I'll preface this by saying that I came across datamined dialogue for Act III a while before it dropped, but I kept quiet because I didn't want to be like the kind of **** who spoiled how it was going to end in a comment section on Youtube, nor am I going to say where I found the datamined dialogue. But it will inform how I compose my thoughts. While I did find datamined dialogue, I only searched it so far as to confirm what had been previously spoiled for me, that being Eramis getting her hands on the Echo. I wasn't clear on how, since spoilers and datamined data don't give the full context, much like how a movie trailer doesn't give the full context of the scenes it shows of a movie. With that out of the way... ------------------------------------------------- While I correctly guessed that Fikrul wasn't going to hold onto the Echo, and that the Echo was going to be used to cure Mithrax of Nezarec's Curse, I didn't foresee Fikrul dying for good at the end of the Episode. That is a major shift in the status of the Scorn in-story because Fikrul was the main source of Scorn in the lore. The Witness came along later, and we know Hefnd exploited Taken energy to raise Scorn, but Fikrul was the first, and now he is dead. While I would say this means the Scorns' days might be numbered, the way Fikrul was killed and the continued existence of Skolas point towards their continued existence, and potentially new purpose. Fikrul died because Ixis and Eido figured out how to "Clarify" the Ether in his body, turning it from Dark Ether to normal Ether and filling Fikrul with Light, allowing him to die permanently. The remaining Scorn have the means of converting regular Ether into Dark Ether on their own, given the Ether Ritual public event is a thing, so they may still have the means to raise dead Eliksni as Scorn on their own NOTE: Drifter also thinks Scorn can breed on their own, so there is that. The other point is Skolas. While I have yet to complete Kell's Vengeance myself, it is strongly implied Skolas was able to come back from us killing him, as a result of the Echo being used to reanimate him the first time around, and/or being a Revenant with his own Totem hidden somewhere. We'll just have to wait and see, but this points towards Skolas rallying the newly risen Scorned Barons under his command and being their main leader in the future. With Fikrul's death and Skolas being risen as a Scorn, I've started to notice a pattern in the past year or two, if we go all the way back to the Witch Queen expansion. Far from what Marvel ended up doing after "Endgame" - only planting new potential story threads after the main plot ended - Bungie has been busy setting up the new threads for the post-Final Shape story for a while. Much of it is changing up the guard, either through their positions in the story or having the old line-up of antagonists and villains succeeded by new ones. Savathun abandoned her Worm and became a Hive Guardian, creating the new Lucent Brood Hive; Calus' story ended in Lightfall with his death, and Yirix is succeeding him as the new leader of the Shadow Legion and has taken control of certain Dread factions in the wake of the Witness' defeat; now, Fikrul is permanently dead, closing off the Scorn's direct ties to Uldren Sov/Crow, with Skolas set to take the Scorn in a new direction under his leadership. These aren't the only things that have happened, obviously, but it is clear to me that, unlike the MCU Post-Endgame, Bungie held a lot of old story threads in reserve, alongside new ones introduced, to allow them to continue the story after the Final Shape and the end of the "Light and Darkness Saga" driven by the Witness. --------------------------------------------------------------- As for the resolution of Nezarec's Curse, I did predict the Echo would play a role in curing Mithrax, though I was wrong on who would do so, and who would initially claim the Echo. As it stands, in retrospect, it makes sense Eramis would be chosen by the Echo to rebuild Riis. She is one of the few Eliksni who lives that is from Old Riis, and neither Mithrax nor Eido were ever likely to leave Sol after establishing House Light within the Last City. Even Eramis herself is doubtful she is worthy of being bearer of the Echo, and she is aware of what she has done and how her actions have affected her people. Some might argue that Eramis doesn't "deserve" redemption, but redemption always starts with the redeemed being aware or coming to realize their past deeds are wrong, and actively seeking to change themselves for the better. Eramis still holds a grudge against us, but that she is putting that aside to go back to Riis and rebuild her people's old home shows she is on the right path. If it is setting something up, and if we are going outside of Sol in future Destiny storylines, I can see us paying a visit to Riis when Eramis is in the process of resurrecting the planet with the Echo. I do not believe she'll revert to an antagonistic role, but I do believe the visit will come as a result of troubles Eramis might come across in the meantime. We saw what Riis looked like when the Pyramids invaded, and it looked like it was in the process of being "finalized", in the imperfect way the Witness could "finalize" something before it subjugated the Traveler's Light in Final Shape. If the Witness left anything behind on the worlds it has finalized, we might have to help Eramis deal with that, and complete her redemption arc by helping her defend what she is rebuilding. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a final note, the power of the Echoes was expanded upon, and I agree with Eramis that they are stronger than I initially imagined. While Maya used the Vex to terraform the center of Nessus, including introducing elements familiar to herself like an Ishtar Collective research station, the Echo of Riis under Fikrul's command carved the Revenant Plane into existence. If it is a new creation independent of the Ascendant Plane, then the full potential of the Echoes' Prismatic power cannot be denied. Maya will be a lot more problematic whenever she resurfaces if the Echo of Command is powerful enough to carve out a Plane of its own. Then there is the Echo central to the upcoming Heresy Episode. Who was it made from? What power will it have and what will it be related to? The Revenant Plane makes me think that, if Xivu Arath got hold of it, she could use its power to carve out a new Plane for herself to replace the one Eris banished her from. But we'll just have to wait and see. It is less than two weeks until Heresy, and I am also anticipating the first reveal for Frontiers will happen soon as well.