Natlan's Archon quest turned out very unexpected

My bar for enjoyment is low, I enjoyed the story

but

What did we the traveler even do?

When I first saw the final dragon boss's design in version preview, I immediately had a guess on how the climax of the story will go: During the fight Mavuika will take a hit for us, gets eaten (fulfilling her death), dragon gains her fire power in the form of that sword and arm, traveller throws down with the dragon, struggle, friends send moral support because "nobody fights alone", then incredibly epic fight with dragon, win, save Mavuika.

At first I was happy to be wrong. but I became disappointed by how the climax of the story actually went. We got sent on an underworld errand because "It Takes Two." The dragon spawned with a fire sword and arm. Mavuika at no point seemed like she was on the back foot and needed our help. The gameplay during the fight was way too easy, until we got whooped by scripted attack and needed our friends' help to get back up. Our slogan, we burnt to show the universe the first light, is sick as hell, loved that part. Then Mavuika, who wasn't even breaking a sweat, just kinda let us hold her sword, felt like a participation trophy. And we win, cuz we held the sword too for the final slash. It all felt very low stake, and the Traveller's presence didn't feel necessary. Mavuika is too strong.

Traveller's role felt essential in Inazuma, Sumeru, and Fontaine, made those Archon quests very memorable. Natlan's didn't quite leave an impression on me. I listened to all the dialogue, but maybe I missed some details.

What do fellow players think about Natlan's story?