Summary
A mostly functional premiere introduces some characters and plot elements for later, stopping to indulge in a bit of action along the way.
This recap of the Netflix anime Dragon Age: Absolution season 1, episode 1, “A Woman Unseen”, contains spoilers, especially about what the Circulum Infinitus is.
Dragon Age: Absolution opens in Nevarra, a kingdom with the distinction of having been namechecked in all three of the games. The protagonist, Miriam, is there to steal some lyrium – a volatile mineral that is integral to the lore – from a mage tower with the help of an Orlesian swordsman named Roland. They’re both working at the behest of Dolph, of Dolph’s Daggers, a kind of seedy mercenary group.
In functional storytelling terms, this is an opening designed to establish Miriam and Roland’s skills and moral fluidity. We’re to understand that they’re operating outside the law so that when they’re subsequently recruited by Master Fairbanks and Sapphira, an old associate of Miriam, we know that they’re all going to be up to no good.
An action sequence makes things clear anyway.
Dragon Age: Absolution season 1, episode 1 recap – what is the Circulum Infinitus?
“A Woman Unseen” is largely about introductions of both world and character. We meet the team that Miriam will be working with, for instance. Along with Roland and Hira, there’s Qwydion, a Qunari mage and healer, and Lacklon, a dwarf and “lord of fortune” – in Dragon Age lore, the Lords of Fortune are a renowned group of treasure hunters and dungeoneers.
We also get a sense of the mission. The Tevinter Chantry are in possession of an artifact known as the Circulum Infinitus. It’s a mysterious and potentially dangerous relic powered by blood magic that the Inquisition would quite like to control. At present, though, it’s being studied in a palace in the city of Nessum by a Magister named Razaren Ammosine.
Tevinter is ruled by magic and those who’re magical rule everyone else. Magisters are powerful mages who utilize Templars – traditionally in the lore an arm of the Chantry tasked with hunting down apostates and protecting regular people from magic – as their personal enforcers. Tevinter has its own religion, The Imperial Chantry, and the society is human-dominant and wildly unequal in class. Qunari are hated. Most elves, like Miriam, are slaves.
Of course, then, Miriam isn’t exactly thrilled to be returning, but there you are. This functional premiere manages to establish those personal stakes while also churning through all this scene-setting, making it a somewhat artless affair, but a necessary installment. It’s from here where one expects things to pick up.
You can stream Dragon Age: Absolution season 1, episode 1, “A Woman Unseen” exclusively on Netflix
Additional reading:
- Dragon Age: Absolution season 1, episode 2 recap.
- Dragon Age: Absolution season 1 review.
- What is Dragon Age: Absolution based on?
- 10 anime shows like Dragon Age: Absolution
- Top 26 Best Animated Shows on Netflix of all Time
