Serana romance path would've been way better than what we got

[DragonbornVet]

I've been replaying Dawnguard on my third playthrough and it just hit me how much potential they left on the table with Serana. Not even talking about the whole follower thing - I mean the actual story beats around her character arc feel incomplete compared to how they handle other companion questlines.

Like, you get her whole backstory dumped in dialogue, she's clearly dealing with actual trauma from Molag Bal and being a thrall, and then the game just... doesn't really let you engage with that beyond "yeah that sucks." Compare that to how Aela or even Vilkas get actual character moments where your choices matter, and Serana feels weirdly shallow for someone who's supposed to be this central figure in the DLC.

The ending where she either stays a vampire or gets cured doesn't even feel earned because you barely influence her thinking throughout the whole questline. It's just a binary choice at the end with no real buildup. If they'd done actual dialogue trees where you could actually talk to her about her fears, her relationship with Harkon, what she actually wants for herself - instead of just having her exposition dump in the castle - it would've made that ending choice actually meaningful.

Anyway just needed to vent about that. Anyone else feel like her character got the short end of the stick compared to what the DLC needed?

 

[NordOfSolitude]

I get the frustration, but I think you're maybe being a bit harsh on how the game handles her compared to what you're remembering about Aela and Vilkas. Those two get their questlines spread across the entire base game - Vilkas has multiple conversations tied to the College, Aela has her whole werewolf arc with the Companions. Serana's entire story is compressed into one DLC, so yeah, it's gonna feel more condensed.

That said, you're right that the ending choice feels abrupt. The thing is though - and this might be reading too much into it - a lot of her character development actually happens through ambient dialogue and her reactions to what's happening around her. She comments on the Soul Cairn stuff, she has feelings about Harkon that come through in how she talks about him, she's clearly conflicted about being a vampire. It's just... subtle? Which honestly fits her character better than if she was constantly opening up about her trauma.

The real missed opportunity imo wasn't romance or deeper dialogue trees - it was that they could've done more with her post-cure or post-acceptance arc. Like, if you cure her, that's supposed to be this huge life-changing moment, but then she just... stays as a follower and that's it. No reflection on what it means to be human again after centuries as a vampire thrall. That would've actually made the binary choice feel earned without needing romance mechanics.