I first played inquisition a while ago, but I never really touched the da fandom. I had no idea that Leliana has often gotten criticized for “not knowing” Blackwall’s true identity. This really caught me off guard because when I played the game I thought it seemed quite clear that she did know, and just didn’t alert anyone. And I think it makes a lot of sense for her character.
Blackwall did an awful thing in his past that he holds a lot of shame and guilt for, and he assumed a new identity in order to run away from that part of himself. We can see that through this identity, he is genuinely trying to do good by helping the inquisition. I’m not completely defending his actions, because I think whether they are morally reprehensible or not is up to the person. However, I can see how a character like Leliana would empathize with him.
Obviously their circumstances are different; Leliana is a character with a lot of complexity, and her background is iffy based on differences between her dlc and what she tells you in origins, but there are still glaring similarities in my opinion. Leliana also ran away from a life she was not proud of, and she also practically assumed a completely new identity through the chantry. She joins the wardens because she has a desire to help and she believes it is her purpose to do so. They also both spend years after fleeing from their pasts trying to make amends for what they view as their wrongdoings, before meeting the pc.
They’re both characters that, in their respective games, have buried a dark past and are now trying to do what they believe is right. I’m not saying that their stories are completely the same, because that would be reductive of both of their characters, but I think it makes a lot of sense for Leliana to give Blackwall a chance. Even if it’s not out of empathy and personal understanding, I think she’d just be a sucker for it in general.
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