead writer Patrick Weekes about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.
“We wanna tell a story, what happens when you don’t have power,” they said in a behind-the-scenes video produced for Gamescom 2020. “What happens when the people in charge aren’t willing to address the issues.”
I’m also heavily eyeing Ashly Burch’s character Qwydion, a “bubbly qunari mage,” according to Absolution’s press release, who reminds me of this tall drink of water from early Dreadwolf fanart.
