Summary
- The Watcher’s foretold war teased in previous games may finally be addressed in Borderlands 4.
- The conflict between The Timekeeper and Queen Callis may be a red herring, leading to The Watcher’s war after the events of BL4.
- There is a chance that defeating The Timekeeper will spark The Watcher’s war for control over time.
After the new Borderlands 4 trailer was revealed at The Game Awards, fans were quick to notice all the various details and secrets in it, such as how the secret message hinted at by the “Break Free” part of the trailer was decoded just hours later. While the new trailer answers some questions, such as who the big bad is and what Borderlands 4‘s Vault Hunters look like, there are several lingering doubts about what the story will be like. One quick assumption that many fans made or started speculating on is that the trailer’s big conflict between The Timekeeper’s Order and Queen Callis’ Rippers is actually The Watcher’s war.
The Watcher’s foretold war dates back all the way to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and it seemed implied that it would be shown in Borderlands 3 – which didn’t happen. Instead, Borderlands 3‘s Director’s Cut DLC had The Seer as a boss, with some lines of dialogue hinting at The Watcher and the reason why Sirens are messing with the timeline. Borderlands 4 could very well tackle this topic after so many years, especially seeing how The Timekeeper’s army is going up against Queen Callis’, but it seems likely that The Watcher’s war is still a few years away.
Related
Borderlands 4 Potentially Opening the Multiverse Could Have One Obvious Upside
Borderlands 4 could explore the multiverse, and if it does, there’s one possibility for its story that simply cannot be ignored.
Why Borderlands 4’s Timekeeper Could Be The Spark For The Watcher’s War
The reason why The Watcher’s war seems like something else entirely is that the Eridian entity mentioned this impending war would be massive and require all the help that Lilith’s crew could get. This is what eventually saves Athena’s life at the end of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, as The Watcher stops bullets that would kill her. If Borderlands 4‘s “war” between The Order and The Rippers was meant to be this full-scale conflict that required all Vault Hunters to be involved, one could argue that many more familiar faces would show up during the trailer.
The Timekeeper Was Foreshadowed By Nyriad in Borderlands 3
More importantly, this war that The Watcher foretold may have to do with The Timekeeper, but not as one would imagine. Though Borderlands 4‘s new villain is tied to the Vaults and even seems to be protecting his own at the end of the video, he is not exactly a new entity within the franchise.
In fact, he was mentioned in Nyriad’s messages in Borderlands 3 alongside The Graveward and The Traveler, with both being Vault Guardians that players defeated in Borderlands 3 and Tales From The Borderlands, respectively. Given The Timekeeper’s name, it would seem that he may manipulate or control time and the events of the universe – but things may be a bit more complicated.
Why It’s Unlikely That Borderlands 4’s Order vs Rippers Conflict is The Watcher’s War
It may be that “Timekeeper” refers to the content of his Vault being the control over time, and that’s what he is protecting. If he is defeated in Borderlands 4, then it may be that The Watcher’s war will happen in the next game, and it will be one for the control of time. This wouldn’t only mean that some series villains and heroes may return, but also that whoever controls time can go back to the ending of the first game and prevent the Vault Hunters from pushing back The Destroyer.
Borderlands‘ Destroyer is one of the oldest entities in the universe, and it was sealed within Pandora by the Eridians at the cost of their entire civilization being wiped out. This being has the potential to annihilate all life in the universe, and controlling time in order to bring it back or even stopping the Eridians from sealing it away would have disastrous consequences. As such, it’s more likely that Borderlands 4‘s war is a red herring, and the events of the game may end up creating the context for The Watcher’s war to spark finally.
See if you have what it takes to go down in history as a legendary Vault Hunter as you search for secret alien treasure, blasting everything in sight.
Looter Shooter
Action
Adventure
RPG
- Franchise
- Borderlands
- Released
- 2025-00-00