I have a question about a meta you posted a while ago: at one point you mention that Ferdinand just seems really angry/upset during the Silver Snow route, especially after Hubert dies. Do you remember if there are specific lines that gave you that impression? I'm just very interested in that for angst potential. Thank you!
This might just be me reading too much into the character expressions and subtle changes in the voice acting, but the impression I got was actually that Ferdinand makes a show of being placidly unbothered throughout Silver Snow until they fight Hubert.
Throughout most of the route, Ferdinand's contributions to the group scenes are all delivered with his usual cheerful voice and smiling face. Even when he's talking about war strategy, about attacking his own homeland, or expected casualties, or dying in battle, he sounds just as cheerful as ever, and he's just always smiling.
āWeāll be utterly obliterated :)ā
Ferdinand is taking a top-down view of the war. He's looking at it like he might a chapter in a history book. And that is not because he is naive or never has to join in on the gritty reality of the fighting himself. While most of the other Black Eagles spent the five year gap hiding or drifting, he was directly engaging the Imperial army in combat. He has not shied away from the idea of bloodshed or death.
But he is maintaining an emotional distance from the situation. And there are some clues about this in his more private conversations with Byleth.
In private, Ferdinand expresses doubts about his choice to fight against Edelgard, and sadness about the situation. His voice sometimes grows a lot softer and sadder, lacking its usual bravado, and he allows himself to frown quite often.
Why such a distinct difference between Ferdinand's behavior in private versus the persona he puts on in front of his classmates? I think the key rests with his criticism of Dimitri in Crimson Flower:
Ferdinand: Dimitri, the King of Faerghus. He despises Edelgard and everything she stands for. I am of the opinion that a man seized by such strong feelings is not fit to be king. It is a sad situation, really. If he cannot suppress his emotions to make reasoned decisions, he should abdicate.
Ferdinand believes that it's a leader's responsibility to put aside feelings. As a leader, it would be inappropriate for him to let his emotions to show through in front of his comrades. Maintaining his usual cheerful facade is his way of trying to take on a leadership role for the Black Eagles.
In other words, Ferdinand is still trying to be prime minister, despite fighting against the very country that he would have been prime minister of.
This comes to a head in the exchange between him and Hubert if they directly fight each other in Enbarr.
Hubert: Running into you in the capital like thisāI have to say, it's almost sentimental.
Ferdinand: Hubert. She must leave.
Hubert: You really think you can make her?
Ferdinand: It does not matter what I think. Those are my orders.
Much has been said elsewhere about Hubert's side of this exchange, how his words in the original Japanese script actually call back to his supports with Ferdinand. For Hubert, this is a personal moment.
But Ferdinand tries not to let it be. Look at the way he phrases his response. "Those are my orders." He's not approaching Hubert as either a friend or an enemy. He's approaching him as the prime minister of the Empire. He's ordering Hubert to stand down.
Ferdinand, who loves history so much, is repeating history. Marching on Enbarr and wresting control of the Empire from the Emperor is exactly what his father did with Edelgard's father in the Insurrection of the Seven. Ferdinand has made himself the new Duke Aegir, a man who even Ferdinand privately admits probably deserved to be killed by an angry mob.
Ferdinand has become his father.
In the scene after, he's not smiling anymore. He's not boasting of their imminent victory or making an effort to cheer up his comrades or even talking about what their plan is next. When Byleth and some of the other Black Eagles suggest that they don't want to kill Edelgard, Ferdinand snaps, "we have already killed Hubert!"
Enbarr is where Ferdinand's mask finally slips. With Hubert's death, he's cemented his path as following in his father's footsteps, even at the expense of people he cared about. It's far too late to question whether he made the right choice or not. But he's not happy with it. And he has no choice but to follow through with helping kill Edelgard as well.
In the aftermath, he is no happier.
Ferdinand: I feel that a huge hole has opened up in my heart. Who knows if it can ever be filled?
Defeating Edelgard secured the position that Ferdinand wanted. He regained his title, his land, his position. But it cost him so much more than he even understands, and he is no happier for it.
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