Baldur’s Gate 3 is flush with plenty of romance storylines, from fleeting fancies in taverns to the truly heartwarming love stories with companions that we adore role-playing games for. Yet, thanks to a Reddit post on Dec. 14, we understand that the unreachable Jaheira is still desired by many players.
The thread was created by one DannarHetoshi, who genuinely wished to see if they were alone in their thinking. “Am I the only one that is most attracted to Jaheira? If there is a petition to get Jaheira added as a romantic option in a DLC, I’ll be the first one to sign it,” they said. Turns out a lot of people were willing to let them know they weren’t alone; the thread receiving over 1300 upvotes as of writing.
“It is so f*****g nice to see a realistically 50-55ish looking woman in a game who’s designed and written as an attractive character,” responded one user. “It is incredibly rare that we ever get anything between ‘hot 20-something’ and ‘ancient wizened crone.’” This is a very good point well made, and those who are well-versed in RPGs understand exactly where they are coming from. For every Samara in Mass Effect, there is a Wynne from Dragon Age: Origins and a Vicar Max from The Outer Worlds.
Are these people going to get their wish, though? It seems very unlikely to this writer. Jaheira is one of two legacy characters who can become a companion to the protagonist of this story. This means that she has a history, a history in this particular case that stretches back to the original Baldur’s Gate. In that game, it is fair to say that she gets her heart broken in a traumatic fashion. Then, in the sequel, she potentially gets through the pain by falling in love with the player character.
With so many ifs and buts, it seems like Larian has chosen this narrative direction with good reason. Not to mention, there are a lot of fans who appreciate that she isn’t romanceable. Many go as far as to say that the Baldur’s Gate 2 romance felt off in the first place. If we are to get any expansions for this latest entry in the franchise, a whole new companion who fills this desired role might be the way to go.
After all, gaming has been a part of popular culture for longer than many of us would like to admit. As audiences get older, it only seems right to give everybody their personally satisfying romantic options.
