Daily Debate: Did the End of Breath of the Wild Mean the End of the Hylian Royal Line?
Posted on October 04 2022 by Kat Vadam
The king was dead, victim to the Calamity as it rampaged through the castle, its town, and the land of Hyrule. The princess had spent a century holding evil at bay, waiting for Link to awaken from his slumber. And across the land, the people just… carried on. They learned to rule themselves. The Zora kept their own king, the Gerudo their own tribe leader. The Skeikah kept themselves in the shadows beneath the protection of Impa.
But the Hylians? Despite not having their ruling monarch, they continued to live. They made do. So when the Princess returned from the ruins of her castle, powers once more fading, had her claim to the Hylian throne also faded with the passage of time?
On the one hand, the Hylians had shown they didn’t really need a monarch to survive. The princess and her lineage had just become figureheads of the past that people could cling to in hopes the Calamity might someday end. Her castle and town lay in ruins, but her people had made do throughout the land. Not to mention, Zelda had shown she much preferred her studies in ancient engineering than her duties as a princess.
Yet, on the other hand, Zelda’s royal line had been woven so deeply in history that it could have been difficult to let go. Maybe making do wasn’t enough. Maybe having someone at the head to direct the restoration of homes and towns lost a century ago was exactly what the Hylians wanted.
What do you think? Did the end of Breath of the Wild mean the end of the Hylian royal line? Could Zelda possibly reclaim her throne, or did the time of the Hylian monarchy end with the death of the king? Let us know in the comments below!
Kat Vadam is a grad student, mother of one, proud cat mom, and partner to someone far nerdier than her. Someday, she plans on giving up all her worldly possessions to move to the forest and become best friends with a korok. Were it so easy.
