Paarthurnax is one of Skyrim's most memorable characters. Taking refuge at the peak of the Throat of the World, he is one of very few non-hostile dragons players meet in the game. Parthurnaax lives a life of meditation that makes the Blades' request to kill him shocking to many players on their first run through the game's main quest.
Many players ignore the Blades' request to kill Parthurnaax, choosing to spare him at the cost of missing out on future quests with the faction. However, the decision is more morally complicated than either the Blades or Parthurnaax let on, making it the ultimate litmus test for the morality of any Skyrim playthrough.
Skyrim: Sparing Parthurnaax
Being asked to kill Parthurnaax is one of the most memorable moments in Skyrim's main quest, though for many players the drama of the request never comes to full fruition, and the Dragonborn and the Blades go their separate ways. Many Skyrim fans will cite one of Parthurnaax's most memorable lines when justifying their choice: "what is better - to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"
The case for sparing Parthurnaax is relatively straightforward. He helps the player on their quest to defeat Alduin, he helped teach the Greybeards the Thu'um - the Way of the Voice - and until the Dragonborn arrived, he was living a life of quiet contemplation. Ultimately, siding with Parthurnaax and the Greybeards over the Blades is often about judging Parthurnaax's morality on a personal level. That might seem obvious, but it is far from the only way to view the situation.
When judging whether or not Parthurnaax deserves to die based on the character's personal morality, players have some clear considerations. First, Parthurnaax was a lieutenant of Alduin the World Eater, and committed untold atrocities on his master's behalf. Second, he claims that those acts were a part of a desire for domination inherent to all dragons — Parthurnaax's name even means "Ambition-Overlord-Cruelty." Third, he claims to have overcome that evil nature, which he implies takes greater moral strength than simply being "born good." This seems like a strong argument for sparing Parthurnaax, but it has some huge problems.
The Case For Killing Parthurnaax
The idea that dragons are inherently evil and driven to power may be true, but there's no way to know if that is actually the case. The fact that Parthurnaax is able to restrain himself makes it clear that dragons in The Elder Scrolls can exercise restraint but often choose not to. It may be extremely difficult, but the fact that it is not impossible makes it hard to let Parthurnaax off the hook for his past.
Justice aside, one of the other major problems with this line of thinking is that basing the decision on a personal judgement of Parthurnaax misses out on some major factors that even the dragon himself points out. Part of Parthurnaax's claim that he has overcome his inherent drive for power is that "not one day goes by where [he] is not tempted to return to [his] evil nature." This may reflect well on Parthurnaax personally, but it raises a huge issue.
It is possible that Parthurnaax is right and that dragons are inherently driven to power and cruelty, which may partially admonish him of some of the deeds from the past. However, dragons are also essentially immortal unless their souls are absorbed by the Dovahkiin. Therefore, no matter how long it takes, unless Parthurnaax is killed, then the dragon returning to his old ways is an inevitability based on the very claims Parthurnaax himself makes to the Dragonborn.
The player character in Skyrim is the last Dragonborn, and the argument can be made that by sparing Parthurnaax and letting the dragon outlive them, they are putting people in the future at huge risk when Parthurnaax inevitably loses control again. When immortality is on the table, that eventuality is only a matter of time. When that happens, it's not clear if Parthurnaax could ever truly be defeated without a Dragonborn to absorb his soul.
The Power Of The Thu'um
It could be argued that Parthurnaax may ultimately end up doing more good in the time he's alive than the evil he may commit again one day. The evidence, however, is ultimately stacked against the dragon. Parthurnaax's life has had two main chapters: The first involves him committing acts of great evil. The second chapter involves isolation and meditation at the Throat of the World — he does not begin to actively do moral good again until he starts helping the Dragonborn defeat Alduin.
In fact, by leading the Greybeards, it can easily be argued that Parthurnaax has helped bring some of Skyrim's most recent evils into the world. Skyrim's Civil War is kicked off by Ulfric Stormcloak using the power of the Thu'um to kill Skyrim's High King Torygg. Ulfric learned this skill from the Greybeards.
The Greybeards' pacifist philosophy was founded when Jurgen Windcaller's army suffered a devastating defeat at the Red Mountain during the First Era, leading the Nord to conclude that the gods were punishing him for using the Thu'um as a weapon. This led him to believe that the Thu'um should only be used to honor the gods. According to this philosophy the Thu'um should be kept as a kind of neutral esoteric knowledge, rather than being used for good or evil in the world.
By preserving the knowledge of the Thu'um at all the Greybeards made its use as a weapon again another inevitability. There's a strong case to be made that no matter how players judge Parthurnaax's character, the only responsible thing to do is to prevent others from learning the power of the Thu'um and to prevent Parthurnaax's inevitable return to his old ways by killing the dragon and disbanding the Greybeards.
Many fans of The Elder Scrolls will likely disagree. Nonetheless, the question of whether or not to kill Parthurnaax remains one of the most complicated quandaries in Skyrim, and one players will likely continue to debate even as Skyrim nears its ten year anniversary. With every new playthrough, however, the final choice rests on the player's shoulders.
Skyrim is available to play now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch.