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.