Destiny 2‘s Season 22 story is just about complete. With the formal weekly story updates culminating in a finale for Week 7, all that remains, barring any substantial deviations from the norm, are a few audio logs, lore entries, and a final activity in the Imbaru Engine. But instead of a satisfying conclusion to the suspense that had been building even before the Season of the Witch began, players got a confusing mess of a cutscene that prompted more questions than it provided answers. Perhaps worst of all, critical narrative-moving events occur directly after the depicted scene, partially nullifying the finale’s cinematic. However, that vital information lives only in lore pages that most players will never see.
Season of the Witch begins where the preceding Season of the Deep ended. Players discover they need Savathûn’s help, as the Hive God is vital to traversing the portal used by the Witness at the end of Lightfall‘s campaign. In opposition to these plans is Xivu Arath, Savathûn’s sister and the Hive God of war. To that end, the season saw Guardians helping Eris Morn engage in rituals to propel her into Hive Godhood. While this is happening, tension is growing between Eris, Xivu, and the plans within plans Savathûn is known for.
Despite the strong hook, Season 22’s storytelling falls apart in its most pivotal moments. Players never get to see Eris flex power as a Hive God, and Xivu has still yet to appear outside of flashbacks to the Hive Gods’ origins. Making matters worse, key narrative happens off-screen, including the half-baked, meandering answer to how players will follow the Witness into the Heart of the Traveler.
This feels like The Veil all over again
The proposition was simple: revive Savathûn and get whatever MacGuffin allows the plot to move forward. However, things don’t come to quite as neat a conclusion. While Season 22’s Week 7 cutscene shows Eris Morn killing Savathûn to gain her power and seemingly voiding the original deal, the Hive God is still quite alive. Following the check-ins at the H.E.L.M, players receive a lore entry in the Rites of Passage book. It reveals that Savathûn is immediately revived by her Ghost following the cutscene’s events. She then tells players that the key to following the Witness will reveal itself when the moment is right.
So, to be clear, Savathûn knows whatever is needed to follow the Witness and is opting to give a hand-waving answer that amounts to, ‘Well I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.’ All the while, she presses the importance of players not failing to pursue the Witness. Bungie has tried this method of creating a winding mystery around a new plot device before, and it blew up in its face. This stinks to the high heavens the same way the intrigue around The Veil did in Lightfall‘s campaign.
What is The Veil? Players certainly didn’t know at the time, but NPCs seemed to understand how important it was. Yet there was nearly no discussion about what The Veil was and why players should care about it. It was just a hook without any bait. Bungie eventually acknowledged that narrative delivery around The Veil was off and took measures to remedy the issue. But it feels like history is repeating itself. The other big problem is, because these important story details exist only as a lore entry, there will likely be many players who’ll simply believe Savathûn is dead, having only watched the cutscene.
Xivu Arath was unceremoniously defused
While it’s frustrating that significant story beats were surprisingly less accessible in Season 22, it’s no more so than how Xivu Arath was handled. After Eris absorbs the power from killing Savathûn, she creates a fiery image of Xivu Arath’s symbol in her hand. Eris crushes it, and just like that, Xivu is banished from her throne world. The act renders the God mortal and effectively takes a lot of the wind out of the villain before she can appear in the game.
It was never likely that Eris and Xivu would battle each other one-on-one, given that the Hive God of war draws power from acts of conflict. However, dealing with Xivu Arath off-screen after the last two seasons had her screaming over Guardians’ comms for battle feels a bit deflated. It would have felt like a worthwhile payoff for players’ work, even if it was just a few seconds, for Xivu to get her on-screen debut or to showcase Eris’ strength defending herself from the God of war.
Of course, it doesn’t seem like Xivu is completely out of the picture. But losing a throne world, the source and manifestation of a Hive God’s power, is quite the blow. While there’s still some chance Guardians will hear from Xivu again before the season officially ends, it’ll lack the flair that could’ve been incorporated into the Week 7 finale.
Season 22’s confusion leads to nothing
At the end of the season, what are players left with? Well, for those who care enough to read through the optional lore entries, they’ll know Savathûn is alive, albeit withholding the information that allows the story to progress. Those who didn’t get out their reading glasses will be in shock the next time the Hive God of lies shows up unscathed, making pointed remarks as if nothing’s wrong. All players will know from the cutscene that Xivu Arath was dealt with off-screen. Not officially defeating the long-withheld Hive God, but doing enough to defuse a seemingly inescapable confrontation.
So, with all that considered, Guardians are pretty much right where they started. Players still don’t have a definitive answer to the overarching question that’s been stretched since the end of Lightfall‘s campaign: how do we go through the portal? But there apparently is an answer; it’s just being tugged in front of players like a carrot on a stick. The conflict with Xivu Arath wasn’t resolved in any major way; just put on hold. And players still haven’t gotten a glimpse at Xivu’s current form, even after two seasons of Bungie hyping the God up.
If anything, Guardians’ only progress this season was in bringing back a powerful enemy. And even that will be a point of contention between those who just casually play the game and those who read every scrap of lore. It’s a shame because Season 22’s story was quite interesting — showcasing Eris grappling against the Hive’s and Xivu’s influence. It was really just the bizarre finale and its awkward split presentation that left such a sour note. Destiny 2 is a live game, and things could change in an instant, but right now, it feels like Season 22 was players getting screwed out of their end of a deal.
Published: Oct 11, 2023 12:32 pm