Hogwarts Legacy 2 Has an Unenviable Story Challenge to Hurdle

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Has an Unenviable Story Challenge to Hurdle



Concerned with ancient magic repositories and Keeper trials gradually doling out information via Pensieve memories, Hogwarts Legacy’s narrative is reinforced by a superb cast of characters whose tribulations are paralleled between past and present. Hogwarts Legacy doesn’t forgo Hogwarts’ stereotypical house characteristics altogether, though it thankfully doesn’t rely on those traits in a similarly banal way when choosing what actions define its characters. It may be a low bar, but houses not immediately inferring how a character should be perceived in Hogwarts Legacy goes a long way in depicting them as comprehensive people as opposed to stalwart caricatures.

That’s not to say Hogwarts Legacy lacks its standard fare of straight-laced ne’er-do-wells as Ranrok, Victor Rookwood, and Theophilus Harlow fulfill that role. Still, there are two primary characters in Hogwarts Legacy who could easily be labeled as antagonists if not for how understandable and, frankly, redeemable either of them can be: Isidora Morganach and Sebastian Sallow.

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Isidora Morganach’s Story is a Cautionary Tale in Hogwarts Legacy

Isidora Morganach and Sebastian Sallow are completely sympathetic in their motivations for dabbling in ancient magic and the Dark Arts, respectively. Isidora, in particular, is a character from the past who players never actually interact with but whom the whole story revolves around.

Isidora’s father is irreparably distraught after losing his son, Isidora’s brother, and after being told by the Keepers that she is to safekeep ancient magic and is taught to wield it responsibly. It’s not until she’s completed her schooling as a Ravenclaw and become a professor at Hogwarts herself that Isidora reveals she’s been wielding ancient magic and storing it in goblin-crafted receptacles in order to literally take peoples’ pain away, though in doing so the people in question become little more than vegetative husks.

Therefore, while the end product is terrifying and incorrigible, Isidora’s determination is reasonable as she wanted to be a balm for her father and anyone else who was suffering. Isidora is certainly a far cry from the more bigoted and undeniably evil antagonists in Harry Potter lore, and though she is killed by the Keepers to ensure her ancient magic repositories never fall into the wrong hands she remains a character whose plight is endearing if not misguided.

Sebastian Sallow’s Story is an Unprecedented Subversion in Hogwarts Legacy

In the present day, Slytherin’s Sebastian Sallow makes similarly misguided judgments, only his are based on incomplete information and desperation which leads to him investigating and performing Unforgivable Curses. It may be extreme, but Sebastian believes that the Dark Arts will unlock the answer to curing his ailing, cursed sister despite his uncle adamantly prohibiting him from exploring that avenue.

The player is dragged along whether they agree with Sebastian’s goals or not, but regardless it is refreshing to see a Slytherin student who actually has a sympathetic explanation for why they’re dabbling in something malignant. He’s also under the assumption that goblins had cursed his sister based on what he was told and rescinds his pointed hatred toward them once the protagonist reveals to him that Victor Rookwood was who cast the curse.

Players aren’t punished for wielding Unforgivable Curses in Hogwarts Legacy, either, which makes Sebastian willingly wielding them lack a sense of morality, too—until he casts Avada Kedavra on his uncle, at least. Neither Isidora nor Sebastian is completely blameless for what darkness or mayhem they cause, but the reasons why they indulge in their respective corners of controversial magic aren’t baseless.

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