Finished the MSQ so I wanted to write down some thoughts. It got long. Tons of spoilers here, obviously. Organized by character ‘cause ... I don’t know, that’s just how it came out.
FINAL WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW.
- Hydaelyn. I admit, I was kind of worried about how they planned to handle Hydaelyn. Shadowbringers sowed some doubt about Hydaelyn and her role, and it seemed like there were parts of the fandom really running with an Agnes All Along theory about her motives. Which isn't to say I don't like a good twist, but I feel like this twist would have undermined a lot of the story -- not just characters like Minfilia and Krile, but also the WoL and a lot of the narrative's underlying themes. So I was really, really pleased that they gave her some ambiguity but stayed true to her initial portrayal as a benevolent, if mysterious and enigmatic, force.
I also like the role of faith in her story: the people of Etheriys have faith in Hydaelyn, praying to her for protection and salvation; in turn, Hydaelyn has faith in the people of Etheriys, praying to them for salvation of her own. Her faith is complicated, she is full of doubt and pain, and in the end her final act is one of surrender. She doesn't get to see the resolution of the long war she waged in protection of the star, doesn't get to see Meteion defeated or the Final Days resolved. But Hydaelyn has faith, and because of that faith, the impossible becomes possible and the world is saved.
- Hydaelyn and Minfilia. In fact, Hydaelyn’s entire arc was mirrored by Minfilia and Ryne in ShB, which is a bit of poetry I’m kind of going crazy over. We talk a lot about what happens when you put women in the writing room, and I think this is an example of that.
- Hydaelyn and Zodiark. Zodiark ended up being very incidental to the story, which was a surprise to everyone, and a lot of what was assumed to be his role is passed to Meteion instead. What we do learn of him and Hydaelyn changes some of the earlier elements of the story. I think a lot of us previously assumed that they were equals locked in some yin-and-yang battle for human souls. With Shadowbringers, the idea that maybe Zodiark was the good guy trying to restore us to our Ancient selves and Hydaelyn was a duplicitous force stopping him also started coming out. The idea that Hydaelyn was an underdog of sorts in their battle of wills is an interesting twist. Also that Hydaelyn/Venat was making a stand for our independence and worth, while Zodiark/Elidibus was fighting (for reasons understandable but still wrong) to restore the broken, unjust, but beautiful world that created the Final Days in the first place.
They also cleared up how Zodiark was able to protect the world from the Final Days -- since dark-aspected aether is that of activity and movement, summoning Zodiark kept the aether from stagnating and allowing dynamis to build up and despair to spread. With Big Z's death, the dynamis could overpower the aether and Meteion could do her work.
- Hydaelyn and Venat. I think it's really powerful that, in the end, Hydaelyn was created and Zodiark sundered because of human action. We see the moment of the sundering, and it's solely because the surviving Ancients wanted to use Zodiark to cheat death for themselves and their loved ones at the cost of others' lives. It was never a cosmic battle of Light and Dark, Good and Evil, just another story about loss and greed and a lone soul doing everything they could to stand against it.
- Venat. Total fucking badass. Her lines before the sundering were some serious Old Testament shit: "No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise. Henceforth, he shall walk." Very God casting Adam and Eve out of Eden. The idea that once we were saved by grace, which we squandered, and now must save ourselves through work? I'm not Christian but I think there's some universality that really comes through. And the idea that she has been enduring in suffering and loneliness, sustained by her faith in someone she loves? I am Weak for this theme. It kills me with Lunafreya in XV and it kills me here.
- Minfilia and Ryne. I am so happy that they weren't forgotten. Thancred and Urianger both mentioned Minfilia and continue to be connected by their shared bond with Ryne. Ryne's time in the MSQ was brief -- I wish her scene had been voiced -- but I'm hopeful that she'll play a role in the follow-up quests. Given all of the space and time traveling we've been doing, I wonder if we're going to pick up the Thirteenth quests that we started on the First? I really hope so!
- Zenos. His whole schtick really is caused by a lack of intimacy and connection, isn't it? The only way Zenos has ever connected to others, even as a child, was through battle, and at this point it's too late for him to accept other approaches (at least not without overcoming a boatload of resistance). Which is really the tragedy of his character. Before EW, I tended to think of Zenos as unrepentantly amoral, but his conversation with Jullus suggests otherwise. It was a rather good point -- *would* people have been okay with Zenos' actions if they were in the service of some 'greater good'? This is a challenge to the characters we met in Garlemald, of course, but also to the players. Would we be more forgiving of the death and destruction Zenos sowed if he had a 'good' motive for it?
His willingness to help the WoL is also an interesting twist. I've seen some fics take his character in that direction, a sort of trained attack dog who will help the Scions at the WoL's request, and I admit I find it an interesting one. It doesn't hurt that Zenos has one of the best character designs in the game at this point. Also, his getup reminds me of the Lucis Caelums from VX -- the gold knee brace seems like a deliberate callout -- but I can't quite untangle what the reference is supposed to mean.
- Meteion. I admit, I really liked her? They gave her Ryne's face and the twins' hair, a deliberate attempt to play on those associations that worked on me! Her introduction and first meeting with the WoL was charming, and her relationship with Hermes seemed like a deliberate mirroring of Ryne's relationship with Thancred. I wanted to scoop her up and protect her from the people who didn't see her as a person, let alone a child in need of guidance and protection. She reminded me a lot of Cole from Dragon Age, another character that I am completely weak for.
I also liked the symbolism in her design -- she starts out as a bluebird (associated with happiness), her bird-form has a swallow's shape (associated with hope), but she also has harpy/fury elements (mythical beings associated with torment and despair). When we finally get through to her, she becomes a bluebird again. I liked the juxtaposition of the little bird chattering at the massive Endsinger, begging her not to hurt herself or anyone else, and the imagery of her creating a bridge to lead us back to the others was lovely. And in the end, she's a very lonely character, and I'm a sucker for lonely characters.
- Meteion and Hermes. One thread that I think was dropped in a bad way is emblemized by these two. The Ancients did not see familiars, like Meteion or our WoL, as real people, and it really showed. Even familiars who had souls weren't considered 'people' people, capable of independence and self-determination. Hermes felt bad for killing the creatures he created, but he didn't have a problem sending them on an impossible, potentially soul-detroying mission for nothing but his own benefit. I thought Emet-Selch was going to call him out on this -- which would have been the height of irony, considering -- but he just criticizes Hermes for the potential impact of his actions on the Ancients instead. No one said a word about Hermes' choices and their effects on Meteion and her sisters, not even Venat.
Later, Alisaie lampshaded things a bit by observing how Emet-Selch's creations called them children, while the Ancients called WoL a familiar, and how this heralded Emet-Selch's growing acceptance of the Scions' humanity. But it needed more, really. Hydaelyn's sundering and testing of mankind may have been high-handed and merciless, but at least she acknowledged us as humans. My experience with the FF games suggests that self-determination and the ability to decide one's own fate are important reoccurring themes, so it was disappointing to see them so glossed over here.
- Meteion and Zenos. This also leads to a tie between these two characters -- both given over to apathy and despair, both misused by their creators/parents, both hungry for connection. Maybe this is an idea they'll pursue more in later expansions? I kind of felt bad for Zenos, seeing him left to die alone in that empty space. It made me want a better, happier ending for him, despite all the evil he’s done.
- Emet-Selch. I've always liked Emet, although I'm not as fannish about him as I am some other characters. They really captured the parts of his character that are entertaining -- the tsundere tendencies, really -- but neglected the parts of his character that are infuriating and give him depth. Which is well enough, I suppose, he had an entire expansion and he's dead now, so there's not much point in rehashing things. Still, much of what we saw in Garlemald is his doing, and like Hermes, he has a lot to answer for regarding his treatment of his children/creations (i.e., Varis and Zenos, as well as the Empire as a whole). Varis' fate ends up being a grim one, and I can't say it’s undeserved, but it's a bit frustrating that Emet-Selch is never taken to task by the characters or the story for the massive wrongs he wrought upon people smaller and less powerful than him.
- Emet-Selch and Hythlodeus. There’s such a vibe of intimacy and trust between these two. Hyth going off to sacrifice himself for Zodiark and Emet's empty, extended hand was pretty ouchy. The fact that Hyth was one of the souls Emet sought to restore through Zodiark gives his actions some needed emotional oomph -- his thousand-year crusade always felt a bit empty to me in ShB, but know that we know Hyth better his despair is more tangible.
- Hythlodeus. He was utterly delightful at all points. A total cinnamon roll of a character. Also, I want to steal his hair for my WoL.
- The Scions. The connections between the Scions and the WoL were a huge part of this expansion, and so were the connections between the Scions themselves. I liked the the little pairs and trios that formed -- the three Archons, Alisaie and G'raha, Alphinaud and Estinien, Krile and Tataru. It's hard to have an ensemble cast and give everyone time in the spotlight, and I think they did a pretty good job for the most part. The only character who's consistently neglected is Y'shtola -- I feel like we need to do a transfer from the twins to her, as some of their scenes started to feel quite redundant by the end. Of course, Y'shtola is a very reserved character not gripped by any serious pathos, which is a nice change, but still.
G'raha really came into his own here, balancing the dorky catboy we met in ARR with the seasoned leader we saw in ShB, and the hints they dropped about Corvus suggests he has more story to tell. Urianger also finally had some time in the spotlight, and it was good to see someone in this game get a damn hug for once. I think one of my favorite Scion scenes was Alphi and Ali in the Garlemald dungeon, and then the door swinging open and the camera showing us nothing but Estinien's legs. It was truly badass and heartwarming, the reminder that even in the cold and darkness, someone will come for you. Also, Y'shtola to Estinien: "'Remove from the field' is not a euphemism for 'enthusiastically murder'".
Also also, Thancred and Urianger keep ending up paired off, and I suspect someone on the writing staff is aware of the 'Ryne has two dads' jokes from ShB and is encouraging them shamelessly. Overall, there was a quite a bit of potentially shippy interactions between pretty much every pairing you could think of, which I like -- it's the writers' way of encouraging people to play and have fun with the characters, rather than trying to lock down and control the narrative.
I love how hades and hythlodeus got thier definate confirmation we are Azem by us trying to protect Hythlodeus by using ourselves as a shield . And then we get Emet saying been reckless seems to be a requirement for been an Azem
