It's truly heart breaking how Zelda sadly lost three mother figures in her life

As a note: it was common to have other people care for the royal baby rather than by the queen. Rauru and Sonia must have had a child since Zelda shares a blood connection to both of them, so this child was probably kept out of the eye of their enemy Ganondorf and raised by a wet nurse perhaps an Impa of the past who was sworn to protect the child.

Anyone else smitten with Queen Sonia? Nintendo knocked it out of the park with her character. Her look, smile, gentle demeanor. Just gorgeous.

I know this is about Sonia but I like how Rauru seems like the father figure she didn’t get. The way he says “link? This is a name I have not heard before”. It screams loving fathers concerns lol. Zelda had such a hard relationship with her father and little memory of her mother. I feel that Rauru and Sonia are a healing moment for Zelda.

All I know is that we didn't get to see enough of Rauru and Sonia in general, hell Rauru could've stayed with us as a companion giving us potential lore about the Zonai, translating Zonai and maybe even ancient Hyrulian for us, etc. So far Zelda just seems to have the worst luck when it comes for parental figures staying alive.

Another tragic aspect with Sonia and Rauru is they both mentored her exactly the way she needed to be mentored to be ready for the Calamity in BOTW, but in TOTK it wasn't enough. Sonia was the mother/teacher she never had and Rauru encouraged her academic curiosity, as opposed to Rhoam, who just had her "train" (whatever that meant). In the end, Zelda still lost her Mother/mentor and her father's (Rauru's) hubris still left Zelda to pick up the pieces and be trapped for longer and with no hope for a way out this time. In that way, it mirrors BOTW's story.

You know, this is a small thing…but it’s so nice to see a beautiful, gentle female character who is also fully tattooed. You don’t get that specific kind of representation a lot and it’s nice.

The community does not fawn on Sonia enough. She is full of that feeling of what Zelda would be as a queen after she hones her trademark Wisdom with experience. It is also wonderful how much it feels like she completes Rauru as his partner in life and governance. Both of them managed to be second parents to Zelda too.

My theory is and will always be that the power that transformed Zelda back was a Triforce wish. Sonia with the Wisdom piece, Rarua with the Power piece, and Link with courage. Combined, as stated in lore of past games, can grant a wish. The shared a nod before the transformation, and that nod was an agreement to use the wish to bring back Zelda.

Another neat tidbit about sonia, i found out that apparently sonia is the slavic variation of the greek name sophia, and they both mean *Wisdom* . This is both significant in the fact that she teaches zelda, and well, the triforce of wisdom. Also while double checking myself i also found that sophia is also the greek goddess of intelligence, skill, and wisdom. Its probably all just a neat touch and nothing more, but found it interesting to share regardless

You did a fantastic job of explaining Sonia's importance to the story. I hear some fans complain that Zelda should have stayed a dragon at the end, but that would have been a horrible ending. You're so right about the ending tying up the plot thread of Rauru and Sonia not only wanting to meet Link but to fulfill their promise to Zelda to reunite her with him; they loved her so much and wanted her to find happiness and live her life. So many people seem to miss that part of the story.

Spoilers: Something I haven't seen anyone notice about Sonia is that, after seeing all the memories back to back again, I THINK Sonia always KNEW Zelda had to become a Dragon to save Hyrule, every time Zelda mentions she has to go back to her time Sonia stops her somehow and puts ideas in her mind to rather stay with them and make her come to that realization herself, even when they were having tea she reminds her of Link after saying "you also wanna help us, don't you?" she is in a way like Dumbledore always knowing Harry had to die and guiding him. Sonia is the sage of time after all, she knows where things were and why that's how she uses her power, I bet she probably even knew she was gonna be killed by Ganondorf.

Someone had already mentioned this but I feel like there was a missed opportunity by having Rauru disappearing after the tutorial, he would have been a great companion to talk to whenever we saw him. And to expand this idea further maybe we could only meet Rauru on the sky islands and be able to meet and talk to the spirits of queen Sonia on the surface of Hyrule and Mineru down in the depths. It would be a small change that would make the game so much better and make the ending feel like it all came full circle with Rauru and Sonia rewinding both Link and Zelda.

I'd love a bit of a speculation into Sonia's heritage, too! Being of darker skin to central Hylians, but of lighter hair to Lurelin Hylians, I wonder who her own parents were? The ears of all the ancient Hylians are also SIGNIFICANTLY larger than modern Hylians, and I wonder if that is related to Hylians being closer to "the Gods" - in this case, the Zonai - at this period of history, as the pointy ears are said to allow Hylians to hear the voices of the Gods

She’s the embodiment of a nurturing mother. Beautiful, patient, slow to anger (except for her boo 😂) Fearless, and just amazing. 🥹

Dlc should be the stories of the zonai that presumably became dinraal, naydra, and farosh. I'd like to see more of the zonai and specifically how they interacted with hylians.

Sudden realization: We don't know exactly how long Zelda was in the distant past between her arrival and the Imprisoning War. It could have been a few weeks or a few months, though I imagine it must be less than a year at most, I don't really have any logic to that, it's just a feeling. Zelda could have been living in the palace and training with Sonia for quite a while, building that trust, we just don't see it because the Dragon Tears do not show everything, just whatever memories happened to be contained within.

If Zelda is related to Rarau, that explains why Twilight Princess Link is so good at wrestling goats. But back on topic, since there are so many incarnations of Link and Zelda, it makes sense that Sonia and Rarau could be that as well. After all, even Zelda isn't always named Zelda, as she's named Tetra in Wind Waker.

I could have the quote wrong, but the queen says something along the lines of “wisdom takes time” and that is such a goddess hylia thing to say to zelda lol

Sonia quickly became one of my favorite Zelda characters. I immediately fell in love with her design and she is so gentle and motherly.

I have a theory that “Sonia” just means “Zelda” in ancient Hyrulien.

I just find it interesting that zelda, the reincarnation of the goddess of light, becomes the sage of time. Also something that points to Sonia being related but not a reincarnation is the light power both channel into rauru. Zelda's is bigger.

I read this online somewhere but I believe when they combine their powers to save Zelda at the end, it is also the work of the Triforce. Sonia (Wisdom), Rauru (Power), and Link (Courage) combine their powers to make the one wish from the Triforce: to bring Zelda back. So I think Sonia in this game is meant to be the ultimate example of Wisdom: a mother, a mentor, and a comforting shoulder.

Yes I'm late, but in BotW in princess Zelda's study (iirc) (not the tower, but some room near it you can only access from outside), there's a book written by her. In that she talks about having a dream about a mysterious woman shining golden light and her presence was calming, or something of that sort. Zelda didn't know who she was, so she can't be her mother or Urbosa. The figure could have been someone else, like even Hylia, but I suspect it was foreshadowing queen Sonia. I do think it's possible that they had this small part of the sequel (or what the devs thought would have been DLC originally) planned out.

I think Queen Sonia is the great granddaughter of Zelda from Skyward Sword. That's just my theory.

Nintendo DID say that this game would be dark, darker than Majora's if I recall correctly. They nailed it on the head there with that given how the story went.

Symbolically I think Sonia is meant to represent the hero of time as tears of the kingdom's plot is essentially a remake of the fallen timeline. In essence anyways as I'm more of a fan of the "second kingdom" theory. We have the sages likely all sharing similar names to ocarina of time's. Sonia is the sage of time, link is the hero of time. Ganondorf kills Sonia and takes her tears to become unstoppable and is sealed as a result. Ganondorf kills link to take his piece of the triforce and becomes unstoppable and is sealed as a result.

Honestly the weirdest bit is we never see or hear a child referred to in TotK... If Sonia and Rauru are both related to Zelda, then they must have had a Child before Sonia's death, Mineru also died shortly after Rauru was sealed so it is otherwise impossible for Zelda to be remotely related to either royal unless they already had a kid, yet we get no mention of them despite having an entire questline of the servant to Zelda's day to day between serving all 3... You'd think they would remark on childcare at some point if the child was young or on the child's achievements(first hunt or diplomacy) if they were older, unless Mineru managed to make a test tube baby after Sonia's passing or Sonia had a sister she never talked about that Rauru was willing to ensure the bloodline with it is a weird omission.

Obviously that means sonia isn't the reincarnation of hylia but their child could be. Definitely a daughter. Also she gave Zelda a chance to have a mother figure

I've beat the game twice and seen the ending scene multiple times on KZfaq. Yet never thought about it being a massive recall job and never noticed Link's arm go back to normal!

The love between Link and Zelda is very mutual than you all think. She is the only person that helps her Appointed Knight and Hero to be more open up as seen in Zelda’s diary entry in BOTW. Petals of the Silent Princess flowers represent their endless love as Bolton has mentioned after the Terry Town side quest. Zelda’s dragonification is reversed when Rauru’s light power and Sonia’s time power channeling through Link. The reasons why it happened because they required Link’s stronger motives. And we have seen that before in BOTW where Zelda’s motives to save Link triggered her Light powers. My hope for the next Legend of Zelda game is we get to see the pair become new Rulers of Hyrule.

That transition to the sponsor! XDDDDD Nice video, something came to mind, could it be demise curse also applies to zelda's mother death? We've not heard much about them besides botw and wind waker, so could be they are all dead shortly after conceiving zelda.

Honestly im still surprised reflecting on the story that Ganondorf focused specifically on Sonia, and not Zelda.He's shown as one of the most strategic, powerful, and cunning people in the story- spying on the kingdom enough to make a perfect clome of Zelda to get Sonia on her own (though she likely knew the entire time what was going on). But early on at the first meeting with the king and queen he likely saw Zelda for the first time at her weakest while she was still new to this entire time period with no one but Sonia, Rauru and perhaps Mineru to really talk about her time travel situation with, let alone her powers. She's been stated to be 'away from her own kingdom' (Because Rauru and Sonia told everyone Zelda was a visiting relative from far away) and she likely hasnt gotten a solid grasp on her own powers at this point in time making her the weakest of the Secret stone Trio to target. Not only that, but if Ganondorf had sequestered her away from Sonia and Rauru with a similar stunt- making a pupet of Sonia; I have no doubt that Zelda would follow her to a private location and not be able to protect herself or get help in time- and would probably have least amount of security or kingdom wide scrutiny if she were to be harmed or dissapear, had she ventured off on her own because shes not the King or Queen.

I was very surprised that they gave the light powers to rauru instead of sonia.

For future DLC, i would like to have a playable Princess Zelda in her own Second Quest story where Queen Sonia helps her descendent mastering her time power while be given more moments with her and King Rauru. At the same time, we get to learned about the origins of Ganondorf and what drove this formal Gerudo King in conquering Hyrule with Kotake and Koume (fusing to Twinrova). This could be a good way to expand the TOTK story while connecting the dots between the Imprisoning War and the History of Calamity Ganon.

The quest with the ancient hylian text from the sky islands told more of sonias and raurus backstory and its kind of sweet.

I believe Sonia knew she had to die for Ganondorf to be finally defeated and that is why she was not surprised when she was stabbed. The only way Link would become the swordsman was to protect Zelda, the only way Zelda would master her power was to get to Link, and the only way to truly save Hyrule was to completely vanquish Ganon in all forms.

All events shown in breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom take place thousands of years after every other Zelda game. We know this because it is stated in multiple different ways and at multiple different times, that all of the adventures of previous links have faded into the distant past into myth or legend. This is also to do with how breath of the wild and totk takes place in every timeline branch

7:30 I was preparing myself to discover some Hylian snack lore and how crucial for the story was the lack of them.

it’s nice to see you with a sponsor!! I’ve wanted to try Tokyo Treat for a while so I will definitely be finally doing that and gladly support you! ☺️

There are clearly snacks on the teatime table. Even a golden apple.

I like how King Rauru and Queen Sonia are much similar to Link and Zelda... just like how the pair is a metaphor of the Silent Princess flower. They also acted like parental figures Zelda needed whereas King Rhoam is being too damn cold and unsupportive towards his daughter, and forbid her to interact with Sheikah technology. Rauru and Sonia however has given the kind of love and care she has never had before. Thus, they are interested in meeting with Zelda’s appointed knight and lover Link. They have become my new favorite Legend of Zelda characters, and I hoped we can see more of them in future dlc.

I think you described Sonia's role in Tears of the Kingdom perfectly. She was a mother/teacher to Zelda, the first queen of Hyrule, the first victim of Ganondorf's cruelty, and one of the main sources of Zelda's tears.

I wonder if Sonia's time power is from her having the blood of the Goddess and Rauru's Light Power is from him possessing the Light Force, something we know was given to the young kingdom by a race from the skies in Minish Cap's version of events.

I think that the founding of hyrule in totk doesn't take place before skyward sword. I think it takes place at the end of the timeline before botw just like in spirit tracks, they found a "new hyrule," and rauru established the kingdom of hyrule we see in totk and botw

I’d still like to know what happened to links clothes at the end lol. I’m assuming they want us to see links arm goes back to normal and raru’s arm goes back to him but idk. Which doesn’t make sense cause after you finish nothing happens.. everything goes back to how it was. Link has raru’s arm, Zelda’s still a dragon, and nobody knows link defeated Gannon.

I was most intrigued by her channelling that Light energy to Power Rauru's Light beam that obliterated those Moldugas. That even shocked Ganondorf and drove him to crave that power as he knew he couldn't match it fairly. So - which Tear did Ganondorf actually steal from Her? So , Sonia & Rauru held multiple Light Tears between them??

Could we consider the possibility that the events of Rauru and Sonia happened many years before skyward sword? They were the ones to raise the islands in the sky after all. Perhaps the Zonai created the ancient robots found in skyward sword, the ones we now know as constructs.

Yeah about the relationship between them I’m assuming that you think they are in a relationship since that was the conclusion you came too in the video on it. They are definitely in one as far as I can see the games make it obvious that she is in love with him to the point that they confirm it via the kass song. Also in btow and totk links shika slate entry’s are in the first person and he speaks about Zelda in a romantic tone witch strongly imply that he loves her and with the silent princess flower symbolism at the end it confirms it for me. But one detail that was lost in translation of totk that seals the deal for me is the part where Zelda says I’m home. Basically in the Japanese version of the game she says tamida(misspelled) witch in that tone and context in Japanese is only something you say to someone you are lovers with or family. So that seals the deal for me

The idea that rauru and sonias time is shortly after skyward sword is ridiculous. Zelda was a light dragon during oot? Twilight princess? Windwaker? I think not. Rauru and sonias time is still after all the other games

Some people think there should be a playable Zelda in the dlc being able to experience everything Zelda experienced in the past but I think they should make a hyrule warriors focusing on that. Reply with your thoughts. 😊

Her death provides the necessary catalyst for Rauru's sacrifice.

11:34 Correction: Gannondorf refers to Sonia as a Hyrulean not Hylian

I got "too nice to be real" vibes from sonia and rauru the whole time I played. I kept waiting for a reveal like Sonia was... you know, one of the antagonists. Of course, that's not even slightly true. But still...

It's a refounding of Hyrule 2 as all it says is "founded Hyrule" it *can't* be after Skyward Sword, because the official Encyclopedia says Ganondorf wasn't born until after Skyward Sword and Minish Cap. Also Creating a Champion states no Gerudo male has been born since Ganon came to be and Gerudo had round ears before pointed. Also Rito evolved from Zora. And a Zonai living during the first Calamity in the tapestry before they went extinct (confirmed in Zonai costume).

In the forgotten temple, sonia's grave is there and its surounded by sundelions. I wonder if you can make a theory about that

I'm really hoping that Nintendo makes a third installment of this game (Triforce trilogy) within the same world to not only tie up any loose ends, but to give us a more epic end story to everything and everyone in this game. Besides I think it will happen. Master Kohga went up into the sky, you defeated Dragondorf in the sky, the Goddesses of Hyrule come from the sky, maybe there's more sky exploration in the next game hopefully.

Still convinced Sonia is descended from the royal family of Hyrule, hence her triforce tattoos

I feel like even if zelda told sonia about the future she would still choose to have ganondorf kill her since that was her destiny, you know, like those characters in anime where the MC tries helping them so they cam survive but instead they turn all wise on MC and say stuff about their deaths being necessary or something. Sonia clearly connected the dots before zelda could properly do anything

Regarding your shrimp allergy: Every time you consume the allergen your body’s ability to fend off a reaction lessens. So just because nothing happened on the surface doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening internally. Please be careful.

One fact I love the most is that Queen Sonia’s ENG and JP voice actors plays the Niijima sisters in P5. Her ENG voice is Cherami Leigh who is Makoto Niijima/Queen, and her JP voice is Yuko Kaida who is Sae Niijima. Meaning that the Niijima Sisters plays Zelda’s ancestor.

Listening to you talking about the tasty aroma of the Tokyo treats box while my kid gets car sick in the back seat 😆 could not have been worse timing

That was a seamless transition. Good job. Lol

7:34 this ad transition was so funny oml

Two things: if Zelda is in Queen Sonia's bloodline, did Sonia and Rauru have a goat baby during the time Zelda was there? If so, where is it? Secondly, did anyone else love Sonia's smug turn around to phantom Ganon/fake Zelda?

I’m glad I’m not alone about occasionally thinking styrofoam looks scrumptious!😂

I wish they would make her interact with link more in the present time other than just the ending. It feels like we don’t get to know her that well especially since she was the center of a lot of speculation before TotK was released. Maybe she’s the focus of a DLC?

I kinda want more out of this character. I’d like it if a DLC came out in which her spirit gets to interact with Link directly in some way like Rauru does, since both of them wanted to meet him. We know her spirit is around of course, since she and Rauru appear to help Link reverse Zelda’s draconification, but only Rauru got to meet him before then. Plus it just makes me wonder that if Rauru’s spirit stuck around to of course keep Ganondorf sealed and then to save Link by giving him his arm, what’s Sonia’s spirit doing? She’s the only character that’s really left out of the present and I think that should be able to be expanded upon, possibly in a DLC to give the Depths more story content.

Honestly, I feel like Queen Sonia, and King Rauru are the "parents" Zelda deserved... instead of what she got in botw with King Rhoam. Not sure if there is more "significance" to Queen Sonia... however, I do kinda feel like Nintendo is going for more of a convergence of the time lines with botw, and totk - especially since there are things from all the different time lines actually IN botw, and totk. So, maybe there IS more significance to Queen Sonia. Who knows? Lol. Great vid :)

so hylia gave up her godhood to berorn as zelda then botw/totk zelda gave up her mortality and assended to heaven in broad daylight becoming a dragon. yup that so japanese and i love it

You know what’s a bit weird? There are shrines in ancient hyrule, kinda makes me think that if there is DLC in the future we’ll play in ancient hyrule, wether it be as zelda or link or someone else, it’d be cool to see and experience.

If they make another game in this timeline, you will play as Link and Zelda's daughter

Does Sonia and Rauru have any children before sealing Ganondorf for thousands of years?

That tokyo treat package reminded of me when i used to live in oki

Damnit i thought were were about to get some major snack lore

I could take in Queen Sonia content forever ❤️

Petition for Nintendo to cast a side game *just* about Zelda and her time in the past! We did not get enough about any of yhese characters, yet it's shown Zelda learned how to control a lot of her power here, was, insanely strong, enough to surprise Queen Sonia and Rauru when she first used it, AND it was implied that Zelda leatned at least some basic form of combat, given she was among the sages and their beat down with Ganondorf. This would satisfy so many people, people who want more lore, people who just want more screen time for these characters, and people who wanted Zelda as a playable character. Just give us a game solely about Zelda, without Link in it aside from mentioning him by name. Nintendo would literally make so many people happy if they did this 😂

I feel like both Sonia and Rarau KNEW at the beginning the outcome. I feel like Rarau in the memory when Minaru is talking about the forbidden act about becoming a immortal dragon, he says something like "a way to reach the future, but not a very quick one." like he knew about it. Sonia knew a lot of things about Zelda like her power to dispell evil. I know alot of people said this, but I think she knows the outcome. I love that they act like parents to Zelda. Like the parents she deserved. Her father was hard on her...way to hard that he couldn't really be the loving father that she needed and the support. So let me piece something together here.. About that triforce...the memory when Rarau, Sonia and Zelda use their powers to defeat the molduga...does anyone NOTICE the triangle that appears like a split second before the blast? I didn't realize until I watched the memory three or four times, but could it be? I thought that could be the triforce? I also believe the secret stones are somewhat connected since they used them to create the blast. Raraus third eye does appear and he shapes his hands like a triangle? Does that mean something? Zonai did desend from the heavens so I think they knew about it the triforce. Sonia also knew about Zelda having a power of like light. So if they had a child...maybe that child passed the triforce down threw generations threw the royal bloodline. In conclusion of Zelda traveling back in time found the king and queen and took place a little after Skyward sword. Rarau I believe could be the hero and I think this was said like too many times Sonia is another form of Zelda? I know thats far fetched Rarau being the hero, but Zelda, Ganondorf or ganon and the hero have to reborn. Which makes me believe that the master sword was somewhere in the kingdom maybe just not discovered?

Imagine Zelda’s mom is still alive, getting us a Zelda that can fully control time instead of only watered down Bites The Dust.

It took me a long time but I also noticed that Zelda and Sonia have the same eyes

I know that the Zonai and Rauru say they are the first but like BOTW is so far in the future that maybe Hyrule had time to collapse and be forgotten for the Zonai to come and reestablish

Honestly, not sure if it's jus me, but she resembles the fairy queens as well; what made me rralize that was her arms

Great video! We know Sonia is Zelda’s great x (years) grandmother. She has the goddess’s power that all the Zelda’s have. The first Zelda (from SS) didn’t establish the kingdom. She just moved back down to earth with Link to live out the rest of their lives. I’d love to know more about how why and when the zonai arrived and what happened to them but perhaps this will come in another game. My real question is, if Sonia is very clearly Hylia’s reincarnation in that era, where was “Link” or the hero of time?

Cool vid, I find it interesting how Gannon could morph into a big bore/dragon like demon ... I don't know if he had the stone or if he had something similar in other games... Also I find it strange people haven't put in the theroy of "bokoblins being humans" like the first king... I mean sure it's not something easy to digest, but link really does go around slaying monsters... When in fact they are just people with opposing views n different cultures... The queen definelty is prezelda they both have green eyes, and I'm sure the big hair is a metaphor cause the zelda team sneaks in lots of things on the low ..

I honestly hope they make an "Age of the Demon King" Hyrule Warriors where the story is completely changed by new events, hopefully leading to Sonia and Rauru's survival and actually saving the ancient kingdom of Hyrule. Like Link somehow going from the present into the past or something. It'd be awesome.

I’m so glad skyward sword was supposed to be the point in the timeline before everything and those references scattered throughout botw and totk:)) one of my favorite Zelda games ever

I mean, the secret stones or magatama are tear shaped. The title is there to reference both the secret stones and Zelda's tears. Both are the tears of the kingdom figuratively and literally.

How many parental figure did you loose ? Zelda : yes.

I think She and Zelda formed a strong bond that should have been shown more. I feel that Zelda’s entire ancient-hyrule arc should have had more scenes that showed more things. The game’s plot and characters largely felt underdeveloped to me.

My immediate thought when Sonia was murdered was "oh great another thing for Zelda to blame herself for...." since Zelda holds so much guilt for the people she cant save. I legit sobbed lmfao

I think Sonia is highly related to Tetra. The TOTK past happens after all zelda games except botw and totk obviously. The three force is now only a concept, the rito and zora co exists, gerudo have hylian ears...

Sonia, as a name derives from Sophia meaning wisdom.

The legend of Sonia, how i met your great^great grandmother

So many mysteries still remain. I do hope DLC can help explain it. I want to see some loose ends tied up. So long as it is reasonably priced.

Sonia might not have been an only child so people saying that Sonia and Rauru must have had a child together isn't true (and this is likely the case as there is no Hylian/Zonai mixed species).

"We learn more about Sonia than any other queen in the legend of Zelda series" Tetra: am I a joke to you?

Anyone else notice the tetra force on zelda's belt buckle?

Stopped early again. Great video!

Regarding the resurrection of Zelda, it’s even more simple. Link, Sonia and Rahru represent the Triforce.

cool vid! and i subscribed to the treat box thing... looks so cool! i love one piece