Destiny 2: Beyond Light has been receiving praise by Guardians for its amazing storytelling since its release on November 10, 2020. Beyond Light dove deeper into the Bray family legacy while Season of the Hunt reintroduced Uldren Sov as a newly risen Guardian named Crow. In Season of the Chosen, Destiny 2 brings back the Cabal in a fresh way with Empress Caiatl, the daughter of Cabal Emperor, Calus. While Season of the Chosen is mainly focused on a war with the Cabal, it has also continued to develop the story of Crow as a new Guardian.
Season of the Chosen has a lot of interconnected lore and storytelling that reaches as far back as the Forsaken Campaign. Empress Caiatl is not here to expose Crow, but her arrival may just be the catalyst that leads to the reveal of Crow’s identity. While the Vanguard responds to the immediate Cabal threat, it also has a deep connection with the man Crow used to be.
Crow
Crow was first introduced in Season of the Hunt. His character resurrects a previous story thread involving Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6’s death at the hands of Prince, Uldren Sov. Guardians teamed up with Petra Venj to seek revenge for the death of Cayde-6. This led to Guardians uncovering information that Uldren had been manipulated, accounting for his actions that lead to Cayde-6’s death. Uldren Sov was eventually murdered in the name of vengeance.
With Uldren Sov dead, the story surrounding him was seemingly finished, until he was later resurrected as a Guardian of the Light. With no previous knowledge of who he was or who he had been, the newly risen Guardian roamed the lands without a name. Eventually learning that some Guardians hated him but not knowing why, he covered his face to avoid confrontation. The nameless Guardian was eventually discovered by Spider, who later named him Crow.
Guardians eventually learn the truth about Crow when he saves Osiris’s life in the Hellmouth on the Moon. Eventually, through the Season of the Hunt story, Guardians free Crow from Spider’s employ. With Crow free, he and his Ghost, Glint, took some time to themselves before being found by Osiris. Osiris has since taken Crow under his wing as a new Guardian and fellow exile.
With Crow working closely with Osiris, many players have been wondering how long Crow’s identity can be kept secret. Crow knows nothing of his previous life as Uldren Sov, while those around him know the story well. As Season of the Chosen brings the Cabal to the forefront of the storytelling, the curiosity around Crow has been growing.
Season of the Chosen finds Osiris, Lord Saladin, and Commander Zavala working to thwart the plans of Empress Caiatl, preventing her from organizing her War Counsel. Osiris is also working closely with Crow to help in these matters, bringing Zavala that much closer to Crow, and the face of the man who murdered Zavala’s fellow Vanguard and Fireteam member, Cayde-6.
Empress Caiatl and the Cabal
Season of the Chosen kicks off with a new sect of the Cabal, led by Empress Caiatl, coming to the Guardians to form an alliance to wipe out the Hive. The Cabal have their own reasons to want to see an end to the Hive, and Caiatl believes the Guardians should join the Cabal as an elite force to help destroy the Hive. While Guardians would also benefit from the destruction of the Hive, Commander Zavala saw the offer for what it was: a means of relinquishing independence and allowing the Cabal to rule the Guardians. Commander Zavala declines Caiatl’s offer to join the Cabal, leading Caiatl to declare war against the Guardians.
With a declaration of war at hand, Zavala works with Osiris to hinder the Cabal’s plans through the Cabal Rite of Proving. Meanwhile, as the weeks continue, a distress signal is discovered from a fellow Guardian aboard The Glykon, a Cabal ship where Guardians learn more about Calus’s plans to commune with the Darkness. On repeat missions to The Glykon, Caiatl contacts the Guardians and Osiris about why they are aboard a Cabal ship, assuming that the Guardians are working with Emperor Calus.
Empress Caiatl does not like her father, Emperor Calus, and was involved in the Midnight Coup to overthrow her father. Once Caiatl learned the Guardians are not working with Calus and are there to recover information about a missing Guardian, she helps them, hoping to gain information on where her father is hiding. Empress Caiatl’s willingness to work with the Guardians raises some questions about a potential alliance without the Guardians officially joining the Cabal forces.
Tying It All Together
Over the past few weeks of Season of the Chosen, Destiny 2 has been showing varying outlooks on the current conflict. Crow, being involved in investigating the Cabal threat, shows empathy to enemies of the Guardians like the Fallen and the Cabal. Crow is learning the threats of the Hive and believes that without an alliance with some of our current enemies, the Hive will kill everyone. Inversely, Lord Saladin believes enemies will always be enemies and should be eliminated.
Upon further investigation of the Cabal, Crow comes to believe that the Psion’s and the Cabal are planning to assassinate Commander Zavala, leading Crow to take it upon himself to keep an eye on the Commander. Crow’s suspicions come true as Commander Zavala goes out for an evening stroll in one of the gardens of the Last City. While Crow hides in a bush without his mask on, Zavala catches a glimpse of him before Crow shouts a warning just moments before a Psion attempts to assassinate Zavala.
Quickly dispatching the Psion, Zavala looks around to see that who he believed to be Uldren Sov, was no longer hiding in the bushes. Shrugging it off as a hallucination, Zavala thinks he is being haunted by the memory of Uldren Sov. Zavala informs Ikora Rey of the incident, leading Osiris to confront Crow. Osiris scolds Crow for not following instructions and keeping his mask on, but eventually charges Crow with being Zavala’s bodyguard. Osiris’s plan is to keep Zavala’s security minimal, to bait out another assassination attempt.
Outside of the game, the Destiny Twitter account was taken over by Empress Caiatl responding to comments from the community. Caiatl stated that she would not hire an assassin to kill Commander Zavala, but that she would do it herself while looking Zavala in the eyes. She believes a warrior deserves no less, but this has raised question around who actually hired the Psion assassin and why.
Lore from The Palindrome Hand Cannon may indicate who is behind the failed assassination attempt. In The Palindrome lore, a Psion named Yirix watches a Guardian kill countless Cabal before shooting the Guardian down. Once the Guardian falls, another Psion emerges with another weapon. This weapon is used on the Guardian’s Ghost, stunning the Ghost before it could resurrect its Guardian. The tech in this gun is the same tech that Crow found that led him to suspect the assassination attempt on Zavala. The tech can prevent a Ghost from resurrecting a Guardian.
Further in The Palindrome lore, Yirix and the other Psion also mention being Amtec’s vengeance. Amtec was involved in the attempt to crash the Almighty into the Tower in a previous season; however, the Almighty was destroyed before that could happen. This raises the question, could the assassination attempt on Zavala be retaliation for the destruction of the Almighty and the believed death of Amtec, not the will of Caiatl?
Moving Forward
With Crow now being so close to Zavala, the tension surrounding Crow’s identity is increasing. Guardians do not keep any memories or knowledge of their past life after being resurrected by the Light and are encouraged not to go hunting for that information. For many Guardians, this is a simple task. For Crow, it may not be so easy when he is surrounded by people who have been affected by his past. Queen Mara Sov’s twin brother, Prince Uldren, may be dead, but Crow is not, and Crow has the face of the man who murdered the beloved Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6.
While there is still time left in Season of the Chosen, Guardians may be curious how all these story lines will connect and be resolved. Will Guardians ally with the Cabal to destroy the Hive? Will Crow’s identity be revealed? How will Crow’s identity affect the state of the current Vanguard? These are a just a few questions Guardians are hoping will be answered in the coming weeks.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.