Current state of the Fatui (Genshin Impact)
Was typing this up after watching the Sandrone Animated Short, "The Final Gift"
Ok. if I may throw my 2 cents into the ring, I think some people are a little too caught up in addressing the past depictions of characters. But I also do regonize how much the Genshin writers have failed to deliver on showcasing certain UNDENIABLE aspects of these characters.
With the characterization of the Harbingers — with the exception of Dottore who I will talk about more later, because he deserves it — I think people forget just how LITTLE we knew about each of them before they officially appeared in the mainline story. Talking PURELY from a player's perspective and not the Traveler's (who I AGREE has been written VERY inconsistently in regards to the Fatui): I think we as a community extrapolated too much. And I only call it "too much" because manyyyy of us got really attached to the extrapolated characterizations, to a point where it's really affecting the perceptions we have of them now. I'm guilty of this to a certain extent, I'm not gonna deny it!
All the Harbingers, especially by now, no doubt have immense bias coloring their lines about their coworkers. And it doesn't help that the FIRST two we got (Childe and Scara) happened to paint some of them in a particularly crazy or menacing light. Including Dottore, Columbina, and Arlecchino... All of the Harbingers are ""unreliable narrators""... but upon release of each new Harbinger in the story, there should have been much more weight behind WHY each character had those voicelines to begin with :/ "There is not a sane bone in her body" was INCREDIBLE hyperbole, Childe... because Arlecchino is (surprisingly ! base on these past characterizations!) a very calm and collected, albiet cold and calculating, person!
And so, when it comes down to relating their current characterizations to those voicelines of the past, sure you can make sense of it as much as you want, or you can claim the voicelines painted an entirely different picture and that we've been utterly robbed of something... But at the end of the day you have to remember that back then ~50% of the Harbingers were mere concepts. Regardless of whether you think those voicelines COULD be consistent, or if you think they're incapable of being consistent, the fact of the matter is that at the time they were made the characterizations most likely weren't finalized. So I think while we shouldn't get TOO boggled down in what could have been.. We can instead get boggled down on what currently is.
For a character like Sandrone, who has had presence in World Quests prior to her release (namely I'm referring to Questioning Melusine and Answering Machine, the one in Fontaine with the intelligent Guardamek, "Curve". Because as awesome as Narssizenkreuz was, it doesn't give us too much insight into Sandrone as her own character..), I DO think the change in her portrayal is, comparatively, even more noticable. And I am personally a little disappointed with how much they've failed to follow-up on Sandrone's crueler behavior, or cold presence towards her subordinates. Because they spent almost the ENTIRETY of Nod-Krai painting Sandrone as a slightly-unwilling ally to the Traveler, since after Act 1, our goals were almost entirely aligned!!! Defeat Rerir... Stop Dottore and save Columbina. And it makes sense that they painted her this way given the cast of characters we spent the most time around!! We don't get to see Sandrone interacting with her subordinates that much (since.. the narative demands it). Sandrone is very close with Columbina (she would never admit it though), and no doubt cares deeply for her; hence why she not only fails to carry out the Palestar Edict, but goes directly against it to help Columbina remain in her new home. This relationship that the two of them have is completely newfound knowledge, and it allowed us to see a side of her that we would otherwise never see if the entire region of Nod-Krai wasn't dedicated to Columbina as character... As in: if we met Sandrone in Snezhnaya instead, we'd probably see the much colder side of her. (We actually do glimpse a part of that when we meet her! She VERY MUCH threatened the traveler, staking claim on the entirety of Nod-Krai in the name of the Fatui.... but like I said, after Act 1 the goal shifts drastically).
The harbingers are very multi-faceted (more-so than most of the Genshin roster), and Genshin's main quest writing has established that much... but what they've failed to do is actually EXPLORE those different facets properly. With the exception of Wanderer, and Arlecchino in my honest opinion. (I thought Arlecchino's position as a Harbinger balancing her organization's goals and her own personal goals was explored wonderfully throughout Fontaine, and I believe her Nod-Krai characterization is quite consistent with it.) For the others like Childe, Sandrone, and Columbina (and even Il Capitano), they focused heavily on the good-natured human side of each character — giving them all relatable stories of forging friendships and performing righteous deeds for the people they held dear. The Captain is the definition of Righteous for the entirety of his presence in Natlan — honorable in his fight with Mavuika EVEN while they were still encroaching under orders of the Tsaritsa, and then abandoning his campaign for the gnosis entirely once he realizes he has an opportunity to lay the Khaenri'ahn and Natlanese souls he's been carrying to rest... But we NEVERRRRR hear about ANY OF THE OTHER SHIT he must have done while working for the Tsaritsa!! It's as if ALL of the recent Harbingers, INCLUDING Dottore and Regrator have suddenly excused themselves from the Tsaritsa's grand plans altogether... Which, yes gives them room for facets we never thought we'd see and stories that are uniquely their own..! But.... also, the Fatui is the most primary ""antagonistic"" group that we've been exposed to since DAY ONE ! (next to the Heavenly Principles) WHY aren't we getting more about that!! Project Stuzha has been mentioned only a handful of times anywhere in the game, and nothing about it has been divulged to us through the main story line yet!
The current state of the Fatui as an antagonistic organization is complicated. Everyone we have met so far that works for them DOES exist in a gray area of morality just by virtue of their employment alone, and their Harbingers are elevated into an even greater bracket of "This person has commited NUMEROUS crimes, but also has endearing moments of just living a human (or human-adjacent) life". The impact that the Fatui has in each nation they're based in is heavily influenced by the Harbinger they follow in that region. It just so happens that the first time we encounter them in Genshin's story is while they're under the command of Signora... (Who, about 5 years later SEEMS to be THE most dedicated follower of the Tsaritsa's original plan of capturing gnoses :/) We were introduced to them in an almost cartoonishly-evil light, and this "evil antagonist that wants to ruin Teyvat" atmosphere kinda holds true all the way through to Sumeru WITH THE EXCEPTION OF Childe, and a couple stray NPCs. DURING Sumeru, starting with Scaramouche, we start to get a real sense of Harbingers having their own agenda.. and from there, post Sumeru like with Arlecchino, we see the Harbingers acting more and more of their own accord, only losely working according to the Tsartitsa's will (which doesn't seem to be that particular anyway), doing whatever they want/need as long as they retrieve the gnosis in the end. Capitano was the first to not retrieve a gnosis at all, which makes sense given his purpose after the fall of Khaenri'ah... Sandrone continues this trend, not for a pre-established purpose, but for the beginnings of one. And Dottore.....
Dottore had been in it for himself, or more accruately for his research and achieving his goals for the entire world, from the start, and that much is undeniable. He uses people as a means of extracting worth, and he believes all relationships follow that framework. I've seen a number of Dottore-enjoyers digging into his psyche and his upbringing and trying to recolor the relationships he's built with people... And while I agree that the deeper context of his background & how he grew up contextualizes the relationships he builds differently than what the story presents merely on the surface... I do think that trying to say they're any less toxic to the people involved (and Dottore himself) is not doing anyone any favors. Yes, I DO believe that Dottore considered Columbina to be his sister... But I also think that that guy's idea of a "family" is pretty fucked up!!! And it simultaneously (1) is really cool to see how that manifests for Dottore (like how he performed a self autopsy on the original fuckking Zandik, that shit was raw asl), and (2) further paints how awful of a guy he is.
I do also wanna talk a little about the Traveler's reaction to Dottore (the Traveler's writing, on the whole, is something I would prob have to save for another post, 'cause I didn't anticipate this post being so long). Because during Act 7 when Dottore went on his monologue asking them to join him, similar to the Traveler, I as a player wasn't going to acquiese.. from start to finish. UNLIKE the Traveler, however, I listened to everything he had to say because he brought up great points, and it provided insight into his goals and motivations. As well as some insight into the way he views relationships with other people ^ as mentioned above. Zandik is a vile man; a part of it no doubt a result of his expulsion & ostracization, while another part was the catalyst of his expulsion. His attitude towards others is influenced by his immense intellect and accompanying inflated ego, and that's clear to anyone who meets him. So, I think the Traveler being disposed to not listen to Dottore makes sense on almost all accounts, what with his infamacy — I mean, if nothing else, Dottore has hurt NUMEROUS of his close personal friends (Collei, Diluc, Nahida, and Wanderer who we've since sort of reconciled with), among other horrors that we've heard or read about on our journey. But I do agree that, in general, the Traveler has been immensley wishi-washi with their opposition (or lack thereof) to the Harbingers and Fatui as a whole, and the inconsistency IS very frustrating...
