Character growth. Dragonflight has been thematically almost entirely about growing and healing from trauma, and Ysera/Merithra/Alexstrasza had unresolved matters caused by her sudden death in Legion that needed closure. Just like the red dragon dwarf quest that people praise almost universally for its character writing, not all things inherently need to drive the plot forward to be honest. Sometimes letting characters catch a breath, grow, and deal with their personal problems is important enough on its own right.
Humanising their struggles like Merithra’s insecurity about filling the shoes Ysera left behind, and growing into the leader the Green Dragons need is pivotal growth for her character, and it required Ysera “passing the torch” on to make her see that she always had the leader the Greens/the Dream needed in her. Also dealing with her grief and healing from it by being permitted to say goodbye and finally let go.
As a case in point, the Ysera/Merithra interactions during Emerald Dream really resonated with a friend of mine who had lost their mother semi-recently, and there were so many things they wanted to say that they never had the chance for. Seeing a character dealing with that hurt and getting a second chance at closure with their mother was a story beat my friend appreciated a great deal more than any other plot-driving element in the patch, let alone expansion.
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