Uldren Sov

Uldren Sov's backstory prior to the events of Destiny is predominantly presented through in-game lore entries. His name is originally Uldwyn, a crew member on board the colony ship Yang Liwei alongside his mother Osana and sister Mara. The Yang Liwei was caught in a supernatural wave of energy unleashed by conflicting supernatural or "paracausal" forces during a galaxy-wide cataclysm known as the Collapse, where humanity's golden age of space colonization was abruptly ended by an entity known as the Darkness in the aftermath. Swallowed up by a kugelblitz formed by the aforementioned paracausal forces, the colony ship was transported into a pocket universe known as the Distributary. The process permanently altered the biology of the ship's passengers and crew, with blue skin coloration and long lifespans, but left them with little to no memory of their previous lives.[1]

At some point in their history, Uldwyn changed his name to Uldren, and Mara rose into prominence as the ruling monarch of her people. A large expedition fleet led by Uldren and Mara eventually departed the anomaly and returned to the Solar system. This follows an extended passage of time where Awoken society has developed for over thousands of years, as time flows differently in the Distributary. The majority of the Awoken fleet settle in a region known as The Reef, which consists of a flotsam of broken ships and rubble scattered through space, though some Awoken depart for the Last City and integrate themselves with human society. Besides the Awoken, Mara Sov also ruled over members of the Eliksni, an insectoid alien species more commonly known as the Fallen, as Queen of the Reef. Uldren served his sister as the Reef's spymaster, and held the title of "Master of Crows".[2] He was very close to Jolyon Till, another Crow spy who worked for Mara.[3]

Uldren Sov's species, the otherworldly Awoken, is inspired by depictions of mythological humanoid beings such as elves, vampires, ghosts, and angels in popular culture.[4] Bungie described the Awoken as "exotic", "beautiful", and "mysterious".[5] Uldren originally had a much larger role in the original story draft for 2014's Destiny, and was written with different personality traits compared to the final version of the character. He was meant to be a constant guide for the player throughout Destiny's campaign and is an expert for traveling around the universe, but harbors a deep distrust of the Guardian faction or the Last City they are sworn to protect. An E3 2013 trailer for Destiny identified him as "The Crow", and depicts him pulling a gun on the player character in the Cosmodrome area. That version of the character was abandoned after the game's story underwent some major changes late in development: his character model was recycled for the Awoken Prince Uldren Sov, who is consistently presented as a minor character until 2017's Destiny 2: Forsaken, while his "rogueish and charming" personality was given to the popular Guardian character Cayde-6.[6]

Uldren Sov is portrayed by Brandon O'Neill, who was referred to the role through his agent. O'Neill had a little to no information about the part he had auditioned for: he did not know the name of the character, or that the audition was for a video game, or even the identity of the developer studio.[7] During the initial audition, he was instructed to jump on a stool, wave a gun prop he is provided with, and read his lines while the developers attempted to capture his performance from different camera angles. O'Neill returned for two further auditions, where he is instructed to work with other actors and portray his character as if it is a role that involves performance capture. The identity of the project is revealed to him after he is confirmed as the character's actor, and after he had signed relevant legal documentation pertaining to his employment.[7]

O'Neill recalled that the character's original personality was pitched as a "Han Solo, space thief kind of guy" who keeps to the himself and shuns mainstream society. In terms of appearance, he feels that Uldren has some physical similarities to him, like eyebrows and cheekbone structure, which made it easy for him to translate his own physicality into a video game character. O'Neill commenced work on the character sometime in 2011, and recorded the majority of his lines at a studio in Seattle. A substantial amount of O'Neill's work for the character was abandoned or cut prior to the release of Destiny. In an interview with RadioTimes.com, O'Neill said he was both surprised and excited about Uldren's transition from a side character to a major villain in Forsaken, and was further perplexed by Bungie's decision to resurrect the character and present him with a different personality, which he felt is indicative of the development team's desire to tell a more complex narrative about the series' themes of light and darkness.[7]

A collectible statue created by Level52 Studios, which depicts Uldren Sov as he appears prior to his death and resurrection, was offered for sale on Bungie's online store in 2018.[13]

Uldren Sov was at one point a widely disliked character among Destiny players, particularly after his murder of Cayde-6 in Forsaken.[14][2][7] The character's in-universe death, subsequent resurrection and lack of screen time for over 2 years of Destiny 2 post-release content gradually generated player interest in his activities and whereabouts.[1][15] Popular fan theories about Uldren, which relied on lore entries that hinted at his post-resurrection activities, were widely circulated among player communities prior to the release of Destiny 2: Beyond Light and attracted attention from video game journalists. Examples include his potential replacement of Cayde-6 as the Hunter faction's Vanguard leader in the Last City's Tower,[9][15] or that he has assumed a new identity as Shaw Han, the Cosmodrome vendor and the player guide for New Light, a free-to-play entry point for Destiny 2 which replaced the Red War storyline as Destiny 2's baseline campaign as of October 2020.[16][17][18]

The character's redemption arc and transition from a villain to a tragic hero, which commenced from his appearance in Season of the Hunted, has been lauded by critics and highlighted as a notable example of the improved storytelling offered by the post-release content of Destiny 2.[14][19][20][21][22] Phil Hornshaw from GameSpot praised Bungie's approach to have the Crow's character development unfold within the gameplay segments and cutscenes of Destiny 2 itself, as opposed to being confined to background lore which was a common practice in the past.[20] In an article published by Game Informer in March 2021, Liana Ruppert said Uldren's villainous actions in Forsaken was the turning point for the series' narrative, and that the thematic conceit of a split between two different personalities as part of the same body was "powerful and expertly done".[2] Ruppert said that the developers' storytelling efforts managed to change her mind about the character, as she grew fond of his new identity as the Crow and sympathized with his determination to perform good deeds, which is contrasted by the deep loathing she had of his previous incarnation as Prince of the Awoken.[2] Joe Julians from Radio Times thought Uldren had an interesting story arc in the Destiny universe, as he went from a despised character to become one of the most beloved characters in the franchise.[7] Paul Tassi from Forbes called Zavala's acceptance of the Crow in acknowledgment of his valiant actions during a cutscene from Season of the Chosen to be a "brilliant mirrored moment" of the introductory cutscene in Forsaken where his past self coldly executes Cayde-6.[23]

Some critics have taken note of the Crow's arc in Season of the Haunted, where he is confronted by literal manifestations of his villainous past. Gabriele Cuscino from IGN Italia considered it to be a natural continuation of his redemption arc from a broken character that was shaped by the years he spent living in the shadow of Mara Sov, his unhealthy emotional dependency on their relationship, and by the emptiness left by his perceived loss of his sister.[12] Hornshaw cited the exploration of the Crow's mental health issues and how he is assisted by the player character and non-player characters like Eris Morn in confronting his villainous past to be an "admirable job" by Bungie in dealing with conversations about mental and emotional health.[24]