Flemeth’s family reunion

At one point, it seemed as if Flemeth might be the throughline connecting all of Dragon Age. For two games, she was presented as a manipulator, lurking in the shadows and moving the pieces of Thedas’ chess board to her liking. Then all her machinations finally came to a head in Inquisition when she, Morrigan, and perhaps the child the player helped conceive two games prior, all gather in the Fade. Flemeth seemingly has control of the situation, appearing to hold her grandson Kieran hostage and using him as leverage against her daughter who has been on the run since Origins. But as anger gives way to truth-telling and the moment softens, the two find not total reconciliation, but at least an understanding that neither is in danger from the other. It is a series-best performance from Black and Flemeth actor Kate Mulgrew, bringing together three games of choices and history into one incredible confrontation. I’m still unsure how I feel about the final echoes of this moment in The Veilguard, but Flemeth and her family reuniting and acknowledging the struggle of love and fear for one another that they’re caught in remains one of the most memorable interactions in all of Dragon Age