So this is an odd post to make after months of radio silence but while there's plenty of voices singing the praises of Mr. Reddick, I wanted to add my own to the chorus as best I could. This isn't going to be a long retrospective about his full career as I couldn't do that justice. This is going to be about one role in particular that's been with me since 2014, a role that Mr. Reddick himself had stuck with until his passing. This is going to be a piece about Commander Zavala of the Destiny universe, a character whose been a presence in the world of the game and the hearts of the community for years.
Commander Zavala, for the lifespan of Destiny 1, was the Titan Vanguard. One of the oldest and most decorated Guardians of the Last City, trained by the best to lead a new generation. However, much like a lot of the characters at that time, his presence as a character wasn't truly felt until Destiny 2 come 2017. In the world of Destiny, humanity in the Last City look to the Speaker for guidance. When the last Speaker was killed during the Red War, the Vanguard had to step out of Guardian trainers and operations and into the running and care of the City on a day-to-day basis. Zavala, as the most experienced, became the leader, the spokesperson and the protector of humanity's final bastion in an increasingly hostile universe. The weight of this responsibility weighed heavier and heavier as the years went on. Losing a long-time ally and close friend and being unable to seek justice, watching his wards deal with more dangerous and corrupting threats as dangers rose to match the City's newfound strength and losing entire worlds to an eldritch threat that once caused humanity's collapse. That weight finally began to crush as the one thing Zavala looked to as an arbiter of good, the Traveler that protected the City, gifted the powers he and the Guardians used to protect to a force that only knew genocide on a galactic scale. Reddick's performance of Zavala throughout the years has been phenomenal. I don't say this lightly given how long the character has been at the forefront of Destiny's world. He's the voice and star of Destiny 2's first cinematic trailer, he's the man everyone turns to when dark times loom and he's a man whose faith in constantly tested, morals tested and limits pushed. He faced all of it with a stalwart attitude and a determined air, putting the safety of his people above anything else.
A brief tangent. Comparisons are an easy tool to use in explanation. I could sit here and write a detailed and in-depth piece on Game of Thrones, about how rich its political drama is, how high the stakes are when characters drop from the smallest of mistakes, how multifaceted a metaphor the White Walkers are and we could be here for a few hours. Or I could say "It's like Lord of the Rings but rated M for Mature." It saves us both time and mental bandwidth. They're also reductive. Sure, comparing LOTR to GoT isn't a new connection but it never the less is a disservice to both texts. Lord of the Rings was written by a survivor of the first World War and all the imagery of nature being torn apart by industry to fuel further conflict is clearly inspired by real-life horror despite the more overall light-hearted nature LOTR can have. Likewise, calling GoT "fantasy but they show sex" is a disservice to the large amount of fantasy aimed at adult audiences before it and the show itself. As stated, Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones are two touchstones of fantasy so using them as a pair is an easy enough concept to grasp. As is comparing any character to Superman, as Zavala sometimes is.
There's the easy surface level context to grasp. A person with incredible power that uses it to protect, to care and to provide as best they can. A person who can leap tall buildings in a single bound both literally and metaphorically, overcoming any obstacle that life can throw at them. A person whose ability to weather any storm is only matched by their ability to shelter others from it. Yes, Zavala is all of these things. He's been through centuries of battle, lost countless friends and even his immortality for a time. He still stands in the Tower, watching over the City. However, in my opinion, the widespread consensus on Superman begins and ends with 'Super'. He's considered boring as no threats beyond those extremely supernatural can harm him. He's considered boring as the boy scout with zero moral failings. Those considerations are true in some circumstances but people, both real and fictional, aren't binary creatures. People fuck up, people lash out when times are hard or distance themselves from the world. Superman deals with his alien heritage literally alienating him on a daily basis, there's entire stories centered on Kal-El being tempted with striking back hard at those who've wronged him. He feels that rage deeply, it doesn't just bounce off of him like bullets normally do. But he still does what he feels is right. He's a moral pillar of media not because its easy for him to be good but because its so much easier for him to be bad and he's good despite it.
Zavala, long before the City, met a woman whilst he was training in a mountain town. That woman was a healer and her name was Safiyah. When the town was attacked, a young Zavala pushed for a counter attack to wipe the enemy out before they could strike again. Safiyah, a mortal, faced what was considered a demigod and told them to stand down. She taught Zavala of the things he no longer faced, starvation, cold, disease. She taught him first aid, how to heal without the need of magic. When a raid leaves an orphan, the pair leave the village and raise the child as their own. When the child, Hakim, reaches 17, another raid leaves him dead. It's left to the player to decide if Zavala's training lead to Hakim risking his one life where he should not have. Zavala almost kills his Ghost and by extension, himself, attempting to return his son to life. The pair part, not out of hate but grief. Safi can't stay and Zavala can't let go. Safi passes, years later, and Zavala visits her grave. Then her son's grave. Then her grandson's grave. He never meets them when they live but always leaves a token at the gravesite. 10 generations later, they arrive in the Last City. The Red War didn't claim Safi's family, but three years later, the events of the Endless Night does. There's no body for a grave. Zavala instead sits at his desk, knitting, remembering how Safi showed him the movements of the needles.
There's a lot of jargon I'm skipping, Nightmares and Pyramids and Cabal that are crucial to the world of Destiny. But that's not what I'm talking about. Zavala is a character whose persevered for centuries. He watched as the City he first saw as merely a group of tents built and expanded into a true beacon, a statement of humanity's resilience. When the City was attacked time and again, he was the first to jump into the fray and put his body on the line to protect those who couldn't afford to. He faced down the darkness with grim fortitude and a heart open to those who needed it. His voice carried the weight of years and hope for the future. He still will, for as long as the Destiny franchise stays around. But to me, it won't be the same. Lance Reddick was Zavala. His voice has been the sound of Destiny for years. He's portrayed the man with the weight of the world on his shoulders that will still take an attentional ton if it helps another which such talent, such strength and vulnerability that could never be forgotten.
Mr. Reddick has been in the industry for years. The Wire, Oz, Fringe, Horizon: Zero Dawn, John Wick and yes, even Critical Role as Thordak in Legend of Vox Machina and Zeus in Percy Jackson. He's added his talents to a wide variety of worlds, worlds that mean so much to me. It's hard to explain how one can grieve a person they've only met through fictional lenses, through a camera or a phone screen. But I don't think explanation is what this piece has really been about. It's been about expression. Lance Reddick has done nothing but express his love for Destiny across its 8 years of life. He was the only original voice actor from the Vanguard left, he constantly posted videos of himself enjoying whatever new content there was to experience and he was just generally, by all accounts, a pleasure to work with and to know. I'd like to think this expression of appreciation for the work he's done for a game that's means everything to me would make him happy. I wish I could've said it to him one day.
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