Why Dark Souls' Smough is One of the Most Terrifying Bosses in the Series

Highlights

Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough are one of the most memorable and terrifying boss fights in the Dark Souls series.
Smough's distinctive armor is highly sought after by players, and it gradually reveals disturbing details about the character.
Through subtle storytelling and his behavior during the fight, Smough's sadistic and cannibalistic traits are hinted at, making him a horrifying antagonist.

Out of all the enemies seen throughout the Dark Souls series, few are as memorable as Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough, with the latter arguably being the reason why the pair continues to be one of FromSoftware's most terrifying bosses so far. Ever since the first Dark Souls game was released, Ornstein and Smough have remained as one of the series' most well-regarded boss fights, with their influence felt throughout FromSoftware's subsequent boss fight experiences. But the reason why Smough in particular stands out is more than just the unique challenge of a dual boss fight, especially when looking into the character's design, behavior, and backstory.

The most obvious difference between Ornstein and Smough is their size and shape, where specifically Smough's design places significant emphasis on how much larger he is compared to Ornstein's typical humanoid appearance. Yet, knowing that players will want to obtain a set of Smough's distinctive armor for themselves, FromSoftware has laid a trail for players to follow that gradually unearths increasingly strange and disturbing details about the character. As a result, besides being one of Dark Souls' most difficult boss fights in the series, Smough will always be one of the series' most horrifying too.

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Exploring the Hidden Details of Ornstein and Smough's Boss Fight

Just as their physical designs might suggest, Ornstein is the faster and more agile of the two, while Smough's slowness is balanced as a heavy hitter with greater health. However, since players are required to fight both during the first phase, they need to choose whether to beat Smough or Ornstein first, as this will then determine both the second phase and what rewards are available afterward. But while Smough is considered easier to exploit due to his reduced speed and maneuverability, Dark Souls instead incentivizes players to first beat Ornstein so that they can get their hands on Smough's armor and weapon.

This is where FromSoftware's expectations of subtle storytelling works best, as throughout the fight Smough can be heard laughing, and before fighting him during the second phase, a cutscene will play where he lives up to his title as Executioner as he bludgeons a fallen Ornstein with his hammer. Given that Ornstein's hand is seen to move just before the fatal blow, it begins to become apparent that Smough takes pleasure in killing others, even when it comes to those on his side. This isn't speculative either, as once Smough's armor and weapon have been obtained, players will learn about his cannibalism, sadism, and more from their descriptions.

Smough's Set and Hammer Offer More Hidden Details

Though Smough's Set and Great Hammer can also be acquired in Dark Souls 3, their descriptions fall short on some details compared to those seen in the first Dark Souls. For example, Smough's Hammer in Dark Souls states that "Smough loved his work, and ground the bones of his victims into his own feed," confirming players' suspicions about the character's psychopathic traits while adding a new gruesome layer to an already memorable boss fight. In contrast, Smough's helm, armor, gauntlets, and leggings form one of the best armor sets in Dark Souls, yet it's their design and descriptions that tease another macabre twist to the character.

Dark Souls' Item	Dark Souls' Item Description
Smough's Hammer	Great hammer from the soul of executioner Smough, who guards the cathedral in the forsaken city of Anor Londo. Smough loved his work, and ground the bones of his victims into his own feed, ruining his hopes of being ranked with the Four Knights.
Smough's Set (Helm, Armor, Gauntlets, and Leggings)	[Helm/Armor/Gauntlets/Leggings] of Smough, the Executioner, protector of the cathedral at the forsaken city of Anor Londo. It offers extremely high defense and can be worn by humans, but not without great difficulty.

Crucially, the final sentence of Dark Souls' Smough's Set's descriptions always suggests that the armor was not designed for humans, or at least a typical human body type. Though this could be explained away by Smough's exaggerated size, this seems less plausible after looking closer at the details of Smough's armor. More specifically, based on the concept art of Smough's armor, it seems that the eyes on the neck aren't just for decoration and the limbs are unnaturally large even for a human. Assuming that the armor is a perfect fit for an Executioner, then Smough is a monster both inside and out.