I finished Heart of the Swarm. The Zerg always struck me as filthy, cruel, bloodthirsty, and heartless. This expansion, on top of showing their take on life — constant evolution — also lets a hint of warmth show through, like broodmother Zagara not seizing power after Narud wounded Kerrigan, but instead letting her rest. And there’s Kerrigan’s emotional journey. The ending leaves you sighing.
The final battle on Korhal: husband and wife, of one mind, taking down Mengsk. Victorious, Kerrigan says goodbye to Raynor — in those few words, sighs and laments; what she wants to say rises to her throat and gets swallowed back down. That’s how it is. Fate plays tricks. Long before, back when she decided to take revenge on Mengsk, when she resolved to avenge Raynor, it was already destined that they could never go back. I still remember Kerrigan, having just rescued Raynor, telling him: “I love you. Always remember.” I still remember Raynor storming out the door, saying, “We’re through.” Better to forget each other in the wide world than to keep each other alive, gasping. That girl wearing the Zerg’s ugly shell returns to the sky like a fairy.
The camera pushes in, soaring through the stars, and a voice speaks: “I see the true enemy now. It waits in the distant void. It has power beyond anything I can imagine. I gave everything to find it — my humanity, my identity, even… the man I love.”