Elden Ring has many mysterious characters, and the Gloam-Eyed Queen remains a character with many questions that will likely go unanswered.
While unconfirmed, the identity of the Gloam-Eyed Queen in Elden Ring is widely believed to be Melina, the Tarnished player-character's Maiden. Melina is a helpful character in her role as a Maiden, though there is seemingly more to this character than some players ever get to learn. Even though the Gloam-Eyed Queen has a minimal appearance in the events of Elden Ring's story, this may be all that players will ever get to see of this character.
If the Gloam-Eyed Queen had more chances to appear in the game, the community's questions about this character could all be answered. As it currently stands though, this character remains very secretive, and may not even appear in the base game at all. There's plenty of speculation in the community about whether this character will show up in Elden Ring’s future, and it may take a dedicated expansion to finally give this character the spotlight they deserve. Although, given the direction that Elden Ring's multiple different endings take - including the events leading up to them - this may not be possible if the community’s theory about the character’s identity is true.
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The Identity of the Gloam-Eyed Queen is One of Elden Ring's Best Kept Secrets
So far, the only way for who is presumed to be the Gloam-Eyed Queen to return to the Lands Between is to complete the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending. Melina seemingly reprises the role of the Gloam-Eyed Queen out of fury when the player character throws the fate of the Lands Between into the chaos of the Frenzied Flame, except the game ends before this scenario plays out any further, including confirming whether Melina truly is the Gloam-Eyed Queen. Other than this potential firsthand appearance, the former legacy of the Gloam-Eyed Queen still lives on through the background details of Elden Ring, like certain item descriptions. The history of the Gloam-Eyed Queen can be uncovered through these artifacts, although this character's true identity and potential role in the future of the Lands Between remains a sinister mystery.
Melina returning to the Lands Between as the Gloam-Eyed Queen has two prerequisites. In all the different endings for Elden Ring's story, most of them end with Melina dying at a particular point in the process. This is because Melina sacrifices herself to kindle the flame of the Giants, whenever the player gets to this point without possessing the Frenzied Flame to act as the catalyst in Melina's place. If Melina truly is the Gloam-Eyed Queen, then the Lord of Frenzied Flame, or at least parts of it, would also need to be canon.
There is a way for players to save Melina and not claim the throne of the Elden Lord in the name of the Frenzied Flame, though this route doesn't explicitly lead to Melina turning into what is believed to be the Gloam-Eyed Queen. At any rate, there's nothing concrete to suggest which of the different endings for Elden Ring is truly canon at the moment, or if Melina truly is the Gloam-Eyed Queen.
Elden Ring's Endings Have Big Implications for When the Expansions Will Take Place
The Lord of Frenzied Flame ending is considered the "bad" ending, because it burns all the Lands Between to the ground to eradicate the Greater Will. If the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending truly is the canon for Elden Ring's story, this would mean that any expansions would have to take place sometime before, or in the middle of the events leading up to the finale of Elden Ring. Ultimately, given how many different endings there are for Elden Ring, having any expansions take place after one particular ending would be a tricky situation to pull off.
There's plenty that future expansions could explore within this confined timeframe, like reviving Elden Ring's cut content or exploring the remaining Rune Bearers who have yet to appear. At the same time though, this consequently means that fans may never get to see more of the Gloam-Eyed Queen.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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