While Link never needed a reason to be a silent protagonist, I appreciated thatBreath of the Wildused his silence to flesh out his character. If you read Zelda’s diary, you find out that, during the Calamity, Link “[felt] it necessary to stay strong and to silently bear any burden” and, as a result, this “caused him to stop outwardly expressing his thoughts and feelings".
For some reason, this changes when he loses his memories after recovering in the Shrine of Resurrection. He’s forgotten the responsibility he once wore on his shoulders, and begins to open up again. He may not be speaking aloud for us to hear, but he talks freely with NPCs, has different dialogue options where he regularly makes jokes, and has a huge grin on his face after making a meal. No longer does he have that heavy burden.
Related:One Menial Quest Gave Me The Complete Tears Of The Kingdom Experience
These small actions and expressions are still present inTears of the Kingdom, but are lacking in Link’s interactions with other important characters, like Purah and the Sages, and it’s a detriment to his growth.
Spoilers below for a major plot point in Tears of the Kingdom
As you travel around Hyrule, Link meets with the soon-to-be Sages, who are each facing plights in their respective domains. A figure who strongly resembles Princess Zelda is the one who appears to be causing all the trouble in each area. After completing the first temple at one of these locations, it’s pretty clear that the figure isn’t really Zelda, or at the very least that she’s under someone’s control.
Yet when you visit the rest of the main locations and see ‘Zelda’ again, Link doesn’t offer any insight. When the characters believe it’s Zelda and want to follow her, Link says nothing. Gestures nothing. Surely, he cares about them, and wouldn’t want them to throw themselves into danger? Of course, it’s the only lead they have as to Zelda’s whereabouts, so Link would want to investigate, but when he doesn’t speak up in these situations, it makes him appear more like a blank slate than was intended.
It’s even more apparent during climactic scenes where Link is the focus. After you collect all the Dragon’s Tears, you’re encouraged to find one more memory, where Link discovers what happened to Zelda. To make sure Link has the revitalised Master Sword in the future, Zelda swallowed the Secret Stone and became an immortal dragon. Unfortunately, Link has almost no reaction to this revelation at all, besides the usual expression he makes after viewing any of the memories.
Link has just discovered that his closest friend, the Princess he fights to protect, has sacrificed herself for his benefit, and he shakes off this news in mere seconds. I’ve had more of a reaction after stubbing my toe.
Compare this toSkyward Sword— in a similar situation, Link learns that Zelda is Hylia reincarnated in mortal form and that it’s her duty to remain in the past, encased in a crystal, to keep the seal on Demise in place.
When Zelda begins to form the crystal around herself, Link immediately sprints up to her, stumbling up the stairs in desperation to reach her. He’s too late, and pounds on the crystal, wanting nothing more than to be with her again. When she’s fully sealed, Link’s head drops, and so do his hands.
Link says no words in this scene — all you can hear is Zelda’s Lullaby and Link’s pants as he catches his breath — but his feelings, his thoughts, and his voice, are clear.
It’s the most expressive we’ve seen Link in the series so far, and that energy should have been matched when Link discovers that Zelda is the Light Dragon.
Where is the silent knight breaking down once he learns what Zelda has done? Even Link visibly attempting to keep his feelings deep down and cover them over would have flipped expectations rather than just ignoring them. It could have worked so perfectly here, to see Link at a breaking point after going through so much and losing so many friends along the way. Instead, he maintains a neutral face as he always does, even when pulling the Master Sword from her hair.
As Link continues awakening the Sages and receives their vows to assist him in the fight against the Demon King, it’s clear that Tears of the Kingdom wants you to see that Link isn’t on his own any more. He doesn’t have to shoulder the weight of saving Hyrule, and the world, alone. So why is Link still in the mindset of concealing his most important thoughts and feelings, like he did during the Calamity?
Link expressing his thoughts and feelings more openly would have been the natural conclusion to his character arc in Tears of the Kingdom. He can still be quiet and pensive because those are key aspects of his personality, but clinging to a coping mechanism he no longer needs when he’s surrounded by support seems counterintuitive to the story the game is trying to tell.
Link doesn’t need a voice in the voice-acting sense, but he needs more agency in his character and the ability to break free of the strict ‘silent protagonist’ label that’s imposed on him. Link’s body language is silent too, and it never needed to be.
