Hey folks! This video gained way more traction than most of my others, and I'm having difficulty keeping up with all the comments. I may end up pausing them for a while for my sanity.

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In the original game that got scrapped apparently Rook was appointed by the Inquisitor to man a team of spies to covertly stop and work against Solas, because the Inquisitor had too many ties to the Chantry/Divine Justinia and them going personally to where Solas was (bouncing between Tevinter/Seheron/Par Vollen, who were now on the verge to be in a TRUE all out war from Solas' meddling from the shadows because he was gonna use a mass blood ritual of vints and qunari at war to rip open the fade) could've triggered an all out Holy War & Exalted March across Thedas.

Rook was gonna have Dorian, Morrigan and Isabela as advisors, have a submarine instead of the lighthouse, and was gonna get saved by whoever we left in the fade in DAI when Solas/Rook get trapped there together after Rook stops the Blood Ritual. The HOF was gonna turn up too (in some capacity) after Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan got released during the failed ritual, because like the war table said in DAI they had been searching for a way to prevent the calling and succeeded, which Ghilan'nain/Elgar'nan were going to use/were using to control the Wardens.

I'm so mad Dreadwolf got scrapped and we got Veilguard.


EDIT: There's a lot of stuff I've left out, but you can find out more yourselves. Source: Official Veilguard artbook story or "beat" boards. Under the "Joplin" section.

The reveal of Varric being dead was the last straw that made me laugh and go "WHY TF DOES ANYONE LISTEN TO ROOK?!"
Not only was Varric not there to formally appoint Rook as the leader, apparently she's been actually delusional and talking to herself the entire time. And NOBODY questioned it!

This point became really obvious when I encountered the First Warden. He was all like "Who the hell are you and why should I listen to you?" That felt like the most believable reaction to Rook of anyone. Why is Rook leading anything? Why does Rook have influence? Why does Rook get taken seriously? Veilguard never justifies it. Rook is just the protagonist because. It's one the many areas where the writing lacks thought and reason. Too much of Veilguard just feels contrived to keep the plot moving.

The Inquisitor was clearly the best protagonist for this particular story from a dramatic and emotional standpoint and it's baffling why they still refused to just have a repeat protagonist despite Rook not only not making sense but actively tanking the potential emotional weight of finishing off Solas' story. The emotional stakes are immediate and obvious with the Inquisitor - they were friends and companions in arms with Solas, were maimed by him, and could potentially even have been romantically involved with him. There is absolutely no good narrative reason why they wouldn't be heavily involved in facing him and the results of his actions and, as it stands, the best the game writers could come up with is 'oh, he's busy'.

Rook is literally some random and I'm still mad about it.

When Bellara asks you why you’re trying to save the world, one of my literal options was “I don’t know” and if THAT doesn’t sum up this game, I don’t know what does.

It really feels like the inquisitor should have been the mc for this game. Veilguard is basically a direct sequel to dai.

I know there have been some fan theories that the original Gaider plan for Dragon Age: Dread Wolf had the release of the elven gods happen very late in the game (literally).  As in it would be the third-act twist, with most of the game being the hunt for Solas (who would have a lot of Eleven agents you'd be combatting).  It also probably explains why the main quest content is so much better written - because it survives in some form from early drafts, while much of the sidequest/companion quest content only came about later.

I feel like this would solve a lot of the issues with Rook, as it would allow for the time for an introduction of their character.  You could have also had Rook start the game as a side character, with a big disaster in the first act which wiped the board/separated you from most of the survivors, providing some rationale as why you're here and not someone more qualified.  

But no, at some point it was decided it must "start with a bang" like Inquisition.  Only it worked in Inquisition because that game - despite continuity with the two previous Dragon Age games - was still semi-standalone.  This game is set up as a direct sequel of the events of Inquisition, so it could never have begun with a big action piece without skipping a lot of necessary setup.

Once I learned about how this game was developed, I am surprised it was finished at all. It was pieced together from other dead games. This was a salvage project.

I had the very same question, why is Rook here.

Rook being so irrelevant to their own game was very... Noticable.
I kept asking "why is Rook existing" throughout this game.
I was constantly reminded of Corrine Busche's statement about how Veilguard is different from past games because the older ones had companions join in on your journey, but "Veilguard is you being on their journey"...
And she was right. In a way that I don't think is good, narratively speaking.

It also doesn't help things with Rook being so.... Rigidly undefined.
Rook has a personality.
An unchanging, bland and banal personality.
"A hero designed by an HR committee" is what I would describe Rook's personality as.

I agree, i played this too. I rushed my game to the ending because i didnt care. One shouldn't be asking themselves " why is this person the protagonist " several times in a game 😂

I wish we got introductions to Varric and Rook’s relationship in a similar way Duncan meets the Warden. For the Antivan Crow background, you have a conversation with Varric where he recalls he was one of the Antaam prisoners that Rook freed. They could’ve shown that (maybe not in its entirety) to establish what circumstances led Varric and Rook to be crossing paths, and then go from there.

One of the things that really bugs me about Rook is how the backgrounds are just the backgrounds they picked for the companions. They feel like an afterthought, totally superfluous, like a middle manager working above the grunts. Rook is in charge because their position in the Veilguard corporate ladder was higher than Harding and Neve when Varric died, that makes them the unquestionable boss I guess. They had a great CV.

It didn't really feel like Rook was in charge. He always got his leads and pointers from other people (most often Harding). Rook felt like the cheerleader/glue that kept the others motivated. Probably because he was so (frustratingly) positive and nice.
Then I assumed Rook took point because he was by far the most competent/confident fighter, and the only one who wasn't messed up by personal problems.
Basically, he's a super nice children's book protagonist.
I think the main issue with the writing was the lack of conflict. Everyone was too nice; even the pirates and paid assassins! None of the companions challenged Rook, or each other.
DA2 has i think the best comoanion writing of the series specifically because of Fenris and Anders. Fenris especially is a total jerk, who (if you bother to invest a little patience in him) has an incredible character arc. Anders behaves like a saint then betrays you and destroys everything. Hawke also really suffers and overcomes that suffering. DA2 is full of juicy character conflict.
Veilguard lacks it.
Rook never struggles with anything or pays a high price for his decisions. There is no darkest moment. When a companion died to Ghilanain,  that should have been SO MUCH EARLIER in the story, so the weight of that death had time to be felt. So Rook could have had a crisis of confidence in his judgement.
When Rook was stuck in the Fade, it should have been for much longer,  and harder to escape. Escaping should have cost something. And the revalation that Rook was an unreliable narrator should have been really leaned into! Rook has been imagining Verric this whole time?! Even imagining other people interacting with Verric?! What else wasnt real? How can Rook trust himself after that?
By the time Rook was recovered from the fade, either Harding or Davren (survivor) should have taken over as leader. Rook should be a mess, with a crisis of confidence. Rooks friends should then slowly bring Rook back, supporting him like he has supported every one of them throughout the story. Then something has to happen to take either Davrin or Harding out of the lead, perhaps a red herring that draws them to a trap or false goal, that then leaves Rook forced to take up lead again and finish the fight.
Something like that.

Another interesting way to make Rook the leader, would be to let Rook be the sole survivor of the first mission. Let's imagine: You aren't the leader of the group at the beginning, because Varrick choose someone from your fraction to be the perfect due to some skill. You are technical, just a companion at this point. So instead of Rook, Varrick, Harding and Neve it's just Varrick, Rook, the guy from your fraction and some random "important" character.

So the mission to stop Solas goes horribly wrong, and everyone dies except you. You are the only survivor, and you also directly saw Varrick dying, instead of getting that information later. You know something horrible had happened, but you are alone and for some reason you can't contact the Inquisition in the south or your fraction. That would create a nice feeling of isolation and hopelessness at the beginning. Just like in Origins.

So you're a nobody and must find a way to set up a team somehow. It would make an interesting character arc for Rook to be really becoming a leader this way. And it would be interesting to recruit your teammates, because you need them to convince you to help you somehow.

The Inquisitor fits all 3 of these traits for protagonist by the end of DAI.  It's part of why it's story works so well compared to Origins or DA2 in my mind, and it's why it was such a letdown we didn't get to continue as our Inquisitor.

I think you made a great point in your argument for Rook connection and feeling responsible for unleashing the Elven Gods would be a fine reason my issue is anyone could of been in that situation so it doesn't make Rook part in that event substantial enough to make them the protagonist and the fact they don't let you have that by say nan it's Solas feels strange? Origins depending on your background for why Duncan choose you the main thing you and Alister have in common are you're the only ones who can kill the Arch Demon even when the capture warden joins you even though he should have way more experience he lets you take point. Hawke is kind of thrown into the deep end and doesn't get the title of protagonist till the Qunari attack or Mage/Templar conflict reaches it boiling point. I have issue with inquisition but since there is no other character who can close tears you're the only one who can close the tears and save the world. From what I've seen from Rook they just felt forced instead of importing your Inquisitor who not only could have had an emotion connect with Solas (as a friend or lover) they did this which felt lazy and since they seem to ignore a lot of past choices I lean toward lazy?

Rook is the protagonist because after more than 2 decades, Bioware finally managed to make good looking and great hair physics. And they forgot (or ran out of budget) to write a compelling backstory for the character 😝

This was an awesome analysis, I thought your suggestions for how Rook could be characteried were spot on.