Baldur’s Gate 3’s Ansur reveal fuels hatred for The Emperor

Baldur’s Gate 3 players agreed that talking to Ansur actually unmasks The Emperor’s true nature, and explain why it’s the most moving scene in the game.

There are many emotional cutscenes in Baldur’s Gate 3, that not only lead to great plot twists but also help players to explore some of the characters’ backgrounds. Fans are used to debating which ones are the best, but they believe that meeting the dragon Ansur is definitely the most mind-blowing scene in the whole game.

Keep in mind that we’ll be covering scenes in Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 3, so you’re going to find spoilers ahead.

Finding Ansur the Bronze Dragon is difficult enough since players have to go past his four trials just to reach The Dragon’s Sanctum. After doing so, they won’t only find out that the great creature is dead, but the responsible for killing him is Baldurian, The Emperor‘s former identity.

In a Reddit post titled “I actually just cried at this scene,” Baldur’s Gate 3 fans admitted to being completely gutted after finding out that Ansur was actually trying to save The Emperor’s soul before his Illithid powers destroyed him.

“Mind you I’ve trusted this Illithid, only for him to lie right to my face. Then after I’m forced to kill Ansur I read how they were lovers. Ansur is trying to save Balduran’s soul from becoming Illithid, and Balduran kills him. I liked the Emperor at first, but how can you hide your true identity from me and then kill you dragon lover!,” commented the OP.

Other Baldur’s Gate 3 players pointed out that even if the scene is highly dramatic, it doesn’t mean that The Emperor really betrayed Ansur, because Illithid tadpoles consume the minds and bodies of their hosts, which would mean that Baldurian was long gone before turning into The Emperor.

“Thus, Ansur was trying to save his lover without knowing that he was already dead, and in fact, never learns that. Instead, he dies believing that he has been betrayed,” explained a fan.

Most players agreed that Ansur’s story is one of the most tragic of Baldur’s Gate 3, especially after it seems convinced that The Emperor is still his old lover. However, there are many other reasons why players can’t trust The Emperor even after romancing him, from believing it still holds a torch for Steelmane or thinking it only wants to use the players against the Netherbrain.