Guide to the Siege of Orgrimmar Ending Cinematics

This is it; the Siege of Orgrimmar, as well as the (substantial) Mists of Pandaria expansion, concludes. The final cinematic may only be two or so minutes, yet it is steeped in context and prior lore.

Take it all at face value and much will be missed. However, armed with the right knowledge, not only can these events be fully appreciated, but insights into Azeroth's future can even be gained...

N.B. Spoilers for the Siege of Orgrimmar raid after the jump
N.B. Unless otherwise noted, references to "execution" refer to the execution of the death penalty

The (obligatory) synopsis
As is to be expected of any partisan affair, the Horde and Alliance each have their own version, although much of the experience is shared.

The Horde version of the Siege of Orgrimmar ending cinematic.  

The Alliance version of said cinematic.

Both start by showing Thrall's condemning "Warchief" Garrosh Hellscream's misconduct in office. Notice that Thrall expresses his disappointment. He then raises Doomhammer (his mace), apparently in an act of summary execution, when it is stayed by none other than (Alliance) High King Varian Wrynn, parrying the swing with his Shalamayne (a certain two-handed sword).

Varian makes it clear (in no uncertain terms) that he wants Alliance justice administered to Garrosh, yet Thrall refuses extradition. Taran Zhu, of the Shado-Pan, steps in, offering to try Garrosh on neutral Pandaren soil under neutral Pandaren law. Varian happily agrees (even if with a stern face), yet Thrall hesitates before ultimately deferring.

Once Garrosh enters Shado-Pan custody, the sequence of events splits. On the Horde side, the new Warchief is decided among the factional leaders; not to much surprise, Vol'jin is chosen. However, this was not without his hesitation, with Thrall firstly endorsing, then the others, all others, in unanimity, signalling their approval. Notice the variety in these gestures. Meanwhile, Jaina Proudmoore, Leader of the Kirin Tor, urges Varian on. Notice her choice of words. Much to the dismay of his son Anduin, Varian mobilises, but not for the most obvious course of action.

Instead of starting a grand melee of faction leaders, Varian requests an audience with the Warchief, whoever it may be. Instead of Thrall, Vol'jin entertains, to the surprise of the Alliance High King; in fact, he turns to Thrall for objection, finding none. "Very well."

To the newly decided Warchief Vol'jin, Varian airs the grievances of the Alliance, all the while disarming himself as a precaution. Notice their postures. Despite all it has been through, because of a popular uprising against dishonour, the Horde is given one last chance to atone. The Horde, being fresh out of a bloody civil war, takes what it can get, its Warchief not saying anything in return. Who knows; maybe they are interested in peace as well?

How disappointing
Thrall starts the cinematic by bellowing to him, "You disappoint me, Garrosh..." While that in itself seems rather condemning to a bystander, to Garrosh himself, it means so much more, since it was not the first time he heard those exact words.

Garrosh Hellscream shows off his trademark rage prior to the siege of Ulduar.

It was a grim day in the Purple Parlour. High in Dalaran's Violet Citadel, Alliance and Kirin Tor leaders were pondering what to do, for Yogg-Saron had escaped its cell in Ulduar. It all would have finished rather peacefully were the Horde delegation, consisting of Thrall and Garrosh, not to arrive, but they did.

Both suffered great losses at the Wrath Gate not too long ago, so it came to no surprise that Varian felt so negatively towards the Horde, despite Thrall's alienating Putress and co. Yet, Varian would have none of it, words turned into blows, and the rest is history.

Thrall's take on all of this? "You disappoint me, Garrosh..."

Yet, back then, such mischief was forgivable, for Garrosh, back then, was mere Overlord of the Warsong Offensive. His temper and pride made him much more suited for a role of military commander. For the role of Warchief of the Horde, however, much more can be desired in the way of diplomacy.

How dramatically he failed in that role! By ignoring the concern of the other races did he spur a rebellion against his rule, and by razing one of their major cities did he engage the full force of the other world power. Too much was stacked against him, and, unlike those who raided Onyxia, he could not handle it.

Not only did he run a hot head during his rule, he also turned too much public opinion against him, for all the wrong reasons. That is beyond disappointing.

Aut dedere aut judicare
Thrall was very hesitant in turning Garrosh over to the Alliance; why is that? Varian himself should know, since Thrall made it clear, in no uncertain terms, before.

It was nearing the end of Thrall's tenure as Warchief, back before the Shattering, when a drought was hitting harvests hard. A night elf caravan was raided, apparently by Horde nationals (actually not the case). It was no ordinary raid, however; bodies were systematically butchered and the skins hung up for display. It should come to no surprise, then, that the incumbent High King was furious.

That High King was none other than Varian Wrynn himself. Knowing his own composure, though, he allowed Jaina to act as delegate to whatever meeting was to take place. Thrall, however, came in person; no love was lost between them, at least at the time.

    He sighed. "I cannot approve of it," he repeated, "but I will not do as Varian demands."
    She stared at him for a moment, mouth slightly open in shock. "What do you mean? Varian believes you deliberately broke the treaty. His request wasn't unreasonable, and he will have the perfect excuse to escalate the situation. We could be looking at outright war!"
    He held up a large green hand. "Please. Listen to me. I will send a letter to Varian, stating that I did not condone the incursion. I will seek out those responsible. I've no desire for war. But I cannot apologize for the violence, nor will I turn over any suspects to the Alliance. They are Horde. They will be judged by Horde. To give them to Varian--no. It is a betrayal of my people's trust on far too many levels. And frankly ... it is wrong. Varian would never stand for such a request from me, nor should he."
    "Thrall, if you didn't give the order, then you're not responsible, and--"
    "But I am responsible. I lead my people. It is one thing to rebuke my people for violating a law. It is another to appear to attack their sense of self. Their very identity..."

World of Warcraft: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm

In all this, Warchief Thrall bares the soul of the Horde. No matter how international the crime, it takes full responsibility for those of its own. Were the Horde to choose between aut dedere aut judicare (extradite or prosecute), they would happily prosecute.

In the current case, however, there is too much at stake for that to work.

Audi alteram partem

Pandaria suffered much worse than this, so can it really pull off a fair trial?

In the real world, the right to a fair trial is often taken for granted, yet, in the world [sic] of Warcraft, it is rather hard to come by. Both the Horde and Alliance are autocratic, so it comes to little surprise that, here, the judge is often also the executioner.

Even though such is actually the norm in a world yet to embrace democracy, Thrall would still be overstepping his authority were he to lay sole claim to a war criminal's fate; other world powers are concerned. Thus, to ensure that not only the Horde, but also the Alliance and Pandaria, have their say, a trial is in good order.

In theory.

Should Pandaria, through Taran Zhu, be offering to host the trial of the first and last Warchief of the True Horde? They do end up deciding so, but that is beside the question. Can they pull off a fair trial, and will it all go smoothly?

Do not forget that Pandaria has its own grievances towards this ousted Warchief, only that it is not limited to two towers, a defence installation and three thousand souls...

In the real world, the eleventh day of September in 2001 was a rather significant day in history for the United States of America. The most prosperous nation in the world had drawn the ire of al-Qaeda, resulting in damage to important buildings, as well as thousands in casualties. International attention turned to their leader, Osama bin Laden. He was swiftly marked for justice, although not through following the traditional channels.

Almost ten years to the day, he was killed during a US Navy SEALs raid on his compound. Despite a (rather morbid) widespread celebration for it, concerns were raised. One of those was that, for all intents and purposes, it was a summary execution. bin Laden was not afforded a fair trial, although it is not hard to see why.

No nation (at least in the Western world) could be expected to accept his body for burial, no less because the grave could become a shrine for terrorists, so he was buried at sea. Considering that, would any of those same nations be willing to host a trial, facing the one and only Osama bin Laden in the living flesh? With that in mind, can Pandaria overcome the stigma attached to Garrosh Hellscream to properly usher everyone involved to a considered decision?

There is no doubt that the Horde, Alliance and Pandaria will want to speak out against him; when it is Garrosh's time to speak in his defence, will he be taken seriously? Do not forget that that there are always two sides to an argument. Garrosh may argue, for instance, that Thrall placed the burden of leading on him, despite his hesitation, and hence shift the blame onto him. Whatever Garrosh may dare say, it is important that it be considered, as much so as any of the prosecution's, lest this entire affair devolve into a show trial.

No other figure in Warcraft's history has become as polarising as the recently ousted Warchief. There will be those who will want to execute him promptly and summarily, while others, True Horde loyalists included, who may attempt to "rescue" him from the courtroom. Will the Shado-Pan be able to control these threats enough to allow the trial to go ahead?

The Trial of Garrosh Hellscream will definitely be a logistical nightmare for the Shado-Pan, although it does seem reassuring that they have been able to imprison pure nightmare for ten thousand years...

Five ways to stoop

Different degrees of bowing in Eastern Orthodoxy.

In governing the (New) Horde, one detail that Garrosh may have missed is that it is rather different to the Old Horde before the First War. What is different now is that there are various races under the banner, each with their own cultures, opinions and interests. To rule solely in the interests of the orcs is to exclude all the others, and it does not help to deliberately exclude said others, either.

While Vol'jin was a likely candidate in the lead-up, what is surprising is the readiness of all the other faction leaders to fall behind him, despite their differences. This is demonstrated by the variety in their bows. Vol'jin enjoys the full gamut of gestures, from Thrall's solemn genuflection to Sylvanas' rather pitiful nod. Gallywix even tips his hat!

Of course, this may all be for show, for Vol'jin will have a very hard time ahead of him compromising between them.

Careful use of words

This forest is dismantled but not obliterated.

Jaina Proudmoore had endured a lot coming up to this moment in history. She had put her trust in Thrall's Horde, after all. To stand as testament to this, she allowed Horde forces unfettered access to her own father Daelan, who was hopelessly against any prospect of peace. It was a difficult decision, but she did what she had to do.

Or so she thought.

The world she loved came crashing down during the bombing of Theramore. Not only did she lose the refugee people who looked up to her - who trusted her - she also lost her apprentice, Kinndy Sparkshine, in who she would have invested a bit of herself. Now that the one ultimately responsible has been brought down, what more is there to do? Her behaviour, the implicit answer to that question, is rather worrying, at least as it seems.

Jaina observes that all Horde leaders are present in this cavern; this would make a wiping-out of the leadership rather convenient. "Seize this moment, Varian... Dismantle the Horde..." On the face of it, it does seem that she is calling for their executions here and now.

However, this is not a simple case of an executioner's easily overpowering the bound and helpless convicted (not least because of the lack of a fair and thought-out conviction); both forces, then and there, are quite evenly matched. Dare she invoke the doctrine of mutual assured destruction?

It is entirely possible that Jaina has not been feeling well since Theramore, although, looking at her choice of words, it may be that she has not lost her marbles just yet. The word "dismantle" does strictly refer to the stripping of some capability; she is almost certainly referring to the Horde's capacity to make war. However, the dictionary meaning stops short of their destruction, obliteration, annihilation, as a sovereign, as well as their conquering by, subjugation to, annexation to, the Alliance. Is Jaina finally getting over her grief, and most importantly, is her taste for blood finally dying down?

Of course, Varian opts for something more lenient than even disarmament; he offers resuming peace talks.

Spirits and levels

Vol'jin could easily have towered over Varian Wrynn, but does not.

If the psychology of posture is anything to go by, the two high leaders are not on very equal footing. Being subconscious, body language is hardly noticed, yet communicates so much. It is subtle, but, at straight posture, Vol'jin can easily overwhelm his human counterpart.

No proud people wants their leader, the one they look up to, to in turn have to look up (more literally) just to face their aliens' representative. A civil, educated society would know better than to judge on appearance, but it is ingrained in the psyche, passed on from less evolved times as instinct.

Were there such thing as a photo opportunity, the Horde could easily strike fear in the hearts and minds of the Alliance, were a scary looking troll to tower over their beloved High King. Yet, the scary looking troll cowers.

Vol'jin's refusal to dominate proceedings does suggest a few things. To the responder, it shows a stark difference from his all-powerful, controlling, uncompromising predecessor. More importantly, however, it signals to the Alliance that the "New" New Horde will not press conquest and bloodshed any further, that it is finally willing to talk peace under its new leader.

Of course, given the fallout from the Hellscream government, all this does seem rather fanciful at this stage...

Were I to predict...
Many signs bode well for preachers of peace, as well as the battle weary. The Shado-Pan's expertise in execution (not just of the death penalty), the unanimity behind Vol'jin's appointment, Jaina's cooling rhetoric, and the high leaders' eye levels, all suggest serious attempts at peace. However, the long journey ahead is fraught with danger, with neo-Hellscreamism, show trials and internal dissent likely along the way.

Bibliography

• Golden, Christie (2010), World of Warcraft: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, 1st hardcover edn, Gallery Books, New York.
• Golden, Christie (2012), World of Warcraft: Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War, 1st hardcover edn, Gallery Books, New York.
• Holisky, Adam (2013), And the new warchief is..., blog post, viewed 11 September 2013, <http://wow.joystiq.com/2013/09/11/rumor-and-the-new-warchief-is/>.
• Human Rights Watch (2011), Killing of Osama bin Laden | Human Rights Watch, news article, viewed 14 November 2013, <http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/04/killing-osama-bin-laden>.