Jeppy

The Sylvanas piece was really awesome, the art and music and generally speaking. The ending/plot point, however... The obvious interpretation is that it was very petty, out of spite, and this is definitely not 'morally grey' or anything relatable.

However, an alternative (and hopefully correct) take is that it was done literally in order to 'kill hope' - as a massive symbolic action to attempt to shock the Alliance into conceding. Echoes of US dropping atomic bombs in WWII.

This fits very well with the intro quest text. "With a single stroke, we will guarantee generations of peace." "We must inflict a blow that will show them what is at stake. They need to lose something... someone... in whom they have absolute trust and faith. A symbol of hope."

While obviously this was intended to be Malfurion, it seems pretty clear from this that Sylvanas simply switched objectives. So, HOPEFULLY, that makes a lot more sense and feels less awful/evil than just being trolled by a night elf and thus burning down the world tree.

In terms of the story-telling, Malfurion was essentially a red herring, an excuse for Sylvanas to build toward a single act of destruction, which once thwarted was redirected at the world tree. It tries to make it feel a bit less premeditated, less evil.

That said, it still feels a shame that it was ultimately a simple, intentional act of arson. No ambiguity, no sabotage, no accidental ignition, no propaganda on both sides claiming the other side started it. But I guess that's a nice simple way to fuel anti-Horde sentiment?