While I definitely enjoyed the Mei animated short, it really didn't grow on me as much as the Bastion, Hanzo/Genji, or even Soldier 76 ones did. I took me a little while to realize why, and the answer I came up with is a complete lack of character development or insight. It featured Mei overcoming ridiculous odds and personal tragedies, but none of that seemed to phase her in any way. She was and still is the exact same Mei, despite the fact that literally everyone she knows is now long dead and gone, which is fairly boring as far as character development is concerned.

As such, I am very glad to say that the most recent "Honor and Glory" short not only gives us a good insight into Reihnardt as a character, but it also shows him grow and change as a person. Its all a little bit cheesy, as you would expect from any Blizzard short, but there is some real heart to it. But enough babble from me, have a look, its well worth a watch:

I have absolutely no idea if Blizzard actually planned any of this or if they just went with the voice lines that sounded cool, but after watching "Honor and Glory" I have noticed there is a lot of depth in Reinhardt's dialogue in-game, even if there isn't much of it. For example, the following lines get a whole new layer of meaning after watching the cinematic short, a layer they were missing all the way until now: "Don't worry my friends. I will be your shield.", "This is the home town of my master, Balderich. He was born here! And he died here...", "Things can be destroyed, but as long as the people are strong, they can always be rebuilt." Maybe I'm just overthinking it, but I've definitely gained a newfound respect for Reinhardt. Now if only the meta favored him a little bit more!