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Baldur’s Gate 3
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From the moment Baldur’s Gate 3 launched, thousands of players fell in love with Karlach Cliffgate. It’s hard not to — excitable, optimistic, and full of love; she’s the full package. And as with any fandom, fans have come up with a bunch of interpretations and headcanons about Karlach as a character, so when I spoke with her actor, Samantha Béart, I just had to get them to weigh in.
Speaking in an interview that will be published soon, Béart shared what they believe is the biggest misconception about Karlach: That she was always so good. In fact, Béart says that Karlach would have been a much worse person in Avernus since she would have had to be to survive. Béart kept this darker backstory in mind while playing Karlach, seeing her journey in Baldur’s Gate 3 as something of a «redemption arc».
Karlach Wasn't Always The Loveable, Perpetually Happy Tiefling We Know And Love
When I ask Béart what they believe the biggest misconception is, they don’t hesitate to answer: «That she is a really sweet, nice, happy-go-lucky person. I think she was a very different person in hell.”
Béart came to this conclusion when she had to get into Karlach’s headspace, imagining what it must have felt like to spend ten years in Avernus. «I imagined being locked in a supermax prison, with no hope of getting out and doing all sorts of horrible gang stuff to survive, and then and then finally actually getting out and going, ‘Do you know what? I get to decide who I am now. And I’m not going to be that person anymore. That person was how I got through that stage of my life. But I’m not doing it anymore.’
«I think she was a piece of work in hell. She would have had to be,» they continue. «She’s someone who didn’t really talk very much. She just kept her head down and got through it.»
This is a far cry from the Karlach we know and love, but it makes a lot of sense. Karlach is a survivor, and it’s written all over her body. The fact that she got out and decided to not perpetuate the cruelty she’d been surrounded by is only a testament to her strength. But I am also the CEO of the Karlach Cliffgate fan club, so perhaps I’m a little biased there.
Another piece of insight Béart shared with us was that Karlach not getting a fairytale ending was not an oversight; it was very much intentional. As she puts it, Karlach is supposed to be a tragic character, who doesn’t get to live out the life she wants.
