Unanimously lauded as Gears of War‘s most convergent theme, an emphasis on family has always pervaded the franchise. It has taken on a pantheon of appearances, whether in the subtext of Dizzy Wallin’s devotion to the last vestiges of his meaning, his daughters, or more obviously in Dominic Santiago’s heartbreaking narrative, one of understanding and acceptance of the unjust. The world of Sera blooms with tragedy, petals of those lost finding grace in the changing seasons, a fluid trial seen through the eyes of Marcus Fenix. Unforgiving, much like our familiar home, the weather of Sera has become a character in-and-of itself, though it could be argued that the shifting sands of time flared as early as the franchise’s second entry.

The unpredictability of a reshaping autumn can act as an omen of the blitz to come, and in the prospect of family, can alter the course of life itself. There is a simplistic power in the wake of barren trees and the cardinal carnality of winter might, unachievable and unrelenting in utility. In the blink of an eye, you can observe the stillness of spell’s departure, and a span of years can begin to morph into footprints in the snow, stumbling in the brutality of frost and gore to find that your family is a far cry from what you left behind.

It is the golden standard for sequel trilogies to heavily mirror their precursors, applied almost universally from games such as fellow Microsoft exclusive Halo in its new saga to the more remarkably blatant parallels of the Star Wars films. It is my belief that, as Gears of War 4 unfolded under the shadow cast by the first game, Gears 5 will mirror the grand war drama of the sequel. Though we have yet to see extensive footage of the newest installment, I affirm that the wealthy narrative cinematic of its E3 announcement trailer speaks volumes about the experience in a variety of veiled instances and hints. Admittedly, educated conjecture does not equate to factual thesis, nor do I intend to pass my musings off as such, but early speculation plays an increasingly valid part in securing the success of modern games, and the mark of an ardent trailer is, after all, its ability to prompt discussion and discourse.

To properly analyze the exposed hollow of Gears 5, it is crucial that Gears of War 2 be dug up and evaluated first, its influence on the game’s plot already evident and highly telling. Outward similarities such as the dawn of winter and the personal journey of acceptance are brandished heavily in both titles, a resurgence of ancient threats thrusting the armored heroes and heroines into action. The eloquent puppeteer Richard Prescott once energized the emboldened C.O.G. military in invigorated passion, preparing his men to escort the suffering of Seran might below emergence holes and pillage Nexus, the Locust stronghold, to its last breath.

“If we are to live long enough to see the seasons change, our children grow and experience a time of peace that we have never known, then we must now take this fight to the Locust!”

It seems, then, that Mina Jinn will act as the contemporary successor to this role, a unifying force in the campaign to motivate J.D. and the remnants of the Coalition of Ordered Governments to accelerate their campaign of survival. Jinn isn’t visualized in the most recent cinematic, a curious but sensible choice considering her likely role in the story, whether that be massive or disappointingly minimal, but her impact is brazenly on display. Facing impossible odds, the cast of Gears of War 4 find themselves under C.O.G. jurisdiction once akin, a first for the roguish Kait, but a familiar setting for Delmont Walker and James Dominic Fenix. Kait’s role as an outsider, both literally and figuratively, will assuredly be a marker of the outcome of her personal journey, foreshadowing an inability to truly find an “allegiance” when tentative toward her Swarm roots.

“You’ve been in her position… did you wait for back-up?”

The cinematic teaser opens with a harsh realization, a revelation of the passage of time. The war against the Swarm has clearly been raging for a healthy period, dragging the youthful cast of the last title closer to the mold of hardened veterans which cemented the original members of Delta Squad. One thing is certain, Oscar Diaz is wrapped under the blanket which Kait is wrestled to confront, and his demise bares ties with the Swarm’s pursuit of Kait herself. The bloodied pool of gore below his body is astoundingly strange, especially considering the remarkable lack of collateral damage anywhere else. The members of this market community seem perplexed and shocked by the death of Oscar Diaz, but none are in a state of paralysis or fear from any sort of fighting, a peculiar situation all around. There is, however, a copious trail of red blood from the other side of the camp, traced around conveniently placed cover, which perhaps indicates Oscar’s demise in an instance of combat against the Swarm, fueling J.D.’s desire to move and evacuate as hastily as feasible.

Kait’s narrative path in Gears 5 seems more outwardly digestible, a journey of discovery and a nostalgic excuse to revisit entombed relics of the past and familiar series locales, as she finds herself foraging through Pendulum Wars battlefields and the New Hope Research Facility, the birthplace of the Locust. J.D.’s directive in the story is one which is less clearly exposited, simply described as his defense of the capital, and most likely involving his father and the newly introduced Fahz. It could be debated that J.D.’s transformation from the events of the last game is the most drastic evolution presented in the trailer, an infected limb and clean-cut, battered appearance swarming the once plucky, boyish rogue. Not only has his appearance undergone drastic alterations in the course of the war, but his character traits have descended into a more Fenix-appropriate model as well. J.D. flaunts himself in a manner more akin to a disciplined C.O.G. machine as opposed to the swashbuckling mercenary portrayed in Gears of War 4. The soft, nurturing feelings he once held toward his companions, most especially toward Kait, have soured, a side of him most definitely owed to Anya Stroud which has unfortunately fizzled out into a seasoned descendant of the heroic Marcus Fenix.

But despite all of this, even shrouded behind James’ vitriolic conduct and seemingly inverted personality, there’s a shred of light aching to be freed from the void. A simple hand on Kait’s shoulder and his animated irises speak to a character revitalization, not a character course correction. The disease seeping through J.D.’s body, a proverbial and factual one which begins in his arm and seems to culminate in his behavior, is a natural clarification of an oft-forgotten part of the Gears title: War. As seasons march on and tragedy blooms on the surface of Sera, there is a distinguishable toll taken on J.D. which acts as a profound reflection of Dominic Santiago, a component of his own identity in his middle name.

“She would never be our enemy by choice, I know that.” “Yeah, because she would die for us!” “I know that! But what if it’s not her choice?“

Through it all, the central objective of Gears 5 appears to be the moral decisions which will define these characters for the rest of the trilogy. A focal theme of this chapter is rediscovery, akin to Gears of War 2, enraptured in a search for what was lost, and a traipse through the winter hellscape of Sera to find it. In the same vein that the sequel’s optimal moment was Dom’s final goodbye to Maria, I firmly attest that Kait’s inevitable decision to embrace her ancestry, or her inability to halt the death of an original member of Delta Squad, will act as the key decision in ensuring the story’s shift, and the burial of this companionship.

Only the passage of time will spell whether or not my predictions about the game’s correlation to Gears of War 2 pan out, but if one thing is to be taken away from this cinematic tease, it is that the already frigid winters of Sera have only grown colder in the Locust’s absence.

Utmost thanks to Joshua Ezzell for the visual additions to this article.

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