Thrall has a long and storied history in Warcraft, starting as a humble slave and gladiator, rising to become Warchief of the Horde, and eventually using his shaman power to defeat Deathwing alongside the Dragon Aspects. He’s one of the main characters of the franchise, as well as one of the most popular ones, plus he’s voiced by Blizzard veteran Chris Metzen. With The War Within expansion entering beta, Thrall is one of the protagonists stepping up to save Azeroth — but fans are concerned that he’s just spinning his wheels on the same old narrative.
As a character, Thrall united the modern-day Horde under one banner, founded the city of Orgrimmar, managed diplomacy with factions like the Forsaken and the Blood Elves, and helped lead the war against the Lich King. It was during the Cataclysm expansion that things got weird; the arrival of Deathwing threw the world into chaos, and as a shaman, Thrall felt obligated to help. It’s hard to moonlight as the head of a major political coalition and save the world from a dragon, so Thrall retired and put Garrosh Hellscream in his place.
Garrosh was a bad pick, and he ended up serving as the final boss of the Mists of Pandaria expansion. Both factions had to storm Orgrimmar and stop Garrosh, putting him on trial for all sorts of war crimes. Unfortunately, Garrosh escaped to an alternate universe to cause more chaos — that’s how the Warlords of Draenor expansion came to be. Thrall put Vol’jin in charge of the Horde, headed to Draenor, pursued Garrosh, and murdered him. But that wasn’t as cathartic as he may have hoped, as Garrosh brought up Thrall’s negligence in appointing him to such a high position and promptly leaving him alone to fail. Thrall was so upset about the whole thing that he lost his connection to the elements and ultimately retired to a farm on Outland.
But Thrall is perhaps too popular to shelve forever, and so he came back during Battle for Azeroth and adventured through the realms of death in Shadowlands. He’s now featured prominently in the key art for The War Within, and in early promos about the upcoming expansion, we’ve learned… that he’s still struggling with his connection to the elements. This plot thread is reinforced with some dialogue from Jaina in The War Within content; she worries about Thrall and his ability to cope without his elemental powers.
Warlords of Draenor is 10 years old, and while Thrall’s elemental dysfunction is somewhat understandable — and it makes sense to focus on inner conflict during a story about a “war within” — I am so tired of Thrall having this specific problem. As one fan put it on X, “Thrall started grappling with his connection to the elements when I was in middle school. I’m now pursuing a Master’s degree, and Thrall is grappling with his connection to the elements.”
Thrall started grappling with his connection to the elements when I was in middle school. I’m now pursuing a Master’s degree, and Thrall is grappling with his connection to the elements.
How are we *still* doing this plotline lmao https://t.co/BN0bTUPaEe
— Portergauge ️ (@Portergauge) May 30, 2024
It’s possible we’ll see more variation in Thrall’s story in future The War Within updates; the beta is for testing, after all. Right now, it seems that fans are at best concerned for Thrall and wondering how they can help get him out of this funk, and at worst utterly bored with the idea of dealing with another confidence issue from our big green friend. Thrall is one of the only main characters right now with strong ties to the Horde, so it’d be neat to see more of Thrall the diplomat or Thrall the leader. Fans are worried, as we head into the first expansion in the World Soul Saga, that we’re more likely to get Thrall the Mope. Again, though, this is just a beta, and content on test realms is always subject to change. Blizzard has done a much better job in writing villains over the course of Dragonflight; it remains to be seen whether it can find interesting paths for its heroes as well.
