Anders blows up the Chantry

I have a lot of issues with the handling of the Mage/Templar War in Dragon Age II. It creates this complicated political and religious conflict around an oppressed group of people and a tyrannical religious organization but insists that both sides are equally bad, actually. Don’t even get me started on how you can convince Anders, the radical mage who is the face of this conflict, to kill the mages he tried to save. But the moment in which Anders, worn down by a lifetime of captivity and oppression, blows up the Kirkwall Chantry is one of the few unambiguous statements the game makes in its final hours. The scene itself is dramatic and shocking and kickstarts a war that would (in theory) shake the foundations of Thedas. It requires everyone in your party to make a stand. There will be no more fence-sitting in this fight, and all your relationships will be tested as your team decides whether or not to follow you into battle. Sadly, the reveals that follow undermine any choice you make, but as a spark that ignites a flame, Anders’ act of terrorism is a statement in a game that otherwise seems unwilling to make one.