Arcann for the character breakdown!
I can rant for HOURS when it comes to Arcann
How I feel about this character
Protecc??? Comfort??? Give him hugs and support and tell him that he deserves to be treated well? Encourage him? Tell him that it doesnât matter what kind of person Valkorion made him into but it matters what kind of person he is now??? *collapses to the ground with ugly sobbing*Â
Anyway, emotions aside, heâs a great and complex character, both as a tyrant and as just Arcann. And let me tell you, heâs fucking terrifying. Vaylin is surely more dangerous and crazy, but nothing she ever did made me feel the chills. Arcann, however, did. Not even personally, which is crazy. I remember the moment on the ship youâre trying to use to take control of the GEMINI, and as you fleeing it, the GEMINI captain casually says âDo you think Emperor Arcann will torture you? I think he will. I bet heâll enjoy it. I know I would.â And thatâs it. A tiny ambient piece, but it sent chills down my spine, because Arcann is just that type of a character you can believe in. You hear the gemini say that, and you know that yeah, he will torture you, and he will make it very long and painful, and creative, and he already is on his way here. Not to mention the voice acting which is justâŚ.. f u c k. *sends a thousand kisses to our god Eric Todd Dellums*Â
And I love that if you look carefully, you can always see how deeply broken he is, even if you choose to kill him (thatâs why Iâll never do it again no matter how out-of-character it would be). And THANK YOU bioware for letting us tell Jorgan that he is just another Valkorionâs victim.Â
If I sound like Iâm making exuses for him and forgetting that jelaousy and flaming character were always his traits, I am not. I remember that perfectly, and I acknowledge his responsibility for many terrible things, but still, even though those were his choices, somehow I donât think he would have made any of them if Senya raised her kids herself and there was no Valkorionâs influence. Anyway, heâs already paid for what heâs done, and the guilt will most probably haunt him till the end of his life, but that remains to be seen.
All the people I ship romantically with this character
My sunshine consular Findar. And let me tell you, I have never seen anything sweeter and healthier than their relationship. Itâs not ideal at first, of course, mostly due to Arcannâs guilt and self-loathing, and due to Findarâs low self-esteem, but theyâre working on it endlessly until one morning they wake up and nothing disturbs them anymore.Â
My non-romantic OTP for this character
Helgaaaa! A second mom? Yes please? Not to mention that sheâs been flirting with Senya shamelessly since the day they met and they are very close friends, Helga was probably the first person to welcome Arcann (after Findar, of course). Arcann never understood completely how she could change her opinion so fast. She accepted him the very second Findar declared him an ally, and she was a huge help, training with him, talking all the nonsense in the world not to make him feel such a white sheep among the wolves, helping him come to terms with his self-loathing and very complex feelings towards Valkorion, even sort of mentoring him, etc. Not to mention that she gave him relationship advice as soon as she noticed him being in love (he was so shocked that he could not even protest). So yea, you can say heâs got two moms now x)Â
Also Lumis, who is surprisingly very understanding. Even though Lumis has more in common with Vaylin, he still understands what itâs like to be abused since childhood and what itâs like to grow up under the shadow of a monster. Heâs not entirely forgiving or something - he doesnât have much to forgive for because he generally doesnât care about neither the Empire or the Republic at this point, - but he gloats gladly that Valkorion wasnât able to get Arcann. That kind of mutual understanding helps them become some kind of friends.Â
I also believe that he gets along well with Theron and Lana, who are not very much favorable of him, but they trust their Commanderâs judgment and they are too practical to carry on their grudges. Especially Lana, who was on Nathema and as a Force-user, felt what terrible things Valkorion was capable of. After that, I believe sheâs just not able to judge Arcann and Vaylin. Arcann was healed and joined them? Okay, great, they can use any help they can get. Vaylin cannot be healed? She is a threat anyway, no matter the reasons, and she must be dealt with. If their cases were reversed, I believe her opinion on that wouldnât have changed, because morals are not on the table when the galaxy is on fire. So she and Theron are not exactly friends with Arcann, but they sure accept him without asking questions.
My unpopular opinion about this character
âŚâŚâŚ.IâŚâŚ. I donât know??? Uh, I think Iâve often seen people expressing a thought that Vaylin deserved redemption more than Arcann. I donât know if thatâs a popular opinion, but idk, I kinda disagree with that. Iâm not saying she did not deserve redemption at all - both of them did because Valkorion is a dick and they deserved a normal life. Itâs just⌠logical that Arcann was able to change and she was not. She was too broken after everything thatâs happened to her, and it was only logical that she did not want to break herself again to become something else. Arcann was also abused, but compared to her, he suffered much less and wasnât fractured enough for it to become irreversible. I would love though to have an option to not kill Vaylin, but imprison her and give her medical treatment. Thatâs what my consular wouldâve done, and thatâs what she deserved - to be healed as well, or at least to live with a tiny hope for recovery and be cared about by the rest of her family. Not to be consumed and used by Valkorion again. Itâs not the matter of âwho deserved it moreâ for me, it just makes sense because it seems logical.Â
One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.
I wish there was more time between him joining the Alliance and the two final chapters. Thus, more opportunities for interaction, and more opportunities for him to help. I mean, he joined the Alliance to help, but all he did was mentioning Nathema and⌠swinging a lightsaber later? That doesnât look like much of a help. It also makes the romance with him look a bit unnatural - it feels too rushed, too âwait, what the hell has just happenedâ, because there was no time to interact at all.Â
I also wish bioware to change his design after a while (after Iokath, at least) and let us give him another armor set. It would be just natural if Arcann tried to let go this part of his past and move on. Not to mention that his classic white armor is reminding everyone around that he is the same person who bombed the planets, and he is standing right here.Â
Welp. Thatâs a lot of text. I regret nothing.Â