Phoenix and Maya in PWAA/JFA: From Associates to Equals
Recently, I’ve been replaying the AA trilogy and got a friend into the series. It wasn’t too long after I first played the games, but I figured there wouldn’t be much harm or change in replaying the games. Turns out, there was. Going through it again and actually learning these characters beyond their archetypes gave me a new appreciation of pretty much everything the game has to offer. And, of course, at the core of this is Phoenix and Maya’s relationship. We’re all so familiar with how they are now that we don’t really look back at how things changed from PWAA to JFA concerning them. They met in such an unfortunate circumstance that greatly shaped how Phoenix, our POV, viewed Maya for a large part of the first game. Speaking of that unfortunate circumstance:
Yeah. When your first introduction to someone seeing them sobbing their eyes out over your boss’ dead body, you don’t really form the most coherent or even logical thoughts. This is doubled by how Phoenix, is Phoenix. He has the emotional intelligence of a baboon zoinked out of his mind. It’s here that really sets in how Phoenix sees her for the first game; as an extension of Mia, even if subconsciously. Phoenix has a deep rooted hero complex and need to save people; you can only imagine how awful he’d feel for failing to save the person who saved him.
He definitely ends up projecting these feelings onto Maya, even as the game expands and he sees her as her own person. The ending CG of 1-2 is beautiful for how it shows that Phoenix needs to move on from Mia, and how Maya is the key to doing so; but it still symbolizes how Mia is the thing connecting them, rather than their natural dynamic and rapport.
But that’s only Phoenix’s side of things. Maya is, understandably, a bit taken about by how her sister is dead and how now she needs to form a new relationship with a man she’s known for a few days. However, that man went out of his way to defend her, and it leads to a very positive impression that has an unfortunate side effect. We see this a lot with Maya throughout the series, but she has a horrid tendency of putting others above her and putting herself down. AA1 runs with this idea the most out of any of the games, since she’s undergone immense tragedy at her youngest. Phoenix views her as someone to protect, while Maya views him as a hero. They have a natural imbalance in their dynamic and even as they continue to develop as friends throughout the game, this feeling doesn’t come to a head until much later.
1-3 establishes the more healthy sides of their early relationship. They have a genuine connection and instant rapport with each other, what with Phoenix’s sarcastic quips and Maya’s equally as sarcastic beliefs. It’s the first time they ever work together on a case and there are a lot of good bits here. From the Ladder V. Stepladder debate, to Phoenix’s utter confusion at how the Steel Samurai has any fans, to Maya truly growing into a master thief. 1-3 is very flawed, but it does a great job at showing just how well Phoenix and Maya work as the main characters on a surface level. They talk and interact like real friends and people, if exaggerated. Ironically, it helps deepen their dynamic by showing them beyond the seriousness of Mia’s passing. They exist outside of just that bubble of parallel and that’s really special. As for 1-4 though, things take a much deeper turn.
We start off with what really told me that Phoenix and Maya have an odd relationship. Now, it’s fair to assume Phoenix might just be off-put since Lotta is…well, Lotta. But I like to see this as Phoenix not really knowing if he and Maya are friends or not, because he knows deep down that he sees her as an extension of Mia; a second chance to not fail her. Because of this; his first instinct isn’t to say they’re best friends, but rather stuttering before landing “sort of friends”.
Nothing’s really changed with Maya either, but due to her personal stake in this case; we begin to see cracks in the goofy, silly girl sidekick facade she’s built up. Manfred von Karma shooting that bullet not only severed Edgeworth’s family, but Maya’s as well. Her mother left the village due to being a “sham” and it’s all the fault of this egomaniacal bastard. Yet, to her, it’s pathetic. We as the audience see Maya as someone deeply troubled and so, we aren’t as harsh on her for not saving the day, or instantly making a smart play. She’s not like Phoenix who can think on the fly, or Edgeworth who plans everything out, or even Gumshoe who’s saved their ass from being killed by the mob. To her, she’s worthless. Useless. And because of that resentment towards herself, we get the most crushing line of the first AA game.
Maya, in her darkest time, truly wishes she could give up and die. She’s let down her sister, mother, cousin, Phoenix; everyone. She’s never been as good as they’ve been and that is an absolutely crushing feeling for anyone to have, let alone a 17 year-old. What I especially love about this is how Phoenix isn’t able to comfort her with words. He isn’t a man who’s able to speak his mind; even when he consoles her later and proves it’s her who truly saved the day, he needs evidence. He isn’t able to talk that well, but he’d do so for her. This moment completely changes Phoenix’s view from “Mia’s sister” to “My best friend”. She is a deeply hurting person who Phoenix aims to help find closure. And that he does! Von Karma’s put to rest, but Maya, still reeling, makes a pretty big decision.
She chooses to go back to Kurain Village to further her training. She isn’t entirely wrong with how she admits to not being a good medium. Even if it hurts her, she knows she has to go back and change for the better. Beyond duty, she wants to have confidence. But for the first time in her life, when she makes her own choice; someone follows her instead of the other way around. Phoenix wakes up and instantly goes to see her, to say goodbye. And he does! But we see how Maya still looks down upon herself. I believe part of her wrote that note not only because it would’ve hurt to say goodbye in person, but because she didn’t want Phoenix to feel burdened by her leaving. It’s worth mentioning how Phoenix has a very strong sense of pride for his heroic actions, an often unhealthy habit, but here he completely drops that to comfort her. Admitting that it was her who saved the day by snatching that bullet. She’s yet another person who took down Manfred and she deserves to see that, like everyone else does. He truly believes he couldn’t have done it without her and it causes such a paradigm shift in their perception of one another. They go from being associated only through Mia and her death, to finding a genuine comfort solely unique to them in one another. And this isn’t to say Mia has no affect on the relationship; they both carry on her legacy as a clever lawyer and responsible caretaker respectively and it’s another beautiful layer to their relationship.
Obviously, by the end of the first game, nothing romantic is involved. But this interaction sets the precedent for how they view each other going forward. They start to find each other as the most important person in their respective lives, a term I find myself using most frequently with them more than any other pair. Calling them best friends, pals; even lovers doesn’t sell just how much they matter to each other. Soulmates/Platonic Soulmates would better describe it because anything else doesn’t quite sell the weight of their personal relationship.
1-5 doesn’t have much to really go in depth about. Maya’s on vacation, so we get Maya with a coat and a pair of sunglasses.(That’s mean, I love Ema). But it does highlight a very key detail and difference between how Phoenix sees Maya, and how he sees Ema. With Maya, it’s very often they themselves exaggerate their qualities. Phoenix isn’t genuinely that grumpy/snippy, and Maya isn’t that airheaded or naive. They exaggerate those qualities, like real people often do, because they find it funny to do so. It’s part of their friendship/love language, and I highlight this because with Ema; it’s very clear that she’s childish not because of any act, but because she is actually a child. She’s still young and while burdened and definitely holding some stuff in, she is much more naive and childlike, constantly making references to her allowance and how she is “technically, an eleventh-grader’. The writers really hammer this in, and just looking over how they interact you can tell there’s a difference. Even in their reference to Phoenix; Ema always calls him “Mr. Wright”, a nickname you’d give a superior. While Maya always calls him Nick, signifying how the two are friends rather than co-workers or have some sort of power imbalance. They are equals. Another thing 1-5 introduces is how Phoenix, when left by himself, is very reclusive and less dorky. More serious and it really shows how much personal relationships mean to him.
It would certainly be a shame should someone he holds dear to him go through yet another traumatic event.
After around a year of not seeing each other; they’re reunited in the worst way possible. Maya, wanting to show just how much she’s grown to Phoenix (and also just wanting to see her soulmate again), makes her client go nab him for her.
She genuinely refused to channel until she saw him again, because she wanted to have him back in her life before taking such a big step. But that big step leads to her client’s death, and her being put back in the hot seat again. Even worse is the very realistic possibility that Maya is technically guilty. She could very well be a murderer via technicality and it’d be what most people would believe in. Phoenix isn’t most people. He genuinely believes Maya, under any circumstance, to be entirely incapable of murder. By his own admission, he believes she wouldn’t stab a french fry with a plastic fork. But words alone can’t really change her own views and perceptions of the situation.
She’s guilty, as always doubting herself and her ability to truly do anything right.
But Phoenix, even in the face of no evidence, continues to believe her. His utter determination to save her isn’t even just because of that promise he made to Mia; Maya, at this point, has taken a stun-gun for him. She’s saved both him and Edgeworth thrice during the Manfred trial. She’s a light in his life who when without, Phoenix becomes hollow and distant. He’s absolutely refusing to let her doubt herself here. He wants her to believe in herself the same way he believes in her.
This case also kickstarts our favorite little guy’s first canon appearance; Pearl.
As much as I love her and think she deserves to be talked about in her own manner entirely separate from Phoenix and Maya; this is primarily about their relationship and I’m only bringing up Pearl to further a few aspects. Namely being how she outright believes them to be “special someones”. Due to seeing so many relationships fall apart and her father leaving her; Pearl ends up really imprinting onto Phoenix and Maya as her parents. It’s one of the few times I genuinely like slapping a familial label onto a relationship, because it adds rather than takes. T&T goes more into depth onto this, but for now; it does show that Maya and Phoenix being a thing isn’t inherently something the writers were against, especially since Maya definitely acted more unconditionally loving towards Pearl than Morgan did.
2-2 is also where we’re introduced to Franziska von Karma, a parallel to Maya. Franziska highlights a lot of the unique things about Maya; namely how she is very emotionally mature. Franziska is, in many ways, a child. She throws fits when she loses, has unrealistic expectations of the world, and acts mature in order to cover up her actual immaturity. Compare this with Maya, someone who seems immature, but is consistently shown to be far more emotionally understanding than most of the main cast. This compare/contrast between Maya and Franzy, ends up displaying the compare/contrast with Phoenix and Maya. Phoenix on the surface level, is sardonic and aloof. But on a deeper level, you see a man who is deeply emotional yet scared of showing that very emotion to anyone, even his deepest friends. He wants to be the reason someone wakes up in the morning and feels hope even in their darkest times. But this heroic nature acts as a double edged sword; he doesn’t seem to acknowledge his own humanity and often confines himself to a role of ‘hero’. If he isn’t a hero, he isn’t anything. He’s nothing.
Maya, by comparison, is bubbly, immature, and impulsive. Yet, beyond that is a deep self doubt and an even deeper strength. Phoenix perceives her as someone who’s incredibly strong in spite of what she's gone through, even if he’s unable to properly say it out loud. She’s, at her core, motherly and loving, carrying on a core part of Mia’s legacy through just being herself. She is someone Mia could never not be proud of, because she’s her.
They balance the insecurities of the other. Maya grounds Phoenix in reality, reminding him of the smaller, more enjoyable interactions in life aside from the grand gestures and frightening trials. Phoenix reminds Maya of how she’s invaluable in so many ways through all he’s done for her, and her personally. They balance the flaws of the other and in doing so; are able to constantly find happiness with each other. It’s just so, SO good.
The only thing of note in 2-3 regarding Phoenix and Maya is how Phoenix isn’t an emotionally vulnerable guy. No doubt because of Dahlia, he doesn’t like showing his emotions or deeper thoughts. In his mind, it goes against the idea of him being a hero and makes him pathetic. Someone no woman could ever rely on. And even with Maya, someone he loves with all his heart, he’s still so scared of letting himself be vulnerable about how Edgeworth’s ‘death’ was a massive betrayal. Phoenix refuses to let himself be seen until he’s done something heroic, until he sees an act of undeniable “I did it, I’ve done it” goodness. This mindset constantly damns Phoenix, and that leads perfectly into 2-4. Speaking of which!
This is, in my humble yet correct opinion, the most emotionally charged case of any AA game, even 3-5. Everything about these characters come full circle with Edgeworth’s return, Phoenix’s inner conflict, and Maya’s role in it all.
As established, Phoenix prides himself greatly in his “hero work”. What he does is inhuman, but he pulls off comeback after comeback and never truly fails at what he sets out to do. However, here, he’s put on his toes as he’s forced to defend a man who’s guilty. Even worse is how, if he refuses, Maya will die. To most people this would be a heavy burden, but Phoenix takes it especially hard. His ideals, his honoring of Mia, everything he’s done as a lawyer up until this point; it never failed him. He was a hero, a shining knight who saved people again and again. Turning hopeless cases into miracles.
Phoenix absolutely hates himself for this case, almost every line he has is panicked and afraid he’ll never see Maya again. He’s so scared for her safety yet at the same time, it’s her or pretty much everything he believes in. All his ideals, his honoring of Mia, his pride, the belief of others; is Maya truly worth all of that? Is Maya’s life worth more than a guilty man’s proper verdict, the hope he’s given to all his clients, the honoring of Maya’s older sister?
Yes. She truly, absolutely means that much to him. Phoenix loves her so much he’s willing to completely backstab all he’s stood for to save her life. And we see what happens to him in this hypothetical bad ending; the one where there’s no Gumshoe, Edgeworth, or Franziska to save him.
“When Celeste Inpax suddenly committed suicide, the world before her turned dark.”
Most emotional CGs are given color. The group celebration in the PWAA, Maya and Mia’s reunion in JFA. But here, it’s void of any color. Because similar to Adrian’s dependance on her mentor to go further with life; Phoenix depends on Maya for his own. Without her, he’s lost. He has nowhere to go because the person closest to him, the person who keeps from losing sight of himself is gone. Maya isn’t even dead in this ending; Phoenix just believes that, if they reunite, Maya won’t meet with the man she wanted to save her. She’ll be met with a hollow husk who betrayed all he stood for, someone who once called himself Phoenix Wright. It’s a chilling bad end because it goes against everything the series does. The hope, the familial connection, the love of others; Phoenix loses it all here by his own choice. He can’t face Maya due to his shame, and hides away for what might be the rest of his life here.
The fact that even Mia, Maya’s own sister, disapproves of what he’s doing shows just how much Maya means to him. Their bond goes far beyond that of ‘sibling-coded’, the person most important to Phoenix, in any world, is Maya. More than Larry, more than Mia, more than Edgeworth. He will genuinely fight the world to save her, and do the impossible for her. But what about Maya’s side?
These few lines speak volumes for how Maya perceives Nick. Her first shows her absolute belief in him. In fact, it’s the first time in any of these games that someone believes in Phoenix the same way he believed in Dahlia all those years ago. She absolutely believes him to be amazing; a heroic figure who’d go out of his way to save her, no matter what. In fact, she clarifies how he needs to get Engarde his guilty verdict. Because more than anything, Maya wants him to love himself. He doesn’t, and that was something she herself was a victim of. Before he chased her to the train station, just to affirm her just how much she matters. In general, and to him. He helped her find self-love, now she wants to help him find his. Even giving him a weak “I’m fine” as to say that he’ll save her.
Because this isn’t Maya accepting her death. This is her believing that, no matter the circumstances, Phoenix will save her. Even in the exact moments she should die, she doesn’t stop believing in him. To the point where, to comfort her, she draws his face and is reminded of her hero.
Maya is incredibly emotionally intelligent, to the point where she knows what Phoenix would be going through in attempts to save her. His self-doubt, his hatred; she’s spent so much time with him to recognize these problems and to be there for him in the way he’s been there for others. And in her weakest moment, in the times where she hurts most; she smiles. Not in the same way she would because she'd console Pearl, but because she truly finds joy in the mere act of thinking about how Phoenix will save her.
After all this emotional hell; we’re greeted with, in my opinion, the most beautiful image in this entire series. The reunion of Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl.
We see Phoenix with the two people he can always trust, the people who love him the way he loves others unconditionally. We see Maya with her newfound family after losing her mother, father, sister, and her own aunt. We see Pearl with her true parents, the people who will always look after her even if she does something that isn’t ‘proper’. It’s such a touching picture that not only lets you, the audience, know it’s all over. But the characters who you’ve grown so attached to can finally rest after this godforsaken case. Their problems will always exist, but they matter so little when faced with someone by your side.
