The problem is that the narrative simply does not support this. Sylvanas is somewhat doing morally grey acts…if the world would be more akin to something like Warhammer or Game of Thrones. But, it is not. The World of Warcraft is a world where the morally righteous and the good guys are rewarded and win their battles (outside of the moments where the villain laughs and lures the heroes into a devious trap, which they have to overcome in order to advance).
And let’s step back for a moment: If you want a realistic approach…do you really believe that the Alliance would have left Orgrimmar after Garrosh was defeated? Do you really believe that they would have left the Horde alone after everything?
If you want a realistic approach, then both factions need to act like this. You cannot have a grim faction like the Horde fight a ‘fairy tale’ faction like the Alliance, and then claim that someone like Sylvanas is morally grey.
Even if it were Game of Thrones, it wouldn’t be considered morally grey. Just look at Daenerys, how long did she last after she pulled a Teldrassil on King’s Landing?
It was more a comparison to the overall tone and theme than actual plot points. Warcraft is sitting right between Lords of the Rings (the classical high fantasy) and Warhammer Fantasy (a slightly darker version). But, it was never a Game of Thrones, even though Blizzard desperatly tries to turn it into one by still claiming that someone like Sylvanas is morally grey.
Obviously you can do that. But, it turns your own story into a complete joke. There are fanfiction-writers who have a better understanding of this than actual paid writers. And this is simply sad.
Regardless of what the “bigger endgame” will be, it will most likely not be good, not make sense, or even justify the things Sylvanas has actually done. I used to really like her character way back, before they decided that morally grey equals genocide to an entire race.
I’m still pretty sure that they will retcon the burning within this expansion, and turn it from ‘She burned everyone and thousands are dead!’ to ‘Many died and it was tragic, but it wasn’t a genocide!’. I mean…they’re basically doing it already considering how the night elves launch an entire offensive in Darkshore all on their own.
I’ll say it again, the theory that I think best fits is that the whole war is just to get people to die, to somehow make the Shadowlands a more bearable place.
Maybe more dead people are needed there as “soldiers” to fight some corruptive encroachment (which we have already seen, really), like in the Shadowlands “leak”, maybe Helya has promised a afterlife that doesn’t suck in exchange for a certain number of souls delivered, maybe something else… but something death-related is just the best fit for Sylvanas.
And if she is really acting to spare herself (Oh, and her people, yes. It’s totally about her people. Why are you asking. Erm, Go Team Forgotten! What? Oh, yeah, I meant Forsaken!) eternal torment, and doesn’t see being dead as bad per se… I can at least see where that “not evil”, “motally gray” stuff is coming from - though I still wouldn’t agree.
Though I’m still looking for anything that makes her targeting of SW at the start of BtS make any kind of sense, if the war is just a means to an end… well, whatever…
Yes she is evil. It doesn’t matter how you twist it in your headcanon. Blizzard don’t do ‘twists’ (they think they do though, bless them) it’s always obvious. And there’s no coming back from what she’s done.
one can make story decisions and theories, but being stubborn donkeys in what is written as of currently is just unhealthy especially in a set like blizzard’s own story.
case in point: someone already coming to the agreeable possibility that the genocide will be super toned down.
seems suitable here