Main page - StarCraft/Brood War - StarCraft II (Wings of Liberty - Heart of the Swarm - Legacy of the Void - Co-Op Missions)
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Fridge Brilliance
- Xel'Naga, Purity of Essence and Purity of Form:
- The Xel'Naga is a species that essentially reproduces by creating two lifeforms: one with the purity of essence, capable of adapting to anything (the zerg), and one with purity of form, with great psionic prowess (the Protoss), in the hopes that these two races eventually would seek them out and merge to become Xel'Naga themselves. That's all well and good, but how was Kerrigan able to ascend on her own? She's not Protoss, nor was she born Zerg. However, she might not have been created Zerg, but is definitely Zerg now, as her DNA was rewritten completely, satisfying the purity of essence. And although she is not Protoss, her psionic strength is unmatched in the Koprulu sector after devouring every pack leader on Zerus, satisfying the purity of form. Kerrigan already had everything that was needed, no merger necessary; all that was missing was a "push", which Ouros provided.
- The Xel'Naga had an Alien Non-Interference Clause beyond seeding life throughout the universe in the hopes that two will develop to meet the proper criteria. The Protoss and Zerg were the most likely candidates for their respective roles in the cycle, hence why Amon corrupted both of them to interfere with the cycle and to create the Hybrids. However, his focus on those two species left him blindsided to another which everyone discounted as a candidate: the Terrans. Humanity developed psionic prowess on their own and were doing so in increasing frequency so maybe they were meant to merge with Zerg to become the next generation of Xel'Naga.
- The reason why Kerrigan is chosen to become a Xel'Naga is not just because she's a fan favorite. She's a powerful psionic, which is a requirement for Purity of form, but she is also fused with the primal Zerg DNA. Zerg are known to have the Purity of Essence. The reason why she isn't a perversion like the hybrids is because unlike the Protoss and the Zerg, the Primal Zerg (and the Terrans for that matter) were never uplifted by Amon and evolved independently of the corrupted Zerg all these years. Absorbing Zurvan gave her the final evolution she needed to obtain Purity of Essence naturally.
- It has been stated by Word of God that Zerg cannot infest Protoss due to the latter's use of the Khala and because they are supposed to peacefully merge into Xel'naga. If the merging is forcibly done, the result is a Hybrid. Now, who's involved in the development of the Zerg, Protoss, Hybrid and the Khala? Amon, who uplifted the first two to manufacture Hybrids, and created the Khala as an enslavement tool. All in all, the Zerg cannot infest Protoss because that would hamper Amon's plans, for which the Khala really came in handy...
- Legacy of the Void manages to finally show the complete extent of the Overmind's plan to fight against Amon: as the eternal will of the uplifted species that was given purity of essence, he knew that he wouldn't be able to assimilate the Protoss nor override its directive to kill them to stand against the Xel'Naga; however, there was no deterrent that prevented him of searching for another race that would have taken the mantle of purity of form naturally, so he sought for their most powerful psionic agent, Kerrigan. Or find the next closest thing to being Purity of Form and manipulating her essence to make her surpass the real thing. The Zerg and Protoss were always going to have their respective roles, that's why Amon modified them, in order to corrupt the cycle. The Overmind used lateral thinking and stepped outside the obvious cycle and created his own Purity of Form.
- In the very final cutscene of the epilogue, Kerrigan appears in the bar where Raynor is sitting and mourning Sarah two years on, asking him if he's ready to get out of here. While some took this as Jim having died and human-Sarah being his wish-fulfillment of an afterlife beckoning, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense because his body wasn't found. On top of that, Sarah is a Xel'Naga, and these beings have been known to take human shape for extended periods of time, with absolutely no ill effect, as Duran/Narud demonstrated. Sarah showing up after two years gives Jim enough time to see the brighter future he's been striving for come into fruition, and now that he is no longer needed to wage battles against injustice and Sarah has had time to regrow quite a few barren planets, the two of them can finally leave their pasts behind (in Raynor's case, he literally leaves his badge behind) to live in peace on an otherwise unsettled planet after all the crap the Koprulu Sector threw their way. Took them nine years, but they Earned Their Happy Ending.
- It might seem odd that the Protoss once more have access to certain old units like dragoons when it's previously stated that they could no longer be produced without Aiur's resources. It's justified however, due to the Spear of Adun having its own manufacturing capabilities and the technological know-how of Aiur at its zenith. Which is also reflected in how the Templars put on stasis look more archaic. Unit tooltips in the War Council provide more evidence. The Dragoon, for example, states that the Spear of Adun's dragoons "pre-date Khala integration and thus do not require it to function".
- Duran's schemes in Brood War end up backfiring really bad here: He killed Stukov when he planned to keep the Psi Disruptor active, and "allied" with Kerrigan afterwards to create a distraction while he developed the hybrids. Stukov kills him, the factory used to develop the Hybrids gets FUBAR, and Kerrigan kills Amon.
- Stukov managed to complete all of the objectives from the UED after all. He may have missed Mengsk the first time when Raynor helped him escape through Aiur, but Stukov later helps Kerrigan chase Mengsk into a corner. By being infested in the first place and with Kerrigan's Character Development, the Zerg have been effectively controlled. And with Amon dead and the Protoss tribes no longer having a reason to wage war anymore, the Protoss are as close to being pacified as it's going to be. DuGalle would have been proud.
- Even though both Amon and Duran/Narud are Xel'Naga, they are both unceremoniously killed in one blast by Kerrigan and Stukov, respectively, in cutscenes. For the Xel'Naga's supposed status as Physical Gods, both Protoss and Zerg were able to kill several Xel'Naga in the past, so them actually not having Nigh-Invulnerability makes sense. In addition, Amon was already set back from having his host body destroyed by orbital bombardment and he let out shouts like he was being hurt; it's not a stretch that having his host body destroyed and being forced back into the void by the Keystone forced him to mend his injuries. The power Kerrigan gained from Ouros gave her the power to perform that easy killing blow, once Amon's last lines of defense were destroyed.
- In Wings of Liberty, Raynor's Raiders constantly clash with the Tal'darim when they are collecting the Keystone pieces for Narud's Moebius Foundation, with the Tal'darim even eliminating entire expeditions by said company. Then, in Heart of the Swarm, we find out that the Tal'darim are in league with Narud. Said reveal would normally create a Headscratcher as to why the Tal'darim attacked the Moebius Foundation even though they were actually allies. Alarak's Stop Poking Me! quote that Nyon, the Tal'darim executor from Wings of Liberty, became insane due to terrazine explains this inconsistency - naturally, Nyon did not figure out that the Terran expedition on Xil was actually led by Narud. It could also have new meaning towards Moebius' hunt for the artifacts; it was effectively a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness or You Have Failed Me scenario against Nyon. "Maw of the Void" even ends in his death.
- The game plays a bit with the "find out about prophecy, find powerful artifact, defeat bad guys" storyline we have seen many times before. The prophecy that Zeratul has been gathering fails to happen when the Xel'Naga turn out to be dead. What do the Protoss do? Instead of despairing and giving up, they figure out their own way to defeat Amon, using the artifact in an unintended way.
- Alternatively, the Protoss were inspired to do this after the Terrans pulled off a similar feat in Wings....
- In Legacy of the Void, it almost seems like the remaining Khalai Protoss manage to sever all of their nerve cords too quickly, as Amon was sealed within the Keystone for less than a minute. It makes sense when you consider that they're naturally all still connected by the Khala, which means they're sharing thoughts and feelings. The moment the first Khalai (Executor Selendis) cut their nerve cords off, the rest would have made the same decision to do so.
- Why Vorazun has it out for the Tal'darim more than any other Protoss character makes sense; In Wings of Liberty we find out the Tal'darim have captured a number of Dark Templar just for defying them, so she'd want them to pay for what they did to her people.
- Ma'lash's armor covers his eyes, but Alarak's armor does not. It might be an allusion to how Ma'lash is blindly devoted to Amonnote whereas Alarak is more reasonable in his worshipnote .
- How does Kerrigan have corruptors now despite not having them in Heart of the Swarm? Simple, in the intervening time she found a brood of feral Zerg with corruptors in it and assimilated them back into the swarm.
- It almost seems strange that Rohanna argues with Artanis so much, given her whole backstory is her realization that things would change in the future, and she must have been fairly open minded to go so far as to create the arkships and enter stasis for so long. But it makes sense when you remember that, since she was in stasis, she missed all the changes that happened throughout the games until then, and since all the Templar has severed themselves from the Khala by the time she had awoken, she can't see what they experienced or feel their faith and affection for the Terrans or Dark Templar. She was not accustomed to taking such drastic changes on blind faith, especially not while she's still linked to the Khala and the biases of the past are still loud and fresh in her mind. She basically goes through the same shock of isolation the others did but with the added difficulty of still being part of the Khala which hinders her progress. When you look back at her character growth she actually warms up to ideas she believed to be the height of heresy very quickly, far quicker than some of the other heroes did.
- In multiplayer, it can seem strange that Overlords now mutate Ventral Sacs individually instead of through an upgrade that gives it to all of your Overlords, but in the Heart of the Swarm campaign Abathur expresses a dislike of excessive complexity in strains and would likely be in support of a change like this, with Overlords able to spend resources individually if a Zerg commander require Ventral Sacs.
- The Tal'darim Ascendant has a Mind Blast ability, similar to how Terran Specters have Psionic Lash that causes the same amount of damage. It does make sense considering how they're both enhanced by the effects of Terazine, and the channeling time to cast Psionic Lash (unlike with Mind Blast) probably reflects how Specters are still amateurs in comparison to the Ascendants.
- The Khala is a psionic link all Protoss share, which is used by Amon in the opening act to corrupt all Protoss en masse. The corrupted Khala essentially strips those caught in it of all free will. Sounds a lot like the old Zerg Overmind. Since the Zerg and the Protoss are both uplifted by the Xel'naga, it would make sense they would both be susceptible to falling to mind control as an entire species. This is what makes the Terrans particularly important, as while individuals such as Moebius Corps can be corrupted, never does their entire species fall the way the Zerg or Protoss did. This becomes important later, as the Terrans spend much of the expansion Out of Focus holding off the entire Golden Armada, giving Artanis the time he needs to gather up the few free Protoss tribes left.
- With Amon, and possibly Kerrigan out of the picture, it's very much likely that the UED might be coming back with an even more powerful military response, as Stukov warned previously. Given how it's possible that they've been keeping tabs on what's going on, they might take better precautions this time around compared to DuGalle's failed expedition. On the other hand, they'll be facing a Protoss race that is united and stronger than before, a Dominion with an ostensibly superior leader and a stronger military, and a Zerg Swarm that stronger than it's ever been.
- The Spear of Adun is 74km long according to supplementary materials (certainly large enough for Carriers and Colossi to move about freely within its interior). The third mission involves reactivating it on Aiur to use as a mobile base, where it lies upright with only the tip of its spire-like nose sticking out of the ground. Given how many factors there are in planet formations, the crust may just be thicker than Earth.
- Alternatively, given how advanced the ancient Protoss werenote , it's possible the Spear of Adun may not have been buried, but instead constructed inside a facility going into the mantle and capable of resisting the heat down there - which seems to be the case given what we see of it in the mission and also explains why its power generators would be close by.
- Alarak getting carried away and declaring Artanis' forces as his slaves in his Rak'Shir duel might just be him trolling Artanis as usual. On the other hand, Alarak loves Loophole Abuse and while there's evidently no rule against him bringing in backup from outside the Tal'darim, his declaration would qualify them as his supplicants (and therefore technically make them Tal'darim) and thus cover his bases just in case someone decided to check.
- The conversation between Alarak and Vorazun: The former asks how did they lose Aiur to the Zerg, which Vorazun responds by saying that the zerg was once the greatest threat her people faced and that only a fool would take them lightly. Alarak's response to that was that he will bow down to the experience of Vorazun as the fool. The Protoss- or at least their Conclave leaders- were so confident in their ability to defeat the Zerg that they attempt to engage in a civil war with Tassadar while the zerg was invading their home. While he was targeting the wrong Protoss with that barb (since the Dark Templar, much less Vorazun, were not the Protoss doing the part of the fool), his response was not just a snarky remark.
Fridge Horror
- What will become of the Khala now that Amon is gone? As far as we know, Protoss are born with their nerve cords and have to ritualistically sever their nerve cords to separated themselves from the Khala. Does this mean every Protoss infant will have their nerve cords removed without consent because of the Khala's true purpose as a mass-control tool, or will the Protoss allow for the Khala's return now that Amon is no longer able to corrupt it? Both outcomes aren't exactly pleasant. The former has quite an invasive and irrevocable action taken without consent. And for all its flaws, one cannot argue that the Khala did not enrich Protoss lives by allowing them to know each other on a deep level, whereas the latter will see the rise of yet another tribe of Protoss, one that will choose not to sever themselves from the Khala, bringing even more factions to manage for Artanis before the unification of the Protoss can truly be declared a success. The only silver lining we have is that this factionism doesn't seem to impair the rebuilding of the Protoss, judging by the final scene of the campaign.
- There are also some Protoss who might harken back to the days of the Khala, like Rohana (despite her vow), and encourage Protoss children to rekindle their psionic link. The Purifiers, having a synthetic variant, might also serve to be good tutors, if not helping to develop an implant for biological Protoss that can simulate it (or communicate with the Purifiers remotely), beyond the simple amplifier that Adepts use. Also, there are at least two factions of Protoss who still have their nerve cords: the Tal'darim (who for some reason don't have a connection with the Khala but don't seem to have any ritualistic severing either - Alarak has his nerve cords, for example), and the Ihan-rii, on account of them being largely in stasis and out of the picture until after Amon's defeat... and possibly non-canon. The next generation will surely be an interesting time.
- The fact that the Khala has been lost at all means that the Khalai themselves are likely to start splitting into factions like the Nerazim have, with neither a species-wide psychic link holding them together nor an overarching threat to enforce unity. And the last time the Protoss lost their racial psychic link, the Aeon of Strife happened. And the last generation of great leaders who saw the three races through this time are gone. Kerrigan ascended, then she and Raynor left to who knows where, Tassadar has long since sacrificed himself to slay the Overmind, which also puts the Overmind out of the picture for obvious reasons. Zeratul and Raszagal are dead, and so countless others. Only Artanis and Stukov are left, with the rest relatively green, in comparison to the many battle-hardened generals and experienced leaders who faced the UED the last time. Can the next "Generation" really live up to the last?
- Amon was scorching his way through Terran worlds using the Golden Armada. Now, which planet was described as being "near the edge of Protoss space"? Haven, Dr. Hanson's colony. It might very likely have been just one more insignificant world for Amon's forces to slaughter. Not to mention that Selendis, the same Protoss who was investigating Haven's status in Wings of Liberty, was leading the Golden Armada under Amon's spell, making this all the more likely.
- The reason why the UED chose to act and invade the Koprulu sector was due to the Zerg and Protoss making their presences known. They could not risk them invading Earth. Imagine what they observed with the Hybrid, seemingly bred by the Dominion, but lacking any context of what was really going on. Now they have a very good reason to mount a full-scale invasion; they simply cannot afford that kind of warfare from spreading into their sector of space, if there's any stasis cells of them left, or they might want the Hybrid for themselves for a similar reason — they don't want that kind of power asymmetry in their enemies' favour.
- Alternatively, imagine if the UED did discover what the Hybrid was really made for. If they still manage to keep tabs on the Koprulu Sector after the events of Brood War, chances are they'd find inklings about Amon and the Xel'Naga. Which, in turn, would give the UED every reason to go in force, not wishing to see Earth subjected by an abominable alien menace. Amon's defeat wouldn't really change things, either, as they'd rather take matters to their own hands than leave it to people, they believe, responsible for luring said menace.
Fridge Logic
Entries that require an answer are located on the Headscratchers page.
