New WoW easter eggs are appearing, but some might not be ready to hatch just yet.
WoW Dragonflight Easter Egg “Cae'Ryn” Divides Audiences
Written by Ollie Bradley at 09/12/2022, 04:57 AM
World of Warcraft has come to be known for its tongue-in-cheek easter eggs over the years. Whether it's the Arnie/Conan fusion known as Arnold Croman, the brutal reimagining of Bambi, or the self-referential immortalization of Leeroy Jenkins, Blizzard is a past master at populating Azeroth with pop culture references. And now, the newest WoW easter eggs are already being unearthed in Dragonflight as players enjoy the alpha.
As first pointed out by moristendie on Reddit, Blizzard has decided to drudge up a meme that may be quite old by the fickle standards of the internet but has managed to put a smile on peoples' faces regardless.
The reference in question this time takes the form of NPC Cae'Ryn, a blood elf that speaks a line of dialogue that should be familiar to anyone who used the internet in 2019 and 2020: "I demand to speak to a manager, this instant!" Yep, WoW officially has its very own "Karen".
To the uninitiated, "Karen" is a catch-all name for any entitled customer who makes it their mission to uphold the somewhat toxic "customer is always right" ethos in any given establishment. The meme has, of course, morphed over the years to become a general pejorative for an antagonistic character, though it looks as though Blizzard has decided to stay true to Karen's roots with Cae'Ryn.
And while some have welcomed the first of Dragonflights' easter eggs as harmless fun ("As someone who works in retail, this made my day!" replied one user), others have been quick to point out the controversy behind the meme's evolution. Specifically, that it has also been wielded as a weapon of misogyny.
Given that Blizzard is still fighting allegations of rampant sexism in the organization, it's not hard to see how this particular easter egg could go down like a lead balloon upon release. Given that other critics have pointed out that the joke is now old and, therefore, not funny anymore, we wouldn't be surprised if Cae'Ryn doesn't survive the alpha.
Either way, we're sure that this isn't going to be the last of the newest WoW easter eggs to appear in Dragonflight.