Detailed Analysis - Side Narratives
A New Brotherhood
When the teenaged Ratonhnhaké:ton approached the Davenport Homestead he held in his heart the hope that the man in the manor could provide him with the training necessary with protecting his village. When Ratonhnhaké:ton knocked on the door, the old man refused to listen to the young native's pleas for help. The old man bears all the signs of bitterness, impatience and yet perhaps there is a lot more under the surface. Ratonhnhaké:ton tries for 2 days in a row to get into the house and continually fails so on the 2nd night he rests in a barn and then mercenaries approach the house, no doubt seeking to rob it and most likely kill the old man. Ratonhnhaké:ton intervenes and eliminates them all except for the leader, when it seems the leader is about to kill Ratonhnhaké:ton, the old man kills him and orders the boy to clean up the area and then come inside so they can talk.
When Ratonhnhaké:ton was finally allowed to enter the home, he and the old man spoke and Ratonhnhaké:ton finally learned just what he was asking and what Juno wanted him to do when she directed him here. When Ratonhnhaké:ton learns more about the Assassins and Templars and what they want, he commits to joining the Assassins and stopping the Templars. He’ll have to do it alone though, the old man who is named Achilles is the last Assassin left in the colonies. They were wiped out by Haytham and his Templars. We’ve seen how skilled and efficient Haytham is when he sets out on a task and if he committed to eliminating the Assassins from the colonies, we can believe he did it well. Somehow Achilles is still alive but it doesn’t look like he ever recovered from his losses and has become miserable and we get a feeling that the reason he walks with a cane is because of what happened but it’s not something that’s really touched on,
After years of training Ratonhnhaké:ton, now known as Connor, has obtained all the skills and training necessary to confront the Templars but he’s still on his own though he quickly begins to solve this problem. As Connor’s missions take him to Boston and New York he comes across Templar operations and makes an effort to disrupt them and he’s not the only one. Citizens throughout the city are tired of the Templars cracking down on them and some have even begun taking action against them with Connor coming along, they have an opportunity to fight back with a Master Assassin on their side, or someone who’s good as. These people are a lot more fleshed out than the original Assassin recruits. Where Brotherhood and Revelations just had random civilians becoming Assassins with very little narrative value for the characters themselves, Revelations vastly improved upon this by selecting recruits who could become district leaders and had to deal with the Templar activity. Now Assassin’s Creed 3 takes this one step further by creating scripted characters who can be recruited and have their own backstories.
As Connor works alongside these people they slowly begin to admire him and the Assassin cause and so when they eliminate Templar leaders in the city, they decide to join Connor and become members of the Brotherhood. They don’t look like typical Assassins as they don’t wear the typical attire but they have the skills and it makes sense that they would adapt differently to the colonies so they could blend in. Even after eliminating the Templars in the city, Connor can still interact with these brave people who have committed to the Assassins and a few of them have their own Narrative backstories that can impact Connor in more ways than one and even have some fun interactions that while they didn’t contribute to a huge narrative did make for some fun characterisation.
When Haytham killed the old man, who we now know to be an Assassin, at the start of the game and took the pendant there was a boy who saw what happened and Haytham beckoned him to stay quiet as he left. Many years later this boy, Duncan Little, would eventually rise through the ranks of the Brotherhood and for what must have been an act of fate, this boy who saw his uncle killed would now work for the son of the man who killed him. Duncan Little is more than just a recruit, he’s a legacy, a man with Assassin lineage and it’s so odd to think that Haytham could kill an Assassin and then the nephew of the Assassin would become an Assassin under his own son. If I was told that this was something the Precursors engineered I wouldn’t question it but as there is no evidence of their involvement, it’s quite interesting to see.
Deborah Carter, an Assassin who operated in New York and investigated food shortages and after working with Connor, she grew a deep respect for the man due to his honesty, convictions and selflessness. After working with him on several missions they would occasionally drink with each other and Deborah would ask why Connor isn’t married. It’s only funny because Deborah actually has a crush on Connor and asks if he’s ever ready to seek a relationship, to grant her the first chance. It doesn’t contribute to a huge narrative but it does help to characterise the recruits and make them real people with real wants and traumas like Duncan Little.
Since Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, building a Brotherhood of Assassins is typically a hallmark of the series and puts the main character and the player at the heart of the order. In the past they’ve mostly been empty cardboard cut-out characters that don’t give any narrative value, save for some fun side missions in Revelations. Assassin’s Creed 3 took this one step further by creating narratives that would create a bond with the recruits and characterise them well unlike past games. If Ubisoft continues the trend of recruiting Assassins in future games they they should continue to create character-specific arcs that can flesh out the recruits as while it was fun to play these missions in Assassin’s Creed 3, they were very thin Arcs that could have had better stories.
The Idea of a Nation
What is America? It’s a bit of a complicated question really. Maybe to answer that we should ask a bit of a simpler question, what is America meant to represent and what is the dream? According to an old Oxford English Dictionary, the American Dream is “the ideal that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” It’s a simple enough dream and while it’s not relevant throughout the main story, it’s one that’s realised through the game’s side quests and even through an epilogue. While revolutionaries like Sad Adams and Paul Revere preached about creating a country where all can be free and equal but in the end, they took the lands of many native tribes and kept slavery intact, so their so-called dream of equality and freedom was just for them and people like them. Throughout the story, Connor actually takes on the American Dream very early on in the game and continues to build on this as he creates what should be the foundation for America.
Taking residence in the Manor at the Davenport Homestead, which also acts as Connor’s base of operations, Connor gets many opportunities to develop the land by inviting people from all walks of life from lumber men, hunters, woodworkers, farmers and innkeepers. These people are also quite different from each other, being different races, genders and age ranges and they all manage to get along well with each other with no prejudices or resentments as they all strive to build themselves a better life often not having any other choice until Connor comes along and helps a lot of them, showing they can trust in him for a fresh start.
For seamstress Ellen, she and her daughter Maria were being abused by Ellen’s husband until Connor came along and offered Ellen and Maria a safe harbour at the homestead. Once there she builds a life for herself and her daughter and becomes important and loved as the fabric she creates helps to make a way of life. At one point when her husband comes to hurt or take Ellen and Maria, the homesteaders band together and a brawl breaks out which they win. When the blacksmith Dave, deserts his British troop regiment, Connor offers him sanctuary at the Homestead as they require a Blacksmith and he becomes a valued part of the community. When the red coats send men to take him back the Homesteaders band together and fight them off, ensuring Dave’s safety. The way the homesteaders fight for each other is exactly what makes bringing them together all the more worth it as Connor builds his community.
While there is plenty of conflict to deal with, there are much nicer moments throughout the Homestead like when Innkeepers Oliver and Corrine were ousted from their home Connor saw the need for an inn and decided to finance it. When Warren and Prudence were expecting a baby and Prudence had to tend their farm while Warren went to sell their harvest Connor helped her corral her livestock which he found to be a little infuriating. He also brings a doctor to help care for Prudence and ends up staying at the homestead as his practice in the city was destroyed by the British. Something important that happens is the relationship between Maurice and Myriam which has a rocky start but eventually, they get married and at the wedding reception, Ellen presents a flag that represents the Davenport Homestead to give to Connor as none of their happiness and futures would be real without him bringing them together and doing so much for them.
Homestead Flag made by Ellen
The Homestead represents the most perfect visualisation for the idea of America, where people from all walks of life regardless of their creed, race or gender can come together and create a home with each other, through their hard work, determination and initiative and Connor made it all possible and all this is consolidated with the death of Connor’s mentor. When Achilles passes away, he leaves a will for Connor. In his will, he leaves Connor the land and all its resources, detailing how he has seen the great significance the community has become as an example to many but expresses fear for its safety as it becomes larger. It’s a truth that the founding fathers should take into account as they build their country. Achilles thanks Connor for giving him hope in his final days and shows gratitude for coming into his life, knowing the community’s future is safe with Connor.
While the founding fathers may have forgotten what America should be as they carve up and sell the lands that do not belong to them simply because they think they can, Connor never did. Connor embodies the true values of the American dream as he builds his homestead filled with people looking for a second chance at life and he provides that as he ensures their safety and their right to live peacefully and without malice towards each other just for who they are and who they believe. The Homestead missions were excellently written and directed as they were a lovely change of pace from the usual Assassination and war missions Connor had to go on and just to see him focus on helping his home is what helps to balance out and in a lot of ways fulfil his story.
Terror at Sea
During Connor’s first few months of training, he goes through a lot like finding himself in the middle of the Boston Massacre but after a while, he makes it back to the Manor and quickly finds himself saving Terry and Godfrey, lumber workers who were trying to open a mill in the area so Connor helps them find a spot. Realising that there is a unique opportunity before them, Achilles takes Connor to the water where there is the wrecked vestige of a ship. When they enter a shack they find a drunken man who doesn’t look like he can be sober for an hour. Achilles introduces us to Robert Faulkner, a sea fairer and a member of the Assassin Brotherhood. With the timber being milled by Terry and Godfrey, they can begin rebuilding the ruined ship which as we learn is “The Aquila - The Ghost of the North Seas” or at least it used to be. After some months of fixing the ship, it’s finally ready for its voyage and so they travel to Martha’s Vineyard, along the way Robert teaches Connor how to helm the ship. At the vineyard, they outfit the ship with guns and deck officers and it’s also timely as Connor is introduced to Nicholas Biddle, a sailor for the crown meeting with Benjamin Church, a known Templar. Now the stage is set for a new conflict as the open seas hold a menace that only Connor and the Aquila can stop.
Receiving reports of the British ships encroaching on Martha’s Vineyard, Connor and the Aquila spring to action ready to take down the British ships. After doing so they find a ship in the distance being captained by Nicholas Biddle who is most likely working with or is a Templar, seeing as the Vineyard has no strategic value unless the Templars wanted it. Over the next few years, Connor intervenes in several situations that Biddle orchestrates that endanger several Colonial assets to which Connor intervenes. After we meet Haytham Kenway and he declares the Templars intended to free the Colonies of British influence we learn that was Biddle’s plan for the start. By faking British attacks on obscure areas of the seas, Nicholas was giving the Continental Congress (The leading body for the Colonies) more reasons to increase the size of their navy and hoping to be placed at the head of it.
As Connor continues to interfere with Biddle’s plans, a trap is set to eliminate Connor and his ship once and for all. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Aquila manned by its brave crew and captained by the strong and capable Connor overcome Biddle and his Templar allies and manages to board his ship which leads to a final confrontation between the 2 captains. When Biddle loses the fight, he confesses he was proud of all his actions. While he attacked many settlements, he claimed he was only weeding out dissenters and found the role of Admiral should belong to him and no one else. In an act of kindness, Connor allows Biddle to sink with his ship, instead of killing him outright.
Thanks to Connor, the Colonial coast and many patriot allies were protected. Yet again Connor has done so much for the Revolution and will probably never be thanked for it. When the introduction of ship combat was introduced I had feared that it would only be accessible through the main story but Ubisoft recognised the potential and decided to create a whole narrative based around the entire mechanic that was both exciting even if it wasn’t very deep. Nonetheless, it was a nicely written narrative that shows the true depths of the Templar's schemes and even how far they are willing to go and it’s a good thing that Connor was around to stop them.