Bardam's Mettle is nothing more than a tutorial on how to dodge

[Rongway]

The only thing that threw me off as far as boss mechanics go initially is the fact that the first boss' charge does MORE damage if you're close to it, as opposed to less like most attacks of the nature.

If you look at it again, you'll notice that the tether indicating the target has arrows pointing away from the midpoint, toward the ends, to suggest that the target should run away. You'll find this mechanic in some other boss fights too.