New cinematic Threads of Destiny sets the stage for The War Within’s Azj-Kahet and Nerub’ar Palace

As we round the corner on The War Within, Blizzard has been releasing more glimpses of what we can expect from the expansion, this time in an exposition-filled video. The Threads of Destiny is no exception, setting the stage for the first raid, Nerub’ar Palace, and the Azj-Kahet zone — as well as a little taste of what plots Xal’atath has been hatching. As with all Blizzard cinematics, the visuals are stunning, evocative and sweeping, with every frame positioned like a painting.

Despite our new favorite crab mode, warning that the video starts off with a big ol’ spider.

While I don’t want to get too deep in the weeds of analysis — and therefore spoilers — it does seem interesting that we’re playing back into a cycle we’ve seen before, with a promise we’ve seen before. There are echoes of this plot stretching back into the old RTS days, and while I do hope, and remain hopeful, that this is an intentional parallel rather than a tired retread, it has made me feel a bit more wary going forward. I do enjoy the theme of spiders weaving a tangled web in both a figurative and literal sense.

And even if it is a retread, I’ll admit I’m now curious to see what comes next.