Written by: Jackie Johnson
Edited by: Timothy Jett
A Background on The Omen within Elden Ring
In Elden Ring Omens quite literally function as living contradictions to the ideology of The golden order. Through characters like Morgott and Mohg, the game presents beings whose existence itself destabilizes a society built on ideas of purity, legitimacy, and divine order, I see the Omens as a metaphor for marginalized groups, whose mere presence challenges dominant narratives simply by existing, and whose exclusion produces diverse psychological and social responses. In my opinion, it reflects patterns of exclusion, identity formation, and resistance found across human societies.
Stigma, Rejection, and Exclusion
At the core of Omen identity is the concept of inherited stigma. In the story, omens are born with physical traits tied to the ancient Crucible (the primordial form of the erdtree) but within the Golden Order’s ideology, these traits are redefined as signs of impurity and corruption, and mirrors how real world societies often assign meaning to physical, cultural, or ancestral differences and then use those meanings to justify exclusion and disenfranchisement. These beings were exiled, not because of any objective qualities, but because their identity questioned this order who claimed itself holy, simply because a dominant system defines those qualities as undesirable. In this sense, Omens do not merely suffer discrimination; they embody the instability of the system that defines them. Their existence raises an implicit question: if something so fundamental can be labeled as “wrong,” then how objective is the society doing the labeling?
The treatment of Omens reflects patterns seen in real world structures of marginalization, where outcast groups are often physically and socially separated from dominant populations. In the game, traditionally, omen children often have their horned parts, or wings removed, often resulting in death, but since The Omen twins were royalty, they are confined to the subterranean shunning grounds beneath Leyndell, hidden away from public life and treated as dangerous anomalies. This form of enforced invisibility is a direct parallel to historical and contemporary practices in which marginalized populations are segregated, institutionalized, or otherwise excluded from mainstream society. The effect of such separation essentially killed two birds with one stone, dehumanizing the excluded group while reinforcing the perceived legitimacy of the dominant system. In doing so,society maintains the illusion of purity or order by physically and symbolically removing those who challenge it.
Morgott, The “Uncle Tom” of the Elden Ring Omens
However, what makes the Omen condition particularly compelling is not only how they are treated, but how they respond. Morgott, represents a form of internalized loyalty to the system that rejects him. Despite being born as an Omen, he dedicates himself to protecting the Golden Order under the alias Margit, even hiding his identity and serving as its unseen defender. I’ve dubbed him the “Uncle Tom” of the game for this very reason. He reminds me of W. E. B. Du Bois works, namely what he has coined or describes this tension as “double consciousness,” (1:09 – 1:52) where an individual sees themselves through both their own identity and the judgment of the dominant society. Morgott embodies this split: he is both the rejected and the protector of the system that rejects him, revealing how exclusion can lead to self surveillance and overcompensation. He curses his own blood (timestamp 3:28) saying “The thrones… stained by my curse… Such shame I cannot bear. Thy part in this shall not be forgiven”. Once he starts weaponizing the same blood he has to protect a system that hates it, and even before the fight, says “Wilful traitors, all! … Have it written upon thy meagre grave: Felled by King Morgott! Last of all kings.” In my perspective, I see it as an over-compensation, especially to an order that will never truly accept him, and no amount of sacrifice will change that unfortunately.
Mohg: A False Liberator
In contrast, Mohg (my favorite bossfight and character in the game) represents a rejection of assimilation entirely. Rather than seeking acceptance from the Golden Order, he constructs a new identity and power structure outside of it, embracing what society defines as monstrous and turning it into the foundation of his own order. He likes to feign his liberation, but ultimately recreates the same power structure; replacing Marika with Miquella, and recreating his own order of militarized nobility and enforced orthodoxy. Frantz Fanon describes this very response in The Wretched Earth in the context of colonial oppression, where the rejection of imposed identity can become either a form of empowerment or, under extreme alienation, a descent into violence and domination. Mohg’s path illustrates this tension: Ultimately showing how liberation from a rejecting system can lead to self definition, but also to the replication of coercive structures in new form, if you do not do the work to deconstruct that conditioning.
In his words “The national middle class which takes over power at the end of the colonial regime is an under developed middle class. It has practically no economic power… Its mission has nothing to do with transforming the nation; it consists, prosaically, of being the transmission line between the nation and a capitalism, rampant though fenced in.” and
“The leader pacifies the people. For years on end after independence… the leader, seen objectively, brings the people to a halt and persists in either expelling them from history or in preventing them from taking root in it. During the struggle for liberation the leader awakened the people and promised them a forward march, heroic and unmitigated. Today, he uses every means at his disposal to make them go to sleep.“
In short, he isn’t a liberator, he is creating himself as the competitor.
The Golden Order’s Omen Paradox
Omens, by existing at all, expose the fragility of the system that excludes them. The Golden Order defines itself through purity, yet Omens reveal that “impurity” is not an external threat but an internal category produced by the system itself. In this way, they function similarly to marginalized groups in real societies whose presence forces dominant cultures to confront contradictions in their own definitions of normality, citizenship, or humanity. Societies maintain control not only through force, but through defining norms that individuals internalize. Omens, however, resist full incorporation into these norms simply by existing outside of them, making them persistent points of tension within the social order.In conclusion, ultimately, the stories of Morgott and Mohg demonstrate the two contrasting responses to systemic exclusion: one oriented toward acceptance through loyalty and self denial, and the other toward rejection and reconstruction of identity outside the dominant system.
Towards this broader system that produces this exclusion I’d like to think about, George Wilhelm and his theory of recognition. Hegel argues that identity is formed through being recognized by others, meaning that when recognition is denied, identity becomes unstable. The Omens are denied recognition entirely by the Golden Order, which defines them as cursed and unworthy. Morgott’s loyalty is as an attempt to regain recognition through service, while Mohg rejects the need for recognition from that system altogether and constructs his own, creating a new “order” as he forces a new group (his followers) to recognize him as the Master. He has moved from “seeking recognition” to “commanding” it. In Wilhem’s words “The outcome is a recognition that is one-sided and unequal. Meaning that if the “recognition” comes from someone you have enslaved or forced to follow you, it isn’t “true” recognition because the follower isn’t a free equal.
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