Dimitri having super strength is established on pretty much every path and is hinted at pretty early on, but the fact that he can't control that strength is interesting, and separates him from other characters who are about as strong as he is.
I feel like there's a lot of his character tied up in the fact that he can't help destroying shit.
I do not believe I was aware of any part of this on Black Eagles
It's strictly incidental dialogue that only comes up in the Exploration phase of Chapter... 16 or 17.
An imperial knight in the... stables, I think? Mentions that Dimitri is said to be so strong that he's able to lift a horse single-handed
The first time it's hinted at is in the Mock Battle, where Edelgard says it's time to find out who's the strongest between the two of them
Dimitri also has an advice letter where his problem is he can't stop breaking every weapon he practices with and he's embarrassed because he goes through weapons super fast...
Honestly that would have been an interesting personal skill. Gives serious might benefits but goes through durability extra fast and you can't turn it off.
As a bearer of the minor Crest of Blaiddyd, he can double his damage output when using combat arts at the cost of more weapon durability, which will require some equipment management.
I’m not sure what’d it be like on hard but only Byleth was able to do any real damage to the final boss, who heals back up to full health every single turn unless you can do enough damage to break the barrier in one turn.
I think you missed something here.
She heals to full health if there's a White Beast within a certain distance of her, you're supposed to kill those off first.
I’m not sure what’d it be like on hard but only Byleth was able to do any real damage to the final boss, who heals back up to full health every single turn unless you can do enough damage to break the barrier in one turn.
I think you missed something here.
She heals to full health if there's a White Beast within a certain distance of her, you're supposed to kill those off first.
Haha, I wondered if that was it. I know:
Seteth does tell you that you need to defeat the white beasts first, but I was super tired and when I had Linhardt warp Byleth in and Byleth was able to do damage I figured maybe I didn’t need to kill all the white beasts.
Maybe I’ll have another go, I was definitely trying to rush things as a result of time.
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silence1186Character shields down!As a wingmanRegistered Userregular
Okay, I got all of Claude's supports, so I should be good for this run. I can pick up the other houses/lords on their respective campaigns.
by Sothis there is so much Edelgard foreshadowing in part one. I'm honestly really glad I didn't play this route first because there is no way I wouldn't have figured out Edelgard was the Flame Emperor really early on.
Like if you tell Edelgard that you would like to join forces with the Flame Emperor she basically goes "R-really?" *sweating and blushing intensifies* "W-well maybe you'll get to meet the Flame Emperor without their mask someday."
If you attack any bosses related to her plot like the Death Knight or Kronya they basically go "Wait why are you attacking me? Are you seriously attacking me?"
Just enormous amounts of foreshadowing in both her (and to a lesser extent Hubert's) supports and incidental part one dialogue.
I was starting to type up some information on Arundel (after rewatching a few scenes), then came across this post on Reddit that’s decently detailed and has a few interesting theories. @Tcheldor you may be interested as it adds more weight/background to parts of Blue Lions Act 2?
I was starting to type up some information on Arundel (after rewatching a few scenes), then came across this post on Reddit that’s decently detailed and has a few interesting theories. @Tcheldor you may be interested as it adds more weight/background to parts of Blue Lions Act 2?
(Major Blue Lions spoilers for the entire route).
Good stuff. Most of that I had figured out, but I'm ashamed that
I never really put together the murder of Arundel and replacement by Thales. Makes perfect sense to me.
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It’s very heavily foreshadowed in early chapters of Blue Lions - the problem is that by the time I reached Act 2 I had pushed those earlier scenes out of mind, and only realized the significance upon rewatching scenes.
The first indication is when Dimitri’s looking up records of Arundel’s church donations and Dedue and Byleth find him in the library.
Then the next chapter Sothis says ‘Arundel? Hadn’t we assumed he had died?’ to Byleth after they meet Arundel conversing with Dimitri.
Interesting how in what I assume are all the other paths Edelgard's ascension is treated like a coup but actually her father was just old, dying, and miserable and simply wanted to surprise the Imperial family's enemies so Edelgard wouldn't be hamstrung like he was.
by Sothis there is so much Edelgard foreshadowing in part one. I'm honestly really glad I didn't play this route first because there is no way I wouldn't have figured out Edelgard was the Flame Emperor really early on.
Like if you tell Edelgard that you would like to join forces with the Flame Emperor she basically goes "R-really?" *sweating and blushing intensifies* "W-well maybe you'll get to meet the Flame Emperor without their mask someday."
If you attack any bosses related to her plot like the Death Knight or Kronya they basically go "Wait why are you attacking me? Are you seriously attacking me?"
Just enormous amounts of foreshadowing in both her (and to a lesser extent Hubert's) supports and incidental part one dialogue.
I love figuring that stuff out in advance!
Though Wyborn spoiled me with his recognition of her distinctive "S" pronunciation
I don't know if Byleth is anywhere clever as the player (actually, with how frequently they forget things about their world, I doubt it) but them figuring out that the FE is Edelgard gives good reason for why they might answer that they do want to join forces
I really appreciate Edelgard's response (as herself, not the first one when dressed up as the Flame Emperor--she just says she knows you are lying in that case) -- how can you really trust someone who is masked/has masked intentions? It's a commitment that she will face you, intent clear and mask off, and her sincere wish that you'll side with her then
It’s very heavily foreshadowed in early chapters of Blue Lions - the problem is that by the time I reached Act 2 I had pushed those earlier scenes out of mind, and only realized the significance upon rewatching scenes.
The first indication is when Dimitri’s looking up records of Arundel’s church donations and Dedue and Byleth find him in the library.
Then the next chapter Sothis says ‘Arundel? Hadn’t we assumed he had died?’ to Byleth after they meet Arundel conversing with Dimitri.
I remember that, but I just didn't put together that the reason the donations stopped was because he died and was replaced, instead of "it was time to turn against the Church. My piety was a ruse." I believed that Arundel was always a SLITHER and that he was just acting as needed to get the plan rolling. It never occurred to me that he was replaced like Monica and Tomas.
Overall game plot spoilers
The lack of stuff done with the Arkadians and their fight with Sothis and why they betrayed her etc. kinda annoys me. So much of the overall game plot is wrapped up in the fight with Nemesis and the Arkdians and the Tragedy of Duscur and its fallout. Like 90% of the plot is from those 2 events, and it feel like only one of those events gets real focus ever and even then it's only one route.
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It really fucking sucks that(Black Eagles spoilers)
Edelgard, of all the main characters, doesn’t get a proper endgame where she strikes back at the Twisted. All debates about wether she is a hero or villain aside, these guys are the real villains of the story. They are what caused her suffering and abuse, they are what led Dimitri down the path of madness, they are the root of everything that drives her story forward. That she isn’t allowed the opportunity in the narrative to break free from them and it is shuffled off into an epilogue is my biggest problem with the entire game.
Edelgard is the best character in this game and her route is by far the sloppiest in execution and that bums me out a lot.
Honestly the Crimson Flower run is short enough they should have just added a mission or two the end of the run with that. That they didn't is very shitty.
Actually the person who I think is the real main villain of the game: (big spoilers, for Golden Deer especially)
Rhea/Seiros. It's her actions that both create and add fuel to the conflict between the three main factions, it's her distrust of humans and suppression of the truth that even allow the Arkadians to remain a threat for over a thousand years, not to mention all the fucked up stuff she does for selfish reasons. She's bad! Like, not mustache twirling evil but I think it's for a reason that no path seems to have an ending where she doesn't end up either dead or completely out of any position of power.
And I'm not letting Edelgard off the hook but she's only like... fifth or sixth in line of people responsible for all the messed up things that happen in the game. Also she has way better justification for her terrible decisions than most of the other people topping the "I messed up Fodlan" charts.
I hope the DLC gives space to all three of the lords. Like, it lets them support with each other. That would be nice. And with each other's lieutenants! I wanna see Edelgard talk to Dedue, and Claude or Dimitri to fuckin' Hubert
But also: I want the DLC to be crafted with Edelgard as the primary lord, because she is the main character
Actually the person who I think is the real main villain of the game: (big spoilers, for Golden Deer especially)
Rhea/Seiros. It's her actions that both create and add fuel to the conflict between the three main factions, it's her distrust of humans and suppression of the truth that even allow the Arkadians to remain a threat for over a thousand years, not to mention all the fucked up stuff she does for selfish reasons. She's bad! Like, not mustache twirling evil but I think it's for a reason that no path seems to have an ending where she doesn't end up either dead or completely out of any position of power.
And I'm not letting Edelgard off the hook but she's only like... fifth or sixth in line of people responsible for all the messed up things that happen in the game. Also she has way better justification for her terrible decisions than most of the other people topping the "I messed up Fodlan" charts.
All route spoilers:
Yeah, Edelgard’s dream is a good one, and the debate is more about wether or not you think violent revolution is justifiable to achieve it. Her decisions are half based on being controlled by the real bad guys, and half based on her desire for real positive change.
Dimitri’s decisions are based on him being deceived or him not being given enough to understand things properly, so when his assumptions line up with his emotional trauma, his path is set.
Claude is probably the most morally in the clear. He wants to rule but ultimately only goes through with things because Edelgard’s attempt was something he could essentially hijack.
Of the four, I absolutely agree that Rhea is the worst. She is still sympathetic, but unlike with Edie, her goals are more or less completely selfish ones. And while Dimitri is perhaps more unbalanced, and is also driven down a dark path by grief, ultimately he’s just out to kill one girl over a misunderstanding, he’s not intentionally fucking over the world, basically, because he’s angry and sad about stuff.
I’m prepared to be disappointed by the DLC. As much as I would love either a golden path or something that makes the main story feel more complete, I’m fully expecting a fluffy little side campaign that maybe fills in some holes but doesn’t really give us much else. Also: bikinis
I hope the DLC gives space to all three of the lords. Like, it lets them support with each other. That would be nice. And with each other's lieutenants! I wanna see Edelgard talk to Dedue, and Claude or Dimitri to fuckin' Hubert
But also: I want the DLC to be crafted with Edelgard as the primary lord, because she is the main character
I really, really don't want a "everybody gets an essentially happy" ending even if I'm fairly certain that it's coming.
I hope the DLC gives space to all three of the lords. Like, it lets them support with each other. That would be nice. And with each other's lieutenants! I wanna see Edelgard talk to Dedue, and Claude or Dimitri to fuckin' Hubert
But also: I want the DLC to be crafted with Edelgard as the primary lord, because she is the main character
I really, really doesn't want a "everybody gets an essentially happy" ending even if I'm fairly certain that it's coming.
I don't imagine we'll actually end up getting a Golden Path, as much as I joke about it
Or if we do, it's still going to be mostly sad and about choosing who you're willing to lose and who you're not
Actually the person who I think is the real main villain of the game: (big spoilers, for Golden Deer especially)
Rhea/Seiros. It's her actions that both create and add fuel to the conflict between the three main factions, it's her distrust of humans and suppression of the truth that even allow the Arkadians to remain a threat for over a thousand years, not to mention all the fucked up stuff she does for selfish reasons. She's bad! Like, not mustache twirling evil but I think it's for a reason that no path seems to have an ending where she doesn't end up either dead or completely out of any position of power.
And I'm not letting Edelgard off the hook but she's only like... fifth or sixth in line of people responsible for all the messed up things that happen in the game. Also she has way better justification for her terrible decisions than most of the other people topping the "I messed up Fodlan" charts.
On the other hand, Rhea:
Treats many people very well. Even non-believers like Shamir are happily in her service.
Cyril prefers working for Rhea than he did the Gonerils.
She doesn’t force people to believe in her religion, despite the fact that the goddess was literally real (Shamir and Cyril, again).
It can be argued that she not only suppressed the truth to keep the peace, but she also made humanity look a little better (ie suggesting the weapons/crest stones were gifts when humans stole them).
She did actually keep relative peace for a thousand years. That’s a pretty big deal! Even after the Empire lost their religious ties she didn’t launch an attack against them. She mediated when Loog split from the Empire and it sounds as if the Kingdom and Alliance were set up relatively harmoniously.
I hope the DLC gives space to all three of the lords. Like, it lets them support with each other. That would be nice. And with each other's lieutenants! I wanna see Edelgard talk to Dedue, and Claude or Dimitri to fuckin' Hubert
But also: I want the DLC to be crafted with Edelgard as the primary lord, because she is the main character
I really, really don't want a "everybody gets an essentially happy" ending even if I'm fairly certain that it's coming.
Actually the person who I think is the real main villain of the game: (big spoilers, for Golden Deer especially)
Rhea/Seiros. It's her actions that both create and add fuel to the conflict between the three main factions, it's her distrust of humans and suppression of the truth that even allow the Arkadians to remain a threat for over a thousand years, not to mention all the fucked up stuff she does for selfish reasons. She's bad! Like, not mustache twirling evil but I think it's for a reason that no path seems to have an ending where she doesn't end up either dead or completely out of any position of power.
And I'm not letting Edelgard off the hook but she's only like... fifth or sixth in line of people responsible for all the messed up things that happen in the game. Also she has way better justification for her terrible decisions than most of the other people topping the "I messed up Fodlan" charts.
On the other hand, Rhea:
Treats many people very well. Even non-believers like Shamir are happily in her service.
Cyril prefers working for Rhea than he did the Gonerils.
She doesn’t force people to believe in her religion, despite the fact that the goddess was literally real (Shamir and Cyril, again).
It can be argued that she not only suppressed the truth to keep the peace, but she also made humanity look a little better (ie suggesting the weapons/crest stones were gifts when humans stole them).
She did actually keep relative peace for a thousand years. That’s a pretty big deal! Even after the Empire lost their religious ties she didn’t launch an attack against them. She mediated when Loog split from the Empire and it sounds as if the Kingdom and Alliance were set up relatively harmoniously.
See
I'm pretty sure she or those working on her behalf instigated the rebellions in the Kingdom and the Alliance. Notice how the Monastery is placed on the exact center of where their borders would eventually meet.
I assume she did so because individually each would not be as much as existential threat to the religious organization she built as if Fodlan ever as a whole united against her intentions.
And I do think they were the best of intentions, but they were very foolish and manipulative.
Actually the person who I think is the real main villain of the game: (big spoilers, for Golden Deer especially)
Rhea/Seiros. It's her actions that both create and add fuel to the conflict between the three main factions, it's her distrust of humans and suppression of the truth that even allow the Arkadians to remain a threat for over a thousand years, not to mention all the fucked up stuff she does for selfish reasons. She's bad! Like, not mustache twirling evil but I think it's for a reason that no path seems to have an ending where she doesn't end up either dead or completely out of any position of power.
And I'm not letting Edelgard off the hook but she's only like... fifth or sixth in line of people responsible for all the messed up things that happen in the game. Also she has way better justification for her terrible decisions than most of the other people topping the "I messed up Fodlan" charts.
On the other hand, Rhea:
Treats many people very well. Even non-believers like Shamir are happily in her service.
Cyril prefers working for Rhea than he did the Gonerils.
She doesn’t force people to believe in her religion, despite the fact that the goddess was literally real (Shamir and Cyril, again).
It can be argued that she not only suppressed the truth to keep the peace, but she also made humanity look a little better (ie suggesting the weapons/crest stones were gifts when humans stole them).
She did actually keep relative peace for a thousand years. That’s a pretty big deal! Even after the Empire lost their religious ties she didn’t launch an attack against them. She mediated when Loog split from the Empire and it sounds as if the Kingdom and Alliance were set up relatively harmoniously.
See
I'm pretty sure she or those working on her behalf instigated the rebellions in the Kingdom and the Alliance. Notice how the Monastery is placed on the exact center of where their borders would eventually meet.
I assume she did so because individually each would not be as much as existential threat to the religious organization she built as if Fodlan ever as a whole united against her intentions.
And I do think they were the best of intentions, but they were very foolish and manipulative.
I mean, it’s possible, but do we have any in-game evidence for this? It’s actually mentioned a few times that the church prefers to remain secluded.
The monastery was established in a central location for 700 years before Loog’s rebellion.
What exactly does her religious organization do that’s so terrible, other than mete out the kind of swift justice that the entire continent also participates in? Again, she never tries to convert people.
A lot of the issues in Fódlan are seen to be very human issues, and there’s a lot of politicking going on outside of anything the church has a hand in.
I’m pretty anti-religious irl and it doesn’t help that the church of Seiros and the monastery itself has very strong similarities to the Catholic Church, but when you set the aesthetic differences aside, there’s not really that much to correlate the two.
To pull from the wiki:
“Originally, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was part of the Adrestian Empire. In Imperial Year 747, Loog of House Blaiddyd, a direct descendant of one of the Ten Elites of the War of Heroes, led Faerghus in rebellion against the Adrestian Empire in the War of the Eagle and Lion. Loog claimed victory in 751, after defeating the Emperor at the Tailtean Plains. The Church of Seiros mediated between Faerghus and the Empire, resulting in the creation of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and Loog being crowned its first king.
In 801, the Leicester region also rebelled against the Empire, which was unable to reassert control. The Kingdom intervened by occupying and annexing Leicester as a protectorate. In 861, the three sons of the late King Klaus I divided the Kingdom into three archduchies: the Eastern Kingdom, the Western Kingdom, and Leicester. In 881, upon the death of Leicester's archduke, the nobles of Leicester rejected his heir and launched a second bid for independence upon the instigation of House Riegan, a cadet branch of the Blaiddyd royal family. The resulting Crescent Moon War ended in 901 with the nobles of Leicester seceding from Faerghus to form the Leicester Alliance.
In 1101, the Kingdom cooperated with the Empire and the Alliance to construct Fódlan's Locket, a fortress in the mountains of Fódlan's Throat, as a safeguard against further invasions from Almyra.”
That all sounds like fairly normal human conflict to me, nothing indicates the church instigated any of it.
There's no hard proof as far as I'm aware but the game calls attention to it a couple of times.
Also while the church doesn't actively demand all people in Fodlan be followers, they will ruthlessly take out any group that directly threatens their authority, which is what I feel like the first few missions in part one are supposed to show. "Oh jeez guys do you have to murder... all of them? like all of them?"
They were also directly threatening Rhea’s life, not necessarily her authority.
Outside of the monastery Rhea doesn’t appear to have much political power. And her knights are a relatively small group, which is why in CF she seeks refuge in the kingdom and allies with Dimitri’s forces, and is also why she’s so easily steamrollered in Chapter 12 in all routes.
Rhea absolutely instigated the split between the three nations and keeps them at each other's throats
It's never said explicitly, it's said better than explicitly, by having multiple characters (like Claude and, I believe.... Mercedes?) wonder at the sheer, staggering coincidence of Garreg Mach being established in the exact center border of where all three nations would eventually be
Are the nations even at each other’s throats that much, at least at the beginning of the game? There’s a lot of conflict in general but most of it is internal or outside Fódlan - the Alliance lords amongst themselves, the kingdom vs Sreng and Duscur, the Empire vs Brigid and Dagda.
Anyway, I’m no fan of Rhea, just contemplating if she’s really the ‘big bad’, compared to TWSITD.
Certainly she has a very mixed relationship with humanity - but her ultimate goals seem more personal and survivalist (wanting her mother back, keeping herself and Seteth and Flayn alive). At least in Azure Moon and Silver Snow she survives - or can survive - and goes to live in quiet retirement.
I think ultimately how evil the church is is something that’s definitely up for interpretation, and that the game itself doesn’t give us enough information to condemn Rhea either way.
that I considered Rhea the main villain, or antagonist if you were, I didn't mean that I thought she was the most evil. The evil guys who have murdered thousands of innocent people for over a thousand years sometimes just out sadism are obviously more evil.
I just mean I think of any singular individual I think she bears the most responsibility for the conflicts present in the game. She is the one who established the status quo. She is the one who put so many people's lives in jeopardy in service of her plans, to maintain authority over Fodlan, and to keep her dirty laundry secret.
Seteth and Flayn were not around until probably a decade or so before the game's events but if they had any idea of what she had been doing they would have been horrified. I mean heck, Seteth is on a bunch of different paths!
Golden Deer Full Spoilers (with a sprinkling of Crimson Flower)
I see Rhea and the Twisted as the two basic forces in this game that have to be toppled
The Twisted are obvious; they are Evil Magic Fire Emblem Characters, they view the rest of humanity as little more than animals, they are just. They're so evil.
Rhea actually created everything about the setting that Edelgard rebels against. She aided in the founding of the Empire, established the Crest system of nobility to use the bloodlines of her enemies to keep their descendants in line, has almost total control over continental politics because of the divisions she's encouraged over the centuries (which, whoops, created inroads for the Twisted to get in on), ultimately controls the distribution of the Hero's Relics which she also uses to exercise control over those same powerful families, has the political weight necessary to legitimize the rebellion of Loog to break up the power of the Empire, crafted the teachings of Seiros to promote xenophobia and prevent free cultural exchange with other continents, has a standing army that is the match of any of the nations, on and on. The effects of the things she's done maybe weren't her design—what happened to Hanneman's sister or Mercedes's mother weren't on the docket for that one I'd bet—but the effect is still at her feet. She made the power structure. She owns it.
Rhea is the very status quo that Edelgard seeks to topple. Is she personally evil? Maybe not, but that's sort of irrelevant. I'm sure she's very nice to everyone she knows, she lifts people up out of bondage (hey uh house Goneril why are you taking child captives and using them as laborers), and she's very tender-hearted. But she's not human. She doesn't see humans as being creatures that are like her. She likes Cyril in the same way that Cyril would like a puppy. The only people she sees as people are the other Children of the Goddess, and eventually Byleth, which is why she behaves so differently toward them than everyone else
In that respect, Rhea and the Twisted are identical: they see humans on Fodlan as essentially wild animals who need to be controlled, whether that be with the carrot or with the stick
Which is also why Edelgard predicates the idea of a free Fodlan on bringing down all of them
Crimson Flower
Though it does need to be acknowledged that she doesn't want to actually kill Rhea, just strip her of her authority as archbishop. She's absolutely willing to accept Rhea's surrender at any point in the war, which comes up both in the finale and when she talks to Byleth during lectures
Posts
Isn't that what his Crest does?
Yup!
I think you missed something here.
Haha, I wondered if that was it. I know:
Maybe I’ll have another go, I was definitely trying to rush things as a result of time.
Like if you tell Edelgard that you would like to join forces with the Flame Emperor she basically goes "R-really?" *sweating and blushing intensifies* "W-well maybe you'll get to meet the Flame Emperor without their mask someday."
If you attack any bosses related to her plot like the Death Knight or Kronya they basically go "Wait why are you attacking me? Are you seriously attacking me?"
Just enormous amounts of foreshadowing in both her (and to a lesser extent Hubert's) supports and incidental part one dialogue.
(Major Blue Lions spoilers for the entire route).
Good stuff. Most of that I had figured out, but I'm ashamed that
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Then the next chapter Sothis says ‘Arundel? Hadn’t we assumed he had died?’ to Byleth after they meet Arundel conversing with Dimitri.
I love figuring that stuff out in advance!
I don't know if Byleth is anywhere clever as the player (actually, with how frequently they forget things about their world, I doubt it) but them figuring out that the FE is Edelgard gives good reason for why they might answer that they do want to join forces
I really appreciate Edelgard's response (as herself, not the first one when dressed up as the Flame Emperor--she just says she knows you are lying in that case) -- how can you really trust someone who is masked/has masked intentions? It's a commitment that she will face you, intent clear and mask off, and her sincere wish that you'll side with her then
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Overall game plot spoilers
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Edelgard is the best character in this game and her route is by far the sloppiest in execution and that bums me out a lot.
My Let's Play Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2go70QLfwGq-hW4nvUqmog
And I'm not letting Edelgard off the hook but she's only like... fifth or sixth in line of people responsible for all the messed up things that happen in the game. Also she has way better justification for her terrible decisions than most of the other people topping the "I messed up Fodlan" charts.
But also: I want the DLC to be crafted with Edelgard as the primary lord, because she is the main character
All route spoilers:
Dimitri’s decisions are based on him being deceived or him not being given enough to understand things properly, so when his assumptions line up with his emotional trauma, his path is set.
Claude is probably the most morally in the clear. He wants to rule but ultimately only goes through with things because Edelgard’s attempt was something he could essentially hijack.
Of the four, I absolutely agree that Rhea is the worst. She is still sympathetic, but unlike with Edie, her goals are more or less completely selfish ones. And while Dimitri is perhaps more unbalanced, and is also driven down a dark path by grief, ultimately he’s just out to kill one girl over a misunderstanding, he’s not intentionally fucking over the world, basically, because he’s angry and sad about stuff.
My Let's Play Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2go70QLfwGq-hW4nvUqmog
My Let's Play Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2go70QLfwGq-hW4nvUqmog
I don't imagine we'll actually end up getting a Golden Path, as much as I joke about it
Or if we do, it's still going to be mostly sad and about choosing who you're willing to lose and who you're not
Hubie skinny dips for sure.
On the other hand, Rhea:
Cyril prefers working for Rhea than he did the Gonerils.
She doesn’t force people to believe in her religion, despite the fact that the goddess was literally real (Shamir and Cyril, again).
It can be argued that she not only suppressed the truth to keep the peace, but she also made humanity look a little better (ie suggesting the weapons/crest stones were gifts when humans stole them).
She did actually keep relative peace for a thousand years. That’s a pretty big deal! Even after the Empire lost their religious ties she didn’t launch an attack against them. She mediated when Loog split from the Empire and it sounds as if the Kingdom and Alliance were set up relatively harmoniously.
Sylvain doesn't but he definitely stuffs his swimsuit
also makes judicious use of dropping a MONSTER condom for his MAGNUM dong
"Greetings, Professor! Nothin- wait, hold on. I actually do have something to report!"
*Pulls out four envelopes*
Look
I get it
But also I want my children to get lots of hugs
My Let's Play Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC2go70QLfwGq-hW4nvUqmog
I assume she did so because individually each would not be as much as existential threat to the religious organization she built as if Fodlan ever as a whole united against her intentions.
And I do think they were the best of intentions, but they were very foolish and manipulative.
The monastery was established in a central location for 700 years before Loog’s rebellion.
What exactly does her religious organization do that’s so terrible, other than mete out the kind of swift justice that the entire continent also participates in? Again, she never tries to convert people.
A lot of the issues in Fódlan are seen to be very human issues, and there’s a lot of politicking going on outside of anything the church has a hand in.
I’m pretty anti-religious irl and it doesn’t help that the church of Seiros and the monastery itself has very strong similarities to the Catholic Church, but when you set the aesthetic differences aside, there’s not really that much to correlate the two.
To pull from the wiki:
“Originally, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was part of the Adrestian Empire. In Imperial Year 747, Loog of House Blaiddyd, a direct descendant of one of the Ten Elites of the War of Heroes, led Faerghus in rebellion against the Adrestian Empire in the War of the Eagle and Lion. Loog claimed victory in 751, after defeating the Emperor at the Tailtean Plains. The Church of Seiros mediated between Faerghus and the Empire, resulting in the creation of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and Loog being crowned its first king.
In 801, the Leicester region also rebelled against the Empire, which was unable to reassert control. The Kingdom intervened by occupying and annexing Leicester as a protectorate. In 861, the three sons of the late King Klaus I divided the Kingdom into three archduchies: the Eastern Kingdom, the Western Kingdom, and Leicester. In 881, upon the death of Leicester's archduke, the nobles of Leicester rejected his heir and launched a second bid for independence upon the instigation of House Riegan, a cadet branch of the Blaiddyd royal family. The resulting Crescent Moon War ended in 901 with the nobles of Leicester seceding from Faerghus to form the Leicester Alliance.
In 1101, the Kingdom cooperated with the Empire and the Alliance to construct Fódlan's Locket, a fortress in the mountains of Fódlan's Throat, as a safeguard against further invasions from Almyra.”
That all sounds like fairly normal human conflict to me, nothing indicates the church instigated any of it.
Outside of the monastery Rhea doesn’t appear to have much political power. And her knights are a relatively small group, which is why in CF she seeks refuge in the kingdom and allies with Dimitri’s forces, and is also why she’s so easily steamrollered in Chapter 12 in all routes.
Golden Deer Full Path (but safe for SilverWind)
It's never said explicitly, it's said better than explicitly, by having multiple characters (like Claude and, I believe.... Mercedes?) wonder at the sheer, staggering coincidence of Garreg Mach being established in the exact center border of where all three nations would eventually be
Anyway, I’m no fan of Rhea, just contemplating if she’s really the ‘big bad’, compared to TWSITD.
Certainly she has a very mixed relationship with humanity - but her ultimate goals seem more personal and survivalist (wanting her mother back, keeping herself and Seteth and Flayn alive). At least in Azure Moon and Silver Snow she survives - or can survive - and goes to live in quiet retirement.
I think ultimately how evil the church is is something that’s definitely up for interpretation, and that the game itself doesn’t give us enough information to condemn Rhea either way.
I just mean I think of any singular individual I think she bears the most responsibility for the conflicts present in the game. She is the one who established the status quo. She is the one who put so many people's lives in jeopardy in service of her plans, to maintain authority over Fodlan, and to keep her dirty laundry secret.
Seteth and Flayn were not around until probably a decade or so before the game's events but if they had any idea of what she had been doing they would have been horrified. I mean heck, Seteth is on a bunch of different paths!
What’s funny is:
She’s so effectively creepy at the very start.
The Twisted are obvious; they are Evil Magic Fire Emblem Characters, they view the rest of humanity as little more than animals, they are just. They're so evil.
Rhea actually created everything about the setting that Edelgard rebels against. She aided in the founding of the Empire, established the Crest system of nobility to use the bloodlines of her enemies to keep their descendants in line, has almost total control over continental politics because of the divisions she's encouraged over the centuries (which, whoops, created inroads for the Twisted to get in on), ultimately controls the distribution of the Hero's Relics which she also uses to exercise control over those same powerful families, has the political weight necessary to legitimize the rebellion of Loog to break up the power of the Empire, crafted the teachings of Seiros to promote xenophobia and prevent free cultural exchange with other continents, has a standing army that is the match of any of the nations, on and on. The effects of the things she's done maybe weren't her design—what happened to Hanneman's sister or Mercedes's mother weren't on the docket for that one I'd bet—but the effect is still at her feet. She made the power structure. She owns it.
Rhea is the very status quo that Edelgard seeks to topple. Is she personally evil? Maybe not, but that's sort of irrelevant. I'm sure she's very nice to everyone she knows, she lifts people up out of bondage (hey uh house Goneril why are you taking child captives and using them as laborers), and she's very tender-hearted. But she's not human. She doesn't see humans as being creatures that are like her. She likes Cyril in the same way that Cyril would like a puppy. The only people she sees as people are the other Children of the Goddess, and eventually Byleth, which is why she behaves so differently toward them than everyone else
In that respect, Rhea and the Twisted are identical: they see humans on Fodlan as essentially wild animals who need to be controlled, whether that be with the carrot or with the stick
Which is also why Edelgard predicates the idea of a free Fodlan on bringing down all of them
Crimson Flower
It must’ve been a tough existence living in a world waiting so long for your daughter to awaken from her sleep
I wonder when he ceased being able to transform?