Devora Wilde appreciates the similarities between her Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 character Clea and Baldur's Gate 3 githyanki maneater Lae'zel, partly because someone has to defend Lae'zel from being players' least favorite ex-girlfriend.
"One of my favorite lines was, 'What an auspicious start,'" Wilde tells IGN about Clea, "because it's like Lae'zel when she says, 'Auspicious.' I don't think that was done intentionally, but I love that it was a little throwback." Wilde notices a connection between the two RPG characters, too, in that they are both problematic mean girls.
Dessendre heir and talented painter Clea is a cold, clever, and highly irritable person. The warrior Lae'zel is similar in that she pursues what she thinks is right with frosty discipline, and she's quick to inform a well-meaning person that they're wasting her time. If it weren't for her offensive sense of githyanki superiority, Lae'zel would probably enjoy hanging out with Clea and discussing how everyone else is an idiot.
"Interestingly enough," says Wilde, "what I found is that, even though Clea is a questionable character, people have been willing to give her more grace – a lot more grace than people have with Lae'zel."
"I find that so fascinating," she continues, "like, reading comments and people's reactions to Clea is like, 'Well, yeah, but she's justified. She's actually the only sane member of the family. She does this because of this.' With Lae'zel, people are just like, 'No. She's just mean. She's just bad, she's mean.'"
That fan reaction could come from the fact that Lae'zel is a romance option, so her sharp words seem pointed directly at your heart, and are therefore less tolerable.
Clea, instead, mostly aims her disgust and disinterest at her own family members that disappoint her – so, while she could probably stand to drop her defenses a bit and admit things like "I'm scared," or, "I miss you," Clea's harshness is easier to relate to than a grump with green skin. But, you know, it's not Lae'zel's fault that she's so beautiful.
