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When Overwatch’s reveal trailer, depicting Tracer and Winston defending Doomfist’s gauntlet from Widowmaker and Tracer, hit the Internet, everyone was impressed... but awesome cinematics are Blizzard’s forte. What was really awesome was when they followed it up with their first season of animated shorts: Recall, Alive, Dragons, Hero, The Last Bastion, and Infiltration. Infiltration alone was so good that it managed to appease a surly and frustrated fanbase after the Sombra ARG fizzled out over several months. Now that it’s been confirmed that season 2 is coming, it’s time to start wildly speculating and hoping about what stories come next.
The Amari ladies
While Genji and Hanzo have shared in-game dialogue since launch, they still got an emotional reunion in Dragons. If anyone deserves a tearful hug, it’s Pharah and Ana. Besides, Ana is currently waging a two-person war with Soldier 76 from Egypt, and she might need Pharah’s security expertise.
Pharah’s lines with Ana’s old co-workers before she was put in the game suggested that the two actually shared some conflict - it’d be excellent to see that unfold in a short. This goes double if the emotional turmoil is solved by some completely amazing mother/daughter rocket sniper shenanigans. Widowmaker makes a perfect antagonist. You have all of the elements for an instant classic Blizzard cinematic.
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Can Reaper get a win?
Poor Gabriel Reyes. He’s arguably the most popular character in the entire game, but he can’t catch a break. In Recall, his attempt to hack the Overwatch data ended with him on the business end of an enraged Winston’s ultimate. The two already had beef, ever since the incident where Reaper failed to steal Doomfist’s gauntlet. Losing a 2v2 with Widowmaker, even against the very meta-friendly Tracer and Winston, couldn’t have helped. Then, in Infiltration, he gets wailed on by a Volskaya mech.
Every time we see Gabriel Reyes, he’s stylishly shrugging to cover up his Blackwatch ops, or making Hallowe’en costumes for the team. Reaper, on the other hand, is in desperate need of a win. Here’s hoping he gets one - and we get some answers - in Overwatch season 2.
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Support showdown
Lucio has an album, an international following, and a near permanent spot in pro play. Despite all of these accolades, he has yet to show up in a cinematic. You might think that Lucio’s fame and fortune might make him immune from the sort of big conflicts that other heroes face, but he has a long running feud with the Viskar corporation - and by extension, Symmetra.
A Lucio versus Symmetra fight has a lot of interesting narrative ground to cover. Symmetra plays into a lot of superhero tropes, with her secret identity, penchant to protect the innocent, and strong moral code. Lucio, on the other hand, is a freedom fighter of the people. It’s less that they disagree on some core beliefs, its that their allegiances - and the way they express those beliefs - lead to conflict. Sure, they both want everyone to be safe, but Symmetra thinks complete order is the best way to achieve that, and Lucio is huge on personal freedom. These two having a faceoff cinematic would allow for a compelling story built around more than just good or evil.
Blizzard already surprised us with the first season of Overwatch cinematics. After a full few months of hating Bastion, we all melted at the heartwarming tale of a robot with PTSD in The Last Bastion. We cheered for 76 in Hero, fell in love with Sombra, and marveled at the Shimada showdown in Dragons. Whichever stories Blizzard chooses to tell in season 2, we can trust they’ll probably hit the same high notes of quality.