sirnassif3124: Was just looking for something to watch while I smoke on my balcony and voila the universe provides
Kuroooiii: The fact that Midra doesn't even want us to go near him but we have to defeat em to end his suffering
Celatrec: going thru what looked like a regular catacombs, only to go down elevator after elevator to the pits of hell, to wind up at the abyssal forest/Midra's mance was one of the most incredible sequences in a souls game imo. That, and one of the coolest bosses ever at the end of one of the most terrifying sections in a souls game
maize3201: This boss felt more like a mercy kill than any other one in the game.
someguywithoutamustachestw4406: Midra is lowkey one of the best bosses in the game and seeing just how destructive the frenzied flame is even when it’s not burning everything is terrifying. You can just FEEL the despair especially after seeing the painting of what it used to be.
freddymeisner: Making it out the Abyssal Woods with this one, boys.
austaneousc5802: About Nanaya, I think the gesture of her hand on her stomach is symbolic. She's overseeing Midra's birth as the Lord of Frenzy. Her hand on his shoulder with that knowing smile betrays her command over him and her insidious intent. This contrasts with Midra himself, who is earnest and meets the gaze of the painting's observer with seemingly nothing to hide. It's master and puppet, basically.

So she is a "mother," in a sense, but more through her "nurturing," which squares pretty well with the torch she carries, too.
precautiousparasite3794: I love how the entire fight is recontextualised if you have the frenzied flame.
Instead of putting him out of his misery, you’re taking out a rival.
michaeltalpas: I like the idea of an eldritch being that appears as just a hand. It puts me in mind of what the animals in a terrarium must think, when the human opens the top and reaches inside.
santiagoarroyave3219: may vaati take the lore! OH, MAY VAATI TAKE THE LORE!
Warforged644: I never even thought about the Stakes of Marika being in the Land of Shadow, but not in Raya Lucaria
Mr_Sim: I think the three fingers are a malformed child of Metyr. The two fingers use their limbs as antennae to communicate with the greater will, but they have never understood that the greater will has simply abandoned them. They continued to wait, and to lie to the finger readers, waiting for an answer. Even their mother keeps waiting.
The three fingers realized what no one else had: the great will had abandoned everything.
This truth drove the three fingers to despair. I think that's how they summoned the flame of frenzy for the first time.
MHoM.: Retitle it to “the lore of elden ring is maddening”
kaigdoa893rhkpp: Torrent going to need therapy after this one
nicholasloduca6668: We can all agree Midra probably wasn't the hardest boss, but he is clearly one of the favorites from the DLC because it's a masterclass in building up tension. First, you arrive at the Abyssal Woods, unable to summon your trusty stead who is too frightened to appear, despite following you resolutely everywhere else. Then, you have the messages telling you can't fight what lies ahead. And when you finally sneak (or parry) past them, you arrive at this bleak manor, accompanied by screaming that gets louder and louder, the closer you get to the boss room. Incredible
Scalesandtails13: When I saw spectral steed is scared I was like, “I am too but I can’t just piss off into blue dust.”
dippahh9064: after learning that TORRENT FUCKING DIES in the frenzy ending, i ain't doing that shit ever again
xpatrstarx: The smile in the painting blows my mind. It feels like the lynchpin of Midra's story.
TheBestOfAll2010: I love the fact that if you want the flame of frenzy to properly take over and make sure that nobody can stop you, you'd have to progress normally up to farum azula.
With Melina gone, you'd have to wipe out everyone in the shadow realm as well and THEN inherit the flame of frenzy and finish the game.

There wouldn't be anyone alive that we know of that could stop you in that situation.

Oh and I checked, if Melina lights up the Erdtree and THEN you get the frenzy flame ending, that last bit of the cutscene doesn't happen any more, meaning she's gone for good
kvsolo2636: The concept of two and three fingers is interesting. Even numbers can be balanced in a scale by putting one on each scale, but odd numbers make the scale to topple on the either side that has the extra. In terms of astronomy, two body systems have predictable and orderly trajectory while 3 body systems have an unpredictable and chaotic trajectory.
yodoleheehoo90: I was wearing headphones when Torrent suddenly bucked me off his back and I swear I jumped from the couch. Then that music came on, sent shivers down my spine just being there and looking at the polluted river filled to the brim with madness... The messages left behind helping me, warning me, but I kept going, seeing so many bloodstains, EVERYWHERE.

And those Winter Lanterns, never thought I would ever see them again here! I wish I can traverse that area all over again and just take in the enormity of the trees, which also reminds me of Ash Lake!
ThePlayableRiver: One thing that I haven't seen anyone else point out is the fact that Grapes and the process of Aging evokes imagery of Wine. In many ways, it seems like the process of creating a potent Lord of Frenzied Flame mirrors that of creating a potent bottle of wine. Gift the lord with ripened grapes, and then seal him away with the seed of frenzy fermenting within while the lord endures, until it is finally time to "pop the top" so to speak.
austinluther5825: Midra looks so much like a frenzy version of Goldmask. Like a scholar and diviner of chaos instead of order.
crashbandicootnerd4321: Midra is my most favorite boss of all time. Love his lore, his build-up, everything. Torrent being scared and the spooky messages on the ground made this the best experience of Shadow Of The Edtree, Messmer and Bayle very close behind.
garybrown2039: Me: (Finds the entrence to the Abyssal woods. The site is ominous and dark, but not really too different when compared to other areas in From Software's titles)

Me: "hmm, another swamp"

Torrent: (Screams and runs away in fear of something i can't sense)

Me: "Oh no..."

Miyazaki: "You see, young tarnished, you're not dealing with the average dungeon/level anymore. "
EthelJung-j5w: one thing I like about the aging untouchables is how, outside of parrying you can also kill them with the Black Knife and Black Blade, which may be a bug but also shows that Destined death is absolute, and that Melina isn't just all talk in the FF ending.
mikewatkinson1996: As a history nerd, what i always love about Souls games is the lore speculation. Since we only get pieces, we always have to speculate and put a puzzle together. Its just like real history. You have bits of evidence, maybe a theory....but sometimes we will just never know for sure. So the story evolves overtime with new finds.
Loyd64: Counter theory-
Nanaya WAS kind and gentle, and earned Midra's full trust. She dies during childbirth or the child is birthed too early, and she dies of heartbreak. Shabriri takes over, Midra and everyone else, none the wiser
thaearthquake: It’s insane how Midra was one of the most striking shots in the trailer but by the time I got around to the DLC I completely forgot about him. Then that cutscene.. easily the best boss in Elden Ring for me.
AlexHyena1: the idea that Nanaya slandered the manse to bring the inquisition just as Sabriri slandered the merchant caravan raised a thought; if Nanaya did coerce the inquisition to the manse and to the hornless Midra, perhaps this was the very origin of the hornsent’s jar-saint practise - having the perceivedly frenzied numen become saints to stave their nihilistic ideology.
And as you said, the cycle of persecution only furthers the frenzy.
chaoticgoodcreations947: A very interesting complaint about the Abyssal Woods I've heard is that a lot of people do not like that there is so little there. It is incredibly contentless, especially compared to other areas that have maps tied to them. But I think that has always been the point. That the Abyssal Woods represent what the Frenzied Flame will eventually lead to. There is literally nothing of note besides a single NPC and a few wandering monstrosities who can not even look at things without afflicting it with some form of pain. The only way you could think that such an environment is better, is if you utterly hate what was there before. And that is exactly what the Frenzied Flame aims for.
adelinaiftime3152: i heard in another lore video a while back that the reason why the 10 corpses in front of Mirda's mansion have those 10 glowing stakes in their necks is so that the frenzy doesnt erupt from them
they serve the same purpose as the sword impaling Midra himself, to keep the frenzy at bay
malakarvonstroheim5372: If you look closer into Nanaya's eyes in the picture, you'll notice that they are unnaturally open and fixed, uncanny valley doesn't even begin to describe it, she is Shabriri and this is the one and only time that you get to look behind the Blindfold
5TailFox: I love how Midra's head stays still while his body whirls around, swinging his sword underneath. It's so cool yet so creepy at the same time.
MrDavekov: If you superimpose the SOTE map over the Lands Between, the "Abyssal Wood"area looks like it should be underwater. That would make sense, because "Abyssal Plain" is the name for a flat part at the bottom of an ocean.
caliaid: wow, the contrast between Midra shouting/mad, and when he stops “enduring” is so striking - from high-pitched wailing to a cool, confident, low clear speech. The voice work in FS is always so top notch - few games actually carry meaning thru even the voice acting like their games do.
PedroApp: I have a trip tomorrow, guess what I'm listening, thank you
unironicallylikesranger7122: The way the rune evolved in the chapter breaks for 1,2, and 3 really had me expecting it to resolve into loss. That’s some frenzy right there
The_Rizzen: Midra was by far my favourite DLC fight/cut scene
Vixzo-1: Vaati finally dropped a lore video i been praying for times like these
canadianbacon5512: I find it curious a significant amount of frenzied flame attacks involve grappling. It makes me think that these individuals, scorned and spat upon by the brethren or others, seek someone for comfort, and embrace them. But either due to the frenzied flames affliction itself, or a desire to drag the other person to their level, they harm them. Inflicting frenzy upon them.
Scheifen1: The theory I held is that the frenzy appeared in the forest, and the inquisition comes in to destroy the Manse, thinking the Hornsent of the Manse are responsible for it— and maybe they are in harboring Nanaya, (who seems to have brought it with her)— and in doing so, make the Frenzy in the forest unbelievably strong. The "confusion that inquisitions bring" is the realization some have that the inquisition's methods are exacerbating the issue, and yet the inquisition does not stop. This also explains the manse's confusion as to their persecution.
sparklepawz1185: Midra, suffering his punishment: NYAAARGH
starchman8758: I think the "too weak to become a lord" thing is referencing how he was too weak to become THE lord of frenzied flame, he became a "lord" in the physical sense of replacing his head with the eye of chaos but he wasn't able to melt away the world like the lord of frenzied flame is supposed to, because we stopped him (or replaced him)
IsaLovesAspargus: You know the Aging Untouchables are truly scaring when your Dog suddenly jumps out of your lap and starts growling/barking at the TV screen during their section of the video.
Guess he'll become afflicted as well, will have confirmation once his eyes catch fire
xVibra: The embracing, cradling, and the act of even seeing the burning embrace of the Three Fingers as a blessing is an analogy for Buddhism and a case for asceticism. The more you coddle a child, the more harm you do to them once they must split away from you. Embracing, reciprocating the same feelings for someone, empathizing with someone's pain; it's a parallel to order and chaos, but also as harmful as cutting them down where they stand. You can only soothe the sick, and relieve those who are suffering. Where there is pleasure, there is suffering. It's a foundational belief in Buddhism of why desire is the root of all suffering. No matter the endeavors, and even the desire to not desire and become enlightened, you'll still be suffering in pursuit of it.

There's a level of sadism and masochism in it, as if the suffering can give meaning to the world, and that may be why Shabriri and Nanaya have that slight smile. The power of chaos can rival the order that brought it into being, and that must be so validating to know that all that suffering wasn't for nothing. It's why the sick and meek in Christianity are seen as virtuous and holy, and why the torture of a man affixed to one of the world's worst torture devices is the symbol of the religion.
stefanavious: This is the greatest Penguinz0 impersonation title of All Time
wafflesinsanity: Three more things I wanted to bring up.

The plants that chime and attract the Aged ones, if you look closely, they are a similar asset to the grapes. I believe the idea of "grapes" came from these fruit, not just the similarity of eyeballs to grapes. There may well be a frenzy grape that originally was not an eyeball.

Second, if you listen closely to the music from Midras fight, you can hear the same music from the merchants, the same song they play, but quiet and distorted, about halfway thought. It's barely noticeable, and even more difficult to recognize in the fight, but its there. Just an interesting note.

Lastly, I want to point out that when you originally approach Midra, and even AFTER dying and coming back.... you can leave, at any time. You never HAVE to kill him. You can go in the room and walk away. He warns you what will happen.
You make him turn. You create the Lord of Frenzy. You push him over the edge of his suffering after enduing so long.

Its rare we can leave a boss fight, or upon return there is no fog wall. This is one of the few times you are given so bold of a choice to "turn back." I wish Fromsoft would have done more with that decision, and this entire area. Where is my Frenzy Dragon.
CommandoFett: Both the Mansion and the Woods are easily my favorite zones in terms of ambiance in all of Elden Ring.
glowyrm: "The One Great" is virtually the Lord of the Rings' "Song of Creation".

An ongoing cosmic force comprised of many entities, concepts, fundamentals, forces, lives, etc...
belcomet27: It could be that the 'distant land' is actually the Land of Reeds where Nanaya may have come from. If we go by the theory of Nanaya being Shabriri, it would also shed light on why Yura's body was the one taken as host by Shabriri. Perhaps it's due to Yura being a familiar body who hailed from the same lands?
JediKnight35-de7uf: Most people on the first day of school: it’s so good to be back.
lukebarroso449: Me the first time seeing Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame:

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!!!
dannywatson4253: I really like the idea of the three fingers being an intentional jibe at the Greater Will from Frenzy. Not only is it a statement that the Frenzy and Greater Will should be one, but also a statement of which is more powerful. By claiming an extra finger, Frenzy is unequivocally stating that it has more power.
-k-b-: In the trailer I wasn't even sure what Midra was supposed to be, I thought he'd be some Aspect Of The Crucible monk or something. The reveal that he was a frenzied lord was AMAZING and so genius.
critconk: So basically you're telling me, Midra EDGED for his maiden and that made him a lord of frenzied flame?

Bout to let chaos take the world with this one
optimalrefundable: me now when I get a dumb email at work:


RobertEHouse: The Frenzied Flame Situation is Insane
midnightmatter2028: ... Is it just me, or is Midra's cloak pin the sigil of the All-Knowing?

Also, I love the contradictory insanity of the phrase "Reduction is the only path forward".

Thinking about that too long is enough to set your brain on fire.
rutghost6604: I think the torch itself is also an important symbol. Human spine with Frenzied Flame on top of it. To Shabriri (Nanaya) Frenzied Lords are just tools to burn everything down. Tarnished and Midra are torches which need to be fueled with anguish and suffering before they are ready to set the world ablaze. If Nanaya came to the manor and shared the knowledge about the Frenzied Flame it would also make sense that she is the one who told Hornsent about forbidden studies in the manor. She just prepared the ground so that Midra's flame can eventually ripen.
LANBobYonson: I think Nanaya holding the frenzy torch just shows she had tried this before and her lord was too weak but she kept his spine and voidless head somehow and ran.
Nanaya might’ve been the one who brought the inquisitors down all as a plan to torture Midra to ripen because the first lord wasn’t good enough and she needed more suffering and the hornsent cause more suffering than any other race so midra made a fine one. But not as good as tarnished.
ThomasDSin: There’s a brilliant parallel between Nanaya and Lady Macbeth:

She is the maiden, companion of this lord who has a hold, but no real power. But when an opportunity for power comes along (at the behest of supernatural sources, no less) she encourages him to not only capitalize on it, but to “endure” the hardships that come with it (“stick your courage to the sticking place”).

She is a woman in a place and time where women who weren’t of royal decent didn’t have the opportunity to establish any kind of formidable power or authority. However, she still has this strong, downright disturbing obsession/desire to preserve some kind of legacy of power not only for herself, but for her husband/companion.

She also had a prior marriage/relationship, and it’s open to interpretation that she projects all of her desires/resentment of the loss upon her new partner.

It all culminates in this opportunistic, obsessed, desperate and formidable woman manipulating her partner to seize an opportunity for power.

Far too many similarities to not raise the point, as far as I’m concerned.
ILikePi31415926535: I think the "The barbs are reminiscent of the Golden Order" line on the Greatsword isn't to say that the Golden Order influenced the Hornsent, but the opposite.

We know that many customs of the Golden Order grew out of Marika's customs, The braid of hair left at Marika's Village is reminiscent of Grace for example, the usage of pots carried on in The Lands Between despite being a hornsent custom (Though they seem to be burial implements as opposed to trying to make a saint), and we know that the crucible itself formed an early foundation for the Golden Order.

I think the barbs of the Greatsword of Damnation evoke Golden Order Imagery because Marika was influenced by and adapted the inquisition and aspects of the Hornsent holy orders into the Golden Order.

An overarching theme in the dlc is melding and merging (literally and metaphorically) as well as showing that Marika had very humble origins. She too grew up with a culture and a society and customs and beliefs, and those beliefs went on the shape her eventual order.
doomzilla3568: Made it through the Abyssal Woods for this, it's Vaati time!!!!!!
michael-fw3vz: The sound design in the cutscene where Midra becomes the lord of frenzied flame is absolutely incredible and adds so much to that fight for me. I love how they adorned the typical sounds of flames burning with these eerie wails, like some cosmic being shouting from a void. It really accentuates how otherworldly the frenzied flame is.
1LogHalley: the 2 fingers and the 3 fingers might represent a split in the greater will.
like marika split with radagon as they had conflicting ideas, with marika breaking the elden ring and radagon trying to repair it;
like miquella split with st. trina, as they had conflicting ideas, with miquella wanting to become a god and st trina not wanting to.

the fingers are used to "hear" and "interpret" the split greater will.
the 2 fingers lead to hearing the split part of the greater will related to the tree and order.
the 3 fingers lead to hearing the split part of the greater will related to fire and chaos.
as the greater will itself has conflicting ideas, the fingers must split in order to "succeed" in some way. they can't succeed without splitting up.

like if the 2 sides of the brain sabotaged each other, and only by splitting they can excel.
but then they still end up fighing, like marika fought radagon about breaking/fixing the elden ring, like st trina asking you to stop miquella, like the frenzied flame burning the erdtree. (as fire and wood are "opposed")
prince_nox: IM CRYING my video started buffering at the perfect moment to hear Vaati say "I touched him, but only once. When he thrust his--"
TeaGarrison: A small note: a lot of people have said that it’s Torrent’s screams we hear in the Frenzy ending but I think it’s just wind passing through the whistle part of the ring. The sound we hear is too similar to the sound of the whistle when we summon Torrent in game, but with less strength behind the blow, and then the sound stops when Melina picks up the whistle ring, muffling it.
RonGlasser: It was very uncomfortable entering freaky town through the abyssal woods.
woompf3641: What if the feeble lord was a past lover of Nanaya who died upon becoming a frenzied lord, and she was trying to recreate that in Midra. It could explain why she seemingly knows how one might become the lord of frenzy, because she's witnessed it before. Also, her holding the torch while the manse burned around her, might've been a final comfort, her dying belief that her beloved lord would be born again through Midra's suffering. Just some food for thought. Loved the video, by the way!
nyxmoonveil: The more I learn about the Hornsent, the less I like them. Seems like before Marika's Golden Order, they were responsible for countless suffering across the land. One could argue that Marika would never have created the Golden Order if not for the Hornsent and their depraved practices.
RETRODIBUS: I've heard too the theory that the spine is Midra's because he has stitches on his back, but that it can't be true because he seems to be able to stand up right. I think it still can be possible because when he is impaled, the sword can act as support and when the flame of frenzy substitutes his head, his body could be dangling from it. There is an animation where he divebombs you that looks like his body just ragdolls pulled behind the Flame of Frenzy.
SleepyKurisu: I'd like to theorize that when the people of Midra's manse including midra himself first discovered the winter lantern they tried to study frenzy in finding a way to cure it or destroy it
And eventually they came to a standstill or midra came to a realization and learned the more the studied the more they followed frenzy's path so he reached out to the hornsent and they sent the inquisitors to "help" and when they arrived it was too late
They weren't there to help in studies or prevention they were there to destroy any and all frenzy
And in the study of frenzy when Midra's realization kicked in he might've realized his path was of that of a lord of frenzied flame and the reason he failed to become one was because of his "death" sealment or torture with the blade of damnation preventing the transformation
I don't believe he knew Nanaya was possessed at all but I do think he realized something about frenzy and when he reached out for help he was met with a extermination force
blankdark7784: In Midra theme you can hear the merchants melody from the shunning ground it’s more disturbing and chaotic to fit the boss fight.
BioshadowX: Chaos in media is frequently related to entropy. Entropy is the slow march to the heat death of the universe, when everying stops and becomes the same, having no energy

Aug 25 2024

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