// I think the true tragedy of Raphael is the fact that he will never actually get what he wants, despite his ambitions.
Your father is literally the second strongest Archdevil of the Hells, and that's only rivalled by Asmodeus because Asmodeus is more than an Archdevil, he's literally a deity. So really... Meph is THE strongest Archdevil.
You are so blinded by your desires and what you think you deserve that you've forgotten you're only a half-devil (and I'm drinking this shit up like a little ho tbh).
Raphael was always meant to fail imo. As great a villain as he is, and as perfectly written (both his grand and absolutely BRILLIANT schemes as much as his rather silly ones), Raphael truly is the epitome of what it's like to be held back by human flaws.
I also feel like Larian really made Raphael resemble the Devil/Lucifer (in our world), the charm, the whole 'devil who is suave and lures you in with kindness and promises and temptation', those little mentions of apples to be plucked (Eve). And the reminder that Lucifer was a once fallen angel (where Raphael was once human/is a half fiend/cambion and thus still feels etc). The pride, the self love, the ego. Obviously a lot of devils in DnD are like this tho, but they really laid it on thick with Raph and I just feel like they wanted to portray him as a familiar devil to us--AKA Lucifer.
It's the human side in Raphael that makes him fall, however. Devils are bound by laws, and lawful evil, and while Raphael certainly does follow them (and I see him as VERY strict with following them), those human ambitions are still something that makes him fail. Because, ultimately, devils are not supposed to really have feelings, they are the embodiment of the evil that they are, the soul that was corrupted, and as a cambion, Raphael still feels things like anger and vengeance (which is inefficient in the Hells). Even things like pleasure he falls to, and likely loneliness, even if he wishes to deny said emotions and suffocate them.
Anyway, I'm getting off topic. I really do think that no matter what, even with the crown, Raphael was always going to fail. It's said that cambions are destined to fail and always be on the path of failure. I love his drive and passion to deter that, but... what a true tragedy (and Raphael's poetic screen play, which suits him perfectly well considering his theatrics and his entire character).
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