Summary

• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree reveals Miquella's true nature as he manipulates others for power and godhood.
• Miquella's actions lead to devastation for his family and the Lands Between.
• Miquella's obsession with becoming a god and his ruthless methods make him one of the true villains of the story.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree continues the Soulsborne tradition of not telling its story in an overt way. The lore and deep history of the world constructed by Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin must be dug up through NPC interactions and item descriptions. Most players can run through Elden Ring without much of a clue as to what's going on, but for those that dig, there is an intricate story of divinity, family, and betrayal that scars both the Lands Between and the Land of Shadow.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Elden Ring and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.]

The demi-god children of Marika & Radogan take center stage in Elden Ring, being key figures in The Shattering, a war that ravaged the Lands Between. Some were left in horrifying states, as is the case with Godwyn the Golden and Starscourge Radahn, while others hide and bide their time for a great plan, like Ranni and Mohg. Although the fates of these demi-gods are well documented, Miquella was a mystery, until the launch of the expansion.

Shadow Of The Erdtree Reveals Miquella Was Evil All Along

His Manipulation Causes Chaos

In the base game, a lot was known about Miquella's past but very little was revealed about who he was as a person. He was seen as one of the best of the demi-gods, offering shelter to the Albinaurics with his Haligtree and deeply cared for his twin sister, Malenia, Blade of Miquella. Miquella was a part of The Shattering, and his attempt to make the Haligtree another Erdtree perhaps demonstrated his desire to become a god like his mother/father. The Tarnished never met the Empryean and, like Godwyn, knew little of his plans and personality.

Empyreans are special beings capable of becoming gods of a new age. Known Empyreans include: Marika, Ranni, Malenia, Miquella and the Gloam-Eyed Queen.

This changes in Shadow of the Erdtree, as it is really the story of Miquella, despite introducing Messmer as the mascot for the DLC, another demi-god with the red hair of Radogan. It is revealed that Miquella's power is to compel affection from people, a power that he used on Mohg to get him where he is in the expansion. This flips the narrative of Miquella's kidnap at the hands of Mohg and actually makes the Omen demi-god little more than a puppet.

It should be noted that Mohg still wanted to take over the world in the name of his Outer God, the Formless Mother, but it does help him beat certain allegations thrown his way. It also shows that Miquella was perfectly content with abandoning his Haligtree and the citizens that called him lord, as well as his twin sister, Malenia, who loved him so dearly, in order to chase godhood in the Land of Shadow. His actions get a lot of people killed, including of his own family.

Miquella Is An Evil Mastermind Obsessed With Becoming A God

He Doesn't Care Who Gets In His Way

With his youthful visage and flowing blonde hair, there was a joke in the Elden Ring fan base that Miquella would end up being the game's version of Griffith from Berserk. With the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, this definitely seems to be the case since he manipulates and gets the people he holds closest hurt. It is revealed that he believed Radahn would be his consort when he became a god in his own right. Whether Radahn agreed to this or not is a completely different story.

Some think that Radahn agreed to this before The Shattering, while others think that the Starscourge never agreed to this, but it is clear that when the Elden Ring was shattered, Radahn resisted Miquella's powers and attempted to become the Elden Lord. This meant that the Starscourge intended to be Marika's consort at the time, not Miquella's. Miquella did not take this rejection well, and after Morgott's successful defense of Leyndell, he sent his sister, Malenia, to kill Radahn, so his soul could later be used.

The Shattering was devastating to The Lands Between, but Morgott arguably ended up as the victor, holding the capital as the Omen King and preventing his siblings from becoming Elden Lord.

From this, Radahn was put in a state of cannibalistic madness, Malenia was put in a coma and needed to be carried back to the Haligtree, Caelid was turned into a wasteland, and Miquella used his powers to have Mohg fall in love with him to take him away from the Haligtree. If putting a beloved sibling in a coma and turning a promised consort into a maddened zombie while reducing his land to a hellscape wasn't bad enough, it gets worse.

Miquella's Promised Consort Is A Terrifying Puppet

His Evil Knows No Bounds

Because of The Shattering and who took part, all the demi-gods beside Godwyn, who was already dead, and Morgott act selfishly in order to acquire power. Even Ranni and her Age of Stars (arguably the best ending in the game) come with some ruthless sacrifices. While the most obvious path for most would be to become the Elden Lord, Miquella wanted to be like his mother, but he needed a consort to make this happen, and he wanted it to be Radahn above all else.

Miquella follows in his mother's footsteps in taking a consort. Marika had Godfrey as her first consort, then Radagon (technically herself), and finally the Tarnished, if the player doesn't choose Ranni instead or become the vessel for the Frenzied Flame.

This makes sense since Radahn is a great war hero with the power to halt the stars and the only one who could fight Malenia to a standstill (although the fan base still argues about who technically won). After the Tarnished kills Mohg, Miquella gets his wish and puts Radahn's soul into Mohg's body to make an unholy amalgamation of his two siblings as his consort, resulting in the expansion's final boss and ending. It is unclear if Radahn is conscious during this state, but his initial refusal to be Miquella's consort implies that he isn't.

Miquella uses his power to entirely destroy an already shattered family. He brainwashes Mohg, gets him killed, and then stuffs the soul of Radahn into his body so that he can marry the puppet it results in. He abandons his ever-loyal twin sister, Malenia, after she ends up in a coma and gets countless people killed in his quest to become a god. The worst part is that Mohg has been taking the bulk of the blame before Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's launch, but now it is clear that Miquella is the real villain.