Borderlands 3 fans may be focusing most on the raid boss and Vault Cards of the Director’s Cut DLC, but the Mysteriouslier side missions are deserving of praise as well. While the quest line’s biggest accomplishment is that it further redeems Ava, it also adds some context to the main story of the game. It also sets up a key plot point for the next Borderlands game, ending its narrative on a cliffhanger.
When hyping up the DLC, Gearbox mentioned that the murder mystery missions would “send ripples throughout” the Borderlands 3 storyline. The studio stuck to its word, as the missions have lived up to the hype via some clever storytelling. In turn, Borderlands 3’s story feels more complete, and while players certainly do not have all the answers about what is coming next, they do know that one key figure will be a focus of what is coming next. NOTE: Heavy Director’s Cut spoilers are seen beyond this point.
The Seer’s Hidden Role In Borderlands 3
Borderlands 3’s Mysteriouslier quest line does a fine job of blending comedy and storytelling, as players investigate a string of seemingly unrelated murders on each planet. From a member of Clay’s crew to Crimson Raiders and Atlas soldiers, the victims have no true connection to each other. However, at the end of every mission, players find an ECHO that reveals the true culprit for the killings. Manipulating the various murderers was a Guardian called The Seer, and its interference served one specific purpose.
Throughout the entirety of Borderlands 3’s main story, The Seer was in the background, manipulating events to reach a specific outcome. On Eden 6, Promethea, and Pandora, The Seer used random people to either delay or help the Children of the Vault at separate points in the story. While this clever touch explains any inconsistencies fans have had with who reach which Vault first, it also adds an interesting new character to the mix. Seemingly having prophetic abilities and showing its followers a premonition of a horrible future, The Seer’s main goal is to create a specific future.
While everything was going according to plan after the Calypso Twins were killed, it seems like Pandora was supposed to be destroyed and the Great Vault was meant to be opened. However, Lilith stopping this when she “Firehawked Elpis” seemingly ruined the future that The Seer was trying to create. As such, some terrible event will seemingly take place going forward. The Seer then blames “Acausals,” or Sirens, for their free will, saying that they need to be “removed entirely” before attacking Ava. While the Vault Hunter and Ava eventually get the better of The Seer, killing it for good, it remains unclear if Lilith saving Pandora was the wrong decision after all.
The Director's Cut's Big Reveal
While Hizzen, one of The Seer’s victims, claims that its “cause may be righteous” after seeing the ruin that could come otherwise, it remains unclear how noble The Seer’s cause actually is. After all, its willingness to kill innocent people as well as those that helped it is startling, as is its grudge against Sirens. Still, while much on The Seer and its premonition remains unclear, one thing is made very clear at the end of the DLC. Apparently, Crimson Raiders commander and fan favorite character Lilith is still alive.
Lilith’s apparent death at the end of Borderlands 3 has been questioned by fans since the credits rolled. After all, the death occurred off-screen, and while it is implied that the act of stopping Elpis would kill her, there is no evidence of her loss. The story had already seen the death of Maya removing a fan favorite character, too, making Lilith’s sacrifice a bit too much in the eyes of most players. However, it seems like Lilith did not die here after all, with the character either lost in space somewhere or possibly even captured by some kind of outside force.
In the DLC, The Seer tells Ava that she will find what she is looking for. According to Ava herself, this means that “Lilith’s still out there,” as she has apparently been holding out hope that the character was alive for some time now. While this could be an example of Ava being too optimistic, it seems unlikely. The new batch of quests ends with the line “we’re going to find her,” ensuring fans that they will be looking for Lilith in some future Borderlands content. In fact, this might just be the main plot for the next full game.
Where Borderlands 4 Could Be Going
The rescue of Lilith will be interesting to see, as there could be some twist on the character that sees her changed after the ending of Borderlands 3. Whether she is corrupted by an outside force, stronger than ever before, or something else entirely, players may be seen an evolution of the character in the sequel. Even if she is the same as she has always been, the actual process of finding her should be interesting. After all, she could be anywhere in Borderlands’ quickly growing universe, giving Gearbox more opportunities to explore new planets and expand the story further.
However, Lilith’s rescue is likely not enough to build an entire story around — though thankfully, The Director’s Cut provides more threads to explore further. While The Seer’s role explains some plot inconsistencies for Borderlands 3, it also gives fans a reminder that the Guardians are still very involved with the larger Borderlands story. Outside of Takedown at The Guardian Breach and some pre-Vault fights, players did not have many encounters with the Eridian creations inside the game. However, this DLC changed that, giving players some fresh interactions with another mysterious Guardian.
Assuming that there are other Guardians that share the same views as The Seer, players could see a conflict play out between the Guardians and the Sirens. At the same time, the consequences of The Seer’s plan failing and “the course” no longer able to be fixed could set up some kind of new catastrophe in the Borderlands universe. Regardless of what comes next, it seems like players can be assured that the Guardians will play a role and Lilith will continue to be a focus. While not officially announced and likely still far off, players do have some exciting topics to theorize about thanks to this expansion.
Borderlands 3 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.