Dragon Age: Absolution
An animated heist story set in the Dragon Age universe.
Dragon Age: Absolution is an adult animated fantasy series created by Mairghread Scott for Netflix, produced by Red Dog Culture House with oversight from BioWare. It premiered on December 9, 2022, and is set in BioWare's Dragon Age universe, centering on the consequences of a botched heist in the Tevinter Imperium.
The story follows a group of mercenaries who steal the Circulum Infinitus, a blood magic artifact, and must deal with the aftermath. The setting is Thedas, specifically the city of Nessum in the Tevinter Imperium, an ancient northern region once ruled by magisters and known for its rigid caste system, slavery, and use of forbidden blood magic. Chronologically, the series takes place after *Dragon Age: Inquisition* and its *Trespasser* expansion, following BioWare's official canon rather than player choices, and occurs approximately eight years before *Dragon Age: The Veilguard*.
Main characters include Miriam (voiced by Kimberly Brooks), an elven mercenary and escaped slave; Fairbanks (Matthew Mercer), a freedom fighter first seen in *Dragon Age: Inquisition*; Qwydion (Ashly Burch), a cheerful Qunari mage; Hira (Sumalee Montano), a human mage and former Inquisition member; Roland (Phil LaMarr), a warrior and Miriam's ally; Lacklon (Keston John), a dwarven Lord of Fortune; Rezaren Ammosine (Josh Keaton), a Tevinter magister seeking the artifact; and Tassia (Zehra Fazal), a Templar Knight-Commander and Rezaren's lover. Guest stars include Miranda Raison as Cassandra Pentaghast, reprising her role from the games, and Jean Gilpin as Meredith Stannard, also reprising her role. Non-speaking cameos of Inquisition characters Cullen, Josephine, and Leliana appear in Episode 6.
The series was announced at Netflix's Geeked Week in June 2022, with production by BioWare and Red Dog Culture House. It was released on Netflix on December 9, 2022, with a teaser trailer at Geeked Week and a full trailer in November.
Pre-release, Ash Parrish of *The Verge* praised the animation and voice acting but wondered how the series might connect to *Dragon Age: Dreadwolf*, noting BioWare's history of introducing characters in spin-offs who later appear in games. Sisi Jiang of *Kotaku* assumed from Cassandra's appearance that the show occurs after *Inquisition*, and thought elements could be incorporated into *Dreadwolf*.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Action · Adventure · Drama · Fantasy
- Based On
- Dragon Age · BioWare
- Creator
- Mairghread Scott
- Voices
- Kimberly Brooks / Matthew Mercer / Ashly Burch / Sumalee Montano / Phil LaMarr / Keston John / Josh Keaton / Zehra Fazal
- Composer
- Penka Kouneva
- Country
- South Korea / Canada / United States
- Language
- English
- Num Seasons
- 1
- Num Episodes
- 6
- Executive Producer
- Mairghread Scott / Chris Bain / Matthew Goldman / John Epler
- Company
- Red Dog Culture House / Netflix Animation Studios / BioWare
- Runtime
- 25–27 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The main cast includes Kimberly Brooks as Miriam, an elven mercenary and escaped Tevinter slave; Matthew Mercer as Fairbanks, a freedom fighter who first appeared in Dragon Age: Inquisition; Ashly Burch as Qwydion, a light-hearted Qunari mage; Sumalee Montano as Hira, a human mage and former Inquisition member; Phil LaMarr as Roland, a warrior and ally of Miriam; Keston John as Lacklon, a dwarven fighter and Lord of Fortune; Josh Keaton as Rezaren Ammosine, a Tevinter magister; and Zehra Fazal as Tassia, a Knight-Commander of the Templar Order. Guest stars include Miranda Raison as Cassandra Pentaghast and Jean Gilpin as Meredith Stannard, both reprising their roles from the video games.
Reader's Guide
Dragon Age: Absolution serves as a bridge between Dragon Age: Inquisition and the upcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard, though it follows BioWare's canon rather than player choices. Critical reception was generally positive: on Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 12 critics' reviews were positive with an average rating of 8.40/10. Reviewers praised the animation, voice acting, and character relationships, particularly highlighting LGBTQ romances and the chemistry between Roland and Lacklon. However, some critics noted the series was less accessible to newcomers compared to other animated adaptations like Arcane, and that its short runtime left little room for character development. The show was released on Netflix on December 9, 2022, following a teaser trailer during Netflix's Geeked Week in June and a full trailer in November.
Did You Know?
- The series was announced at Netflix's June 2022 Geeked Week event.
- Miranda Raison reprises her role as Cassandra Pentaghast from Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition.
- The Inquisition characters Cullen Rutherford, Josephine Montilyet, and Leliana appear as non-speaking cameos in Episode 6.
- The show is set ten years before the events of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
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