We love Chappell Roan here at Kotaku. The “Good Luck, Babe” singer puts out queer bangers, dresses up in chainmail at award shows, and has cultivated a fanbase of gay nerds who record her shows on Nintendo handhelds. So when she shows up on Saturday Night Live this weekend on November 2, I will be tuned in and seated. But before the show airs, Roan has already appeared in some promotional material for the show, and her outfit has activated Dragon Age fans, as if they aren’t already having a stimulating week after the launch of The Veilguard on Halloween.
Roan is scheduled to be the musical guest for this week’s Saturday Night Live, with stand-up comedian and former SNL writer John Mulaney set to host the show. Both appeared in some promotional videos for the episode, and yeah, Mulaney is there, but Roan’s elaborate outfit is the star of the show. The green and gold outfit features a huge crescent headpiece with gold waist pieces stretching out to the side that seemingly double as armrests. The whole fit is something straight out of a fantasy RPG, and folks in fandoms like Final Fantasy are jumping on the jokes. However, Dragon Age is fresh in everyone’s minds and I, too, had to laugh at how Roan’s outfit is evocative of Ghilan’nain, one of the elven gods the player faces in The Veilguard.
Ghilan’nain is a blighted elf, and without getting too into the weeds, that means her body has been twisted into a monstrous eldritch horror. This lady has multiple sets of arms and tentacles, and her face is hidden under a mask connected to a crescent headpiece. In close-up shots you can see her face is just as horrifying beneath the mask, and why she was so willing to become this monstrosity is part of the story you’ll uncover in The Veilguard. With the headpiece and tendril-like appendages, Roan’s outfit calls to mind the elven god of guides and navigation, so Dragon Age fans are all making the same joke.
Ghilan’nain is nothing like Chappell Roan, though. Is the elven god a queer icon? I mean, not yet, but she could be. But all I’ve ever seen her do is try to kill the queer friend group that is The Veilguard. That’s not very “ally” of her.