What Happens to Bolvar Now?

When Bolvar was crowned Lich King, he was making the ultimate sacrifice - he would never return to people he loved, the city he had defended, or the world of the living. He was not even granted the reprieve of a clean death - while others would go onto the afterlife (something we're about to explore quite a bit,) Bolvar was fated, it seemed, to spend the rest of eternity holding the leashes that bound the Scourge.

And for a decade, he performed that task thanklessly and successfully. Until Sylvanas arrived at Icecrown Citadel.

It's ironic. Perhaps in an earlier era of WoW, we would have cheered to see Sylvanas best the Lich King, finally taking the revenge she had so desperately sought - to see her snap the Helm of Domination in two and destroy the Lich King forever.

But justice would have been revenge against Arthas. Bolvar is not sinless as Lich King, given his commands during Legion, but he has ultimately served as a force of good, holding the Scourge at bay, and, it would seem, guarding the barrier between the world of the living and the dead. Sylvanas' motivations are no longer an understandable desire for revenge, nor a desire to protect the world from the horrors of the Scourge. I have my theories about what Sylvanas aims to do here, but the destruction she has wrought - literally tearing a hole in reality that makes Illidan's rift to Argus look like a tiny blemish - could have consequences more devastating than the Burning Legion or even, potentially, the Old Gods.

The Lich King is no more. But Bolvar yet lives.

Without the Lich King, the Scourge will run rampant. I am beginning to understand how the Scourge is more dangerous without its sovereign - Kil'jaeden clearly tapped into powers that even the Legion had not yet meddled with in order to bind the Lich King's power to the Shadowlands, and by destroying him, not only are the undead unleashed, but the barrier between worlds has shattered. Again, apologies to Terenas for doubting him.

We're told a couple things about Bolvar.

One is that new Death Knights, including Pandaren and Allied Races, are raised prior to the events of the cinematic. It would seem that only the Lich King can actually do this. I will say that this does potentially create a problem down the road if they ever add new races, but you won't be short on race options for new DKs.

The other is that he will play a role in the expansion, but not as the Lich King. Instead, he'll be leading Death Knights in the fight to restore the balance of the Shadowlands.

It's curious, actually - while he has been Lich King for a decade, Bolvar is not, I believe, truly undead. Or if he is, it is a kind of "Life-bound" undead, much as Calia is light-bound. Granted, having had the power of the entire Scourge running through him for ten years is probably enough to give him the powers of a Death Knight. He did also spend much of Legion insinuating himself into the power structure of the Knights of the Ebon Blade. While it seemed sinister back then, perhaps it's for the best now.

The interesting thing, though, is that we also now know about Bolvar's daughter. It would come as a shock, I'm sure, to discover that he was the Lich King. But once 9.0 hits, he actually won't be anymore. I'm not saying that the flame-scarred Bolvar is exactly "back to normal" but maybe there's a chance for some reunion between them.

What a strange and terrible fate, though: to be a godlike being and suddenly find your entire purpose shattered and destroyed, and to be returned to... if not normal, then at the very least far less powerful.