As if we needed any more confirmation than the proof of our own eyes, the Elder pops up to state authoritatively that the party was successful in their quest, and that evil has, indeed, fallen.
Somewhat superfluous, perhaps, but the Elder believes in being thorough and checking all the boxes. Particularly all of the cardboard boxes available, for which he has a special fondness. Special to him, that is, not his species – nearly all members of his species are fond of cardboard boxes, as are the members of many closely related species. With this in mind, the fact that the Elder feels he can afford a little bit of sitting-in-a-box-time in panel five may speak louder than he did* in the earlier panels: Evil has been defeated and all is good and safe again.
…of course, it’s not like he didn’t take any sitting-in-a-box-breaks during the height of the crisis, but these were off-screen, so they don’t count. >_> The same effect, by the way, rules the variable accuracy of prophecies, as mentioned by the Elder – generally, they’re just mumbo-jumbo and just as likely to come true as not. But the prophecies uttered directly into the camera, especially in close-up, are absolutely bound to come true, unless something really, really went wrong with the scriptwriting. It’s a simple rule, but it works.
More on Monday.
* His sort of character isn’t supposed to shout, but rather add emphasis to their words by facial contortions…or just rely on suitably dramatic background music.