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Three years, hundreds of spell slots, and almost a thousand hours since my first Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough, I can't say I ever wished to see it immortalized on the small screen. One of the greatest things about it is how any stone left unturned can simply be investigated next time around. It's that expansive sense of adventure, storytelling, and worldbuilding that makes it one of the best RPGs of all time, not to mention the most replayable.
It's also why I cannot comprehend how the upcoming Baldur's Gate 3 TV show, led by The Last of Us' Craig Mazin, will deliver a direct sequel to something with so many endings – including one where everybody in the whole world dies – and not enrage legions of already sceptical fans in the process.
I understand why HBO would jump at the chance to serialize it. There's something moreish and captivating about Larian's take on Dungeons & Dragons' Forgotten Realms, not to mention a lot of sustained commercial interest in the property. Hell, my friends and I have been pining for a full run of the animated shorts Larian used at various stages in the game's rollout – to us it screams Netflix adult cartoon show. But putting my initial fears to one side, as a fan and a journalist, there's only one way I can see it taking off without risking total desecration: HBO must look to the Gods.
The devil you know
Exploring the "effortless grace" of theatrical villainy with Baldur's Gate 3's Raphael
No matter which ending (or variant thereof) you end up with, the one constant in Baldur's Gate 3 is that the Gods are always watching. From the hungry gaze of the Dead Three – Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul, who feature so heavily in the game – to Selune, Mystra, Shar, and the plethora of other Gods your cleric might worship, your actions do not go unnoticed.
Look no further than the players' camp for evidence, where Jergal – former god of death and Lord of the End of Everything – keeps tally of your adventures. I'm talking about Withers, "Bone Man" as little tiefling Arabella affectionately calls him, as long as your Baldur's Gate 3 Dark Urge doesn't let her die in Act 1.
Throughout Baldur's Gate 3, Jergal has a watchful eye on everything you're up to, from the lovers you take to every misdeed and acts of goodwill. And no matter how your story ends, the Gods will have something to say about it – which is what makes a story about the Gods such a perfect play for an HBO adaptation that wants to dig into a fresh perspective that lives in the game's background, yet influences every aspect.
A TV show about the Gods is really the only way I can see HBO getting away with the setting and worldstate of Baldur's Gate 3, expanding the after effects of Tav's journey without retconning or rehashing them.
Divine strike
The only way to gain insight into the rippling effects of Tav's journey is to point the camera elsewhere.
I agree it could be fun to see how HBO would cast our favorite BG3 companions for a live-action take, but at the same time, the actors have become as iconic as the characters they portray.
I cannot envision how HBO would recast something in such recent memory without coming across as dismissive of the huge role Larian's cast played in the game's success. For that reason, I hope the show actively avoids centering any prominent main characters for a "where are they now?" moment.
The same can't quite be said of the Gods. Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul are never seen in their true forms, only appearing to the player through their Chosen (Bane's is Lord Enver Gortash, for example) or avatars like the one we fight beneath Moonrise Towers after defeating Myrkul's Chosen, Ketheric Thorm.
This leaves the Dead Three open to visual interpretation while leaving the door ajar for the likes of Doug Cockle to reprise their roles in delivering more of the terrifying performances we glimpsed in the RPG.
Since we never kill an actual God in the game, the rest of them could feasibly be in a sequel without risking the integrity of Larian's story.
Jergal/Withers' character design is suitably abstract and ripe for interpretation, choosing to appear in a specific way to our playable characters. Shar has such an identifiable character design with lots of statement pieces that would be easy to emulate on TV, we never actually see an avatar of Selune, and I can't be the only one eager to see how Mephistopheles deals with Raphael's meddlings.
The very thought of Andrew Wincott getting to portray his character's big boss is actually…. kind of perfect. And again, devils, cambions, and infernals as a whole would be a safer bet to recreate on television than the exact character modelling of Shadowheart, Lae'zel, Wyll, and so on.
A TV show centered around the Gods could also make for an interesting continuation of Arabella's story. Withers seems particularly invested in her journey and destiny, after all, and I could envisage a canonized God Gale being an interesting entity to throw into the mix. As long as he's still played by Tim Downie – lest HBO wishes doom upon itself.
While it's still too early for me to imagine what this godly TV show might look like, the HBO adaptation should be precisely that – an adaptation, with strong links to source material that can be believably iterated on TV without rewriting Larian's already brilliant work.
There are so many endings to Baldur's Gate 3 that one of them would have to be at least partially canonized for any sequel to make sense, but it stands true that the only way to gain insight into the rippling effects of Tav's journey is to point the camera elsewhere. Why not zero in on how the Gods themselves would pick up the pieces after such a dramatic powergrab – whether or not it was successful?
Turn-based RPG mayhem awaits in these games like Baldur's Gate 3
