Unveiling Destiny 2's Season of the Witch: Bungie's Game-Changing Masterstroke!

Highlights

Criticism has been directed towards Destiny 2's Season of the Witch finale due to its sudden conclusion and insufficient clarity regarding key aspects, resulting in players having to rely on lore books to uncover answers.

Season of the Witch presented an enticing blend of dark themes, beloved characters, and progressive plot advancements, positioning it as one of the standout seasons in the history of Destiny 2, up until the underwhelming conclusion. Moreover, The Final Shape expansion holds immense promise in elevating the quality of seasonal narratives in Destiny 2. With its episodic structure, it opens up the opportunity for more intricately woven storylines and enhanced character growth.

Destiny 2's Season of the Witch has been ongoing for six weeks now. While the Festival of the Lost event is still a couple of weeks away and there are more story radio messages to be heard, the main storyline has already concluded. Many fans consider the finale of Season of the Witch to be anticlimactic, mainly because the last cutscene ends abruptly and leaves out a few crucial details. These missing pieces of information are only found by delving into the game's lore books. However, the upcoming Final Shape expansion is expected to bring significant changes, potentially improving the game's current state.

Before its finale, Season of the Witch in Destiny 2 was widely praised as one of the best in the game's history, and rightfully so. It delved into darker themes, connected with beloved characters like Eris Morn and Ikora, heavily drew inspiration from the Hive, and reintroduced Crota's End. Furthermore, it advanced the plot surrounding The Witness and Xivu Arath. Alongside these story elements, Eris Morn's Hive transformations and an enjoyable seasonal loop made the gameplay experience exceptional. Unfortunately, Season 22 failed to deliver a satisfying ending.

How The Final Shape Can Improve Seasonal Stories After Destiny 2's Season of the Witch

In Destiny 2's Season of the Witch, the story revolves around Eris Morn's transformation into the Hive God of Vengeance. Guardians, akin to Hive underlings, pledge their allegiance to her, creating a pyramid scheme that utilizes the power gains from the Sword Logic. This system benefits everyone involved, with those at the top reaping the most rewards. As Eris Morn grows increasingly powerful through weekly missions, the ultimate goal is for her to challenge and potentially defeat Xivu Arath. However, the seasonal narrative faces its first hurdle as Eris Morn's power level falls significantly short of Xivu Arath's. This necessitates a different approach to obtaining power through revenge. Eris Morn has always harbored a deep desire for vengeance against the Hive, particularly Savathun, the Witch Queen, due to their involvement in the Great Disaster that befell her and her fireteam within the Moon's Hellmouth.

Eris finally defeats Savathun in the Season 22 finale, with the help of Immaru's resurrection. This grants Eris enough power to surpass even Xivu Arath, if only for a brief moment. Although Season 22 primarily focused on Eris and her journey, Destiny 2's Xivu Arath has been a background threat for a long time. On the other hand, Savathun had been deceased for a year and a half. It would have been exciting to see either of them make an appearance. However, in the final cutscene, Savathun simply gets killed by Eris. The accompanying lore book reveals that Eris used her acquired power to banish Xivu Arath from her Throne World, while Savathun is resurrected and provides information about a portal to reach The Witness. It would have been more impactful if we had witnessed Xivu's reaction to being banished and seen Savathun confront Ikora, Eris, and the Guardian, rather than just being told about it. Fortunately, Destiny 2's The Final Shape, with its episodic model, appears to have learned from this and is on track to deliver more satisfying and fleshed-out storylines. This could be exactly what Bungie needs to make future seasons of Destiny 2 more engaging and fulfilling, unlike Season of the Witch.

Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.